Lisa Auster-Gussman '13

Lisa Auster-Gussman, ’13, arrived at the University of Richmond excited by the idea of studying human behavior. She quickly found herself at home in the psychology department where she developed an interest in social psychology, a discipline that uses scientific methods to study social influence, social perception, and social interaction.

During Jeni Burnette’s applied social psychology course, Burnette mentioned the idea of research to Auster-Gussman and she was intrigued. “It wasn’t on my radar as something I could do as an undergrad,” she says.

With Burnette’s guidance, Auster-Gussman threw herself into a research project stemming from Burnette’s own research. “Dr. Burnette works a lot on issues relating to self-regulation and weight management,” she says. “I decided to look at that topic from the perspective of weight-based discrimination.” 

Auster-Gussman sought to discover whether or not there is a stigma attached to obesity by conducting two studies during the summer of 2012 with assistance from an Arts and Sciences Summer Research Fellowship, a UR Summer Fellowship.

In the first study, she conducted an online survey that asked participants if they felt that a person’s weight could be changed through diet and exercise, or if they felt that weight was determined by biology and genetics. “What we found was that most people didn’t admit to it, or they actually don’t discriminate against overweight or obese people,” she says. “But the group of normal weight people who do believe weight is changeable showed signs of anti-fat attitudes.”

In the second study with different participants, Auster-Gussman wanted to see if these beliefs and attitudes regarding weight could be manipulated or altered. Participants in that online study were asked to read one of two fictional articles that they were told were factual. The articles were chosen for the participants in an attempt to change their belief that weight was changeable or that it was predetermined through genetics. They were then asked the same questions from the first study. “We found the exact same results emerged,” she says. “Normal weight people who we told that weight was changeable showed signs of anti-fat attitudes.”

Burnette recommended Auster-Gussman for a presentation slot at the 2013 Society for Personality and Social Psycholology Conference; she was one of only a few undergraduates from across the country selected to share her research. During the 90-minute poster session, she was put on the spot as conference attendees would ask her to explain her research, or pose specific questions about the methodology she used. “Everyone else around me was a grad student; it was an amazing opportunity to be there as an undergrad,” she says.

The research experience also led Auster-Gussman to apply for social psychology doctoral programs and Burnette continued to guide her as she navigated the complicated application process. “You don’t just apply to a graduate psychology program,” she says. “You have to find a faculty member at a school that does the type of research you are interested in and apply to their lab specifically.” 

Auster-Gussman will attend University of Minnesota, where she will continue conducting research with a member of their faculty who focuses on health decision-making and self-regulation. “They’re working on studies that create incentives for people to engage in healthy behavior,” she says.

Photo: Lisa Auster-Gussman shares her research at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology Conference in New Orleans in January 2013.