By Katie Fedosenko
Psych undergrad presents on beauty and first impressions at Rising Stars in Research competition
The third annual Rising Stars of Research National Undergraduate Research Poster Competition is a unique event that brings 117 of the top undergraduate researchers from across Canada to British Columbia to showcase their research accomplishments and explore their passion for innovation. The sole Arts student from UBC Vancouver, Genevieve Lorenzo, is presenting on the “star” power of attractive people; namely, how their appearance grabs people’s attention.
A recent graduate from the Honours Psychology program, Genevieve is presenting her poster ‘What is beautiful is good, and accurately understood’, based on research she did on the physical attractiveness stereotype in the Social Accuracy Lab with Dr. Jeremy Biesanz. “What we found is that people who are physically attractive are viewed more positively and also more accurately-they’re seen for whom they really are,” said Genevieve. Their research was recently accepted for publication in Psychological Science.
“With the Rising Stars in Research conference, I get to talk to researchers from so many different fields which is a good way to explore new avenues of thought, to broaden the vista of research,” said Genevieve. This is the first year that ‘Social Sciences’ has been included as a theme in Rising Stars in Research. “Everyone has something exciting to share, no matter what discipline they’re coming from.”
After her first two years at Kwantlen University, Genevieve came to UBC for the Honours program because of UBC’s reputation for research. “At Kwantlen, I really got into research in second year when I created a research poster for a class. I got to design and implement my own study. My love for research came from getting my hands dirty early on in my degree,” said Genevieve.
“I’ve always been fascinated by stereotypes,” which she first studied at Kwantlen. When Genevieve got to UBC, she took her ideas to Dr. Mark Schaller and then connected with Dr. Biesanz in class.
“When I was a kid, I wanted to be an explorer. I found my niche in Psychology because it’s a way for me to explore questions about humans and our quirks,” said Genevieve. She is currently working as a lab manager in the Social Accuracy Lab while she researches Graduate programs. “I want to do research in applied social psychology.”
Read more about Rising Stars in Research.
Update: Genevieve was awarded an Honourable Mention in the Social Sciences theme.
