Dr. Amanda Sharples, Principal Investigator

I am an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream at the University of Toronto.  I completed my undergraduate degree at York University in 2012 and my PhD at the University of Toronto in 2018. I teach across a wide variety of subjects, including quantitative and qualitative methods, longitudinal research methods, field methods, data management, measurement, cultural psychology, social attitudes, and introductory courses on social and personality psychology. My research interests are diverse but focus on conflict at intrapersonal, interpersonal, and intergroup levels. Currently, I am developing and studying pedagogical tools to cultivate wisdom and understand the relationship between wisdom and student well-being. I am also conducting research with undergraduate students to examine how conflicting cultural identities may impact student well-being and academic outcomes. Finally, I am conducting a line of research focused on interparental conflict and abusive behaviours (specifically, parental alienating behaviours) following separation or divorce. My focus is on identifying these behaviours early and accurately, and better understanding how they impact children. My research takes a multi-method approach with a focus on pedagogical innovation and informing policy development.

Hala Abdelhadi

Hi! I'm Hala, a final-year Honours B.Sc. student in Psychology, with minors in Chemistry and Biology, and am working toward applying to a clinical psychology master's program. I'm excited to be part of the SHARP Lab, contributing to research that examines how conflict is understood and resolved, with an eye toward translating that work into real-world policy impact.

My research interests center on social psychology and neuropsychology, particularly the connection between the two: how social constructs like identity, stereotype threat, and emotion regulation map onto underlying neural and behavioral mechanisms. My independent research project examines anxiety-driven avoidance in university students' classroom attendance, looking at how anxiety leads students to skip lectures and how that avoidance, in turn, shapes their academic engagement and outcomes. The broader goal is to understand which anxiety-related mechanisms most strongly predict this pattern, to help inform interventions that target the anxiety itself rather than just the absenteeism. I'm also especially drawn to this lab's work on bicultural identity and student well-being. As someone who moves between English and Arabic and has grown up straddling more than one cultural framework myself, I'm particularly interested in the lab's focus on risk and resilience pathways for bicultural and international students.

Outside of research, running is a big part of my life. I recently founded Sunset Sprint Club, a weekly interval running community in Toronto that I'm still building up, and I'm currently training for my second marathon!

Giuliana Kibalian

I'm interested in the relationship between microaggressions, impostor syndrome, and mental health among bicultural university students. I’m particularly interested in understanding how experiences of discrimination and social identity may contribute to impostor feelings and, in turn, influence mental health and well-being. More broadly, I’m interested in mental health, identity, and the social experiences that shape psychological well-being.

Outside of research and school, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, reading, trying new restaurants and cafés, and working with children through volunteering and camp counselling.

Michelle Wang

Hello! I’m Michelle, a student researcher here at the SHARP lab and undergraduate HBSc student with a Specialization in Psychology, and Minor in Writing & Rhetoric. During my time at UofT, my experience with research has been multidisciplinary with subjects in Help-Seeking Behaviour, Persuasion, Relationships, and Optogenetics. 

My project at the SHARP lab examines the connection between Intellectual Humility and variability in responses to failure in university students. With a holistic approach to studying resiliency that integrates culture and identity, I seek to excavate factors that impact a student's resiliency in both matters of school and self. We hope that through this project, we may have a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms that build or obstruct resiliency.

Outside of labs and libraries, I teach visual arts and spend a lot of time playing with other creative mediums such as 3D modeling, photography, and music production!

Yeonjoo Cho

My research interests center on the developmental and relational origins of the self, particularly how "the self" forms through relationships with others and is subsequently evaluated and expressed throughout life.

More broadly, I am interested in selfhood, authenticity, and the social-cognitive processes underlying what it means to "be yourself." I am curious about how individuals develop a sense of who they are, what makes that sense of self feel authentic, and how the self maintains continuity or changes across different social roles and across one's past and future selves. I am particularly interested in how self-conscious emotions, such as guilt, shame, and embarrassment, motivate self-continuity. Moving forward, I would also like to explore how the self is initially constructed through interpersonal relationships, particularly parent–child relationships, and how these relational and social-cognitive processes may contribute to moral and prosocial behaviour, subjective well-being, and role consistency.

Outside of academics, I love animals and have two adorable Bichon Frisés. I also enjoy listening to music, singing, playing guitar, and spending time at the gym. I'm interested in minimalist, casual, and cozy fashion and lifestyle, and I like to find simple ways to bring creativity and well-being into my everyday life.

Harjas Bedi

I am an undergraduate student in Public Policy at the Munk School at University of Toronto. I am double majoring in Political Science with a minor in European Affairs and a Certificate in the Psychology of Business and Economics. 

With SHARP lab and ACENet, my main research focus is on pathways of including pan-Asian understandings of wisdom and knowledge in our pedagogical approaches and education policy. I am particularly intrigued by epistemic and ontological variations in the conceptions of wisdom we use to approach politics, knowledge, and learning. I strongly believe in expanding our conceptions of wisdom and decolonizing policy formation as a means of creating tangible change in our world. At the lab, I hope to contribute to the creation of impactful cross-cultural policy learning by engaging with social psychology and cultural dimensions of cognitive processes. 

 In my free time, I enjoy going to museums, participating in moot competitions, and exploring the diverse food scene in Toronto!