Swati Pandita, PhD.

Postdoctoral Researcher @ Caltech's Fear Lab

I study social media and well-being at Caltech's Fear Lab. My research broadly encompasses mental health, communication technology, and embodiment, with a focus on avatar representation in immersive social VR contexts. I take a multi-disciplinary approach to my work, drawing from perspectives in social affective neuroscience, communication, and human computer interaction.

May 14, 2025

Updates

May 2025: I’ll be at ICA’s 75th Annual Conference presenting our work on mitigating social toxicity and as a panelist discussing avatars in VRChat!

Dec 2024: Finished data collection for our first round of fMRI studies on our social media and well-being project!

July 2024: Our piece on social toxicity online and mental well-being was published in TiCS! Check out Caltech News for an overview of the article here.