Hannah G. Lunkenheimer 

Ph.D. Candidate, The University of Texas at Austin

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I am a cross-cultural researcher studying children's understanding and explanatory reasoning regarding significant misfortune (e.g. death, illness, natural disasters). My research focuses on using cognitive, social, and evolutionary theories to explain how beliefs and rituals are cross-culturally recurrent and how those beliefs and rituals impact grief, coping, and psychological well-being over the lifespan.

See below for a quick peak at some things I find interesting...

Explanatory Reasoning

What explanations do we give for our beliefs and behaviors? To what extent do we rely on natural explanations, supernatural explanations, or both?

Risk Perception & Decision-Making

Who and what influences our decision-making during major life events such as pregnancy and death?

Rituals

How and why do some practices across cultures share common features such as health, illness, and death rituals?

Good Grief

How do cultural attitudes towards death shape how different societies respond to death and dying? How can we experience good grief?