Office Location
Goddard | Room 202C

Education
Ph.D. | Psychology | University of Western Ontario | 2024
M.Sc. | University of Western Ontario | 2019
B.A. | Cognitive Science & Psychology | Rice University | 2017

Dissertation Summary
My dissertation project explored Minecraft as a platform for psychological study through surveys, memory tasks, and sorting tasks. Results identified five distinct gameplay factors - social play, competence, redstone engineering, creativity, and survival - and showed that play style influenced both memory and categorization. Overall, the findings demonstrated Minecraft’s potential as a versatile, customizable tool for studying cognition and behavior.

Areas of Expertise
My area of expertise is utilizing video games in an educational and research context with a strong background in the psychology of learning and perception. I believe educational video games can foster engagement and bridge the agricultural knowledge gap between urban/suburban and rural students. I am currently developing a Ranch Management course using Minecraft Education Edition.

Publications
Dissertation - Open Access: LINK

Thesis - Open Access: https://uwo.scholaris.ca/items/a98bb7d2-b6df-4b4f-9876-358d7781a191 - Preprint: LINK

Advisor
Dr. Clint Rusk

Current CV for Bailey Brashears