Josh Ortega
Graduate Student
he/him/his
Advisor
Jonathan SchoolerResearch Area
Cognition, Perception, and Cognitive Neuroscience
Biography
Josh graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in economics from Pepperdine University in 2020. He then joined Dr. Jonathan Schooler’s META lab at UC Santa Barbara, where he spent two years working as a research affiliate before starting his Ph.D. in the Fall of 2022.
Research
Josh is interested in the psychological basis of creative ideation––specifically the extent to which various mental states (e.g., mind-wandering, dreaming) as well as certain activities (e.g., art viewing) can be mobilized to enhance creativity. He is also interested in the downstream effects these mental states and activities can have on well-being.
