Lab Director

Tess M.S. Neal, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Psychology in ASU's School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (one of three schools in the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences). She is a founding faculty member of ASU's Law and Behavioral Science Initiative, which won the 2020 President's Award for Innovation. She is also inaugural director of ASU's Future of Forensic Science Initiative. She is a scientist, a licensed psychologist (State of Arizona #4630 and State of Nebraska #844 [voluntary inactive status in NE]), and a parent of two young children. 

Her research has been funded by multiple grants from the National Science Foundation, and she has published one edited book and more than three dozen peer-reviewed publications in such journals as Psychological Science in the Public Interest, American Psychologist; PLOS ONE; Psychology, Public Policy, and Law; Law and Human Behavior; and Criminal Justice and Behavior. She serves as associate editor for the Journal of Personality Assessment. and Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, and as an Open Science Advisor for Clinical Psychological Science.
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She was selected as a Fulbright Scholar to work with Kristy Martire and others at UNSW Sydney in the Spring of 2022. Her partner and kids are also in Australia for the duration of the fellowship! She was awarded ASU's Outstanding Mentor Award in 2020 and the 2021 Outstanding Teaching & Mentoring Award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (Div. 9 of APA). She is a PLuS Alliance Research Fellow, funded through a partnership between ASU, King's College London, and UNSW Sydney to collaborate across borders in pursuit of excellence on "vision and tenacity to impact the world." She was named a 2016 "Rising Star" by the Association for Psychological Science (APS), a designation recognizing outstanding psychological scientists in the earliest stages of their research career post-PhD whose innovative work has already advanced the field and signals great potential for their continued contributions.  She received the 2016 Saleem Shah Award for Early Career Excellence in Psychology and Law, co-awarded by the American Psychology-Law Society (Div. 41 of APA) and the American Academy of Forensic Psychology. 

Her CV is here.

PhD Students

Emily Denne
Project Manager, NSF Expert Bias Grant
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Awardee

I am a 4th year student at ASU pursuing a PhD in the intersection of psychology & law. My research focus is evidence and bias in child sexual abuse cases. I am looking forward to learning from Dr. Neal (and my co-mentor Stacia Stolzenberg) and contributing to the field. My long term career goals include becoming a professor and providing expert testimony in child sexual abuse cases. ​

​Kristen McCowan
​Project Manager, NSF Jury Decision Making Project

I am a forth year PhD student in the Psychology and Law program, working on my dissertation. I am excited to be working with Dr. Neal and learning more about the intersecting fields. My primary interests include juror decision making, and the general role expert and juror biases play within the justice system. My long term goal is to pursue a career applying research to real-world legal issues.

​Ciera Arnett

I am a 3rd year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program. My interests primarily lie in investigating the mechanisms of psychosis, from sub-clinical psychotic experiences to diagnosable psychotic disorders. I am very excited to work with Dr. Neal in the CLJ Lab (as well as my co-mentor Will Corbin in the BARCA Lab) to better understand the course of substance-induced vs. primary psychosis and its implications for legal contexts. My goal after grad school is to work as a licensed psychologist in the community.

Emma Saiter
Co-Lab Manager

I am a first year PhD student in the Law & Psychology program at ASU. I am currently interested in assessing how actors in the court system understand and use psychological science, as well as other types of scientific evidence. I am excited to further develop my research interests in both Dr. Neal's lab and Dr. Schweitzer's lab. I plan to stay in academia and pursue a career as a professor.

MS Psychology Students

Elizabeth Mathers
Co-​Lab Manager

I am a first-year master’s student at ASU with interests in clinical psychology, forensic psychology, and psychopharmacology. My undergraduate degrees were in psychology (forensic) and biology (pharmacology/ toxicology). I plan to pursue a PhD in psychology and law in the future and work to help courts and attorneys make better informed legal decisions.

Pamela Sandberg, J.D.

I am a first-year master's student that comes from the legal field. As a practicing attorney, I saw firsthand just how badly psychological research is needed in the legal system. I plan to use my degrees in law and psychology to work on effective reform in the fields of criminal justice, family law, juvenile delinquency, and mental health law.

Post-Bacc Research Assistant 

Monique Piggott, BPsycSc (Honors)

I am a recent University of New South Wales (Australia) graduate with a Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours, First Class) and a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Sociology. I am volunteering for the CLJ lab while also working in the UNSW Face Lab as a research assistant, as well as the USYD Matilda Centre as a research assistant. I am spending 2022 gaining experience across multiple different fields of psychology, and intend to commence my Masters in Psychology in 2023

 Undergraduate Research Assistants 

Emily Gran

I am in my fourth year as an undergraduate student at Western Michigan University, and traveling to UNSW in Sydney, Australia as a study abroad research intern to work with Drs. Kristy Martire and Tess Neal in May - July, 2022. I am excited to be doing this work in psychology and law and learning more about the field. My longer-term goal is to further my career in forensic psychology and continue onto graduate school. 

Spring 2022. From top left, Kristen McCowan, Ciera Arnett, Elizabeth Mathers, Emma Saiter, Emily Denne, and Tess Neal (on sabbatical in Australia!).

Spring 2021. From top left, Beth Growns at left, Emma Saiter at right. Middle row from left: Emily Denne, Alexandria Ventress. Bottom left: Jason Frizzell, Kristen McCowan, Lindsey LeCates, Jake Plantz, Elizabeth Mathers, Tess Neal. Not pictured: Robin McCowan, Noell Thompson, Ali McCoy.

Tenured & Promoted, May 12, 2021!