Dr. Moriah Sokolowski

  Curriculum Vitae /  (PDF file) Click Here to View > (opens in new window) 

Biography: 

Dr. Moriah Sokolowski is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University and an Adjunct Scientist at the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest. She completed her MSc (2015) and PhD (2019) in Psychology in the Cognitive, Developmental, and Brain Sciences area at Western University. She subsequently completed her postdoctoral training at the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest, supported by a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship (2020–2022) and a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Postdoctoral Fellowship (2022–2023).

Dr. Sokolowski’s research program seeks to understand how the developing mind supports complex learning. Because mathematical thinking is a learned skill that builds on core competencies and previously acquired knowledge, it serves as an ideal model for exploring how we learn complex concepts. Dr. Sokolowski studies the development of the learning brain using diverse methodologies, including behavioural and brain-imaging techniques, in children, adolescents, and adults. In addition to conducting basic science, she is passionate about linking her findings to real-world outcomes that support individual wellbeing and population-level innovation. In a related stream of research, she examines how individual differences in core competencies (e.g., visual imagery, spatial thinking, and memory) relate to outcomes such as academic achievement and occupational success. Two key goals of Dr. Sokolowski’s research are to uncover the basic building blocks of mathematical competence and to identify early cognitive, emotional, and neural markers that predict which students are likely to select—and succeed in—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.

Dr. Sokolowski’s research has been supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF), and CIFAR. She is also a co-applicant on research funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). She awarded the Jacobs-CIFAR Research Fellowship (external link, opens in new window)  from the Jacobs Foundation (2026-2028) and was named a Rising Star by the Association for Psychological Science in 2025.

Selected Publications

Hawes, Z., King, V., & Sokolowski, H. M. (2026). The mind’s eyes: Distinct neural correlates of spatial and object imagery. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 185, 106640. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2026.106640 (external link, opens in new window) 

Sokolowski, H. M., Yeung, R. C., Yu, J.-C., Fan, C. L., Daker, R. J., Lyons, I. M., Zeman, A., Abdi, H., & Levine, B. (2026). Visual imagery and STEM occupational attainment: Gender matters. Personality and Individual Differences, 250, 113552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2025.113552 (external link, opens in new window) 

Lau, N. T. T., Ansari, D., & Sokolowski, H. M. (2024). Unraveling the interplay between math anxiety and math achievement. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 28(10), 937–947. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2024.07.006 (external link, opens in new window) 

Yu, J.-C., Sokolowski, H. M., Rao, K. S., Moraglia, L. E., Khoubrouy, S. A., Abdi, H., & Levine, B. (2024). Visualization of latent components assessed in O*NET occupations (VOLCANO): A robust method for standardized conversion of occupational labels to ratio scale format. Behavior Research Methods, 56(1), 417–432. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-022-02044-7 (external link) 

Sokolowski, H. M., & Levine, B. (2023). Common neural substrates of diverse neurodevelopmental disorders. Brain, 146(2), 438–447. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awac387 (external link, opens in new window) 

For a complete list of publications, see my Google Scholar Profile (external link, opens in new window) 

Public Scholarship & Media:

Brookman-Byrne, A. (2026). The developmental psychologist building learner confidence through challenge (external link, opens in new window) . BOLD. [Interview with Moriah Sokolowski]

Lau, N. T. T., & Sokolowski, H. M. (2024) If you think you are ‘just not a math person’ then think again (external link, opens in new window) . Psyche.