Zhuoya Wang, Honors Thesis Student
Hi everyone, I'm Zhuoya! As a sophomore student, I double major in Psychology and Statistics, with a great love for Art History. My major research interest is the various emotions in organizations, why we have them and how they shape us. I particularly love positive emotions and prosocial interactions — even simply hearing words like “empathy” makes me smile. I therefore focus on empathy research in our lab. Outside academics, I love graphic design as the Marketing Director in one ASUC senator’s office. This semester, I also joined the ASUC Mental Health Commission to make mental health resources more accessible to every student. Moreover, I love baking cookies for my friends during weekends. My proudest achievement ever is that I managed to see 2024's total eclipse with solar prominence in cloudy Austin!
Trisha Nguyen, Haas Scholar
Trisha Nguyen (she/her) is an undergraduate student majoring in Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, where she dedicates much of her work to bringing disabled voices and perspectives to academia. Trisha’s work at the HIGHER Lab pushes towards a critical examination of merit as a constructed concept and how merit operates when applied to disabled individuals. She uses research as a form of advocacy and is driven to continue doing so even after her time at Cal. Outside of academia, she likes spending time with two chaotic dogs (Tsuki & Moji), eating good food with family and friends, and binge-watching horror movies!
Katherine Kussler, Thesis Student
I’ve been a research assistant in the HIGHER Lab since August 2022, where I’ve worked on projects exploring political psychology, Social Dominance Orientation, Person-Environment Fit, and empathy. My honors thesis investigates how emotions influence support for healthcare policy. Specifically, I examine how empathy and counter-empathy shape attitudes toward healthcare policies which benefit or harm various marginalized communities. As a Psychology and Public Health double major, this thesis was the perfect opportunity to combine my passion for both subjects and apply the research tools and theoretical concepts I’d developed through my my time in the lab!