Chujun Lin, Lab Director
Chujun joined the Department of Psychology at UCSD as an assistant professor in July 2023. She obtained her Ph.D. in social science at the California Institute of Technology in 2019, and completed her postdoctoral training in social psychology at Dartmouth College in 2023. Chujun's work focuses on how people infer others’ enduring traits via both dubious shortcuts (e.g. faces) and meaningful signals (e.g., emotions), and how biases in these trait inferences impact consequential real-world decisions (e.g., in politics, media, and science). When not science-ing, Chujun enjoys rock climbing, hiking, and singing.
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Ruoying Zheng, Grad Student
Ruoying is an incoming Ph.D. student in the Department of Psychology at UCSD. She earned her Master's degree in Psychology from Sun Yat-sen University. Her research interest lies in understanding how people form first impressions of others via faces and how this process is influenced by motion cues and social context. Beyond academia, Ruoying enjoys writing, hiking, and photography.
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Junsong Lu, Grad Student
Junsong is an incoming Ph.D. student in the Department of Psychology at UCSD. He holds a Master's degree in Applied Psychology from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen. His research interests lie in understanding how individuals' judgments and impressions of others are shaped by various social and non-social cues, spanning from instantaneous information to broader socio-cultural shifts. In his leisure time, Junsong takes pleasure in practicing Chinese martial arts and delving into the rich world of philosophy.
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Megan Puckett, Undergrad Research Assistant
Megan is a third-year undergraduate student at UCSD studying cognitive and behavioral neuroscience. Her research interests lie in understanding how first impressions are formed through trait recognition/evaluation in facial features, along with analyzing the Prototype Theory. In her free time, she enjoys dancing, reading, and baking.
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Makenzie Kevorkian, Undergrad Research Assistant
Makenzie is a fourth-year undergraduate majoring in Psychology at the University of California, San Diego. Her research interests lie in understanding the social influences that contribute to eating disorders and the ways individuals form first impressions based on superficial facial traits, which can play a significant role in shaping these same social influences. She is passionate about advancing research that sheds light on these topics, with the goal of promoting greater understanding and well-being for all. In her free time, Makenzie enjoys spending time with her family and boyfriend, playing pickleball, listening to music, and playing with her puppy.
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Yufei Mao, Undergrad Research Assistant
Hi, this is Yufei Mao, an undergraduate double majoring in General Psychology and Cognitive Science. I am genuinely interested in exploring the complexity of the human mind and behavior. As a potential researcher eager to delve deeper into this field, I seek to apply computational models to abstract psychological concepts.
[Email]
Turner Lin, Lab Mascot
Turner is a 7-year-old full-time German Shorthaired Pointer, who alternates between "Velcro" and "Hunter". Turner obtained his Ph.D. (Pretty happy Dog) degree from Good Dogma Canine Rehabilitation and Training Center in New Hampshire in 2022. He is interested in applying state-of-the-art computational models to predict the motions of furry and feathery creatures. Outside of science, Turner enjoys hiking, sniffing, delicious treats, and swimming - he held several impressive records of swimming across the Connecticut River between New Hampshire and Vermont for his favorite chicken coops.
Violet Wye-Wye Lin, Lab Mascot
Wye-Wye is a 1-year-old full-time German Shorthaired Pointer, who alternates between "Sweety" and "Rocket". Wye-Wye obtained her B.S. (Busy Sprinter) degree from Texas in 2024. She is interested in applying state-of-the-art computational models to master her vocalization for begging you for everything she wants and to predict the trajectory of a running ball. She may be the fastest dog that many people would have ever seen - she runs and jumps like a deer! Outside of science, Wye-Wye enjoys copying everything her brother does, including stealing every toy that Turner is playing with, sniffing every hole that Turner is sniffing, and stretching, scratching, screaming, etc. whenever Turner does it.
Collaborators
Ralph Adolphs, California Insitute of Technology
Mark Thornton, Dartmouth College
Umit Keles, California Insitute of Technology
Shuo Wang, Washington University in St. Louis
Hongbo Yu, University of California Santa Barbara
Jon Freeman, Calumbia Univeresity
Eric Hehman, McGill University
Sally Xie, Princeton University
Runnan Cao, West Virginia University
Yue Xu, California Insitute of Technology
Yilin Wang, Chinese Academy of Science
Piotr Winkielman, University of California, San Diego
Julia Folz, Leiden University
Xin Li, West Virginia University
Julian McAuley, University of California, San Diego
Michael Alvarez, California Insitute of Technology
Lab Alumni
Yilin Wang, Visiting Grad Student
Yilin is currently a fourth-year Ph.D. student at the Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, focusing her studies on Big Data Psychology. She completed her Bachelor's degree in Applied Psychology at Nankai University. Her research primarily explores the utilization of social media data to uncover users' psychological characteristics and to investigate the expression and propagation of stereotypes. Her approach blends computational techniques with traditional psychological methods, aiming to contribute to a deeper understanding of these phenomena. Outside of her academic pursuits, Yilin has a passion for reading, playing the piano, and engaging in sports.
[Email]
Atharv Biradar, Computational Technician
Atharv is a Master's student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at UC San Diego, specializing in Machine Learning and Data Science. His current research focuses on understanding how Large Language Models (LLMs) and deep learning models work for impression prediction and whether these models exhibit stereotypical understanding. His work involves multimodal data, integrating audio, video, and text. Outside of academia, Atharv enjoys playing badminton, exploring city life, going for long drives, and discovering new places.
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Emily Han, Computational Technician
Emily Han is a Master’s student in Computational Social Science at UC San Diego, specializing in the application of computational methods to study social cognition and behavior. Her research interests focus on exploring how social impressions and judgments are formed. Outside of academia, she enjoys watching movies and visiting cute cafes.
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Jiabin Zou, Undergrad Research Assistant
Jiabin is a third-year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology B.S. at UCSD. Her research interests lie in understanding factors and mechanisms behind social interactions, identifying and resolving cognitive biases, and cultural influences behind social perceptions. In her free time, she enjoys pop music, baking, and language learning.
[Email]
Kevin Liu, Undergrad Research Assistant
Kevin is a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Math and Computer Science B.S. at the University of California, San Diego. He is interested in combining computer vision, machine learning, and large language models with psychology. His research focuses on using machine learning and computer vision to investigate and explain how people form impressions of others. Kevin enjoys music and movies in his free time.
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Ceyla Iseri, Lab Alumnus
Ceyla is a fourth-year Psychology (B.S.) major at UC San Diego. Interested in different Psychology topics, she is excited to focus on how people form impressions of each other in real-life and online settings, especially in relation to politics and societal outcomes. Beyond her studies, Ceyla enjoys learning about cultures and countries, reading, and trying new food.
[Email]