Noah is a second year PhD student in social and personality psychology. He is interested in how group memberships, personal identity, and extremism interact within the political landscape, how cognitive styles and uncertainty intolerance give rise to rigid partisanship, as well as how authoritarianism manifests across dynamic contexts, both within and beyond the political sphere. In his free time, he enjoys spending quality time with his fiancé, and volunteering at his church.

Cecilia is a fifth year PhD social psychology student, and graduate from Queen’s University with a BScH in Psychology and a minor in Film and Media. She is also the Mind and Body Lab Manager. She is interested in how social and physical states affect judgements, intuitions, and unconscious processes related to morality and empathy, especially through the lens of politics and culture. In her free time, she enjoys playing with her dog, hiking, photography, and watching movies.

Joe is a sixth year PhD social psychology student. He graduated from UofT, earning an Honours Bachelor of Science Degree with High Distinction, where he double majored in Psychology and Sociology. He is interested in areas of Social Psychology relating to topics about social class, interpersonal relationships, prejudice and cross-cultural research.

Lorenzo is a consumer behavior PhD student at the Rotman School of Management. He previously worked for Nielsen HK as a marketing analyst and obtained a master of philosophy also in consumer behavior at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His main research focus is sensory marketing and how imagined or real sensory experiences affect feelings, thoughts and judgments. Has recently decided to embark on a quest to find new tiramisu recipes over the internet.

Ben is a second year PhD social psychology student and graduate of McGill University, where he earned a BA double majoring in Psychology and Political Science. He primarily works with Jason Plaks and Yoel Inbar. His current research program is on understanding how emerging technologies like LLMs can be utilized in interventions to reduce political polarization, as well as how group identification can influence appraisal of political information. In his free time Ben enjoys learning history, playing dungeons and dragons, and hiking. 

Louisa is a fifth year PhD student in social psychology and holds a BA in Peace, Conflict, and Justice studies from the University of Toronto. She primarily works with Dr. Elizabeth Page-Gould. Her research program is on intergroup contact and outgroup perceptions. Louisa’s current work examines how we interact with people who are ideologically different to ourselves and how these interactions affect our group attitudes and emotions. Louisa is an aspiring connoisseur of Toronto bakeries.

Norman is a second year PhD student in developmental psychology. He is interested in studying morality as the root of many social phenomena. In his free time, he loves to read, play the guitar, and cook.

Borna is an M.A. graduate of the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto, where his research focused on the rise of the contemporary science-skeptic movement. Having previously completed a Behavioural Neuroscience degree at the University of British Columbia, he is passionate about issues where politics and power intersect with psychology and human behaviour. He is currently leading a project investigating the cognitive complexity of American media outlets, alongside working at UBC’s Department of Psychiatry. In his free time, Borna enjoys film photography and playing music.