Mackenzie Smith, of Westfield, New Jersey, has long been fascinated by how people make decisions and so she chose to major in both psychology and political science at UMass Amherst. “The two fields go hand-in-hand,” she says. “Politics is all about people and how they interact and why—it’s very psychological. I think everyone in politics would benefit from psychology courses.”

At UMass, Smith found a research group that combined her interests: The War and Peace Lab, housed in the Psychology of Peace and Violence Program in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. Lab Director and Associate Professor Bernhard Leidner advised her on her thesis, for which she received a Commonwealth Honors College grant.