Julia Sebastien’s interdisciplinary research interests combine social psychology communication, perception and cognition, Human-Computer Interaction, education, prosocial behavior, and mental health. During her Ph.D. studies at Cornell University, she is specifically investigating how immersive technological and social environments can manipulate our perceptions, behaviors, and mental wellbeing, for better or worse, across a variety of Social Computing and/or immersive media environments including social media, Virtual Reality, and virtual games. Before embarking on her Ph.D. journey, Julia obtained a Master’s degree in Learning Design, Innovation, and Technology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she collaborated with colleagues from Harvard and MIT to design and evaluate evidence-based educational technologies and immersive learning experiences.
Prior to earning her Master’s, Julia pursued a Specialized Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at York University, where she managed a social cognition research lab and began presenting her original research and workshops to academic audiences.Julia’s exploration of media psychology began during her prior bachelor’s degree, in Information and Media Studies and Advanced Arts & Humanities at Western University; there, she immersed herself in media effects both inside and outside the classroom, conducting research on the latent ideological impacts of media artifacts while actively contributing to and overseeing various creative media programs across diverse platforms.
Julia can be reached at js3666@cornell.edu.