Natasha Duell

Natasha Duell is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Child Development at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo), leading the Adolescent Decisions And Positive Trajectories (ADAPT) Lab. Previously, she held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute. She earned her Ph.D. in Psychology (2018) from Temple University and a B.A. in Psychology and Social Behavior (2011) from UC Irvine.

Her research focuses on three core areas: (1) positive risk-taking behaviors in youth, (2) social/biological influences on decision-making, and (3) cross-national comparisons of adolescent behavior. Methodologies include fMRI, ecological momentary assessments, and advanced statistical modeling. She emphasizes ethical scientific practices and equitable academic environments.

Notable projects include developing a self-report scale for positive risk-taking validated globally and investigating neural mechanisms underlying prosocial conformity. Her work bridges developmental psychology with neuroscience, exploring how contextual factors shape adaptive youth decision-making.

• Education: Ph.D., Temple University (2018); B.A., UC Irvine (2011)
• Lab: ADAPT Lab at Cal Poly
• Key Methods: fMRI, hormone assays, experimental tasks