Rina Miyata Harsch

Hello! I am Rina, and I like asking questions about the cognitive psychology of comprehension and belief. I am looking for a post-doc starting in Autumn 2025.

My Work

My research builds upon work by my advisor Dr. Panayiota Kendeou (University of Minnesota, Educational Psychology) on

• knowledge revision
• comprehension of semantically discrepant information
• trust in informants

Next Steps

Lately, I have been working on understanding how people comprehend complex or uncertain situations, situations in which there are multiple hypothetical causes and states. Next, starting with my dissertation, I would like to explore how comprehension of such situations draws on:

• probabilistic reasoning
• evidence evaluation
• explanation

Why I Care

I reflect often on how complex and uncertain the world is and find myself feeling overwhelmed when I try to understand even a single facet of it. Based on my conversations with others, this experience is not unique to me. Many of us are searching for ways to look the world in the face with the curiosity, humility, and conviction we need to understand and try to address its complex issues. I think these concerns are what brought me to this research.

Stuff I Like

In addition to my cerebral pursuits *adjusts monocle*, I am motivated by music and art, reading and writing, and wagashi (traditional Japanese confections). I love talking to people about these things and the stuff they like. Give me your recommendations, you nerds!