I am a cognitive and behavioral scientist with expertise in how people process and come to rely on false or misleading information. My research has appeared in journals such as Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, Cognition, and Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

Education

Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology

Dissertation: Evaluative Mindsets and the Influence of False Information [download pdf]

Specialization in Cognitive Science & Quantitative Methods

Northwestern University — June 2022

Master’s in Cognitive Psychology

Northwestern University — December 2018

Bachelor’s in Biology & Psychology

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities — May 2017

Leadership & Teaching

Northwestern University | Course Instructor

Instructor within Northwestern’s Department of Psychology, Kellogg School of Business, and School of Communication

Northwestern University | Writing Consultant

1:1 Writing Tutor at Northwestern’s Graduate Writing Center

Publications

Manuscripts in prep

Salovich, N. A. & Cutler, J. (2023). The influence of single and unreliable product reviews on consumer product evaluation and purchase intent. Manuscript in prep.

Salovich, N. A. & Rapp, D. N. (2023). Negative reader preferences interfere with comprehension and memory of narrative events. Manuscript in prep.

Manuscripts Submitted

Salovich, N. A., Mason, C. E., & Rapp, D. N. (2023). Evaluating tweets reduces the influence of inaccurate content, but does “liking” a tweet reflect evaluation? Manuscript submitted for publication.

Stellmack, M. A., Byrne, A. J., Sheft, S. E., Salovich, N. A., & Manbeck, A. (2023). Detecting the hot hand in amateur bowlers. Manuscript submitted for publication.

Peer-reviewed Publications

Salovich, N. A., & Rapp, D. N. (2022). How Susceptible are you? Using feedback and monitoring to reduce the influence of false information. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, Advance online publication. [paper pdf]

Salovich, N. A., Imundo, M. N., & Rapp, D. N. (2022). Story stimuli for instantiating true and false beliefs about the world. Behavioral Research Methods, Advance online publication. [paper pdf]

Salovich, N. A., Kirsch, A. M, & Rapp, D. N. (2022). Evaluative mindsets can protect against the influence of false information. Cognition, Advance online publication. [paper pdf] [twitter thread]

Andrews-Todd, J., Salovich, N. A., & Rapp, D. N. (2021). Differential effects of pressure on social contagion of memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 27(2), 258–275. https://doi.org/10.1037/xap0000346 [paper pdf] [twitter thread]

Walter, N. & Salovich, N. A. (2021). Unchecked vs. uncheckable: How opinion-based claims can impede corrections of misinformation. Mass Communication & Society, 24(4), 500-526. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2020.1864406 [paper pdf] [twitter thread]

Salovich, N. A. & Rapp, D. N. (2021). Misinformed and unaware? Metacognition and the influence of inaccurate information. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory & Cognition, 47(4), 608–624. https://doi.org/10.1037/xlm0000977 [paper pdf] [twitter thread]

Salovich, N. A., Donovan, A. M., Hinze, S. R., & Rapp, D. N. (2021). Can confidence help account for and redress the effects of reading inaccurate information? Memory & Cognition, 49, 293-310. DOI:https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-020-01096-4 [paper pdf] [twitter thread]

Rapp, D. N., Donovan, A. M., & Salovich, N. A.  (2020).  Assessing and modifying knowledge: Facts vs. constellations.  In P. Kendeou, P. Van Meter, A. List, & D. Lombardi (Eds.), The handbook of learning from multiple representations and perspectives. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429443961 [paper pdf]

Rapp, D. N., & Salovich, N. A.  (2018).  Can’t we just disregard fake news? The consequences of exposure to inaccurate information. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 5, 232-239. https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732218785193 [paper pdf]

Salovich, N. A., Remington, R. W., & Jiang, Y. V. (2017). Acquisition of habitual visual attention and transfer to related tasks. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 25(3), 1052-1058. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-017-1341-5 [paper pdf]

Presentations

Selected Spoken Presentations

Salovich, N. A., & Rapp, D.N. (2022, April). Interest vs. accuracy: Reducing the deleterious effects of reading inaccurate information. To be presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA.

Salovich, N. A. & Rapp, D. N. (2021, November). You’re not as good as you think: Using metacognitive feedback to reduce the influence of inaccurate information. Poster submitted to the 62nd Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society.

Salovich, N. A., Kirsch A. M., & Rapp, D. N. (2021, August). Evaluation reduces the influence of false information. Paper presented at the 31st Annual Meeting of the Society for Text & Discourse, virtual conference.

Salovich, N. A. & Walter, N. (2021, July). Unchecked consequences: The effect of non-checkable claims on fact-checking. Paper submitted to the Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, virtual conference.

Salovich, N. A., Cope. C. E. A., & Rapp, D. N.  (2021, April). Information processing predictors of health misconceptions. Paper to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, virtual conference.

Salovich, N. A., Donovan, A. M, Hinze, S. R. & Rapp, D. N. (2020, July). People rely on inaccurate information, but are they confident doing so? Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Text & Discourse, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. [Held online due to COVID-19 pandemic]

Salovich, N. A., & Rapp, D. N. (2020, July). Consequences of readers' negative preferences on text comprehension and memory. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Text & Discourse, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. [Held online due to COVID-19 pandemic]

Salovich, N. A., & Rapp, D. N. (2019, July). Reader preferences influence memory and comprehension of narrative events. Paper presented at the 29th Annual Meeting of the Society for Text and Discourse, New York, NY.

Salovich, N.A., Andrews-Todd, J. J., & Rapp, D. N.  (2019, June). Differential effects of situational pressure on social contagion of memory. Paper presented at the 13th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, Cape Cod, MA.

Salovich, N.A., & Rapp, D.N. (2018, July). Readers perceived resistance to misinformation is inversely related to their use of inaccurate content. Paper presented at the 28th Annual Meeting of the Society for Text & Discourse, Brighton, UK.

Invited Spoken Presentations

Salovich, N.A., Kirsch, A. M., & Rapp, D. N. (2021, June). Evaluative mindsets protect against the influence of false information. Invited presentation at UCLA’s “Cog Fog” speaker series, Los Angeles, CA. [Held virtually]

Salovich, N.A. (2021, May). Why can’t “just disregard” fake news. Invited presentation at Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA. [Held virtually]

Salovich, N.A., & Rapp, D. N.  (2020, February). Misinformed and Unaware? Metacognition and the Influence of Inaccurate Information. Invited presentation at Vanderbilt University’s Cognitive Science of Learning and Development speaker series, Nashville, TN. [Held virtually]

Salovich, N.A., Andrews-Todd, J. J., & Rapp, D. N.  (2020, February). Differential effects of situational pressure on social contagion of memory. Invited presentation at Princeton University’s Emerging Scholars of Psychological Science speaker series, Princeton, NJ.

Selected Poster Presentations

Professional Outreach

Graduate Writing Fellow
Northwestern Graduate Writing Place  (Sep 2020-Present)

Community Manager
Indivisible Northwestern (Jan 2021-September 2021)

Service Chair
Northwestern Graduate Student Association (Sep 2018-2020)

Member and Volunteer
Northwestern Brain Awareness Outreach (Sep 2017-Present)

Testimonials

“[Nikita’s] academic excellence, independence, and strong drive are reminiscent of just a handful of highly successful psychologists who became influential in their twenties. Nikita’s performance both in classes and in the lab far exceeds her peers, and places her at the very best of students I’ve taught or worked with at the University of Minnesota, Harvard and MIT.”

— DR. YUHONG JIANG, PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY

“From my first conversations with Dr. Salovich, I was deeply impressed by her seriousness of purpose around classroom teaching and pedagogical practices. In fact, I was amazed by the quality of the feedback she provided to the students. Beyond the clarity and thoroughness of the information, I was immediately impressed by her positive language, making it abundantly clear that she feels strongly that students learn best when they are part of a supportive and participatory community and when they feel a sense of belonginess. Indeed, every interaction she had with students was clearly designed to prompt ongoing conversations, mutual aid and reflection, as well as collaborative work. In the past several years, I have seen abundant evidence to indicate that this approach not only empowered our students but also encouraged learning. At Northwestern, I have the privilege of working with many excellent instructors and teaching assistants but this level of commitment to keeping abreast of pedagogical innovation that achieves unique and valued experience for our students puts most of my colleagues (me included) to shame. In fact, I would often tell the students that Nikita can teach my classes much better than I ever could.” 

— DR. NATHAN WALTER, PROFESSOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

“[Nikita’s] enthusiasm, ability to draw connections between what we were learning in class and what was happening in the real world, and the brilliance with which she spoke about psychology set me on my current path of pursuing a career as a psychologist in academia. She encouraged me to join the lab she worked in and I did in my second quarter at Northwestern. I then worked in this lab until graduation and Nikita's mentorship and support remained strong through these many quarters. Despite having her own plate filled with her numerous research projects examining the effects of the exposure of misinformation, Nikita still took countless hours to help me develop my own ideas and teach me numerous skills, such as R and how to organize a conference presentation. Without her, I doubt I, or any of the other RAs in the lab, would be able to do what we have. Nikita leads by example, inspiring those around her to work as hard as she does.”

— LOUIS INGRAM, RESEARCH ASSISTANT