James Borenstein-Laurie

MA Student

james.borenstein-laurie@mail.concordia.ca

Biography

Research interests

Personality
health/well-being
social psychology & social contexts

Educational qualifications

September 2019 - present
Master’s Student (Psychology – Research and Clinical training profile)
Supervisor: Carsten Wrosch, PhD
Concordia University, Montreal, QC

September 2016 - May 2019
B.A. Hons., Psychology
Graduated with First Class Honours
McGill University, Montreal, QC

Master’s Thesis

I am currently working on my master’s thesis, which incorporates my interests in personality, health and well-being, and social psychology. Specifically, I am exploring how optimism influences outcomes associated with psychological well-being and physical health within couples. Drawing on longitudinal data obtained from 153 married or cohabitating couples, I hope to gain a more nuanced understanding of how an individual’s own personality traits (i.e., optimism) can influence not only their own outcomes, but those of their partner. By using actor-partner interdependence models (APIM) for the analyses, it is possible to control for the inherently interdependent nature of dyadic data and understand how each member of the couple uniquely contributes to outcomes.

Awards and Achievements

2020–2021

FRQSC Master’s Scholarship ($17,500)

2019–2020

Canada Graduate Master’s Scholarship (CGS) - SSHRC ($17,500)
Concordia Special Entrance Award ($6,000)
Summer 2019: Psychology Undergraduate Research Award (PURA), McGill University ($6,500)
Winter 2019: Tomlinson Undergraduate TA Award, McGill University ($300)

2018–2019

Dow-Hickson Scholarship, McGill University ($2,000)
Dean’s Honour List, McGill University
Summer 2018: Psychology Undergraduate Research Award (PURA), McGill University ($6,500)

2017–2018

Dean’s Honour List, McGill University
Fall 2017: Tomlinson Undergraduate TA Award, McGill University ($300)

2016–2017

Dean’s Honour List, McGill University

Professional memberships

Association for Psychological Science (APS), student affiliate
Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), student affiliate

Publications

Kerr, L. G., Borenstein-Laurie, J., & Human, L. J. (2020). Are some first dates easier to read than others? The role of target well-being in distinctively accurate first impressions. Journal of Research in Personality, 88, Article 104017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2020.104017
Borenstein-Laurie, J. (2018). Jewish continuity and how queer Jews can help. Verstehen: McGill Undergraduate Sociology Journal, 15, 10-15.
Laurie, J. B. (2018). The Big Summer. iUniverse.

Presentations

Borenstein-Laurie, J., Burdman, E., & Wrosch, C. (2020, July 6- August 28). Emotional interdependence in couples: How optimism buffers the transfer of low mood between partners [Poster session]. 81^st Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) Annual National Convention, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Borenstein-Laurie, J., Burdman, E., & Wrosch, C. (2020, June 1- September 1). Emotional interdependence in couples: How optimism promotes positive affect over time [Poster session]. Association for Psychological Science (APS) Poster Showcase, Chicago, IL, United States.
Borenstein-Laurie, J. (2020, April 16). Emotional interdependence in couples: The role of optimism in the transfer of mood between partners [Departmental talk]. Spring 2020 CRDH Webinar Series, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Borenstein-Laurie, J., Burdman, E., & Wrosch, C. (2020, January 24). Emotional interdependence in couples: How optimism promotes positive affect over time [Poster session]. Centre for Research in Human Development (CRDH) annual conference, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Borenstein-Laurie, J., Gazzard, L. C., & Human, L. J. (2018, April 12). Lonely in love: The effect of loneliness on positivity and accuracy in romantic first impressions [Poster session]. McGill University Department of Psychology Undergraduate Poster Session, Montreal, QC, Canada.

Teaching Experience

Mentorship of Undergraduate Honours Student – Supervised one undergraduate honours thesis (09/2019–05/2020)
Tutor, McGill University Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) (Winter 2019)
Undergraduate Teaching Assistant, McGill University – PSYC 215 Social Psychology (Fall 2017 & Winter 2019)

Research team

Wrosch Lab: Personality, Aging and Health Research Laboratory

Centre for Research in Human Development