<< Back to Directory Maura Austin Postdoctoral Research Associate Education & Training PhD, Social Psychology, University of Virginia MS, Psychology, University of Virginia MA, Educational Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Central Florida BS, Psychology, University of Central Florida ma2bg@virginia.edu Curriculum Vitae (55.35 KB) Research interests Interpersonal dynamics, moral cognition, judgement & decision making Areas of focus Social Psychology Maura Austin is a postdoctoral researcher at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. She studies person perception, motivation, social judgment and decision making, and moral character judgment. Recent projects have focused on the cognitive processes that underlie how people think about moral character growth and how people make decisions about whether a transgressor deserves a second chance. In other work, Maura has focused on the social dynamics of gossip, competitive relationships, and collective long term goal pursuit. View All