Mackenzie R. Riggenbach, Ph.D.
Mackenzie R. Riggenbach is an Assistant Professor of Psychological Science at Ball State University. Dr. Riggenbach received her Ph.D. in cognitive and quantitative psychology from the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Riggenbach’s research background is in human cognition, with a particular emphasis on memory. As a cognitive psychologist, she focuses on the formation of false memories, with an applied emphasis on interviewing eyewitnesses. She is specifically interested in the different ways memory can be impacted when exposed to information following a witnessed event, how a witness is interviewed, and the impact this can have on the amount of information reported and how accurate that information is.
Dr. Riggenbach also uses mathematical modeling techniques to explain the formation of false memories. She uses these techniques to examine the hypotheses proposed to explain false memory formation. Here, she focuses on disentangling the effects of misleading post-event information to subsequently explain and predict false memory formation.
Dr. Riggenbach is also a skilled data analyst with extensive experience utilizing qualitative and quantitative data analysis procedures. Her statistical experience includes training in ANOVA, linear regression, factor analysis, structural equation modeling, item response theory, Bayesian statistics, and MCMC methodologies.
Outside of academia, Dr. Riggenbach enjoys listening to music, reading, and going on walks.
Education:
University of Oklahoma: M.S. and Ph.D. in Cognitive and Quantitative Psychology
Ohio Northern University: B.A. in Psychology
Publications:
Riggenbach, M. R., & Gronlund, S. D. (2026). Assessing the Effects of Misleading Postevent Information Using Multinomial Processing Tree Models. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition.
Riggenbach, M. R., Gronlund, S. D., & Zoladz, P. R. (2024). Impact of modality and mode of questioning and testing on memory reports. Frontiers in Cognition: Memory, 3, 1349511. (Link to article)
Zoladz, P.R., Riggenbach, M.R., Weiser, J.N., Hipskind, J.J., Wireman, L.E., Hess, K.L., Duffy, T.J., Handel, J.K., Kaschalk, M.G., Reneau, K.E., & Mosley, B.E. (2022). Female carriers of the met allele of the BDNF val66met polymorphism develop weaker fear memories in a fear-potentiated startle paradigm. Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science, 12(5), 211-235. (Link to article)
Cavazos, J. T., Riggenbach, M. R., & Brewer, K. (2021). Making large classes feel small: An examination of student interactions with undergraduate teaching assistants. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology. (Link to article)
Biggs, A. T., Pistone, D., Riggenbach, M., Hamilton, J. A., & Blacker, K. J. (2021). How unintentional cues can bias threat assessments during shoot/don’t-shoot simulations. Applied Ergonomics, 95, 103451. (Link to article)
Riggenbach, M.R., Weiser, J.N., Mosley, B.E., Hipskind, J.J., Wireman, L.E., Hess, K.L., Duffy, T.J., Handel, J.K., Kaschalk, M.G., Reneau, K.E., Rorabaugh, B.R., Norrholm, S.D., Jovanovic, T., & Zoladz, P.R. (2019). Immediate pre-learning stress enhances baseline startle response and fear acquisition in a fear-potentiated startle paradigm. Behavioural Brain Research. (Link to article)
Courses Commonly Taught:
PSYS 100 – Introduction to Psychological Science
PSYS 363 – Cognitive Psychology
PSYS 441 – Advanced Statistics
PSYS 471 – Forensic Psychology
PSYS 492 – Applications of Memory