Lab Director
Lauren Human, PhD
Principal’s Research Chair in Social Perception and Expression
Associate Professor of Psychology
The University of British Columbia Okanagan
lauren.human[at]ubc.ca
Lab email: human.lab[at]ubc.ca
Click for CV
Graduate Students
Lauren Gazzard Kerr
lauren.gazzard@mail.mcgill.ca
My main area of research focuses on how an accurate first impression relates to social and psychological outcomes for the target, perceiver, and dyad. I am interested in how this association may differ depending on the context of the first impression and other moderating factors. Additionally, I am also interested in how shared perspectives in romantic relationships predict positive relationship processes, and whether machine learning algorithms can accurately predict personality across contexts.
Hasagani Tissera
hasagani.tissera@mail.mcgill.ca
In the SIP lab, I will be mainly focusing on how metaperceptions (i.e. beliefs of what others think of you) affect quality and persistence of romantic relationships. When is it helpful to accurately know what others think of you and when is it beneficial to be blind to what others think of you? I am also interested in examining the mechanisms underlying the link between metaperceptions and social outcomes, especially in the context of romantic relationships.
Scarlett MacPherson
I am pursuing my graduate studies in Psychological Science under the supervision of Dr. Human. It is a privilege to have the opportunity to contribute to the exciting research being conducted in the Social Interaction & Perception Lab. I am grateful and excited to be a part of the SIP team!
Lab Coordinator
Alyssa Truong
human.lab@ubc.ca
I am working as the Lab Coordinator for the 2022-23 academic year. I am a recent graduate from UBCO and received my Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in Psychology. As I am planning on pursing a graduate degree in the upcoming years, I look forward to expanding my research experience in the SIP lab!
Undergraduate Students
Research Students
Carlie Unrau
I am a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in psychology. I am completing an honours thesis under the supervision of Dr. Lauren Human, focusing on social outcomes of first impressions initiated through video conferencing. After graduating from UBCO, I hope to pursue graduate studies in school psychology. I look forward to this year in the SIP Lab, gaining meaningful research experience!
Research Assistants
Aiisha Rishi (she/her/hers)
I am a third-year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology. I am interested in how people present themselves and factors that play into forming impressions when people first meet each other, especially in a virtual setting. After graduating, I hope to continue my graduate studies in Psychology. I am excited to volunteer in the SIP lab and help with psychology research at UBCO
Chinmaya Vedantam
I am currently a third year undergraduate student pursuing my major in Psychology under the Faculty of Science. I have always been interested in psychology behind personality and perception. I hope to further my education in the field of Psychology after my undergraduate studies and work with marginalized communities and minority sub populations selectively drawing from my education in Psychology.
Ishika Bhambhani
I’m a recent UBC graduate with a BSc major in Psychology and a minor in Biology. I am particularly interested in social interactions and relationship formation in individuals with personality disorders and I’m excited to learn more about this through my work at the SIP Lab! I plan on pursuing graduate studies in Clinical and Counselling Psychology. I look forward to being a part of the SIP team!
Kirti Mahato
I am a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in psychology under the faculty of science. I am interested in studying the formation of relationships and looking at how relationships are changed over online interactions. After my undergraduate degree, I intend to pursue a graduate degree in neuroscience. I am really excited to be part of the SIP team!
Sara Tipnis
I am a recent graduate from UBC with a BSc Honours in Psychology and a minor in Biology. I am interested in the variability of personality across time and how that may affect relationships in the long term. I plan on pursuing graduate school in Psychological Science, and I look forward to working with the SIP team!
Jillian Dawn Law
I’m a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. I’m interested in impression management during romantic relationship formation for heterosexual and non-heterosexual daters in traditional and non-traditional relationship arrangements, in person and online. Upon completion of my BA in Psychology, I plan to pursue Graduate studies in Clinical Psychology with research focuses in the realm of social and personality psychology. I am thrilled to be a part of the SIP lab team!
Marie Brauer
I am a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology. The formation of first impressions and their impact on subsequent social interactions has always been fascinating to me; therefore, I am very excited to be a volunteer in the SIP lab! After completing my Bachelor’s, I hope to pursue my research interests through a Master’s program.
Khushi Brar
I’m a fourth-year undergraduate student, pursuing a BSc Psychology Major and Biology Minor. The complexity of variables underlying social interactions has always been of interest to me. As I’ve grown to love research, I hope to pursue graduate studies in either Psychology or Biology. I’m very grateful to be a part of the SIP team!
Tai-Lin Michon
I graduated from UBC Okanagan in 2022 with a BSc major in psychology and minor in biology. I plan to pursue graduate studies in psychology in the near future. I’m excited to volunteer in the lab and join the SIP team!
Daniela Vázquez Barrera
I am going into my fifth-year of my undergraduate degree with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. I am interested in how personality plays a role in our interactions during first impressions and in the long term. After my undergraduate degree, I hope to pursue graduate studies in Counseling Psychology or Social Work. I look forward to be a volunteer in the SIP Lab!
Alumni
Grad Students
Jennifer Heyman: Postdoctoral associate: MIT Sloan School of Management, Center for Collective Intelligence
Marie-Catherine Mignault: Postdoctoral Fellow at the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, Cornell University
Lab Coordinators
Alexa Meilleur (Counselling PhD Student at UQAM)
Cleo Bertrand
Catalina Enestrom (Experimental PhD Student at McGill University)
Camila Bahn (M.Sc. Organizational Development at HEC Montréal)
Una Jojich-White (MA Counselling Psychology at Yorkville University)
Megan Peters (JD at University of Toronto)
Zoe Fargnoli Brown (MA Social-Personality Psychology at York University)
Research Students
Jamie Cecere (MA Counselling Psychology at University of Toronto)
Charlene Zhang
Simone Chad-Friedman
Jishian Ravinthiran
Sierra Skoropada
Lia Elbaz
Jamie Borenstein-Laurie (Clinical PhD Student at Concordia)
Ashley Brown Notargiacomo
Pushkar Seewooruttun
Yannick Pelletier
Lavanya Virmani
Sophia Thierry (Experimental PhD Student at Brock University)
Emily Schwartzman (Experimental PhD Student at University of Toronto)
Vivien Lee (PhD in I/O Psychology at University of Minnesota starting Fall 2021)
Stephanie de Silva (M.Sc Cognitive and Decision Sciences at University College London)
Gabrielle Marchand (M.Ed. Counselling Psychology at University of Ottawa)
Sabrina Rao
Marilyne Dragon (MA Research and Clinical Training at Concordia University)
Christophe Gagné
Rose-Marie Guérard
Sal Cuthbertson
Volunteers
Bianca Coletta
Jonah Kimmel
Katherine MacLeod
Micaela Ostry
Minseo Kim
Veronica Miles
Aarthi Kamatchinathan
Axelle Lalumière
Charlotte Leon-Williamson
Eda Haznedaroglu
Elizabeth Parent
Giovanni Andrade
Jada Wood
Sidra Manzoor
Xingti Liu
Eugenia Wilson
Judy Fung
Grace Gao
Emma Cocatre-Zilgien
Mary-Elizabeth Power
Annabelle Cournoyer
Chelsea Smith
Jhanvi Shethia
Nimra Adil
Negin Zamani
JV Camargo
Jessica Haight
Imane Saadi
Cynthia Cui
Simone Brenner
Shanell Fan (MA Mental Health Counseling at Boston University)
Bahar Pasalar
Katia Kutlesa
Jessie Geng
Lily Sefranek
Madeleine Morris
Paige Johnston
Yangyilin Gu
Social Interaction & Perception Lab 