Clara Colombatto, University of Waterloo

Research

perception attention social perception perceived attention face perception pupillometry visual awareness visual search

Latest papers

Public perceptions of polygenic testing and embryo selection for non-medical traits.
Nature human behaviour · 2026
Beliefs about accuracy shape confidence attributions to humans and artificial agents.
Communications psychology · 2026 · first author
Attending to attention: Reverse correlation reveals subtle cues to attentiveness in others' faces.
Psychonomic bulletin & review · 2025 · first author

All 9 publications

Latest funding

The moral weight of confidence: How decision dynamics shape perceptions of moral character
SSHRC · 2026 · Principal investigator
$36,739
Perceptual Mechanisms of Mental State Representation
NSERC · 2024 · Principal investigator
$12,500
Perceptual Mechanisms of Mental State Representation
NSERC · 2024 · Principal investigator
$40,000

All 3 grants and awards

9 publications.

01

Public perceptions of polygenic testing and embryo selection for non-medical traits.

Awad E, Colombatto C, Demaree-Cotton J, Earp BD, Everett JAC, Liu P, Schaefer GO, Singh I, Wilkinson D, Savulescu J

Nature human behaviour2026

DOI: 10.1038/s41562-026-02562-w PMID: 42649255

02

Beliefs about accuracy shape confidence attributions to humans and artificial agents.

Colombatto C, Fleming SM

Communications psychology2026First author

DOI: 10.1038/s44271-026-00445-4 PMID: 42020522

03

Attending to attention: Reverse correlation reveals subtle cues to attentiveness in others' faces.

Colombatto C, Scholl BJ

Psychonomic bulletin & review2025First author

DOI: 10.3758/s13423-025-02739-w PMID: 40804189

04

Perceptual grouping of individuals in social triads.

Yan L, Colombatto C, Ristic J

Attention, perception & psychophysics2025

DOI: 10.3758/s13414-025-03119-1 PMID: 40537719

05

The influence of mental state attributions on trust in large language models.

Colombatto C, Birch J, Fleming SM

Communications psychology2025First author

DOI: 10.1038/s44271-025-00262-1 PMID: 40415069

06

Search advantages for facing social groups reflect optimal interactive group sizes.

Yan L, Colombatto C, Ristic J

iScience2024

DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.111105 PMID: 39524343

07

Goal inference in moral narratives.

Kim JS, Colombatto C, Crockett MJ

Cognition2024

DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2024.105865 PMID: 39126974

08

Perceived gaze dynamics in social interactions can alter (and even reverse) the perceived temporal order of events.

Colombatto C, Chen 陳鴨嘉 YC, Scholl BJ

Cognition2024First author

DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2024.105745 PMID: 38569229

09

Folk psychological attributions of consciousness to large language models.

Colombatto C, Fleming SM

Neuroscience of consciousness2024First author

DOI: 10.1093/nc/niae013 PMID: 38618488

The moral weight of confidence: How decision dynamics shape perceptions of moral character

Principal investigatorSSHRC2026Insight Development Grants

Principal investigators: Colombatto, Clara

$36,739

Perceptual Mechanisms of Mental State Representation

Principal investigatorNSERC2024Discovery Launch Supplement

Principal investigators: Colombatto, Clara

Keywords: perception; attention; social perception; perceived attention; face perception; pupillometry; visual awareness; visual search; intentionality; metacognition

$12,500

Perceptual Mechanisms of Mental State Representation

Principal investigatorNSERC2024Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Colombatto, Clara

Keywords: perception; attention; social perception; perceived attention; face perception; pupillometry; visual awareness; visual search; intentionality; metacognition

$40,000

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Jelena Ristic

Psychology

2 shared papers, latest 2025

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Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their SSHRC grant from 2026

Subject: Prospective PhD student: perception Dear Professor Colombatto, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Public perceptions of polygenic testing and embryo selection for non-medical traits." (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your SSHRC-funded project "The moral weight of confidence: How decision dynamics shape perceptions of moral character" (2026), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]