Manushka Sondhi

Manushka Sondhi

Ph.D. Student

Department
  • Communication
sondhima@msu.edu

Bio

Manushka joined as a PhD student in the Department of Communication in Fall 2024, with an academic background in Cognitive Science (MS; Indian Institute of Technology Delhi) and Biology (BS; Shiv Nadar University). 

Research and Teaching

Manushka is currently interested in the interplay between emotion and cognition in the online processing of entertainment narratives, and how this interaction guides our comprehension, responses, and mental representations of these stories and their worlds.

Her teaching experience includes how audiences respond to entertainment media, and leading recitations for public speaking. 

Related Work

Conference Papers

Sondhi, M.* & Schmälzle, R. (2025, November). The One Where Everyone’s Brain Syncs: Tracking Brain-to-Brain Coupling During Humorous Moments Across Six Seasons of Friends. National Communication Association Annual Conference, Denver, CO.

Eden, A., Ulusoy, E., Lover, A.*, Fisher, J. T., Grady, S. M., & Sondhi, M. (2025, June). Coding Moral Events in Film. International Communication Association Annual Conference, Denver, CO.

Grady, S. M.*, Sondhi, M., & Eden, A. (2025, May). Wellbeing and the Reflective Afterlife of Stories. Communication Horizons Conference, Davis, CA. 

Grady, S. M.*, Eden, A., Schmälzle, R., Sondhi, M., & Baek, E. (2025, April). Collective Brain Alignment and Narrative Reflection: Can Neural Alignment During Story Listening Predict Memory Formation and Retention for Story Scenes? Social & Affective Neuroscience Society Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL.

Lover, A.*, Fisher, J. T., Sondhi, M., Ulusoy, E., Grady, S. M., & Eden, A. (2025, April). Decoding Morality in Film: Bridging Human and Computational Analysis of Moral Scenes. Moral Media Annual Meeting, Buffalo, NY.

Sondhi, M.* (2020, November). Within the Walls: Mental Illness Through the Eyes of BoJack Horseman and Maniac. Monk Prayogshala’s Sixth Annual Seminar on Research in Social Sciences, held remotely.

Contact Information

404 Wilson Road, Room 456