Hashini Madarasinge is a PhD candidate in psychology at the University of Otago whose research examines how cultural variation in collectivism shapes visual perspective taking. Challenging the simplistic East–West binary, her work shows that collectivism is not monolithic but multidimensional, with distinct cultural expressions across Asian societies. Her findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of cross-cultural psychology and to broader debates on how culture grounds human cognition.
In addition to her doctoral research, Hashini is a research assistant on the Muslim Diversity Study, where she applies artificial intelligence methods to analyze qualitative data. This role reflects her broader interest in integrating cultural psychology with innovative methodological approaches to better understand human social experience.