Headshot of Allison Gray with brown curly hair and dark blue blouse.

Allison Gray, M.S.

Data Analyst and Visualization Specialist, University of Virginia

Biography

My research focuses on conversation dynamics, the antecedents of rapport, facial expression analysis, and intensive longitudinal statistical modeling. In human interactions, I am interested in the ways in which we convey emotions. Specifically, I focus on the face as a canvas for a wide range of dynamic emotional expressions. I am interested in intensive passive data collection and the various methods which can be applied to different types of data (e.g. time series analyses, text analysis, etc.). Also, I’m an avid R user and one of the leaders of Penn State’s own We R Users’ Group. I received my Bachelor’s from the University of Virginia in Psychology and Latin. As an undergraduate, I worked on several projects concerning dynamic facial expressions and age differences in conversation dynamics. Here at Penn State, I worked with my adviser, Dr. Timothy Brick, and I led a team of research assistants who are all interested in movements and emotions during conversations. My general research goals are to apply statistical methods to dynamic processes to reveal underlying patterns and to understand what brings about rapport in a conversation.

I am currently a Data Consultant at the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, where I work with the Phonological Awareness Literary Screening (PALS) lab and the Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program (VKRP).