Shana Cole

Shana Cole is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Rutgers University, School of Arts and Sciences (SAS). She holds a PhD from New York University (2014) and leads the RAMP Lab (Regulation, Action, and Motivated Perception Lab), focusing on cognitive, perceptual, and affective processes underlying self-regulation. Her research explores how individuals mitigate threats, pursue rewards, and resist temptations across domains like dieting, relationships, and climate change using multi-method approaches including psychophysiological and behavioral experiments.

Her work emphasizes 'motivated perception,' where visual experiences adapt to serve goals, influencing domains from health behaviors to gender identity. Notable areas include perception of proximity affecting exercise motivation, gender perception biases, and pandemic-related goal disruption. Cole's lab develops interventions targeting societal self-regulatory challenges, blending theoretical insights with practical applications.

Recent articles highlight dynamics of visual perception in social cognition, pandemic goal adaptation, and transgender misgendering. Her methods integrate perception, action, and identity constructs to explain behavioral outcomes. Grants and collaborations likely support her interdisciplinary focus on bridging psychological theory with real-world interventions.