In a conversation between Psychology + Neuroscience sessions, Lainey discusses the reasons she is drawn to the social sciences, the research project she will be conducting, and how she became so good at a Minute to Win It game.
So, would you begin by telling me your name and what concentration you're in?
My name is Lainey, and I'm in the Psychology + Neuroscience concentration.
Is the Concentration living up to your expectations?
I would say so. I took a psychology class the first semester of my freshman year, which made me want to take this Concentration. And a few years ago, I took Medical Rotations at Wellesley. So I was interested to look at the other programs EXPLO had to offer, and Psychology really stood out to me.
I've definitely been more interested in medicine in the past. It's always something that I've wanted to do. But as I learned more about the social sciences, they become more interesting to me. So I'm not really sure what direction I want to go in, I just know I want to help people.
What area of psychology are you interested in, in particular?
My dad majored in psychology when he was an undergrad, but he doesn't work in psychology anymore. So learning from him, I got a good sense of how psychology can be applied to so many different fields where you wouldn't think it would be relevant, and yet it is.
We've been talking about how memory isn't always reliable. That can be applied to almost anything, so my research project has to do with the reliability of memory in the American justice system.
Can you tell me more about this project?
It’s in the beginning stages, but I'll tell you what I know so far. We have to create a research proposal, to figure out a question we would want to be answered through academic research. So, something I found interesting related to that is how a lot of victims of violent crime are not placed on the witness stand because their memories can be so fragile, and so easily adapted and changed. I sent my high school psychology teacher an email today to ask if she had any sources I could use on that because she's always been really, really helpful.
You dominated the noodle skewering competition in the Minute to Win It! event yesterday — can you tell me how you got so good at ringing rigatoni noodles around a fettuccine without using your hands?
Well, it's not a skill used before. I've never had a good answer when someone’s asked for a party trick before. So that's gonna come in handy. I mean, I'm Italian. So my noodle mastery could be because of my genealogy. I hope I'm making my ancestors proud.
Will Walawender