My name is Drake Zimmerman. I’m a rising senior attending UC Santa Barbara double majoring in Psychological & Brain Sciences and Philosophy (Ethics & Public Policy). At UCSB, I’m an undergraduate research assistant at the Yu Emotion Science Lab (YES Lab) and will soon additionally work as a RA in the Social Perception Lab. My research interests broadly surround moral psychology, social emotions (e.g. shame, guilt), altruism and prosocial behaviors, aggressive behaviors among adolescents (i.e. bullying), and cross-cultural psychology.

Months ago, I would not have imagined myself interning full-time at a research institute, let alone at the Institute for the Public Understanding of Risk. However, I was drawn to IPUR’s interest in social cognitive concepts like attitudes, decision-making, and social perception through the lens of risk communication with the public. Furthermore, I felt as if my time at IPUR would be fruitful because many interns in the past provided detailed accounts of their experiences as a resource.

I can confidently say that, in retrospect, I was correct! When I originally arrived as an intern, I wanted to experience a breadth of research tasks. My time at YES Lab has mostly been spent conducting literature searches and qualitatively coding data in spreadsheets, so I had an open mind for new experiences. Fortunately, this wish was granted. I was able to conduct quantitative data analyses of a sample of over 2,000 participants using R, running t-tests, correlations, ANOVAs, and creating data visualizations using Powerpoint to support project goals. Additionally, I had the opportunity to transcribe participant interviews into text, mapping their responses onto major- and subcategories of risk communication to identify preference patterns. Similarly, I revised the interview protocol and script used based on personal suggestions, received IRB approval for these revisions, and was able to conduct some interviews of my own! Finally, I was able to contribute to a collaborative literature review through creating a detailed spreadsheet that identifies key concepts, gaps, and future research directions within audience segmentation in risk communication.

Looking back, I most enjoyed helping my supervisor Dr. Olivia Jensen with the Phenotypes for Risk Communication project, which explores preferences among individuals for the communication of risk information. From working on this project (among others), my understanding of risk communication definitely improved! Risk communication is something that people take part in every day, but is something that many people (including myself) likely do not consciously think about. The Phenotypes project in particular showed me the importance of tailoring the messaging of risk information to groups of people within the population for more effective risk communication. Now, I’m able to reflect on the COVID-19 pandemic more thoughtfully and understand the thoughts, behaviors, and feelings of particular groups, such as the vaccine hesitant or anti-vaxxers.

However, this internship would not have been the same without the positive, collaborative working environment that Dr. Jensen developed. Working a full-time research internship is no easy feat, yet she made it significantly more digestible by making sure everyone felt they had a meaningful place on the research team. She provided a great example of how far patience and good leadership can go in helping people adjust to new environments. I’m grateful to have worked at IPUR, but I will miss the lunchtime conversations about zombie survival strategies, James Gunn’s Superman, and American politics dearly!