Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Psychology, Miami University, 2023
  • M.A., Psychology, Miami University, 2021
  • B.S., Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2017
Licenses & Certifications
  • Certified English XL Tribometrist (CXLT)
Additional Education & Training
  • Certificate in Applied Statistics, Miami University, 2023
  • Certificate in College Teaching, Miami University, 2021
  • Certificate in Business, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2017
Academic Appointments
  • Laboratory Manager, Computational Cognition Lab, Miami University, 2018-2023
  • Adjunct Instructor, Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making, Montclair State University, 2022
  • Laboratory Instructor, Introductory Psychology Statistics, Miami University, 2019-2020
  • Facilitator, Intergroup Dialogue on Race and Ethnicity, Miami University, 2019-2020
Professional Honors
  • Graduate Student Achievement Award, Miami University, 2021
  • National Defense of Science and Engineering Fellowship, 2020
  • Letter of Commendation, Department of Psychology, Miami University, 2020
Professional Affiliations
  • Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
  • Society for Automotive Engineers
  • Society for Judgment and Decision Making
  • Psychonomics Society

Dr. Pettit has expertise in the cognitive process and environmental factors that influence decision making. She uses this knowledge to evaluate how perception, memory, reaction time and human information processing impact a variety of situations such as automotive, aviation, industrial, and occupational accidents; risk communication; warning compliance; and the human factors contributing to trip-and-fall incidents.

Dr. Pettit's analysis methods have used eye tracking as a measure of attention and computer mouse/hand movements as a measure of preference, decision conflict, and differences in decision making styles. She applies this knowledge to explain how vision, conspicuity and driver behavior contribute to accidents involving pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles, passenger vehicles, semi-trucks, trains, and airplanes.

Prior to joining Exponent Dr. Pettit received her Ph.D. in Psychology at Miami University. Her dissertation was funded by the National Defense of Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship and found evidence for gender differences on how stress impacts brain activity during risky choice. With Air Force Research Labs Dr. Pettit focused on individual differences such as personality, impulsivity, and age that impact vigilance and may be used to model fatigue and predict behavior in the real world.

Dr. Pettit's background aids in understanding how stress and fatigue impact information processing and risky decisions made by drivers on roadways with heavy traffic and distractors including mobile devices and in-vehicle GPS systems. Her familiarity with cognitive modeling allows her to assess the role of memory, learning, and saliency on warning compliance.