Leida Tolentino, Ph.D.

 

"Using the mind to gain insight into itself is one of the most fascinating human endeavors."

- Leida Tolentino

---

Education

• Ph.D., Cognitive Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh
• B.S., Management Science & Information Systems, University of Massachusetts at Boston

---

About

Professor Leida Tolentino is a faculty member and Chair of the SBCC Psychology Department.

She is a self-described insight midwife and passion cheerleader. As a core faculty facilitator of the SBCC Affective Learning Institute (ALI), Professor Tolentino’s continually evolving teaching philosophy centers on building connection with students and awakening them to the beauty, fun, and power of (self-)knowledge. She is helping to create everyday psychology superheroes.

A lifelong educator with a doctorate in Psychology and Neuroscience, Professor Tolentino has previously conducted research in the biotech, nonprofit, and academic sectors, including wide-ranging studies that evaluate the effectiveness of pharmaceutical compounds and educational programs. She has published peer-reviewed articles investigating the brain mechanisms of language learning and bilingualism; her current research focuses on the epidemiology of movement disorders.

Professor Tolentino is the founder and President of the Fundação Doenças do Movimento em Cabo Verde, a foundation dedicated to conducting research, raising awareness, and advocating for people diagnosed with movement disorders in Cabo Verde. 

Leida Tolentino is a mother and spouse. 

---

Courses Taught at SBCC

• PSY 100: General Psychology
• PSY 110: Introduction to Physiological Psychology
• PSY 145: Human Development
• PSY 200: Research Methods & Experimental Design

---

Publications

Tokowicz, Warren, & Tolentino (2024). The Competition Model and Adult Second Language Learning: Cross-Language Similarity and L2 Morphosyntax Learning. Language Teaching Research Quarterly, 44, 71-83, https://doi.org/10.32038/ltrq.2024.44.08

Tolentino, L.C. (2020). The bilingual advantage? Cognitive functions and neural mechanisms. Atlas do I e II Encontro Cabo-verdiano de Língua Portuguesa. Praia, Cabo Verde.

Tolentino, L. C., & Tokowicz, N. (2014). Cross-language similarity modulates effectiveness of second language grammar instruction. Language Learning, 64(2), 279-309.

Tolentino, L. C., Rudo, Z., & Wilson, A. (2012). Louisiana Department of Education after-school programs: Evaluation report school year 2010. SEDL.

Tolentino, L. C., & Tokowicz, N. (2011). Across languages, space, and time: A review of the role of cross-language similarity in L2 (morpho)syntactic processing as revealed by fMRI and ERP. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 33(1), 91-125.

Tolentino, L. C., & Tokowicz, N. (2009). Are pumpkins better than heaven? An ERP investigation of order effects in the concrete-word advantage. Brain and Language, 110(1), 12-22.

---

Academic Interests

• Scholarly Teaching and SoTL
• Affective Learning
• Educational Neuroscience
• Psycholinguistics & Neurolinguistics
• Bi-/multilingualism
• Neuroscience of Dance
• Neuroepidemiology

---

Other Interests

Leida Tolentino is a dancer with a passion for West African styles and their forms in the diaspora (Afro-Brazilian and Afro-Cuban). In her teaching, choreography, and performance, she blends various world influences and utilizes dance as a vehicle for authentic expression, social connection, and spiritual elevation.