Psychology graduate Jonathan Mendel earns Dean’s medal after 10 year hiatus from post-secondary

As a student, Jonathan Mendel knew he wanted to make a difference in the lives of others. But it wasn’t until he volunteered at a drop-in centre in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside where he found his knowledge and interest in social psychology could be leveraged to challenge the socio-economic barriers faced by people in that community.

“Through my volunteer experience, I was made aware of the systemic challenges that people living in poverty face and became particularly interested in the application of psychological principles to challenge economic inequality and poverty-based stigma.”

Mendel brought the knowledge gained from his volunteer experiences into his work as a research assistant in Stephen Wright’s Intergroup Relations and Social lab. There, he dove into examining the effectiveness of a poverty simulation intervention as a means of reducing prejudice towards people living in poverty. His honours research later focused on the data collected from this poverty simulation....

Read more on the Dept. of Psychology web site →