Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Racial Inequalities In Booster Shot Uptake: Black Communities In The City Of Toronto, Anjali Bhaheeratha

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The unequal distribution of COVID-19 vaccines has posed a threat to the health and wellbeing of various marginalized communities, including Black communities. The booster shot in particular is not a mandatory vaccine, raising questions whether this would further vaccine inequity. I, along with Dr. Kate Choi of the Sociology Department at Western University, analyzed vaccination rates of the first booster shot across all 140 neighborhoods in the City of Toronto. Through stratifying neighborhoods based on the prevalence of Black residents and high/low socioeconomic status, it is clear to see that race, in tandem with similar socio-demographic characteristics, plays a significant …

Connecting The Hostile Attribution Bias With Habit Formation, Mackenzie C. Smith

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Within Social and Personality Psychology, we have not done a good job of integrating the knowledge base of habit formation into our theoretical models, even though it is clear that habits fall within the larger domain of traits. This project reviewed the literature on the hostile attribution bias as well as habits, and found a connection between these two topics that has scarcely been explored. Both context cues and self control were found to be important for the development of bad habits as well as the presence of the hostile attribution bias. Based on the connections made, habit formation may …

Using A Musical Beat To Influence Linguistic Statistical Learning, Aspen Leung

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The similarities between music and language continue to provide research questions in the area of psychology. Despite the large amount of research on this area of knowledge, there are still many existing questions in regards to the processing of musical and linguistic stimuli. Statistical learning involves the ability to extract statistical regularities from a stimulus and continues to be studied in both domains due to the similar hierarchical structure of music and language. Recently, neural entrainment (the synchronization of neural oscillations with the rhythm of an external stimulus) has been studied as a mechanism of statistical learning. Music has been …

Characteristics Of Those Who Identify As ‘Incels’, Amelia Hamilton

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

‘Incels’ are an online community of single men who endorse toxic worldviews about women stemming from their dissatisfaction with singlehood. Approximately 50 deaths have been tied to the incel community. Incels have been identified as an emerging domestic terrorism threat in Canada, the US and UK. Yet, little is known about the characteristics of this community, the potential level of threat, or what we can do to prevent this threat from escalating. In an online study of 1714 single individuals, we examined what personality traits are associated with one’s identification as an incel. Participants completed a survey consisting of various …

Child Cognitive Achievement Gaps: The Role Of Family Structure And Maternal Locus Of Control In Parental Investment, Nalinda K. Murray

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Little exploration has been done to determine the impact of family structure on parental investment decisions and how gaps in children’s cognitive achievement are affected in turn. To examine the role of family structure, this paper estimates the production function for children’s cognitive achievement using a value-added specification with instrumental variables estimation. A novel feature of this research is that variation in family structure and maternal locus of control are exploited in an effort to account for the endogeneity of parental investment and children’s cognitive performance. Applying my methodology to data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and …

Yoga In Virtual Reality (Vr), Helena J. Amyot

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Virtual reality (VR) technology involves computer visualization of a simulated (virtual) environment (e.g., coral reef) presented using a head mounted display (HMD), typically together with accompanying audio (music, sounds, e.g., sea creatures, passing boat). The user may simply view the environment but typically interacts with it in some determined way, e.g., through selection of buttons or hand movements that mimic behaviors appropriate to the virtual environment (e.g., snorkeling in the reef). Research including our own previous studies have already shown that practicing guided meditations using a HMD is associated with positive affect as compared with non-VR meditation. Amidst the COVID-19 …

Relationship Between Humor Styles And Individual Difference Variables, Mira Ismail

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Humor styles provide a better understanding of one’s personality and may vary based on individual difference variables. This study explores humor by looking at how different humor styles may correlate with other variables such as, loneliness, depression, the Big Five traits, self-esteem, age and sex. The following poster outlines the methodology used, as well as the proposed means of data analysis that will be conducted.

How Urban Outmigration From Toronto Is Going To Impact Rural Ontario, Amanda M. Gutzke

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

These articles examine the outmigration of people from urban Ontario to rural Ontario during the Covid-19 pandemic. These articles use census data from Statistics Canada to explore population growth rates across CMAs and CAs. In addition, data from Statistics Canada is used to demonstrate the impact of intraprovincial migration on small towns and rural Ontario. Moreover, these articles touch upon semi-structured interviews with local elected officials, local administrative officials, and community leaders to showcase the impact of urban outmigration on rural Ontario. These articles argue that housing affordability is one of the most salient consequences of urban outmigration. These articles …

A Conservation Crisis In Our Backyard; Exploring The Challenge Of Advocacy And Restoration In The Carolinian Ecoregion, Ava J. Russell Miss

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The Carolinian ecoregion, which covers approximately 22,000 km², and stretches northeast from the US border on the Niagara River and around the Lake Ontario shoreline to Toronto, and northwest from Grand Bend to Lake Huron, is a 'hotspot' for species diversity and richness. This region has been highly developed following European colonial development, and has also become one of the most populated areas for residents in Canada. Consequently, many species in this region are severely at risk, where the Carolinian ecoregion has a disproportionately high share of over 60% of Canada's species at risk. This blog discusses my …

Entropic Voxels Indicate Large Brain-State Repertoires, Adam Hull

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Brain entropy is a measure that has been increasingly studied in neuroscience over the past decade. It is based on Shannon Entropy, a measure from Information Theory that quantifies the information capacity of a system from the probability distribution of its states. Brain entropy is thus posited to reflect the information capacity of the brain and has been linked to various cognitive abilities and states. However, most studies on brain entropy measure the time-series entropy of each voxel independently, ignoring any patterns that emerge from the relations between voxels. Here, we measured brain entropy of resting-state fMRI data based on …

Perceptions Of Inclusion In Children's Museums - Study Progress Report, Tatiana Dimos

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Informal education centers such as children’s museums allow children to explore their interests and learn in a fun and immersive environment without worrying about stressors associated with formal education. For children with intellectual and/or developmental disorders (IDD), this setting can be beneficial to learning due to the hands-on approach to activities and interactive exhibits often associated with children’s museums. However, barriers to inclusion for children with IDD exist in informal education centers. This project seeks to identify strengths and barriers to inclusion in the London Children’s Museum. Data collection in the form of interviews with families and staff is currently …

The Effect Of Leverage On Credit Default Swaps, Xiling Lai

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The research investigates the effect of leverage on the pricing of Credit Default Swaps (CDS) and focuses on key sectors of the economy: Technology, Financials, Consumer Staples and Industrials. CDS are financial instruments that were developed a few decades ago and have become more widely used in financial markets for hedging credit exposures. Given their prevalence in financial markets, it is important to understand how CDS spreads change when reference entities modify their capital structure.

In the regression analysis, the level of CDS spread is used as dependent variable, and the standardized relative leverage is used as independent variable. My …

The Impact Of International Experiential Learning On Career Trajectories: A Scoping Literature Review, Nishta Mehta

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Preparing graduates for their future beyond the classroom is of importance in today’s society, where the employment landscape is ever-changing and expanding globally. However, recent research suggests that knowledge acquisition is insufficient, and it must go part and parcel with the development of lifelong skills in problem-solving, critical reflection, and adaptability to support successful career trajectories. Experiential learning (EL) is understood as enticing students to think critically about learning through the application of knowledge using transferable skills in contexts beyond the university. This is especially true for international learning experiences. Nevertheless, despite over a decade of EL, neither professors nor …

The Influence Of Personality Trait Variation On Curiosity Seeking Behaviours, Brian Krivoruk

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Curiosity is defined as our desire to acquire new information and leads us to engage in information-seeking behaviours. The present study investigates how personality influences curiosity-based information-seeking behaviours during a state of curiosity induced by unsuccessful memory recall. Specifically, this study assessed the personality traits of deprivation-type (D-type), interest-type (I-type), and intolerance of uncertainty to explore their role in curiosity-based decisions making. Information-seeking choices were examined during unsuccessful recall in a paradigm using face-name pairs. The behaviour was correlated with responses from a series of questionnaires that looked at personality traits associated with curiosity and information-seeking. The findings suggested that …

Sustainable Development Goals Within Canadian Universities, Kavanagh S.A Lambert

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were created for all countries by the United Nations in 2015 with the aim of transforming the world for the better. Each country is responsible for working towards achieving these SDGs. Within Canada, fifteen research universities known as the U-15 make up the majority of private-sector research and innovation. About 65% of these U-15 institutions have developed their own SDG report/plan, illustrating a high level of initiative and involvement when it comes to the SDGs. Research indicates that as countries continue to improve their efforts towards the SDGs, there will be a need for …

The Development Of Conspiracy Theories During The Freedom Convoy, Srinjoyee Chakraborty Ms.

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Conspiracy theories have been prevalent throughout history, especially during periods of fear and uncertainty as people build a narrative against political elites and blame misdeeds on their malignant nature. A case study of this phenomenon can be examined in the Canadian Freedom Convoy. The Freedom Convoy began in early 2022 as a protest against COVID-19 mandates, attracting significant political attention as an unprecedented event that eventually forced Trudeau to invoke the Emergencies Act. As political tensions and opinions arose on social media, conspiracist groups began to develop conspiracy theories about the Truck Convoy in order to attract attention from potential …

A Corpus-Based Analysis Of Temporal Connectives Used In Language, Martha Valmana Crocker

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

A corpus analysis of how the temporal connectives, before and after, are used in natural language.

Category Learning - Studies In Mood Induction And Neural Representations Across Modalities, Raha Afkhami Nemati

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

In this powerpoint presentation, I discuss the two projects I worked on this summer: study focusing on how mood induction impacts categorization and a systematic review on stimulus categories across modalities. Throughout the presentation, I show the work I have done this past year, this summer and what I plan to continue with over the year. I discuss the papers, applications and criteria used throughout.

The Ommaba Project, Katsiaryna Buchko

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The Open Multimodal Music and Auditory Brain Archive (OMMABA) is the first multimodal (behavioural, EEG, and neuroimaging) database characterizing normal human auditory processing. My project aims to shed light on the importance of this collaborative project that is transforming the field of auditory cognitive neuroscience.

The Effect Of Dopamine On The Behavioral Response To Isolation In Drosophila Melanogaster, Micah R. Evans

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Social behavior is exhibited based on a response to other individuals and involves the integration of external cues from surrounding organisms. A complete lack of interaction with others can profoundly affect social behavior in a variety of species. An example of the effect of social isolation can be seen in the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) when observing the social behavior of social space, which is the preferred distance between neighbours. Isolated flies have increased social space and settle further apart from one another compared to flies that are group-housed.

What modulates this behavioral response to the social environment in fruit …

# Activism: Feminist Activism In A Digital World, Liana S. Forsyth Ba, Katie Chovanec Bsc, Elizabeth Lewis Ba, Christine Taylhardat Ba, Chesta Yadav Ba, Xynyi Yang Ba

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Feminist campaigns such as #MeToo, #BeenRapedNeverReported, and #YesAllWomen represent only a fraction of the numerous digital campaigns that feminists have created to challenge rape culture and to call out other forms of oppression, provide public and easily accessible spaces that can contribute to learning about, challenging, and dismantling misogyny and rape culture. Digital technologies and social media platforms have had a significant influence on feminists’ ability to organize and advocate across various platforms while simultaneously reaching a large audience to fight against misogyny, patriarchy, and sexism.

However, there are significant gaps in this research such as the challenges that correspond …

An Analysis Of Ground Stone Celts On The Late Woodland Middle Ontario Iroquoian Dorchester Village Site (Afhg-24), Patrick J. Seddon

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

A comprehensive analysis of ground stone celts on the Late Woodland Middle Ontario Iroquoian Dorchester Village Site (AfHg-24). Metric and non-metric traits of the celts were analyzed to gain a better understanding of ground stone tools and their uses. A greater understanding of site formation processes and the development of Late Woodland Iroquoian villages may be attained through the creation of typologies, and an analysis of tool metrics, manufacturing and use wear traits, non-chert detritus produced through manufacture, and intra-site spatial data.

The Iroquoian Sweat Lodges Of Dorchester Village, Dana V. González Zavala

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

During the Middle Iroquoian period (1300-1400 A.D.), semi-subterranean sweat lodges were structures commonly built on the inside of longhouses in Southern Ontario (Parks, 2018). These structures are known to have been used for health, social, and spiritual purposes (P. Timmins: personal communication, 2022). Stratigraphically, the basal layers of sweat lodges can yield artifacts that were used during shamanistic rituals and social ceremonies that took place within the structures (Parks, 2018). The lack of research on sweat lodges simply highlights the broader need to learn more about indigenous cultures across Ontario, both in prehistoric and modern contexts. In this report, the …

The Data Science Of Predicting Elections, Kenn S. Mcdonald

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Psephology is the statistical study of election data, often used by data journalists and political operatives to predict the results of elections before they occur. In a Canadian context, this new field of data science has been notably used by CBC and Maclean's to create prediction models for federal and provincial elections.

This project created one such model to predict the 2022 Ontario General Election. It ran under the conventional Uniform Swing method with regional poll averages from CBC News used as inputs.

Simulating Salience: Developing A Model Of Choice In The Visual Coordination Game, Adib Sedig

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This project is primarily inspired by three papers: Colin Camerer and Xiaomin Li’s (2019 working paper)—Using Visual Salience in Empirical Game Theory, Ryan Oprea’s (2020)—What Makes a Rule Complex?, and Caplin et. al.’s (2011)—Search and Satisficing. Over the summer, I worked towards constructing a model of choice for the visual coordination game that can model player behavior more accurately than traditional game theoretic predictions. It attempts to do so by incorporating a degree of bias towards salience into a cellular automaton search algorithm and utilizing it alongside a sequential search mechanism of satisficing. This …

Magical Thinking And Contagion: A Descriptive Review, Sua Lee

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The purpose of this literature review was to gain an understanding of magical thinking and contagion in the consumer behaviour context and to explore future research directions. To identify relevant literature, a comprehensive database search was conducted, using keywords: “magical thinking”, “superstition”, “contagion”, and “disgust”. A number of articles that have been published suggest that consumers view the product that is touched by others as being contaminated, which elicits feelings of disgust and eventually decreases their evaluations and intentions to purchase. The review also reveals that previous studies have not established how contagion responses work for second-hand products in an …

Parent-Youth Similarities On Negative Affect: Analyses Of Language Parameters In Semi-Structured Interviews, Leo Ye

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Abstract

Emotion is a crucial component of verbal communication that conveys messages besides the semantic meanings in speech. The phonological and locutionary cues reflect various emotional effects that are detectable for interpretation. Past research suggests that people who are physically and psychologically close to each other tend to express similar emotions through speech. This relationship has been scrutinized under empirical research for parent-infant relations. However, it is unclear whether the effect exists between parents and youths. This study analyzes recorded speeches of n = 8 parent-youth pairs from semi-structured Zoom interviews and compares them based on their similarities in negative …

Motor Learning By Observing The Movements Of A Computer-Animated, Human-Like Actor And A Non-Limb Observational Video, Mudia Iyayi

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Our project is looking at the phenomenon of observational motor learning using a two-joint robotic manipulandum (robotic arm). When someone learns a new motor skill (i.e. throwing a football to a wide receiver) the brain must make and map an internal model of the forces required for that movement. The plasticity of the brain in constructing these representations is termed “motor learning” and can occur through physical practice or—for the purposes of our investigation—observation. Previous studies have used videos of human actors learning new skills to drive motor learning in the observer, however, it is not known what components of …

A Study Of Canadian Bankruptcies, 2014-2022, Luis Guilherme Mazzali De Almeida

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This paper studies Canadian monthly bankruptcy data from January 2014 to February 2022 with an aim towards identifying the existence of underlying heterogeneity in the decision-making of firms across different industry sectors during periods of economic adversity. The data used include provincial two-digit NAICS bankruptcy level data, provincial pandemic-related data concerning the evolution of cases and stringency of adopted policies, and external factors pertaining to the domestic and foreign economies such as industry GDP, the overnight rate target, exchange rates, imports and exports, prices, and bond liquidity premium. The method is two-fold. First, we identify changes in bankruptcy trends caused …

Learnings From The Pandemic's Impact On Parasport: An Analysis Of Parasport Experiences During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Erica Lo

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The pandemic has impacted the casual/non-sport, recreational, and elite para-sport experience by emphasizing social isolation, career uncertainty, training quality, and accessibility. To further understand the impacts of the pandemic on the development of para-sport, researchers must learn from the lived experiences of para-sport participants. This poster aims to examine the lived experiences of parasport participants and the implications on parasport development during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Quotes from para-sport participants were collected from online forums on the study (Project Echo) website and through live, virtual discussions facilitated by Project Echo researchers. 6 themes were found from the data set. This poster …