About Me
I am a Postdoctoral Scholar Lecturer at University of California, Berkeley’s School of Information.
I received my B.S.C in Psychology (with a concentration in Philosophy) from Universidad Iberoamericana (Mexico City), a M.A. in Political Behaviour from the Department of Government, University of Essex (U.K.) and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the Department of Psychology, University of Essex (U.K.) where I was advised by Dr. Philip Cozzolino and Prof. Geoff Ward. I completed postdoctoral training in the Department of Government at The University of Texas at Austin. I currently work as Postdoctoral Teaching Scholar at the Information School at the University of California, Berkeley.
My research interests fall into the intersection of Social Psychology of Politics and Political Behaviour. Specifically, I study the psychological processes by which people develop, adhere, and adjust their political loyalties and different forms of political behaviours.
Informed by Terror Management Theory (TMT; Greenberg, Pyszczynski and Solomon, 1986) and Cognitive Need for Closure (Kruglanski & Freund, 1983), I look at ways in which reminders of mortality mediate changes in political preferences, patterns of voting behaviour, and adherences to centrist political parties by activating needs for consensus and agreement to, in turn, punish deviants from a perceived generalised political agreement.
I am particularly interested in the political behaviours of minorities, especially, the political participation (or lack thereof) of the Latinx community in the USA. My work employs qualitative and quantitative methodologies.
Beyond my research academic research, I have worked as a speechwriter and political adviser. I enjoy photography, cycling, walking, and swimming.