Curriculum Vitae

Positions

Software Engineer III (Machine Learning)
SEACORP
August 2023 - present

Data Science Fellow
U.S. Census Bureau
June 2022 - August 2022

Education

Ph.D., Experimental Psychology
University of Connecticut
May 2023

B.S., Mathematics; B.S., Psychology
State University of New York at Oneonta
summa cum laude
May 2018

Publications and Proceedings

Chiovaro, M. & Paxton, A. (under review). Dyadic division-of-labor: Effects of action constraints, task difficulty, and communicative abilities.
Github Repo - Game
Github Repo - Analyses

Chiovaro, M., & Paxton, A. (in preparation). From many, one: The colony as a metaphor for socially, temporally, and physically situated cognition.

Chiovaro, M., & Paxton, A. (in preparation). Nonlinear, natural, and noisy: A quantitative approach to the collection and analysis of real-world social behavior.
Github Repo

Chiovaro, M. (2023). Action coordination and group efficiency: An investigation of context and constraints in goal-directed, division-of-labor tasks [Doctoral Thesis, University of Connecticut]. CT Digital Archive

Chiovaro, M., Windsor, L. C., Windsor, A., & Paxton, A. (2021). Online social cohesion reflects real-world action in Syria during the Arab Spring. PLoS ONE, 16(7), e0254087.
PDF Github Repo

Chiovaro, M., Windsor, L. C., & Paxton, A. (2021). Vector Autoregression, Cross-Correlation, and Cross-Recurrence Quantification Analysis: A Case Study in Social Cohesion and Collective Action. In In Proceedings of the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society. Cognitive Science Society.
PDF Github Repo

Chiovaro, M., & Paxton, A. (2020). Ecological Psychology Meets Ecology: Apis mellifera as a Model for Perception-Action, Social Dynamics, and Human Factors. Ecological Psychology, 32(4), 192-213.
PDF

Chiovaro, M., & Paxton, A. (guest editors; 2020). Action coordination in non-human self-organizing collectives: Multidisciplinary lessons from living and nonliving systems. Special issue of Ecological Psychology, 32(4), 139-142.
PDF

Chiovaro, M., & Paxton, A. (2019). Nest-ed affordances. In L. van Dijk, & R. Withagen (Eds.), Studies in Perception and Action XV. Proceedings from the Seventeenth International Conference on Perception and Action. Enschede: Ipskamp Printing.

Talks

Divide and conquer: A study of division-of-labor tasks from a dynamical systems perspective.
Chiovaro, M. & Paxton, A.
Paper presented at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Society for Computation in Psychology.. Boston, MA.
November 2022

Online affect and offline action: An analysis of the relationship between emotions on social media and real-world events.
Chiovaro, M., Xia, Q., Windsor, L. C., & Paxton, A.
Paper presented at the 51st annual conference of the Society for Computation in Psychology (SCiP). Virtual conference due to COVID-19.
November 2021

Vector autoregression, cross-correlation, and cross-recurrence quantification analysis: A case study in social cohesion and collective action
Chiovaro, M., Windsor, L. C., & Paxton, A.
Paper presented at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society.. Virtual conference due to COVID-19.
July 2021

Waves of collective action: Dynamics of online and real-world activism in the Arab Spring
Chiovaro, M., Paxton, A., & Windsor, L. C.
Paper presented at the 50th annual conference of the Society for Computation in Psychology (SCiP). Virtual conference due to COVID-19.
November 2020

Nonlinear dynamics of online and real-world social cohesion during the Arab Spring: A comparison of ICEWS, Phoenix, and Terrier event datasets
Chiovaro, M., Paxton, A., & Windsor, L. C.
Paper presented at the 2020 ISA Midwest Annual Conference. Virtual conference due to COVID-19.
November 2020

Cross-recurrence quantification analysis of real-world and online social cohesion during the Arab Spring
Chiovaro, M., Paxton, A., & Windsor, L. C.
Paper presented at the 30th Annual International Society for Chaos Theory in Psychology and Life Sciences Conference. Virtual conference due to COVID-19.
July 2020

Nonlinear, natural, and noisy: A quantitative approach to the collection and analysis of real-world social behavior
Chiovaro, M. & Paxton, A.
Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Computers in Psychology (SCiP). Montréal, Québec, Canada.
November 2019

Action coordination in non-human self-organizing collectives: Multidisciplinary lessons from living and nonliving systems
Chiovaro, M. & Paxton, A. (organizers).
Symposium presented at the 20th International Conference on Perception and Action. Groningen, Netherlands.
July 2019

Busy bees: Task allocation in Apis mellifera as inspiration for engineering effective human collectives
Chiovaro, M. & Paxton, A.
Paper presented at the 20th International Conference on Perception and Action. Groningen, Netherlands.
July 2019

To be a bee: Lessons from perception, action, and interpersonal coordination
Chiovaro, M.
Invited talk presented at Gordon College. Wenham, MA.
April 2019

The state of our minds
Chiovaro, M.
Talk presented at the Student Diversity and Leadership Conference. Oneonta, NY.
March 2017

Posters

Xia, Q., Chiovaro, M., Windsor, L. C., & Paxton, A. (2021). Online emotion diffusion during the Arab Spring. Poster presented at the University of Connecticut’s Language Fest.

Chiovaro, M., Windsor, L. C., & Paxton, A. (forthcoming). Vector Autoregression, Cross-Correlation, and Cross-Recurrence Quantification Analysis: A Case Study in Social Cohesion and Collective Action. 43rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society.

Dhaim, A., Chiovaro, M., & Blau, J. J. C. (2020). Self-similarity of the stage: Fractality in live theatre performances. Poster presented at the 61st Psychonomic Society Annual Meeting. Virtual.

Chiovaro, M., & Paxton, A. (2019). What you see is how you feel: How social anxiety shapes visual perception and attention. Poster presented at the 60th Psychonomic Society Annual Meeting. Montréal, Québec, Canada.

Chiovaro, M. R., & Paxton, A. (2019). Nest-ed affordances. Poster presented at the 20th International Conference on Perception and Action. Groningen, Netherlands.

Chiovaro, M. R., & Paxton, A. (2019). What the buzz is all about: Apis mellifera as a model for collective intelligence. Poster presented at the Second Annual Northeastern Regional Conference on Complex Systems. Binghamton, NY.
Honorable Mention, poster competition.

Chiovaro, M. R., Faraci, N., Curtin, S. A., Cunningham, A. G., Lau, K. S. L. (2018). Exposure to trauma and its effects on mental health and seeking services. Poster presented at the State University of New York Undergraduate Research Conference. Oneonta, NY.

Cunningham, A. G., Chiovaro, M. R., Garufi, J., Lau, K. S. L. (2018). The dark triad and its relationship to impulsivity. Poster presented at the State University of New York Undergraduate Research Conference. Oneonta, NY.

Faraci, N., Chiovaro, M. R., Cunningham, A. G., Lau, K. S. L. (2018). The vulnerable dark triad and unique subtypes of aggression. Poster presented at the State University of New York Undergraduate Research Conference. Oneonta, NY.

Chiovaro, M. R., & Lau, K. S. L. (2018). The four facets of psychopathy and suicidal ideation. Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association’s Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, PA.

Funding and Awards

2022
Doctoral Dissertation Award (2022), The Graduate School, University of Connecticut

2021
Science of Learning and Art of Communication (SLAC) Fellow (2020-2021)
The Connecticut Institute for the Brain and Cognitive Sciences Graduate Fellowship
Science of Learning and Art of Communication (SLAC) Summer Fellowship

2020
Honorable Mention, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP)
Science of Learning and Art of Communication (SLAC) Fellow (2020-2021)
Science of Learning and Art of Communication (SLAC) Summer Fellowship
Innovation Funds, SLAC

2019
Travel and Networking Award, Women in Cognitive Science Society
The Connecticut Institute for the Brain and Cognitive Sciences Graduate Fellowship
30 Under 30 Award Winner, Alumni Association, SUNY Oneonta

2018
D’Antonio Student Travel for Excellence Grant, SUNY Oneonta
Excellence in Research and Methodology, Psychology Department, SUNY Oneonta
Top Psychology Senior, Psychology Department, SUNY Oneonta
Michael Siegel Award, For dedication and promise to the field of psychology, SUNY Oneonta
SUNY Chancellor’s Award Nominee, SUNY Oneonta

2017
Student Grant Program for Research & Creative Activity, SUNY Oneonta
Helen & Michael Casper Fellowship for Internship Support, SUNY Oneonta

Lab Involvement

Research Assistant
Department of Psychological Sciences
University of Connecticut
DYSCORD Lab
Supervisor: Alexandra Paxton
August 2018 — August 2023

Research Assistnat
Department of Psychology
State University of New York at Oneonta
DAPPER Lab
Supervisor: Katherine Lau
January 2017 — May 2018

Teaching experience

Coordinator: PSYC 2100WQ
University of Connecticut
Supervisor: Steven Mellor
Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023

PSYC 2100WQ Lab Instructor
University of Connecticut
Supervisor(s): Steven Mellor, Ian Stevenson
Spring 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023

PSYC 1100L Lab Instructor
University of Connecticut
Supervisor(s): James Chrobak, Harvey Swadlow
Fall 2018, Spring 2019