Research

Are you interested in research? The College of Behavior and Social Sciences has a
new website that provides information on research opportunities with various faculty
members.
Some are paid positions, some are for credit, but all offer important
experiences to grow as a scholar and critical thinker. Take some time to read the project
descriptions and find an opportunity that suits you! Be sure to check back during the
semester as more research opportunities become available.

Research opportunities: http://www.UGResOpps.bsos.umd.edu/

More Opportunities within the Psychology Department Below!

The 1/12/11 issue of the Undergraduate E-News has all the up to date Research information you need!

Social PSYC Research

RAs are wanted to help carry out social psychological research in the motivated cognition and mind perception and morality labs. Spring semester research topics will include: (1) affective transfer in motivational systems and self-regulatory success, (2) motivated cognition (e.g., the need for cognitive closure, the need for cognition) and the development/maintenance of epistemic authority sets, and (3) determinants and consequences of perceptions of moral agency/patiency. RAs will run studies, participate in weekly lab meetings, read agreed upon journal articles that will deepend their understanding of the research being conducted, and assist with data entry and analysis.

A minimum commitment of 6 hours per week (2 credits) is preferred. If interested, please contact Anna Sheveland at asheveland@psyc.umd.edu .

Child & Family Relationships Research

Interested in gaining hands-on research experience in psychology?

The Laboratory for the Study of Child and Family Relationships is looking for a bright, enthusiastic sophomore or junior undergraduate student to assist with the coding, entry, and collection of data for three research projects in the Department of Human Development.

The general objective of the first project is to study the nature, quality, functions, and sources of friendship during the transitions from elementary school (fifth grade) to middle school (sixth grade), and from middle school (eighth grade) to high school (ninth grade & twelfth grade), and to relate these aspects of friendship to child and family characteristics and to child socio-emotional adjustment. The research project is now in its eleventh year of continuous funding from the National Institute of Mental Health. The project will continue to be funded by NIMH until 2010.

The overall goal of the second project is to examine the social outcomes of childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI). The study's specific aims are to: (1) characterize the social interactions and adjustment of children with TBI; (2) examine social information processing in children with TBI; (3) determine the integrity of brain regions and structures known to be vulnerable to TBI and implicated in social information processing; and (4) study the linkages among brain structures, social information processing, and social behavior and adjustment among children with TBI

The goal of the third project is to develop and evaluate a novel early intervention, grounded in research about developmental psychopathology that targets specific risk factors implicated in the development/persistence of shyness, social reticence and withdrawal in children, with the ultimate goal of facilitating adaptive developmental outcomes, namely the absence of social anxiety disorder.

Sophomore or junior students (with a minimum 3.0 GPA) must commit at least two semesters to assist with various research tasks for approximately 10 hours/week. We offer course credit for your assistance.

If interested, please send a copy of your resume and unofficial transcript via e-mail to Annie Schulz Begle at abegle@umd.edu .

University of Maryland

Department of Psychology

Undergraduate E-News

Spring 2011 Research Edition

01/12/11

Undergraduate Research

Research experience is strongly encouraged for students who wish to pursue graduate training in psychology. Most students find research opportunities via the Psychology E-News or on their own by approaching individual faculty members and graduate students with whom they share common research interests.

Freshmen and sophomore students can participate as a Maryland Student Researcher in the Maryland Center for Undergraduate Research. For more information please review their website at www.ugresearch.umd.edu/programs.html. Students participating in this program work individually with faculty members and earn a citation on their transcript for participation in the program.

Junior and senior students can earn academic credit for research participation (maximum of 9 credits) through PSYC479. Applications and requirements for PSYC479 are available in the Undergraduate Office, Room 1107 BPS.

Research Opportunities

 Social PSYC Research

 Child & Family Relationships Research

 Language & Music Cognition Research

 Organizational PSYC Research

 Intercultural Conflict Resolution Research

 Counseling PSYC Research

 College Life Study Research

 Extremism Research

 Maryland Child & Family Development Research

 Revenge Research

 Terrorism Research

 Creativity Research

 Social & I/O Research

 CAIP Research

Social PSYC Research

RAs are wanted to help carry out social psychological research in the motivated cognition and mind perception and morality labs. Spring semester research topics will include: (1) affective transfer in motivational systems and self-regulatory success, (2) motivated cognition (e.g., the need for cognitive closure, the need for cognition) and the development/maintenance of epistemic authority sets, and (3) determinants and consequences of perceptions of moral agency/patiency. RAs will run studies, participate in weekly lab meetings, read agreed upon journal articles that will deepen their understanding of the research being conducted, and assist with data entry and analysis.

A minimum commitment of 6 hours per week (2 credits) is preferred. If interested, please contact Anna Sheveland at asheveland@psyc.umd.edu.

Child & Family Relationships Research

Interested in gaining hands-on research experience in psychology? The Laboratory for the Study of Child and Family Relationships is looking for a bright, enthusiastic sophomore or junior undergraduate student to assist with the coding, entry, and collection of data for three research projects in the Department of Human Development. The general objective of the first project is to study the nature, quality, functions, and sources of friendship during the transitions from elementary school (fifth grade) to middle school (sixth grade), and from middle school (eighth grade) to high school (ninth grade & twelfth grade), and to relate these aspects of friendship to child and family characteristics and to child socio-emotional adjustment. The research project is now in its eleventh year of continuous funding from the National Institute of Mental Health. The project will continue to be funded by NIMH until 2010. The overall goal of the second project is to examine the social outcomes of childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI). The study's specific aims are to: (1) characterize the social interactions and adjustment of children with TBI; (2) examine social information processing in children with TBI; (3) determine the integrity of brain regions and structures known to be vulnerable to TBI and implicated in social information processing; and (4) study the linkages among brain structures, social information processing, and social behavior and adjustment among children with TBI.

The goal of the third project is to develop and evaluate a novel early intervention, grounded in research about developmental psychopathology that targets specific risk factors implicated in the development/persistence of shyness, social reticence and withdrawal in children, with the ultimate goal of facilitating adaptive developmental outcomes, namely the absence of social anxiety disorder. Sophomore or junior students (with a minimum 3.0 GPA) must commit at least two semesters to assist with various research tasks for approximately 10 hours/week. We offer course credit for your assistance. If interested, please send a copy of your resume and unofficial transcript via e-mail to Annie Schulz Begle at abegle@umd.edu.

Language & Music Cognition Research

Research opportunities in the Language and Music Cognition Lab

Are you interested in how people produce and understand language, how language is related to other cognitive functions (including memory and music), and what happens when people lose language ability due to brain damage?

Are you considering applying to graduate school (especially grad school in psychology, cognitive science, or linguistics)?

Then you should consider applying for a research assistant position in the new Language and Music Cognition Laboratory (LMCL) for PSYC 479 credit.

Visit the lab webpage - http://www.bsos.umd.edu/psyc/slevc/ - for more information. To apply, send a resume and a short description of your relevant coursework and grades to Dr. Slevc at slevc@umd.edu.

Organizational PSYC Research

The cultural processes lab is looking for one or two research assistants for the Spring semester. The research assistants will assist with a variety of projects in the area of organizational psychology, including trust, emotion, leadership, performance, negotiation, and collaboration, many of which have a cross-cultural component. Research assistants are involved in all stages of research activities and their responsibilities include but are not limited to literature search, data entry, preparing reports, participant recruitment, running experiments, and preliminary analyses. This is a great opportunity to gain a diverse set of research skills and potential letters of recommendation for jobs or graduate school in organizational psychology.

If you are interested in organizational psychology and working as an RA for PSYC479, or have any questions, please email Ashley Fulmer at afulmer@psyc.umd.edu.

Intercultural Conflict Resolution Research

I

Intercultural Conflict Resolution

We are searching for undergraduate research assistants to work on experimental studies investigating intercultural conflict resolution in the Organizational Psychology lab. This position will not only build research assistants’ skills in the laboratory, but it will also expose students to exciting new perspectives on culture and the psychology of conflict management. Research assistant tasks will include participant recruitment, conducting experiments, data management and analysis, and literature reviews. Provided that you meet the qualifications, you may participate as a volunteer or for credit.

Please contact Elizabeth Salmon at esalmon@psyc.umd.edu for more information.

Counseling PSYC Research

What will you do? You will be involved in a qualitative study on doctor-level international counseling trainees’ experiences of conducting therapy/counseling in the US. The responsibility mainly involves transcribing interviews, weekly coding meetings and/or other activities.

How long will the project last? Spring semester

What will you get out from this? You will get research experience, particularly experience of doing a qualitative study using a well-established, widely-used method. Training in qualitative research will be provided.

You will also hear from doctoral students in counseling psychology programs about their experiences of working with clients as well as about their lives in grad school.

Potential recommendation letter depending on performance

Who am I looking for? In order to be considered, you need to have completed 9 credits in PSYC (including PSYC200), and have at least 3.3 GPA in PSYC and 3.3 overall GPA. In addition, you need to have good word processing skill, excellent interpersonal skills and enjoy working on a team.

If you are interested, please contact Jingqing Liu at jliu@psyc.umd.edu.

College Life Study Research

The College Life Study has openings for paid research assistants starting in January 2011. Two positions are available: 1) Interviewer: Main duties include recruiting and interviewing participants; and 2) Office Assistant: Main duties include administrative items, data entry, and quality assurance.

This is a unique opportunity to be involved in a longitudinal NIH-funded study at SPH's Center on Young Adult Health and Development. Applicants must be available to work on the study 15 hours a week for a minimum of two semesters.

To apply, students should forward their resume and a brief statement of interest to Emily Winick, Recruitment Coordinator at ewinick@umd.edu by Monday, December 6th. Please note which position you are interested in applying for.

To learn more about the study and the research center, visit our websites at www.cls.umd.edu and www.cyahd.umd.edu.

Extremism Research

Extremism Lab

Do you want to go to graduate school or enter a career in research? Do you want to gain valuable experience with the research process in psychology? Apply to be a research assistant for Spring 2011!

We study the social, motivational, and cognitive factors involved in radicalization and extremism, and we conduct a variety of lab and online studies to explore these phenomena.

As an RA, some of your duties might include:

 Conducting literature reviews on research topics

 Greeting and running participants through studies

 Administrative tasks in creating and compiling study materials

 Learning to program studies using research software (e.g., Media Lab, Direct RT)

 Assisting with data entry and analysis in Excel, SPSS, or SAS

 Meeting regularly to discuss ongoing research projects

RAs may volunteer or earn up to 3 credits in PSYC 479. You must have a 3.0 GPA in Psychology, a 2.8 overall GPA, and be able to commit a minimum of 3 hrs/week. RAs seeking to earn credit must also have completed 9 hours of PSYC courses, including PSYC 200. If you are interested, please email Kristen Klein at kleinkm@umd.edu.

Maryland Child & Family Development Research

The Maryland Child & Family Development Laboratory is looking for motivated undergraduate students to enroll in research credits.

There are two main projects that students will assist on:

(a) infants’ reactions and cognition about social-emotional interactions, and/or

(b) children’s attachment-related information processing and parent-child interaction.

As a research assistant, your specific tasks will include assisting with data collection (e.g., calling and scheduling potential participants, helping families that visit the lab, setting up research studies, acting as an experimenter in studies), observational data coding (e.g., viewing videotapes of infant behavior and code relevant behavioral measures), as well as data entry and various additional research-related tasks.

To apply, please visit www.cassidylab.org and complete the online application for this research opportunity.

Revenge Research

Revenge is Sweet Undergraduate Research Opportunity

Join my team and study revenge. My projects involve analyzing revenge and which individual difference characteristics make someone more or less likely to seek it. Specifically, I have studies looking at: when people seek revenge (Are some people more likely to hold grudges? Is there a vengeful personality?); why people seek revenge (Do some people fly off the handle for anything?), and what other factors play a role in revenge (Are emotions involved? Are morals involved? Is there a difference across cultures?). In addition, some studies look at what specific motivations drive the desire for revenge.

Students will be responsible for running participants in the laboratory and attending weekly lab meetings. Students will also be responsible for reading and discussing an article or chapter that will be assigned biweekly.

Credit compensation is available (e.g. Psyc479). Please contact lminacapelli@psyc.umd.edu for more information.

Terrorism Research

Terrorism Research Opportunity

There are several research opportunities for students who are interested in terrorism with at least a 3.0 GPA. The duties required for the positions include reading transcripts of terrorist propaganda transcripts and analyzing for specific messages, persuasive techniques, etc.

The nature of the project as a whole is analysis of several hundred terrorist propaganda videos. The library of videos is owned by the International Center for Terrorism and Political Violence, located in Singapore, and is comprised of nearly 1500 videos produced by many different terrorist organizations. One aspect of the project will be somewhat descriptive in that we hope to learn:

1) who the target audience is (e.g. children, adults, possible recruits, the enemy),

2) what the message of the video is (e.g. to defend the prophet, to prevent future grievances, to promote jihad, etc.),

3) if the target audience, the message, or the frequency of these tapes have a discernable pattern, and

4) if these patterns change over time. Another aspect of this project includes analyzing the rhetoric and persuasion techniques used in the videos and testing the same messages in the laboratory with student populations, both in the US and abroad.

Credit compensation is available. Please contact Lauren Minacapelli at lminacapelli@psyc.umd.edu ASAP for more information.

Creativity Research

What makes people creative?

What is the nature of the project? Student will assist with lab studies on creativity. In addition to running lab studies, the selected student will assist in literature reviews, data analysis, etc. as it relates to the focal project. Student will learn all aspects of developing and implementing research in social/organizational psychology. Student will learn how to read and interpret articles, match theory with method, etc. Student will also learn about what makes people creative and how we assess creativity in psychology.

Students will be responsible for running lab studies, conducting literature reviews, analyzing and entering data, etc. A research report is required based on findings from data collected from the primary project.

All work will be conducted in the organizational psychology lab. Students are expected to adhere to a consistent schedule which will be worked out upon hire. No special skills are required, although previous research experience is a plus. Students will receive three credits of PSYC479 in exchange for 9 hours/week of research.

Contact information: Ryan Fehr: rfehr@psyc.umd.edu

Social & I/O Research

Our research team in social and I/O psychology is conducting several studies on negotiation, culture & cultural values, and personality differences. We are interested in how personality, gender, culture, and interpersonal/intergroup dynamics affect a variety of outcomes, ranging from teamwork, to conflict and apologies/forgiveness.

We are seeking responsible and motivated research assistants to help out with these projects. Duties will range from helping set up studies (e.g. computer games), to running studies and interacting with participants, to helping code data (e.g. interview responses).

For those who are interested in going to grad school, you will gain valuable experience that you can add to your resume or application as you will be involved in most aspects of research from the conceptual to the logistical. I’m also happy to write a recommendation letter.

If interested, please contact Tiane at tlee@psyc.umd.edu

CAIP Research

ATTENTION UNDERGRADUATES IN SEARCH OF RESEARCH EXPERIENCE:

UMD’s Comprehensive Assessment and Intervention Program (CAIP) wants you!

At the Comprehensive Assessment and Intervention Program (CAIP) we conduct clinic-based research trying to understand the best ways to assess and treat behavioral and emotional problems in children and adolescents.

For more information on CAIP and to download an undergraduate volunteer application: http://sites.google.com/site/caipumaryland/Home/opportunities/undergraduates

Current Studies:

(1) Clinic based studies on assessing social anxiety in teenagers

(2) Community based studies on parent/child relationships, conflict, parental monitoring and

delinquent behavior in families with adolescent and pre-adolescent children.

Duties Include:

(1) Recruiting and assisting in the completion of assessments for the study (e.g. explaining study to participants, supervising their completion of assessments, conducting interviews and administering tasks on the computer).

(2) Managing data collection (entering data using statistical software)

(3) Assisting with administrative duties at CAIP

(4) Assistance needed on Saturdays, with training at regular intervals during the week.

Meetings:

Volunteers will have weekly meetings with Dr. Andres De Los Reyes (Director of CAIP) and weekly meetings with the graduate students who are coordinating the projects.

Dates:

We have ongoing projects for which we very much need assistance during the summer break, particularly on Saturdays. Training to assist in these assessments may begin immediately during weekdays and carry on into summer break with the possibility to extend volunteer experiences into subsequent academic years.

Skills:

Volunteers will be trained on tasks related to the studies. We expect volunteers to commit a minimum of 9 hours a week working on the studies. This weekly commitment consists of ½ time assisting in participants completing studies and ½ time assisting in work related to the functioning of the CAIP lab, including weekly meetings.

Contact:

Dr. Andres De Los Reyes (adelosreyes@psyc.umd.edu) to arrange for an appointment.

Please complete the volunteer application before contacting Dr. De Los Reyes to arrange an appointment. This application may be downloaded at: http://sites.google.com/site/caipumaryland/Home/opportunities/undergraduates

Questions?

Archived Copies of this Listserv can be found in the psychology office and on the Undergraduate Psychology website at: www.psychology.umd.edu

If you have questions about any of these topics, please contact Lori Kader (lkader@psyc.umd.edu), Academic Advisor for the Undergraduate Psychology Department.

Archived E-News: 8/26/10

	University of Maryland Department of Psychology Undergraduate E-News
*08/26/10*
Undergraduate Research		Research experience is strongly encouraged for students who wish to pursue graduate training in psychology. Most students find research opportunities via the Psychology E-News or on their own by approaching individual faculty members and graduate students with whom they share common research interests. Freshmen and sophomore students can participate as a Maryland Student Researcher in the Maryland Center for Undergraduate Research. For more information please review their website at www.ugresearch.umd.edu/programs.html. Students participating in this program work individually with faculty members and earn a citation on their transcript for participation in the program. Junior and senior students can earn academic credit for research participation (maximum of 9 credits) through PSYC479. Applications and requirements for PSYC479 are available in the Undergraduate Office, Room 1107 BPS.
Research Opportunities		Neurocognitive Development Research Study of Child and Family Relationships Research CASL Research CAPER Research LEAP Research Social Development Research CAPER Smoking Cessation Research Motivation Research Creativity Research Terrorism Research ADHD Research Revenge Research Judgment and Decision Making Research Radicalization and Extremism Research Child and Family Development Research Attachment and the Psychotherapeutic Interventions Research Organizational PSYC Research Intercultural Conflict Resolution Research
Neurocognitive Development Research		Dr. Riggins – Neurocognitive Development Lab Our research investigates the development of cognitive abilities, such as memory, in young children. We are especially interested in how changes in these abilities are related to brain development. We use multiple tools to address these issues including studying children’s overt behavior and measures of brain function. Duties include assistance with and participation in all aspects of research. These research activities may include EEG/ERP equipment setup, paradigm and stimulus development, behavioral and electrophysiological data collection, participant recruitment, scheduling, assistance with data processing, data base management, data entry, and reviewing literature. This research opportunity is best suited for someone who is interested in both cognition and development. It requires technical skills and computer knowledge as well as the ability to interact with families and children. A two semester commitment and minimum GPA of 3.0 is required. Email Dr. Riggins at riggins@umd.edu for more information.
Study of Child and Family Relationships Research		Interested in gaining hands-on research experience in psychology? The Laboratory for the Study of Child and Family Relationships is looking for a bright, enthusiastic sophomore or junior undergraduate student to assist with the coding, entry, and collection of data for three research projects in the Department of Human Development. The general objective of the first project is to study the nature, quality, functions, and sources of friendship during the transitions from elementary school (fifth grade) to middle school (sixth grade), and from middle school (eighth grade) to high school (ninth grade & twelfth grade), and to relate these aspects of friendship to child and family characteristics and to child socio-emotional adjustment. The research project is now in its eleventh year of continuous funding from the National Institute of Mental Health. The project will continue to be funded by NIMH until 2010. The overall goal of the second project is to examine the social outcomes of childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI). The study's specific aims are to: (1) characterize the social interactions and adjustment of children with TBI; (2) examine social information processing in children with TBI; (3) determine the integrity of brain regions and structures known to be vulnerable to TBI and implicated in social information processing; and (4) study the linkages among brain structures, social information processing, and social behavior and adjustment among children with TBI. The goal of the third project is to develop and evaluate a novel early intervention, grounded in research about developmental psychopathology, that targets specific risk factors implicated in the development/persistence of shyness, social reticence and withdrawal in children, with the ultimate goal of facilitating adaptive developmental outcomes, namely the absence of social anxiety disorder. Sophomore or junior students (with a minimum 2.8 GPA) must commit at least two semesters to assist with various research tasks for approximately 10 hours/week. We offer course credit for your assistance. If interested, please send a copy of your resume and unofficial transcript via e-mail to Annie Schulz at abegle@umd.edu.
CASL Research		Can You Hear or Read Me Now? The University of Maryland Center for Advanced Study of Language (CASL) invites students to participate in a new study in 2010-2011. The study investigates a person’s ability to read text or hear speech with distortion while undergoing functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) brain scanning. Several cognitive and language tasks will be administered in addition to the use of fNIRS. Research participants must be fluent speakers of American English, right-handed, between 18 and 35 years of age, have good reading, listening, speaking, and writing skills in English, have normal or corrected-to-normal vision (eyeglasses and contact lenses are fine), and normal hearing. Research participants should NOT have any of the following: history of neurological and psychological disorders, or learning disabilities. Location: Hartwick building next to the CVS shopping center. Compensation: $20 per hour for up to 2 hours. For more information call 301-226-8892 or email kgrunewald@casl.umd.edu
CAPER Research		The Center for Addiction, Personality and Emotion Research in the Department of Psychology has a great opportunity available for undergraduates who are interested in gaining research experience. We are currently seeking research assistants to work on a National Institute of Health (NIH) funded longitudinal study involving children/adolescents. This work provides training in various aspects of the research process, with course credit potentially provided. Weekend hours are required. If interested, please email Sarah Buchhalter at sbuchhalter@psyc.umd.edu or call Sarah at 301.405.9101.
LEAP Research		The Laboratory of Emotion and Psychopathology (LEAP) located within the Department of Clinical Psychology at the University of Maryland has several Research Assistant positions available for fall 2010. Research conducted at LEAP focuses on schizophrenia, schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, and individuals who are at risk for developing schizophrenia. In particular, LEAP is involved in studies seeking to understand the negative symptoms of schizophrenia including anaerobia, asociality, avolition, and blunted affect. This research has examined the intersection of emotion, cognition, and social behavior. For further information regarding the lab, please see our website: sites.google.com/site/leapblanchard/ Currently, the lab is seeking to fill several undergraduate research positions. These positions are unpaid; however, undergraduates would have opportunities to receive course credit for their research assistantship. Undergraduates would perform a variety of duties including behavioral coding, data entry, data management and administrative duties. Undergraduates would have potential opportunities to learn about schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, SPSS and statistics, clinical diagnostic interviewing, and research methods and design. Research assistants must commit to the research assistantship for two semesters (i.e., fall and spring), and must also agree to working 8-10 hours per week. To apply, please email us at leaplaboratory@gmail.com.
Social Development Research		Department of Human Development - Gain Valuable Research Experience for Graduate School! Fall Semester, 2010 EDHD 498 or PSYC 479 (3 credits = 10 hours per week) Research Assistant for a Project in Social Development! We have several projects that involve interviewing children, and/or administering surveys to adolescents. Research Assistants learn about the process of research, read the literature in developmental psychology, meet with a research group once a week (with the supervising professor), and learn how to enter and analyze data from interviews and surveys! Contact: Kelly Lynn Mulvey (klmulvey@umd.edu), graduate student and project coordinator. Faculty supervisor: Professor Melanie Killen, Ph.D., Department of Human Development, Associate Director, Center for Children, Relationships
CAPER Smoking Cessation Research		The Center for Addiction, Personality and Emotion Research in the Department of Psychology has a great opportunity available for undergraduate students who are interested in gaining research experience. We are currently seeking research assistants to work on a National Institute of Health funded study of a novel behavioral intervention for smoking cessation. Students will be able to assist in various aspects of the research process, with course credit potentially provided. If interested, please email Nailah Harrell at harrell.n.o@gmail.com
Motivation Research		Experimental measurement of approach motivation research. A great learning opportunity for an undergraduate student! The RA would be responsible for the following: Scheduling participants for part I and part II of the protocol Administering computerized tasks Administering self-rating questionnaires Debriefing and paying participants in part II of the study Scoring self - administered measures and maintaining database of results Maintaining database of experimental results Optional: merging of experimental and self-rating databases, data analysis, and result graphing). All experiments will take place at CAPER lab in Cole building. Please email Joanna Szczepanik at jszczepanik@psyc.umd.edu for more information.
Creativity Research		What makes people creative? Student will assist with lab studies on creativity. In addition to running lab studies, the selected student will assist in literature reviews, data analysis, etc. as it relates to the focal project. Student will learn all aspects of developing and implementing research in social/organizational psychology. Student will learn how to read and interpret articles, match theory with method, etc. Student will also learn about what makes people creative and how we assess creativity in psychology. Student will be responsible for running lab studies, conducting literature reviews, analyzing and entering data, etc. Student will be required to submit a research report based on findings from data collected from the primary project the student works on. Report will be due the last week of class. Graduate students will serve as the primary point of contact for student. Meetings will be conducted with faculty member as needed, at least once during the semester for advising and progress discussion. All work will be conducted in the organizational psychology lab. Students are expected to adhere to a consistent schedule which will be worked out upon hire. No special skills are required, although previous research experience is a plus. Please contact Ryan Fehr: rfehr@psyc.umd.edu for more information.
Terrorism Research		Terrorism Research Opportunity There are several research opportunities for students who are interested in terrorism with at least a 3.0 GPA. The duties required for the positions include reading transcripts of terrorist propaganda transcripts and analyzing for specific messages, persuasive techniques, etc. The nature of the project as a whole is analysis of several hundred terrorist propaganda videos. The library of videos is owned by the International Center for Terrorism and Political Violence, located in Singapore, and is comprised of nearly 1500 videos produced by many different terrorist organizations. One aspect of the project will be somewhat descriptive in that we hope to learn: 1) who the target audience is (e.g. children, adults, possible recruits, ‘the enemy’), 2) what the message of the video is (e.g. to defend the prophet, to prevent future grievances, to promote jihad, etc.), 3) if the target audience, the message, or the frequency of these tapes have a discernable pattern, and 4) if these patterns change over time. Another aspect of this project includes analyzing the rhetoric and persuasion techniques used in the videos and testing the same messages in the laboratory with student populations, both in the US and abroad. Credit compensation is available. Please contact Lauren Minacapelli at lminacapelli@psyc.umd.edu ASAP for more information. Interviews will be completed by September 14, 2010 at which point final decisions should be made.
ADHD Research		RAs will be involved on a number of different projects. Several projects address bias, including how people perceive male and female leaders differently, and differences in evaluations of black and white job candidates. Another project aims at assessing sexism using behavioral cues, while another is aimed at looking at the potential impact of ADHD in the workplace. RAs will gain experience in a number of aspects of the research process. The RA will learn a number of analytical skills, including preparing, entering, sorting, and analyzing data using SPSS. Additionally, the RA will gain experience running subjects. Further, meetings will include discussions and presentations by the graduate student on theory and results pertinent to the primary projects and the career planning. RAs will have ample opportunity to ask questions and discuss any aspect of the research design and framework. RA duties will vary. First, the RA will run subjects for several different experiments. One requires handing out a survey, several requires RAs to set up a computer program to run the survey for participants. RAs may be involved in transcribing, recruiting actors and subjects, and setting up studies using MediaLab. Additionally, RAs may be asked to help conduct background research and theoretical investigations for upcoming research projects. The RA will be expected to commit 6-9 hours to his/her research involvement each week. Duties will vary weekly, depending on the need for analysis, literature reviews, and running subjects. RA hours will be flexible, but RAs will be required to attend a weekly meeting. If you are interested in hearing more about this research opportunity, contact Juliet Aiken at jraiken@umd.edu
Revenge Research		Revenge is Sweet Undergraduate Research Opportunity Join my team and study revenge. My projects involve analyzing revenge and which individual difference characteristics make someone more or less likely to seek it. Specifically, I have studies looking at: when people seek revenge (Are some people more likely to hold grudges? Is there a vengeful personality?); why people seek revenge (Do some people fly off the handle for anything?), and what other factors play a role in revenge (Are emotions involved? Are morals involved? Is there a difference across cultures?). In addition, some studies look at what specific motivations drive the desire for revenge. Students will be responsible for running participants in the laboratory and attending weekly lab meetings. Students will also be responsible for reading and discussing an article or chapter that will be assigned biweekly. Credit compensation is available (e.g. Psyc479). Please contact lminacapelli@psyc.umd.edu for more information. Interviews will be held until September 17^th at which point final decisions will be made.
Judgment and Decision Making Research		The project deal with various aspects of judgment and decision making, and include laboratory experiments on persistence (relevant to issues such as investing effort in difficult coursework); integrating information (relevant to issues such as integrating what people learn from direct experience and the media); risky choices (relevant to issues such as unprotected sex); and using uncertain forecasts (relevant to issues such as planning foreign policy given forecasts about political stability in a particular country). Duties include data collection, entry and analysis; literature search and/or review; attendance in weekly lab meetings. Per university policy, completion of PSYC479 requires the student to prepare either a written report or a poster presentation. Dr. Wallsten will meet with all members of the lab on a weekly basis; meetings with individual students will be scheduled as needed. The lab operates Monday to Friday 9-6. Familiarity with research in judgment and decision making is not necessary. Some experience with programming and statistical software is preferred, but not required. Students with good math or computer science backgrounds are especially invited to inquire. Contact Hsuchi Ting for more information at hting@psyc.umd.edu or 301-314-2562
Radicalization and Extremism Research		Research Assistants Wanted – Fall/Spring 2010-11 Do you want to go to grad school? Do you want to gain valuable experience with psychological research? Apply to be a research assistant for the 2010-11 academic year! We study the social, motivational, and cognitive factors involved in radicalization and extremism, and we conduct a variety of lab studies to explore these phenomena. As an RA, some of your duties might include: Greeting and running participants through studies Assisting with data entry and analysis in Excel, SPSS, or SAS Learning to program studies using research software (e.g., Media Lab, Direct RT) Meeting regularly to discuss ongoing research projects RAs may volunteer or earn up to 3 credits in PSYC 479. You must have a 3.0 GPA in Psychology, a 2.8 overall GPA, and be able to commit a minimum of 3 hrs/week. If you are interested, please email Kristen Klein at kleinkm@umd.edu.
Child and Family Development Research		Maryland Child and Family Development Laboratory Faculty Member: Jude Cassidy, Ph.D. The Maryland Child and Family Development Laboratory has specialized positions available for students who are interested in studying child development. We are conducting research on infants’, children’s, and adolescents’ social-emotional development. Specific tasks include recruiting participants, setting up laboratory visits, conducting laboratory visits, coding children’s videotaped behavior, data entry, and additional laboratory tasks. These opportunities present a great experience to prepare for Graduate School! Learn about doing science with observational data Be involved in coding and entering data Work as a team in a fun, collegial atmosphere Your ideas and perceptions are taken seriously by team members and team leaders Requirements to Apply: A genuine interest in children and their development Ability to work with parents, children, and supervisors Willingness to commit to a year Meet PSYC department requirements for registering for 2-3 credits of PSYC 479 Please visit www.cassidylab.org to complete an online application.
Attachment and the Psychotherapeutic Interventions Research		Interested in getting experimental research experience in psychology? I am looking for a bright, enthusiastic, and organized junior or senior undergraduate student to assist with all aspects of the online and laboratory data collection within this experimental study. You would assist with recruiting, scheduling, and running participants in the laboratory as well as some data entry. If interested, there will also be an opportunity for you to help with and/or learn how to prepare and analyze data. In addition to getting hands on experience in the research process, you will learn more about my research topics of interest which are attachment and the psychotherapeutic interventions. Junior or Senior students (with a minimum 2.8 GPA overall and 3.0 GPA in psychology) must commit approximately 9 hours/week to earn three course credits. If interested, please send an email to hmmartinumd@gmail.com.
Organizational PSYC Research		The cultural processes lab is looking for two research assistants for the Fall semester. The RAs will assist with a variety of projects in the area of organizational psychology, including trust, emotion, leadership, performance, negotiation, and collaboration, many of which have a cross-cultural component. RAs are involved in all stages of research activities and responsibilities include but are not limited to literature search, data entry, preparing reports, participant recruitment, running experiments, and preliminary analyses. If you are interested in organizational psychology and working as an RA for PSYC479, or have any questions, please email Ashley Fulmer at afulmer@psyc.umd.edu.
Intercultural Conflict Resolution Research		We are searching for undergraduate research assistants to work on experimental studies investigating intercultural conflict resolution in the Organizational Psychology lab. This position will not only build research assistants’ skills in the laboratory, but it will also expose students to exciting new perspectives on culture and the psychology of conflict management. Research assistant tasks will include participant recruitment, conducting experiments, data management and analysis, and literature reviews. Provided that you meet the qualifications, you may participate as a volunteer or for credit. Please contact Elizabeth Salmon at esalmon@psyc.umd.edu if you are interested in the position.
*Questions?*		Archived Copies of this Listserv can be found in the psychology office and on the Undergraduate Psychology website at: www.psychology.umd.edu If you have questions about any of these topics, please contact Lori Kader (lkader@psyc.umd.edu), Academic Advisor for the Undergraduate Psychology Department.