Evaluating Cognitive Performance Under Evaluative Threat
Advisor: Dr. Araci
Internship Location: Intelliscience Institute (1425 Koll Cir # 106, San Jose, CA 95112)
Onsite Mentor: Dr. Sohail Zaidi
In daily life, students often spend time in anticipation: for grades, notifications, and social validation. Although these instances may seem minor, they can shape attention, mood, and performance. The purpose of this project is to explore how that anticipatory state appears in the brain and how it influences performance on a cognitive task. Contingent negative variation (CNV), an event-related potential, which can be caused by anticipatory anxiety will be studied. This study will also include how CNV under threat-of-evaluation can alter cognitive task performance. While there exists extensive research in the motor/preparatory domain, there has not been much insight into anticipatory anxiety in a cognitive performance design. By the end of the project, I aim to connect everyday anticipatory stress in academic settings with neural signals and performance outcomes. Understanding how anxiety regarding waiting for evaluation results affects brain states could inform healthier study habits and technology-use policies and can help teachers and institutions reconsider testing and grading practices. My final product will have two components: a formal research paper and a practical guide for educators and students. This would be a concise and accessible online toolkit that summarizes findings in plain language and offers accessible suggestions for structuring assessment and feedback. The purpose of this portion is to support healthier states for students and assist teachers in contributing to student improvement.
Project Blog
Week 0: Buffering... Buffering... The Cognition of Waiting
Don’t you know the feeling? The split second your heart stops when you see the "typing..." bubbles in text messages vanish without a text. The pit in your stomach when you refresh the college application portal, knowing the result is out, but the page hasn’t loaded yet.
We live our lives in a state of digital anticipation. But have you ever wondered what that suspense is actually doing to your brain?
Welcome to my Senior Project! I’m exploring the neuroscience behind "anticipatory anxiety,” which is specifically, how the stress of waiting for an evaluation (like a grade or a notification) changes the electrical signals in your brain and affects your ability to perform cognitive tasks.
My research focuses on a specific event-related potential in the brain called Contingent Negative Variation (CNV). This is essentially an electrical build-up that happens when you are expecting a stimulus.
If you’re a sprinter, this can help as you’re waiting for the gun to go off, but in the context of academic stress, I suspect this signal goes haywire. My hypothesis is that when we are under the "threat of evaluation," this neural buildup becomes a distraction rather than a helper, effectively short-circuiting our ability to focus on the task right in front of us.
ALTHOUGH the brain wave graphs are super cool to look at, I’m not just doing this to generate art. By the end of this project, I aim to connect the abstract concept of evaluative threat to concrete biological data.
I plan to produce two things:
A formal research paper regarding CNV and cognitive performance.
A Practical Toolkit for Educators and Students. This will be an online guide that translates my findings into plain English, offering suggestions on how teachers can structure grading and feedback to save our sanity, and how students can manage that "waiting anxiety."
I will be conducting this research and data analysis under the mentorship of Dr. Zaidi, a professor at San Jose State University, at his IntelliScience Institute (https://insinstitute.com/advisory-board.html).
But why me? I’m a high school senior. I live in the world of anticipation, notifications, and validation just as much as anyone else. This project is my attempt to understand the biological machinery behind the anxiety my friends, I, and so many others feel each day.
Over the next ten weeks, expect updates and explanations on my process, and hopefully, some validation that yes, refreshing your email 50 times a day is actually exhausting. I also have experience with EEG systems, developing a patent-pending ptosis aid that relies on the technology, as well as analyzing the effect of noise on brain signals.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you’ll stay to hear more from me in the upcoming weeks!
- Josh Peter
Week 1: From Participating in Hikes to Finding Participants for my Study!
Week 1: From Participating in Hikes to Finding Participants for my Study!
Before diving fully into EEG headsets and data analysis, I took a detour for our senior trip to the Galapagos Islands. With my love for the outdoors, it was honestly my ideal way to reset my own ~neural circuitry~ before the work resumes.
We started with two days in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, to get our bearings, but to me the magic happened when we moved to the islands. We split our time between Isla Santa Cruz and Isla Isabela (a couple days each), and it felt like stepping into a different world.
The wildlife there is just mindblowing. Diverse, vivid, so unique… I can’t even describe it! I’m used to looking at biological data in textbooks and screens, or seeing fascinating sights while camping, but seeing that ecological diversity in front of you is just different. We saw the famous giant tortoises along with marine iguanas and vibrant crabs.
We enjoyed two strenuous hikes, and the views at the top were 100% worth the effort. The highlight, however, had to be our two snorkeling experiences. Being in the water with rays, sharks, fish, and sea turtles was a surreal experience. There is something about swimming alongside wildlife that has you entirely present in that moment.
Back to Reality with Recruitment
Of course, you can’t stay on island time forever (as much as I wished I could).
I got back home and crashed, sleeping until 4:00 PM the next day. But from the moment I woke up, I realized I had to pivot quickly in my different types of adventures; from tourist to researcher.
My main goal this week was setting the stage for data collection. You can’t study the brain if you don’t have brains to study, so my focus shifted to participant recruitment.
This isn't as simple as just asking friends to come over and put on a headset. I spent the latter half of the week ideating and drafting the recruitment process to screen potential subjects.
In research, especially with measuring physiological data like brain waves, participants need to know exactly what they are signing up for. I need to ensure the language is clear, ethical, and detailed enough to meet academic standards. However, this needs to happen while not revealing every detail of the procedure so the study is still effective. You can imagine the frustration I felt while preparing it!
I’ve just started sending the forms out, and I do expect there to be tweaks I’ll have to make. Ironically, I am now back in the "waiting game" I wrote about last week! Over the next two weeks, I’ll be continuing to prepare for the upcoming weeks, all while waiting for people to sign up so I can start measuring their anxiety.
Next week, I’ll be breaking down some of my methods and progress, but I’ll keep YOU waiting for now!
Thanks for following along,
Josh Peter
Week 2: Moving my Means from Madness into Method
If my last week was pivoting from "tourist" to "researcher," this week was taking my introductory research steps. There is a massive difference between having a general idea for a study and having a rigorous, repeatable protocol ready for execution. That was my target.
My primary focus this week was finalizing the infrastructure of the experiment regarding the paperwork, the physical environment, and the experimental script.
I think the most critical task from this week was finalizing the Informed Consent form. As I mentioned last week, you can’t just hook people up to electrodes without a plan. I spent time sampling and adapting an EEG study consent form from a university to fit the specific needs of my study.
The form, which is now ready to go, outlines everything: the 10-minute duration, the application of the EEG cap, and the exclusion criteria (screening for history of seizures or neurological disorders) to ensure participant safety. It also explains the two conditions participants will face: a "Standard" condition and an "Evaluation" condition.
I’ve been perusing EEG study literature to ensure my methods and conditions align with existing research, which is the specific brain signal associated with anticipation and attention that I’m tracking.
I realize that to capture this minute signal accurately, the environment matters just as much as the equipment. I’ve spent the last few days configuring the testing setup to minimize distractions. EEG data is incredibly sensitive; even a blinking light or background noise can create artifacts in the data. I’ve begun mapping out potential quiet testing rooms where participants can complete the tasks (currently keeping it a secret!) without interruption.
You may ask, “So, how is your ‘waiting game’ going, Josh?” Better than expected, but I’m not at the finish line yet.
My goal is to reach a sample size of 20-30 participants. As of today, I have successfully recruited the interest of 15 people, mostly through immediate school connections. It’s a strong start, but to ensure my data is more statistically relevant, I need to diversify the future recruits.
My strategy for the upcoming week is to expand recruitment through official lab sign-ups. Since the total session time is only about 10 minutes, I’m optimistic that the low time commitment will help me hit that target of 30 quickly.
Thanks for following along,
Josh Peter
Week 3: Controlling the Chaos (Setting the Stage for Science)
I hope you’re noticing all the alliterations… I’m doing my best.
In electrical data and in neurology data (EEG falls into both), chaos is just the worst. If you don't control the environment, data can often be effectively useless. This week, my goal was to lock down exactly how the experiment will run, second by second, scripted word by scripted word, student by student, and where it will take place.
1. (Even) More Methodology
I spent a good chunk of this week asking questions, finding (partial) answers, discovering new things I should look at, and falling into rabbit holes. I’m sure it’ll continue. I needed to see exactly how past researchers structured their tasks to measure Contingent Negative Variation (CNV). How long should the pause be between the warning signal and the actual task? How have other researchers successfully induced evaluative stress without ruining a participant's day? Aligning my methods with established literature is crucial so that when I finally analyze my data, I know it's scientifically valid.
2. Scripting the Experience
Imagine I greet Participant A cheerfully with, “Hey! Ready to play a fun game?” and Participant B with a stern, “Your cognitive evaluation begins now.” I’ve already corrupted my own data before the EEG cap is even turned on!
To prevent this, I wrote a comprehensive experimental script this week. Every single participant will hear the exact same words, the exact same instructions, and the exact same framing for both the "Standard" and "Evaluation" conditions. It feels a bit screenplay-writing-esque, but we both now know it's vital for keeping the psychological state of the participants as standardized as possible.
3. A Little Bit of What, Where, Why
As I mentioned last week, EEG sensors are incredibly sensitive. A sneeze, a flickering fluorescent light, or a loud truck driving by can create electrical artifacts that completely mask the tiny micro-volt brain signals I am trying to track. Even blinks are an issue. Now I can’t avoid THOSE, but I’ll be working around them with data analysis.
To combat this, I’ve spent the last few days transforming a room in my house into a standardized experimentation room. I'm focusing on controlling the lighting, minimizing acoustic noise, and ensuring there are no visual distractions. Every participant who comes through this home setup will experience the exact same physical environment. While this will be my primary testing ground for now, my goal is to eventually establish a secondary, equally standardized experimental setup at the IntelliScience Institute lab so I can accommodate more participants and keep the testing conditions perfectly consistent.
Next up? Electrodes on scalps. I'm still gathering participants to hit my 20-30 person goal, but I am incredibly excited to finally start collecting the data I've spent three weeks preparing for.
Thanks for following along,
– Josh Peter
Week 4: Pivots, Programming, and Posters!!!
I think the biggest thing I've established about scientific research through this project is that things rarely go exactly according to the schedule in my syllabus which I have I elegantly color-coded on my wall.
Welcome to Week 4! From my last update, I was eagerly waiting to hit my goal of 20-30 participants so I could finally start slapping EEG electrodes onto some scalps. Well, I’ll be honest: I didn’t quite get the numbers I needed this week.
I’m currently hovering around the same group of 15 dedicated volunteers with a few increases. I’m going to make one final push for recruitment next week, but if I can’t hit that ideal number, I’ll consult further with my advisors and move forward, testing with the group I currently have. Sometimes, you have to work with what you’ve got.
Shifting the Schedule
Because I didn’t have a full roster to start data collection just yet, I had a choice: sit around and do my own version of "waiting anxiety," or pivot. I chose to pivot.
I decided to look ahead at my schedule and borrow some tasks from the future. In essence, I swapped my Week 6 tasks into Week 4. I spent the bulk of my project time this week preparing the software design component for my research analysis. Since my study will be pulling in raw brainwave data with all of its messiness and chaos, I need a robust software pipeline to actually clean, process, and make sense of it all.
Let me tell you, WOW, this took many iterations. Getting the design software ready to accurately parse out the specific Contingent Negative Variation (CNV) signals (while filtering past the artifacts like blinks and muscle movements I talked about last week) is a puzzle to put it gently ;). But after several frustrating albeit rewarding iterations, the analysis framework is finally taking shape. Because of this switch, data collection is now officially slated for Weeks 5 and 6!
Taking the Show on the Road (to New Jersey!)
My week wasn't entirely spent staring at software code, though. I actually got to step out of my usual bubble and engage in some exciting outside-lab activities with my external advisor.
I traveled to a research conference in New Jersey! It was an incredible experience being surrounded by so many driven people. I presented two of my own research submissions at the conference: one as a poster presentation and the other as an oral presentation.
In a way, it felt like a lot of practice for this Senior Project. Not only did I get to practice communicating complex scientific concepts (which is exactly what I’ll need to do for my Practical Toolkit at the end of this project), but standing up and presenting in front of eager audiences is also what I’ll be doing in the Symposium!
I also met so many new people and made some really important connections in the field. It was the perfect reminder of why I’m putting myself through the stress of recruitment and iterations.
So, what’s on for next week? Hopefully, a few more names on my sign-up sheet. But either way, Weeks 5 and 6 are going to be all about data collection. The time for prep is officially over: it's almost time to see those brain waves in action.
Thanks for following along,
Josh Peter
Week 5: Brainwaves, Bottlenecks, and Biomed
This week really felt like opening night. After weeks of drafting, preparing, iterating… this feels like the first step out into the reality of doing what I set out to do: put EEG caps on real human heads!
The Data is Flowing!!!
I officially began data collection on my first few participants this week. Let me tell you, there is no better feeling than hooking up the electrodes, running the experimental script I painstakingly wrote in Week 3, and actually seeing those brainwaves spike and dip on the monitor in real-time.
Even better? The data is actually good.
All that anxiety I had about electrical chaos, blinking artifacts, and environmental noise? It turns out the preparation completely paid off. The readings are coming through clean, and my testing sessions are running efficiently. Because I kept the experiment under 10 minutes, the participants are in and out before they even have a chance to get antsy, and the software pipeline I built last week is digesting the raw data exactly as I hoped.
Humbled while Herding
While the science side of things is running like a well-oiled machine (thanks to the ample prep and support!), the logistical side... well, not as much.
I managed to trickle in a few more sign-ups this week (which is fantastic, and I'll be making another push next week to hit my final quota!), but actually getting people into the testing chair has been chaotic. Turns out, reading the electrical signals of the human brain is significantly easier than syncing Google Calendars.
Scheduling has been incredibly uncoordinated on my end. Between training, extracurriculars, and life, pinning down exact times for people to come over and do the experiment has been a major bottleneck. My biggest goal for next week is beyond collecting more data; I’m aiming to build a much more rigid and streamlined scheduling system so I’m not scrambling to figure out who is showing up and when. Or getting people here in the first place!!
Back into the Lab
Data collection wasn't the only thing on my plate. I spent more time doing lab activities with my external advisor, Dr. Zaidi.
Riding the high of the research conference in New Jersey last week, we are already gearing up for the next one. This week, I began preparation for the Bay Area Biomedical Device Conference! Given my background with EEG systems and my patent-pending ptosis aid, this conference is right up my alley. It’s incredibly validating to see how the skills I'm using for this Senior Project like managing physiological data and minimizing electrical noise translate directly into the wider world of biomedical engineering.
My plan for Week 6 is (trying to) master the art of scheduling, secure those final few participant sign-ups, and keep the data collection train rolling. We are officially past the halfway mark of this project, and the finish line is coming into focus. It’s a little jumble of frightening, exciting, and uncertain all rolled into one.
Thanks for following along,
– Josh Peter
Week 6: Wires, Waiting, and Word Counts
Welcome to Week 6! Remember how my entire project is about “anticipatory anxiety” and the cognition of waiting? Well, this week I realized I have accidentally become a master at inducing it.
High-Tech Hairdressing (The EEG Setup)
I continued running participants through the experiment this week, and while the actual 10-minute testing phase is still running like a dream, the pre-game show is a different story.
Setting up the EEG cap has presented some significantly longer holdbacks than I originally anticipated. Getting the cap situated, soaking the EEG electrodes, maneuvering around different hair types, and ensuring the electrical impedance on the electrodes is low enough to catch those tiny micro-volt signals takes time and patience. I’m essentially making my participants sit there in anticipation while I fiddle with wires and sensors on their heads- don’t worry the irony is NOT lost on me!
However, there is a silver lining: the time spent on the setup is entirely worth it. Because I am taking the extra time to get the physical setup perfect, the data collection continues to be positive. The readings are coming out clean, and my software pipeline is ideally ready to digest it all.
The Calendar Challenge Continues
While I did get a few more participants into the chair this week, I am still battling the same bottleneck I mentioned in Week 5: getting people physically into the room. High schoolers are busy, I’m busy, and syncing schedules has remained my biggest hurdle yet.
I haven't quite hit the final testing numbers I want just yet. Because of the setup holdbacks and the scheduling delays, I’ve accepted that data collection isn't just a neat little box I can check off in a week (I’m trying to gently express my frustration!). I will likely be rolling the data collection process over into next week as well to ensure my sample size is as robust as possible.
Condensing the Chaos
Because I had some downtime between my scheduling gaps, I decided to pivot back to the administrative side of the Senior Project. I tackled some mandatory project paperwork, most notably: drafting an abstract.
If you’ve never written a research abstract, let me tell you, it is a uniquely frustrating challenge. You have to take months of work (literature, mechanics, methods, hypotheses) and somehow condense it all into a tidy summary. It’s tough to leave out the gritty details (like my struggles with signal artifacts!), but writing it actually helped me zoom out. Amidst all the tangled wires and scheduling delays, the abstract was a great reminder of the big picture.
Looking Ahead
My goal for next week is simple - keep the momentum going. I’ll be wrangling my final few participants and as such hopefully closing the chapter on data collection so the analysis can begin.
Thanks for following along,
– Josh Peter
Week 7: Code, Correlations, and Conundrums
Welcome to Week 7! Feel free to call me an aspiring magician: this week I’ve been all about trying to make the invisible into the visible.
As I predicted last week, data collection is still rolling along as I try to squeeze in those final few participants, but I've meanwhile transitioned into the data analysis of my project.
The Calmness Conundrum
Because the CNV is playing hard to get, I’m having to take a long look at my intended evaluation methods.
While testing, I ran into a unique, frustrating, hurdle: my participants aren't actually that anxious.
When looking at the post-experiment surveys, the reported anxiety levels are trending much lower than I anticipated. Why? Well, it turns out that sitting in a comfy chair in a quiet, heavily controlled room in my house (shoutout to my Week 3 setup!) doesn't quite trigger the same visceral “pit in your stomach” dread as waiting for a real score or result.
Despite my best efforts to script a stressful “evaluative threat,” my simulation environment is simply too low-stakes. My participants subconsciously know that whatever happens in this 10-minute session won't alter their future.
Searching for Signals
Because the anxiety levels are trending lower than expected, it’s having a domino effect on the rest of my data.
Right now, I'm struggling to detect the CNV signals in my data. If you remember, the CNV is that tiny electrical build-up in the brain right before an expected event. Because my participants are relatively relaxed, that anticipatory buildup might be much smaller than anticipated, or it’s simply hiding behind the regular, chaotic background noise of the brain.
Adjusting the Approach
Because of these roadblocks, I’ll likely need to adjust my intended evaluation methods moving forward. I'm trying to look at a relationship: the correlation between the CNV signal (once I can clearly isolate it!), the participant's actual performance on the cognitive task, and their self-reported anxiety.
The good news is that the preliminary results are actually pointing towards a slight correlation between these factors! It’s a tiny thread, but it’s there.
To pull on that thread and see if it holds up to scientific scrutiny, I need a little more data. A slight correlation in a small sample size could just be a fluke, so I’m motivated to get those last few stragglers into the testing chair this upcoming week to see (read “HOPE”) if the trend solidifies.
Science is messy, and this week was a brilliant reminder of that. You make a hypothesis, you design the best experiment you can, and then you have to wait and see the reality.
Next week is going to be heavy on tweaking, and hopefully, a few clarifying moments. We are nearing the final stretch!
Thanks for following along,
– Josh Peter
Week 8: Clarity, Correlations, and (No More) Caps!!!
Welcome to Week 8! I can finally say the words I’ve been waiting weeks to say: the sensors are stored, and the EEG cap has officially been taken off of my final participants!
That’s right! I have officially completed my last rounds of testing!
After weeks of scheduling bottlenecks, crossing this landmark feels amazing. But as one chapter closes, another one is opened. Now that the data is fully collected, it's time to finish figuring out exactly what it all means.
The Reality of Research (and Noisy Trials)
Before diving into the findings, I have to accept a harsh truth of life science research: not every trial is a winner. While the EEG data collected well overall, a few trials ended up being incredibly noisy. Despite my best efforts to control the physical environment, biological data is just messy, and a couple of these sessions will probably end up being unusable. But fret not (thank you for your care), that is completely normal in this field, and I finally have enough volume that I don't have to panic over a few discarded files.
Proficiency, Protocols, and the Participant Perspective
So, what are the actual results? Right now, at least based on the Stroop test results, I would classify them as "slightly inconclusive." However, I am seeing a slight tangible correlation between evaluative stress and blips in testing proficiency. To put it simply: the "threat" of evaluation did seem to trip up some participants' cognitive performance. It was very affirming to hear one of my final participants actually verbalize this exact phenomenon after their session, confirming that the pressure of being graded—with the “simulated result”—made them stumble while testing. Having qualitative feedback align perfectly with my quantitative hypothesis was an incredibly validating moment.
Furthermore, I made a few protocol shifts this week that paid off tremendously. By tweaking how the tasks were administered, I was able to get clearer, sharper results from the Stroop evaluation (the specific cognitive task my participants had to complete).
The CNV Chase
I am still working to isolate and detect Contingent Negative Variation (CNV) within my data. With the raw EEG data looking solid, I’m optimistic my software pipeline will help extract it, but otherwise, I’ll have to work around it.
Looking at the post-experiment surveys, the self-reported anxiety levels from the participants are highly variable. As I mentioned last week, the overall trend is still on the lower side, but the diversity (even slight) of the responses is a positive sign of an effective testing situation. A wider spread of anxiety levels gives me a much better spectrum to plot against my cognitive performance data!
Looking Ahead
As I step into my penultimate week (I’ve been waiting to use that word), my calendar is finally completely clear of testing appointments (phew!). From here on out, it is 100% data analysis, drafting my formal research paper, and beginning to translate these complex findings into my Practical Toolkit for Educators and Students.
We're almost there and the end of my race is well within sight.
Thanks for following along,
– Josh Peter
Week 9: CNV Catching-and-Cleaning and Composing
Welcome to Week 9! This week I finally felt the rush of seeing what I’ve dreamt about for the last two months!
Announcement: I FOUND CNV!
If you’ve been following along, you know that the Contingent Negative Variation (CNV) signal has led me on an exciting, sometimes frustrating, wild goose chase. Because my participants were generally pretty relaxed in my testing environment (curse my highly comfortable, quiet setup!), this tiny anticipatory brainwave was incredibly hard to create, and later, when processing, it was difficult to isolate from the background noise of the brain.
But after running my software pipeline and tweaking the analysis, the signal finally emerged.
Now, it honestly didn't look like a textbook perfect wave across the board. In fact, most of the trials didn't show the CNV at all, which perfectly aligns with the low self-reported anxiety levels I talked about in Week 7. However, a few of the trials showed it exactly when and where I expected to see it, in the "stressor" window of anticipation before the cognitive task.
But here is where I think the science gets super fun: a few trials actually showed the CNV signal when I didn't expect it. Initially, I was confused, but after thinking back through the experimental script and the timing of the tasks, it actually makes complete sense why an anticipatory buildup would happen in those specific moments. It was such an amazing reminder that brains and science don't follow the scripts you write for them.
Dashing the Dots
Finding the CNV was the final missing puzzle piece. Now, my primary focus has shifted to wrapping up this project in a neat package.
The messy, chaotic raw data is finally starting to tell a cohesive story, and it is an incredibly rewarding feeling.
From Brainwaves to Words
Of course, it doesn't matter what I find if I can't explain it to anyone else! Because the heavy lifting of the data analysis is mostly behind me, I’ve transitioned into full-on writing mode.
I’ve been steadily drafting my formal research paper. The methodology, the literature review, the experimental setup (all the things I painstakingly built in my introductory weeks) are finally making their way onto the page. I'm thrilled to report that drafts for most of the major sections are officially completed!
Looking Ahead
We are right at the cusp of the finish line. Next week is Week 10! I’ll be fully finalized, and finally feasting on my product! It's time to take all this complexity and turn it into plain English so we can actually help students manage the exhaustion of the "waiting game."
I can't believe the end is already here.
Thanks for following along,
– Josh Peter
Week 10: Papers, Posters, and Parting Thoughts - Buffering… Complete
Ten weeks ago, in my very first blog post, I asked if you knew the feeling of watching a "typing…" bubble vanish, or the pit in your stomach while waiting for a portal to load. We started this journey exploring the "cognition of waiting."
Well, the waiting is officially over. Welcome to Week 10. We made it to the finish line!
Putting the "Paper" in Paperwork
With the elusive Contingent Negative Variation (CNV) signal finally caught and the data thoroughly analyzed, my biggest task this week was putting it all together into my formal paper.
Taking ten weeks of messy, unpredictable science—the scheduling bottlenecks, the comfortable-chair conundrums, the noisy data, and the final breakthrough—and translating it into a neat, academically rigorous document was surreal. I finally got to format my literature review, methodology, and results into a cohesive story. Seeing the final draft from all the printed copies sitting on my desktop is probably the most satisfying feeling I’ve had this year.
Pixels and Posters
Of course, I can’t just hand everyone a dense research paper and expect them to read it. I have to present this entire journey at our upcoming Senior Symposium!
I spent a good chunk of this week designing my presentation poster. I got to channel all the experience I gained from the New Jersey research conference a few weeks ago with Dr. Zaidi. Figuring out how to visually balance text, my methodology, and those beautiful, hard-earned brainwave graphs was a fun challenge. I am so excited to stand with my poster and talk people’s ears off about my study.
A Final Reflection
When I started this, I thought research was going to be an obvious line: write script, collect data, find brainwaves, write papers. Reality: It was a winding road.
It was pivoting from a tourist in the Galapagos to a recruiter. It was learning that high schoolers' Google Calendars are harder to navigate than neural pathways. It was realizing my simulation was "too relaxing" and having to adapt my evaluation method.
But that is the beauty I saw. As reflected in us as people, our brains are wonderfully chaotic. I stepped into this project as a high school senior trying to understand the biological machinery behind the anxiety my friends and I feel every day. I'm stepping out of it with a massive appreciation for the scientific process.
Thank you so much for following along with me over the last ten weeks. Thank you for reading through my alliterations, my frustrations, and my victories. Not just for me, but for us — the "waiting game" is finally over.
Signing off one last time,
– Josh Peter