min yeshara feldman

min yeshara feldman [cv]

psychology student, undergraduate researcher


the vastness of the heavens stretches my imagination — stuck on this carousel, my little eye can catch one-million-year-old light. a vast pattern — of which I am a part — perhaps my stuff was belched from some forgotten star, as one is belching there…what is the pattern, or the meaning, or the why? it does not do harm to the mystery to know a little about it.

Richard P. Feynman

about me

hi! i'm min & i'm a fourth-year student studying psychology, cognitive science, and religion at ohio state, graduating this december.


my coursework & research experiences focus in the development of social cognition.


i am interested in understanding how humans form and sustain social agreements, with a particular interest in the roles of collective intentions, obligation, and cooperative and contractual thinking. i hope to research social agreement on the small, interpersonal scale (e.g., friendships, caregiving relationships, promises) and the large scale (e.g., moral rules, social norms, laws, collective action). my interests and methods are informed by developmental psychology, philosophy of mind and social ontology, and anthropology.


i'm currently an undergraduate researcher at the thomas lab in the harvard laboratory for developmental studies under dr. ashley thomas and the deepest beliefs lab under dr. kurt gray! i've previously worked under dr. katherine mcauliffe at the boston college cooperation lab and dr. mark pitt in the language perception lab at ohio state. see my research tab for more information about projects i've worked on!


in my free time, i love to read and write fiction, watch studio ghibli movies, explore local lakes and swimming holes, take long walks, play piano, and go on bookstore-coffeeshop crawls.


inquiries,

research interests

representations of promises, obligations, and social agreements.
representations of social contracts and the origins of contractual thinking.
agreements within friendships and caregiving relationships.
agreements like moral rules, laws, norms.
representations of agency, design, meaning, and religious beliefs.
integrating ideas from anthropology, philosophy, and classic political theory into my work.

experience

undergraduate researcher

ohio state deepest beliefs lab

08.25 - present

deepest beliefs lab

summer undergraduate researcher

boston college cooperation lab

06.25 - 08.25

cooperation lab

visiting undergraduate researcher

harvard lab for developmental studies

06.24 - present

harvard laboratory for developmental studies (thomas lab)

undergraduate researcher

ohio state language perception lab

12.22 - 1.24

language perception lab