[![besample](https://besample.app/assets/Logo_1787745314285-DPNdsvrL.png)](https://besample.app/) [Learn more about Besample](https://besample.app/) [Log in](https://researcher.besample.app/?l=1&p=login) # The Besample Dissertation Grant: 2025-2026 Cohort (N=3,000) Empowering The Best Multi-Country Doctoral Research Projects in 2026 We created this grant to support early-career researchers who are pushing behavioral science beyond the West. Read [how and why we started it.](https://blog.besample.app/why-we-are-awarding-the-besample-dissertation-grant-75a1f293f6f0) [Join Besample](https://researcher.besample.app/?p=signup) ![A colorful stack of research books](https://besample.app/assets/book_stack_1788184297487-CDYXaAAa.svg) The 2026 competition unfolds in two stages: first, 25 finalists receive free pilot data collection (N = 500) through Besample for their dissertation prospectus or pre-defense. These grantees present their preliminary results in an online pitch contest. Three winners receive full funding for their dissertation studies, including translations, data collection support, and specific demographic targeting.Applications are now closed. Meet the winners and finalists below. ## Announcing the Final Winners of the 2025–2026 Besample Dissertation Grant Besample selected 30 early-career researchers to conduct pilot studies across 16 non-Western countries. Following six months of research, the pilot-stage grantees presented their findings in the final competition before an academic jury and the broader Besample community. The three recipients of the full Besample Dissertation Grant were selected through a two-round voting process by a jury of leading behavioral researchers. In addition to the three main Dissertation Grants, two finalists received special recognition through the Audience Choice Award and Besample Choice Award. ![Samantha Reisman, Main Dissertation Grant](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769602006793x320458526349750800/Samantha%20Reisman.jpg) ### Samantha Reisman Main Dissertation Grant ![Isabella C. Montini, Main Dissertation Grant](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769598153004x685466967516697100/Isabella%20C.%20Montini.jpg) ### Isabella C. Montini Main Dissertation Grant ![Amanda Royka, Main Dissertation Grant](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769598137731x603143690419756900/Amanda%20Royka.jpg) ### Amanda Royka Main Dissertation Grant ![Wicia Fang, Audience Choice Award](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769598210789x483688736632857700/Wicia%20Fang.jpg) ### Wicia Fang Audience Choice Award ![Arsen Martyshchuk, Besample Choice Award](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769598143545x561313504023026600/Arsen%20Martyshchuk.jpg) ### Arsen Martyshchuk Besample Choice Award ## Meet Our Pilot Stage Finalists We received over 100 submissions, and selecting just 25 pilot-stage winners was not easy. Many strong proposals could not be accommodated. The grantees below were selected through a two-stage review process, which included an initial evaluation followed by methodological clarifications where needed. Applications were assessed based on idea novelty, theoretical grounding, potential contribution to the field, research rigor, alignment with Besample's mission to research beyond the West, and feasibility within Besample's research infrastructure. ![Anisha Singh, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769597695190x722362046780916000/Anisha%20Singh.jpg) ### [Anisha Singh](https://www.anisha-singh.com/home) M.S., Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, London School of Economics, UK How do gender norms and cultural context shape employees’ use of workplace mental health resources? Can peer testimonials by women vs. men shift norms and increase uptake? Research advisor: [Laura M Giurge](https://www.lse.ac.uk/people/laura-m-giurge) Target countries: India Indonesia Kenya ![Yuqing Shi, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769598126619x466289390324193800/Yuqing%20Shi.jpg) ### [Yuqing Shi](https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=uulnsPkAAAAJ) M.S., Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore Do people in more emotionally expressive cultures rely more on subtle happy-looking cues in neutral faces when judging a stranger’s trustworthiness, and why? Research advisor: [DongWon Oh](https://dongwonoh.com/) Target countries: Japan ![Mexico](https://besample.app/assets/mx-CaAz7lsW.svg) ![Amanda Royka, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769598137731x603143690419756900/Amanda%20Royka.jpg) ### [Amanda Royka](https://amandaroyka.github.io/) M.S., Department of Psychology, Yale University, USA Do languages worldwide share “mentalistic interjections” (e.g., oops, ouch) that intentionally broadcast emotions and mental states? Are these more conserved than non-mentalistic interjections (e.g., cheers, shhh)? Research advisor: [Julian Jara-Ettinger](https://psychology.yale.edu/people/julian-jara-ettinger) Target countries: Indonesia Japan Kenya ![Mexico](https://besample.app/assets/mx-CaAz7lsW.svg) Turkey ![Arsen Martyshchuk, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769598143545x561313504023026600/Arsen%20Martyshchuk.jpg) ### [Arsen Martyshchuk](https://www.linkedin.com/in/arsen-m-290b09133/) M.P.A., Department of City and Regional Planning, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA How do wartime conditions in Kyiv - alerts, curfews, infrastructure damage, and perceived risk - reshape transit use, reliability expectations, and everyday travel behavior? Research advisor: [Matthew Palm](https://planning.unc.edu/faculty/palm/) Target countries: Ukraine ![Isabella C. Montini, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769598153004x685466967516697100/Isabella%20C.%20Montini.jpg) ### [Isabella C. Montini](https://imontini.github.io/) M.S., Department of Political Science, University of California at Berkeley, USA How do residents in Brazil’s fragmented- authority urban peripheries decide when, how, and to whom to make political claims, and how does authority competition shape these strategies? Research advisor: [Alison Post](https://polisci.berkeley.edu/people/person/alison-post) Target countries: ![Brazil](https://besample.app/assets/br-DfU4KU08.svg) ![Senna Singh, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769598189397x274111419921057700/Senna%20Singh.jpg) ### Senna Singh M.S., Ashoka University, India How does chronic childhood family violence shape young Indian adults’ well‑being and self/relational functioning, and, via these, their later revictimization and perpetration? Research advisor: [Simantini Ghosh](https://www.ashoka.edu.in/profile/simantini-ghosh/) Target countries: India ![Olena Vitkovska, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769598180282x123027917340068340/Olena%20Vitkovska.jpg) ### [Olena Vitkovska](https://www.linkedin.com/in/olena-vitkovska-9a1a942b3/) M.S., Department (Faculty) of Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria Can a brief online war‑experience‑reframing intervention boost Ukrainian adults’ trauma‑coping self‑efficacy and flourishing during war-related psychological distress? Research advisor: [Veronika Job](https://mot-psy.univie.ac.at/about-us/veronika-job/) Target countries: Ukraine ![Jonathan Lee, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769598173134x445156024146916160/Jonathan%20Lee.jpg) ### [Jonathan Lee](https://www.ling.upenn.edu/~jonhnlee/) M.Phil., Department of Linguistics, University of Pennsylvania, USA Do speech hesitations like “um” and “uh” carry the same meaning globally, or are they culturally shaped? How do Japanese listeners perceive and judge them across languages? Research advisor: [Anna Papafragou](https://www.ling.upenn.edu/people/anna-papafragou) Target countries: Japan ![Nina Rodriguez, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769598166325x287111491647085150/Nina%20N.%20Rodriguez.jpg) ### [Nina Rodriguez](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=IWhPjOMAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao) M.A., Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, USA Understanding silent treatment in close relationships: is it a universal, low-cost bargaining signal that communicates dissatisfaction and grievance when direct confrontation is too costly? Research advisor: [Jaimie Arona Krems](https://www.psych.ucla.edu/faculty-page/jkrems/) Target countries: ![Brazil](https://besample.app/assets/br-DfU4KU08.svg) ![Dan-Mircea Mirea, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769598159936x790953916422802000/Dan-Mircea%20Mirea.jpg) ### [Dan-Mircea Mirea](https://www.dan-mirea.com/) M.S., Department of Psychology, Princeton University, USA Do depressive symptoms and socio-cognitive decision biases (social negativity/uncertainty, effort sensitivity, delay discounting) predict cross-cultural preferences for AI vs human socio-emotional support? Research advisor: [Yael Niv](https://pni.princeton.edu/people/yael-niv) Target countries: ![Brazil](https://besample.app/assets/br-DfU4KU08.svg) Colombia Ghana India Indonesia Japan Kenya ![Mexico](https://besample.app/assets/mx-CaAz7lsW.svg) Turkey Ukraine ![Caitlan Fealing, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769598204520x916825940607003400/Caitlan%20Fealing.jpg) ### [Caitlan Fealing](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6_3EyaoAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao) B.A., Institute for Strategy & Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, USA What motivates civilians, especially frontline residents, to film and share conflict videos online (“civilian witnessing”), and what response (justice, recognition, etc.) do they seek from global audiences? Research advisors: [Daniel Silverman](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GxvFzdcAAAAJ&hl=en)[Baruch Fischhoff](https://besample.app/dissertationgrant/) Target countries: Ukraine ![Wicia Fang, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769598210789x483688736632857700/Wicia%20Fang.jpg) ### [Wicia Fang](https://www.wiciafang.com/) M.S., Department of Psychology, Cornell University, USA How do cultural contexts shape everyday status judgments? Do laypeople spontaneously use economic, social, or context-specific indicators in making these judgments and, if so, how? Research advisor: [Vivian Zayas](https://psychology.cornell.edu/vivian-zayas) Target countries: ![Brazil](https://besample.app/assets/br-DfU4KU08.svg) India Japan Kenya Turkey ![Carla Garcia, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769598220440x967533646156974600/Carla%20Garcia.jpg) ### [Carla Garcia](https://carlakgarcia.com/) B.A., Department of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA How does the framing of protestors' grievances foster support and solidarity for social movements? Survey experiment evidence from Argentina's Student Movement. Research advisor: [F. Daniel Hidalgo](https://polisci.mit.edu/people/f-daniel-hidalgo) Target countries: Argentina ![Ovgun Ses, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769598233095x494722840467933800/Ovgun%20Ses.jpg) ### [Ovgun Ses](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=FPIq9PIAAAAJ&hl=en) M.S. Department of Psychology, University of Essex, UK Does perceiving a close other as habitually suppressing emotion predict higher pain via reduced authenticity, lower support, and greater strain across cultures? Research advisor: [Veronica Lamarche](https://www.essex.ac.uk/people/LAMAR82704/Veronica-Lamarche) Target countries: India Turkey ![Burak Kazim Yilmaz, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769598241364x693247769740640500/Burak%20Kazim%20Yilmaz.jpg) ### [Burak Kazim Yilmaz](https://burakkazimyilmaz.github.io/) M.A., Department of Political Science, Emory University, USA How does the introduction of counterinsurgency checkpoints affect civilians’ perceptions of security, economic well-being, and trust in government institutions? Research advisor: [Danielle F. Jung](https://polisci.emory.edu/people/biography/jung-danielle.html) Target countries: Turkey ![Dana Kulzhabayeva, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769598442374x210303953266367520/Dana%20Kulzhabayeva.jpg) ### [Dana Kulzhabayeva](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=BD6nnQ8AAAAJ&hl=en) B.A.., Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, Canada When does rigidity harm vs help goal pursuit and wellbeing across cultures, and through what resource and threat–challenge processes does this occur? Research advisor: [Norman Farb](https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/psychology/people/norman-farb) Target countries: Argentina ![Brazil](https://besample.app/assets/br-DfU4KU08.svg) India Japan Ukraine ![Mexico](https://besample.app/assets/mx-CaAz7lsW.svg) Turkey ![Manali Pathare, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769598550017x404357249273512600/Manali%20Pathare.jpg) ### Manali Pathare M.A., Department of Psychology, New Mexico State University, USA Does short-term cultural rule exposure (individualism–collectivism; horizontal–vertical) flexibly shift adult theory of mind? How do fluid intelligence and attention shape these effects? Research advisor: [Andrew R.A Conway](https://psychology.nmsu.edu/pages/subpages/faculty-pages/faculty-pages.html) Target countries: India ![Mexico](https://besample.app/assets/mx-CaAz7lsW.svg) ![Faustine Corbani, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769609305173x267294994446772860/Faustine%20Corbani.jpg) ### [Faustine Corbani](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=U8Fq2nQAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao) M.A., Department of Psychology, Princeton University, USA Do expansive spontaneous thought dynamics function to support emotional recovery from negative affect, and are these dynamics conserved across cultures even as thought content varies? Research advisor: [Diana Tamir](https://psych.princeton.edu/people/diana-tamir) Target countries: Argentina Japan ![AnnaLise Hoopes, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769598569127x189656785214919140/AnnaLise%20Hoopes.jpg) ### [AnnaLise Hoopes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/annalisehoopes/) Ed.M.., School of Education and Information, University of California Los Angeles, USA Does online empathy plus self-compassion training reduce ethnocentrism and increase positive attitudes, support intentions, and donations toward immigrants more than either alone? Research advisor: [Carlos Alberto Torres](https://seis.ucla.edu/faculty/carlos-alberto-torres/) Target countries: Ukraine Argentina India Japan Turkey ![Irein Thomas, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769601977524x222617632270929440/Irein%20Thomas.jpg) ### [Irein Thomas](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=YuJPN3QAAAAJ&hl=en) M.A., Department of Psychology, The University of British Columbia, Canada Is the “entrepreneurial self” more prevalent in Western than non‑Western societies, and does endorsing this self-concept predict similarly ambivalent well‑being across cultures? Research advisor: [Kristin Laurin](https://psych.ubc.ca/profile/kristin-laurin/) Target countries: ![Brazil](https://besample.app/assets/br-DfU4KU08.svg) India Japan ![Zahrah Alwi Alkaff, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769602031355x857490207639878000/Zahrah%20Alwi%20Alkaff.jpg) ### [Zahrah Alwi Alkaff](https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7344-3363) M.S., Department of Health and Sport Sciences, Technical University of Munich (TUM) & TUMCREATE, Germany How do light‑exposure behaviours and constraints vary across cultures and climates, and how can these differences guide global adaptation of the LightUP/LightSPAN intervention? Research advisor: [Manuel Spitschan](https://www.professoren.tum.de/en/spitschan-manuel) Target countries: Ukraine Argentina Ghana India Japan ![Marcus Trenfield, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769602016145x854623754765690100/Marcus%20Trenfield.jpg) ### [Marcus Trenfield](https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-trenfield/) M.S., Department of Psychology, Boston College, USA How do different relationship, agreement, and harm features shape perceived moral obligation, and how does the weight of these features vary across cultural contexts? Research advisor: [Liane Young](https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/morrissey/departments/psychology-neuroscience/people/faculty-directory/liane-young.html) Target countries: ![Brazil](https://besample.app/assets/br-DfU4KU08.svg) India ![Samantha Reisman, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769602006793x320458526349750800/Samantha%20Reisman.jpg) ### [Samantha Reisman](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PuDG7FAAAAAJ&hl=en) M.S., Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, USA How do adults across cultures emotionally experience and interpret unfair (stingy vs generous) resource allocations, and how do these emotional responses shape cross-cultural fairness norms? Research advisor: [Julia A Marshall](https://vivo.brown.edu/display/jmarsh19) Target countries: ![Brazil](https://besample.app/assets/br-DfU4KU08.svg) ![Mexico](https://besample.app/assets/mx-CaAz7lsW.svg) Japan ![Nivedita Jhunjhunwala, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769601998521x258038566621607840/Nivedita%20Jhunjhunwala.jpg) ### [Nivedita Jhunjhunwala](https://www.njhunjhunwala.com/) M.A., Department of Government, University of Texas at Austin, USA What influences public opinion about wartime violations in foreign audiences? How do factors like violation type, perpetrating country, and legal framing shape condemnation? Research advisor: [Terrence Chapman](https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/government/faculty/tlc897) Target countries: India ![Tyler Salley, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769601991647x396171197082932500/Tyler%20Salley.jpg) ### [Tyler Salley](https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylersalley/) M.S., Experimental Psychology & UCL School of Management, University College London, UK Do ambiguous political cues from a highly interdependent coworker lead employees to seek or avoid political-identity information, and change how much they share knowledge at work? Research advisor: [Felix Danbold](https://www.mgmt.ucl.ac.uk/people/felixdanbold) Target countries: Ukraine Argentina India Japan Turkey ## Special Awardees ### Additional Pilot Grantees Applicants whose submissions ranked among the strongest. They are awarded in addition to the main 25 finalists, because, following initial evaluation, changes to country availability affected the feasibility of their original proposals. ![Kristopher Nichols, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769602471186x405900745209502300/Kristopher%20Nichols.jpg) ### [Kristopher Nichols](https://nicholskl.github.io/) M.A., Department of Psychology, Princeton University, USA Social learning as a stabilizer of “concept drift”: does exposure to others’ judgments curb prevalence‑induced boundary shifts in tight vs. loose cultures? Research advisor: [Elke Weber](https://psych.princeton.edu/people/elke-weber) Target countries: ![Mexico](https://besample.app/assets/mx-CaAz7lsW.svg) Indonesia ![Irene Teulings, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769602477956x192806780922343700/Irene%20Teulings.jpg) ### [Irene Teulings](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=niWVRnkAAAAJ&hl=nl) M.S., PROMENTA Research Center, University of Oslo, Norway Do global life satisfaction items (e.g., SWLS, Cantril) validly reflect gaps between current and ideal wellbeing across domains, and are their bias patterns stable across countries? Research advisors: [Espen Røysamb](https://www.sv.uio.no/psi/personer/vit/ludvigdb/)[Joar Vittersø](https://www.sv.uio.no/psi/personer/vit/espenro/)[Ragnhild Bang Nes](https://en.uit.no/ansatte/joar.vitterso)[Ludvig Daae Bjørndal](https://www.sv.uio.no/psi/personer/vit/rbnes/) Target countries: Japan ![Raghav Raghunathan, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1770242543147x366430321197926500/Raghav%20Raghunathan.jpg) ### [Raghav Raghunathan](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rags0711) Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Development Economics, Wageningen University & Research How does stress compress planning and memory horizons, and when does this cognitive truncation shape risk-taking and economic persistence? Research advisor: [Francesco Cecchi](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=JS7TSJ4AAAAJ&hl=en) Target countries: ![Brazil](https://besample.app/assets/br-DfU4KU08.svg) Colombia Ghana India Kenya ## Independent Awardees Applicants whose submissions ranked among the strongest. They are awarded outside the main list of 25 finalists due to advising relationships with Besample advisors or early adopters. This separate award process is intended to avoid potential conflicts of interest and to ensure fairness and independence in the main competition. ![Paul McKee, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769607433179x935748205602469500/Paul%20McKee.jpg) ### Paul McKee M.S., Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, USA Do people across cultures see AI as having core moral motives (Approach Good, Avoid Bad, Avoid Good, Approach Bad), and how do these attributions shape their trust in AI systems? Research advisor: [Walter Sinnot-Armstrong](https://dibs.duke.edu/profile/walter-sinnott-armstrong/) Target countries: Ukraine ![Brazil](https://besample.app/assets/br-DfU4KU08.svg) India Japan Kenya ![Kara Findlay, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769602493164x237383001091075360/Kara%20Findlay.jpg) ### Kara Findlay M.S., Department of Psychology, Florida State University, USA Do attachment, neuroticism, and stress shape bidirectional links between sexual and relationship satisfaction over time in partnered adults across WEIRD and non-WEIRD cultures? Research advisor: [Andrea Meltzer](https://psychology.fsu.edu/person/andrea-meltzer) Target countries: Ghana India ![Krystina Boyd-Frenkel, grantee portrait](https://62e11931a860a39a714f6a6ef2e0a561.cdn.bubble.io/cdn-cgi/image/w=384,h=442,f=auto,dpr=1,fit=contain/f1769602501025x685999180099240200/Krystina%20Boyd-Frenkel.jpg) ### Krystina Boyd-Frenkel Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, USA How do distinct forms of childhood environmental unpredictability (resource vs. social) differentially shape psychological outcomes in adulthood? Research advisor: [Oliver Sng](https://faculty.sites.uci.edu/olisng/) Target countries: ![Brazil](https://besample.app/assets/br-DfU4KU08.svg) India Kenya Ukraine [Join Besample](https://researcher.besample.app/?p=signup) ![besample](https://besample.app/assets/Group_2_1788175605408-CunusH0B.svg) © 2026 All rights reserved --- Source: https://besample.app/dissertationgrant/