PSY ROP Fallwinter

7/30/2019 PSY ROP Fallwinter

1/20

RESEARCHOPPORTUNITYPROGRAM

299YPROJECT

DESCRIPTIONS

2013

2014

FALL/WINTER

NameandTitle: MorganBarense,AssistantProfessor

Department: Psychology

PhoneNumber: 4169785429 Email: [email protected]

TITLEOFRESEARCHPROJECT:TheUnderlyingCauseofForgettinginAmnesia

NUMBEROFSTUDENTPLACESAVAILABLE: 2

OBJECTIVESANDMETHODOLOGY:

Amnesia,meaning lossofmemory,canbeadevastatingconsequenceofbraindamageordisease. Individuals

with severe amnesia are unable to form newmemories and cannot integrate information from the past to

understandthe future. Assuch,they livefrommomenttomoment inaneternalpresent. Althoughresearch

hastoldusmuchaboutwhatareas inthebrainare importantforformingnewmemories,westilldonotfully

understandwhypeoplewithamnesiaforgetnew informationsoquickly. Recentexcitingfindingssuggestthat

theremaybea fundamentalproblemwith thewayamnesicsperceive theworldaround them,and that this

deficitin

perception

may

partially

underlie

their

deficit

in

memory.

The

proposed

project

will

investigate

this

possibilityfurther,andindoingso,willprovidenewinsightsintothenatureoftheamnesicsyndrome.

Theprimarymethodologyinvolvescomputerbasedmemorytests. Duringsomeofthetests,participantseye

movements will be simultaneously recorded. Initially the research will be conducted in healthy control

populations, butwill subsequently be adapted for use in patientswhohavememory disorders and in fMRI

neuroimagingexperiments.

DESCRIPTIONOFSTUDENTPARTICIPATION:

Studentswillhavetheopportunitytoparticipateintheresearchprojectinanumberofways:

Students

will

engage

in

literature

review

and

discussions

regarding

memory

and

perceptual

deficits

in

amnesia.

ROP students are considered full members of the laboratory and thus attendance at regular lab meetings

(Mondays,12:00pm)tolearnaboutotherresearchbeingconductedisthelabisrequired.

1) Studentswillassistwithdatacollection(initialpilotingandcollectingnormativedatainhealthycontrolparticipants).

2) Studentswillassistwithdataentryandstatisticalanalysis,whichwillincludetrainingonEXCELandSPSS.

ProjectCode: PSY1


2/20

3) Students will gain experience in writing research reports and preparing data for publication. Thestudentwillbeinvolvedinthewriteupofthedata,includingadditionallibraryresearch,writingspecific

sectionsofthepaper,aswellasreadingandcommentingondraftsofthepaper.

Forallaspectsoftheproject,studentswillworkcloselywiththefacultysupervisor.Theskillsgainedbyworking

onthisprojectwillprovideimportantexperiencetohelppreparebothforfutureresearchprojects(e.g.,thesis)

andforgraduateschool.

MARKINGSCHEME(assignmentswithweightandduedate):

The majority of the grade (65%) will be based on participation in the lab. This includes attendance and

contributiontoweeklylabmeetings,andconductingresearchinanefficient,effective,andprofessionalmanner.

Tomonitorprogress,studentsareexpectedtokeepa researchjournal/work log torecord labactivitiesevery

week.

Inadditiontothis,studentsareexpectedtogivetwoshort(approximately10minutes)presentationstothelab

(worth10%

each):

one

to

propose

your

project

(given

by

30

November,

2012

at

the

latest)

and

one

to

present

yourprojectsfindings(givenbyApril1,2013).

Finally,studentsareexpectedtoproduceafinalreport(approximately68pages)whichfollowstheformatofa

scientificpaper,includinganIntroduction,Methodssection,ResultssectionandDiscussion(worth15%).


3/20


299YPROJECT

DESCRIPTIONS

2013

2014

FALL/WINTER

NameandTitle: ProfessorIanSpence



TITLEOFRESEARCHPROJECT: GenderandSpatialCognition:TheRoleofVisualWorkingMemory(VWM)



A recent nonexperimental study (Kaufman, 2007) found evidence of a gender difference in visualworking

memory(VWM).ExperimentaldatafromourlabconfirmgenderdisparitiesinVWMandspatialattention(Feng,

Spence,&Wu,2012),butonlywhenthetasksaresufficientlydifficult.Genderdifferencesonmentalrotation

tasks (MRT) alsoonly appear athigh levelsofdifficulty.Our earlyexperimentsuseddifferentparticipants in

separateVWM,selectiveattention,andMRTstudies.Experimentswhereparticipantsperformallthreetasksare

needed toestablishcausalconnectionsamongvisual selectiveattention,visualworkingmemory,andmental

rotation.We

expect

that

concomitant

gender

differences

in

VWM,

selective

attention,

and

MRT

will

be

observed,butonlyathighlevelsofdifficultyonalltasks.Therewillbeopportunitiesforbrightstudentstohelp

developtheoreticalmodelsofhowthesecognitivefunctionsareinterrelated.

Relatedreferences(emailProf.forPDFsifinterested)

Feng,J.,Spence,I.,&Pratt,J.(2007).Playinganactionvideogamereducesgenderdifferencesin

spatialcognition.PsychologicalScience,18,850855.Kaufman,S.B.(2007).Sexdifferencesinmentalrotationandspatialvisualizationability:Cantheybeaccounted

forbydifferencesinworkingmemorycapacity?Intelligence,35,211223.

Spence,I.,&Feng,J.(2010).Videogamesandspatialcognition.ReviewofGeneralPsychology,14,92104.Spence,

I.,

Yu,

J.J.,

Feng,

J.,

&

Marshman,

J.

(2009).

Females

match

males

when

learning

a

spatial

skill.

J.Exp.

Psychol.:Learning,Memory,&Cognition,35,10971103.


ROP students will be involved in all aspects of their chosen project, from assisting in developing the

experimental design, through participant recruitment, running the experiment(s), analyzing the data, and

ProjectCode: PSY10


4/20

writinguptheresults.StudentswillalsopresenttheirresultsatregularlabmeetingsandattheAnnualResearch

Fair.


Proposalandliteraturereview(15%) 12pagestatementofintention

Participationinlabmeetings(15%) Weeklyorbiweeklydependingonstageofwork

Participationinlabwork(30%) Asrequired(average8hrs/week;greaterinsomeweeks)

Journalstylepaperreportingproject(40%) Atendofcourse


5/20


299YPROJECT

DESCRIPTIONS

2013

2014

FALL/WINTER

NameandTitle: AshleyWaggonerDenton,Lecturer


PhoneNumber: 4169783020 Email:[email protected]

TITLEOFRESEARCHPROJECT:PeerEffectsintheUniversityClassroom



Peerscanhaveanimportantinfluenceontheirclassmateslearning,andthisinfluencecanbeeitherpositive

(e.g.,increasingengagement)ornegative(e.g.,decreasingengagement).Importantly,thereisevidenceto

suggestthatpeerattitudes(e.g.,enthusiasmforthecourse)mayplayamoreimportantroleintheirclassmates

learningoutcomesthanpeerability(e.g.,academicaptitude).Thegoalofthisprojectistoempiricallyexamine:

(1) Whetherandhowpeerattitudes(namelyenthusiasm)contributetostudentengagementandperformanceoutcomes;

(2) Waystoincreasepositiveattitudestowarduniversitycourses(evenbeforethefirstdayofclass);(3) Waystomakepositivepeerattitudesmorevisibletostudentsinlargelecture(oronline)classes,

whereinclassinteractionwithpeersmaybelimitedornonexistent

Theprimarymethodologythatwillbeusedtoinvestigatethesequestionsinvolvesbothpaperandpenciland

computerbasedtasks.Forexample,participantsmaybepresentedwithmanipulatedclassroomscenariosand

beaskedtoprovidemeasuresofattitudesandlearningoutcomes.


Studentswillbegiventheopportunitytoparticipateintheprojectinanumberofways,andwillworkclosely

withmyselfonallaspectsoftheproject.Theskillsdevelopedinthiscoursewillprovideimportantexperience

andtrainingforfuturelabworkand/orgraduateschool,andwillalsoenhancecriticalthinkingandproblem

solvingskills.Activitiesmayinclude:

Conductingliteraturereviewsandassistingwithstudydesign Helpingtoprogramexperimentsandcreatesurveys Assistingwithdatacollection(i.e.,runninghumanparticipants) Enteringandanalyzingdata(traininginExcel,SPSS,and/orR)

ProjectCode: PSY11


6/20

Presentingresearchideasandfindings(oralandposterpresentations;traininginPowerPoint) Writingresearchreports


Labperformanceandparticipation(50%)o Participation:Studentswillbeexpectedtospend8to10hoursperweekinthelab(ordoinglab

relatedactivities)

o Performance:Studentswillbeexpectedtoshowevidenceofcommitment,engagement,reliability,professionalism,andcompetenceonlabtasks

o Performanceandparticipationwillbeevaluatedthroughouttheyear,andstudentswillbegivenperiodicnotificationofwhethertheyaresurpassing,meeting,orfailingtomeetthese

expectations(andifso,howtoremedythesituation)

Journal(10%)o Studentswillbeexpectedtokeepajournalwithweeklyentriesofwhattheydidinthelabthat

week,what

they

learned,

how

the

project

is

progressing,

etc.

o SubmittedattheendoftheFallandWinterterms Presentations(10%)

o Oralpresentation(Fallsemester) Projectoverview,litreview,studydesign

o OralorPosterpresentation(Wintersemester) Researchquestion,hypothesis,background,methods,results,discussion

FinalReport(30%)o Finalwrittenreportoftheproject(followingAPApublicationguidelines)o Approximately68pageso DuebytheendoftheWintersemester(beforetheAprilexamperiod)


7/20


299YPROJECT

DESCRIPTIONS

2013

2014

FALL/WINTER

NameandTitle: GillianEinstein,PhD;AssociateProfessor



TITLEOFRESEARCHPROJECT:EstrogensandCognition



Theobjectiveofthisproject istobetterunderstandtheeffectsofestrogensoncognition inyoungerwomen.

Themodel isadeprivationmodel thatallowsus to comparecognitionandmemory inwomenwithout their

ovariesand hence, estrogenswith women of the same age who still have their ovaries. We are also

correlatingperformanceonneuropsychologicaltestswithestrogenlevelsandwithtwogenes,apolipoproteinE

andbreastcancerassociatedgenes1and2.FormsofAPOEareassociatedwiththeriskofdementiaandnoone

has yet looked at thepossible effectof theBRCA geneson cognition.Ourpopulations arewomenwith the

BRCA1/2mutation

who

have

or

have

not

had

their

ovaries

removed

and

age

matched

control

women

from

the

community.


Studentswillbetrained tocarryoutanddraft literaturesearches.Theywillalsobetrained tocontactprospective

participants from an established list of potential participants, explain the project to them, and ask if they are

interested intakingpart.Theywillalsobetrainedto interviewparticipants,explainingthepurposetheresearchto

them.Giventhestudentslevelofmaturityandinterest,theymayalsobetrainedtoadministercognitiveteststothe

nonclinicalpopulations.Studentswillassistwithdataentryand statisticalanalysisusingExcelandSPSS.Theywill

alsohelpwiththeanalysisofthedifferentneuropsychologicaltestsaswellasofthegeneticstatus.Studentswillgain

experienceinwritingresearchreportsandpreparingdataforpublication.Thestudentwillbeinvolvedinthewriteup

of the data, including additional library research, writing specific sections of the paper, as well as reading and

commentingondraftsofthepaper.Finally,throughmandatoryattendanceat labmeetings(timesforwhichwillbe

establishedonceindividualtimetablesareknown)studentswilllearntoaskquestionsandpresenttheirworkaswell

aspapersintheliteraturerelevanttotheirwork.

ProjectCode: PSY2


8/20





(worth10%each):oneonapaperrelevanttoyourproject(givenbyNovember3,2013)andonetopresentyour

projects findings (given by March 30, 2014). Finally, students are expected to produce a final report

(approximately 8 pages) using the format of a scientific paper, including an Introduction,Methods section,

ResultssectionandDiscussiondueattheendofthewinterterm(worth25%).


9/20


299YPROJECT

DESCRIPTIONS

2013

2014

FALL/WINTER

NameandTitle: JoanGrusecProfessorEmerita



TITLEOFRESEARCHPROJECT: TheSocializationofConcernforOthers



The research askshowdifferent formsofprosocialbehavior (concern forothers) are taughtbyparents and

otheragentsofsocialization.Peoplebehave inaconsiderateandhelpfulwayforavarietyofdifferentreasons

(somemore impressive thanothers,e.g.,becausebeinghelpful ispartof theirselfidentityvs.becausebeing

helpfultosomeonemeansthatpersonwillhavetoreciprocate inthefuture). Wewanttoknowwhatkindof

parenting produces truly prosocial or altruistic behavior as opposed to that done formore selfish reasons.

Familieswillbebroughttotheresearchlabwheretheywillcompletequestionnairesandbeinterviewedabout

theirparenting

practices.

A

number

of

measures

of

prosocial

behavior

(e.g.,

willingness

to

share,

displays

of

empathy forothers indistress)willbeadministeredandparentswillbeobservedas they talk toeachother

aboutvariousmoralissues.


Students will be trained to contact families to take part in the research. They will learn how to conduct

interviewswithmothers, fathers,andchildrenand toadministeravarietyof tasks involvingprosocialaction.

Theywillalsobe trained to code interviews for relevant contentand toenterand checkdata.Therewillbe

periodiclabmeetingswhereattendanceisrequired.


Generalparticipationinandcontributiontolabactivities:75%

Journal:duetheendofeachterm15%

Essay(5pages)ontopicrelevanttotheresearch:dueendofthesecondterm10%

ProjectCode: PSY3


10/20


299YPROJECT

DESCRIPTIONS

2013

2014

FALL/WINTER

NameandTitle: CharlesC.Helwig,FullProfessor



TITLEOFRESEARCHPROJECT:ChildrensSocialandMoralReasoning


OBJECTIVESANDMETHODOLOGY:Ongoingresearchexaminingchildrensandadolescentssocialandmoralreasoning, includingreasonontopics

such as judgments about childrens rights and society, parenting practices, sexual orientation, parenting

practices, and educational practices in schools. Part of the research involves a crosscultural component,

includingjudgmentsaboutsomeoftheseconceptsinmainlandChinaandCanada.

DESCRIPTIONOFSTUDENTPARTICIPATION:Student

participation

involves

avariety

of

tasks,

including

one

or

more

of

the

following:

literature

reviews,

the

collection of data (surveys, interviews), the devising of coding systems, and the coding of responses. The

studentmayalsoassistwith some (supervised)data analysis. Studentswillparticipate in regular (weeklyor

biweekly) lab meetings, duringwhich research issueswill be discussed. Students will prepare a poster for

presentationattheannualFacultyofArtsandScience299ResearchFair.

MARKINGSCHEME(assignmentswithweightandduedate):Journal containing research notes and reactions, comments on assigned articles, learning experience:

Preliminary research report (containedwithinjournal)dueNovember11,2013,andwholejournal submitted

again

on

April

1,

2014

for

grading:

40%

of

total

mark.

Evaluationofparticipation in labworkoverterm (1sttermevaluation,December1,2013,2ndTermevaluation

April1,2014):30%oftotalmark.

Evaluationofcompleted299ResearchFairPoster(midMarch,afterResearchFair):30%oftotalmark.

ProjectCode: PSY 4


11/20


299YPROJECT

DESCRIPTIONS

2013

2014

FALL/WINTER

NameandTitle: JennyJenkins,Professor

Department: AppliedPsychologyandHumanDevelopment


TITLEOFRESEARCHPROJECT:Kids,Families,Places



Kids,FamiliesandPlacesisastudyexaminingtheimpactof3contexts(neighborhood,childcareandfamily)on

thedevelopmentofsocioemotionalcompetenceinyoungchildren.Duringthehomevisitsmotherchildandsib

child interactionsarevideo recorded.Someparentsand siblingsarebetter thanothersatexplainingdifficult

conceptstoyoungchildren.Wehavetaped interactionsbetweenparentsandtheirchildrenwhileparentsare

helpingchildrenbuildLegodesign,learnconflictresolutionandwhilesiblingsareplayingtogether.Wecodethe

interactions toassesshowwell theparentsandsiblingsareatexplaining theproblem. Our interest is tosee

howwell

parent

and

sibling

explanations

predict

childrens

executive

function

and

theory

of

mind

development

a coupleofyears later.The tapes are fun towatch and the coding scheme iseasy to learn.Aspartofyour

projectwewillgiveyouaccesstochildrensperformanceontasksacoupleofyearslater.


Youwillcodefilmsofmothersandchildreninteractingusinganestablishedcodingscheme.Wewilltrainyouin

thecodingschemeandwillexaminereliability(theextenttowhichyouagreewithanexpertcoder).Inaddition

to this students will be involved in transcription of 5 minute episodes during motherchild and sibchild

interactions, in which participants discuss a conflict between them. We expect 810 hours of

coding/transcriptionsperweekduringSepttoApriltoamaxof240hours),completionofyourROPjournal(~1

pageevery3weeks)andattendanceatlabmeetings(2hours,biweekly,includingreadingpapers,discussion).

Youwilljoin an active research labwith undergraduates,Masters and PhD studentsworking in clinical and

developmentalpsychology.Weworkasateam.Wewillchooseamaximumof3ROPstudentstojointheteam.

Itisanidealpositionforundergraduateswishingtogainexperiencetoapplytograduateprograms.

ProjectCode: PSY5


12/20

We look for highlymotivated studentswho are interested in child development. Youdonot needprevious

experience of coding but you must be observant, organized and careful in data documentation. Some

experienceofExcelorSPSSisanadvantage.


Codingtapes,8hoursp/w.GradegivenFeb1,2014............................worth40% Codingtapes,8hoursp/w.GradegivenApril1,2014..........................worth10% ROPjournalincludingobservationsoncoding.1submissionevery3weeks.

GradegivenFeb1,2014..............................worth10%

ROPjournalincludingobservationsoncoding.1submissionevery3weeks.GradegivenApril1,2014............................worth10%

Finalposterorpaper(formattobediscussed)duedateatendofproject.DuedateApril1,2014..................................worth30%


13/20


299YPROJECT

DESCRIPTIONS

2013

2014

FALL/WINTER

NameandTitle: Dr.HenriettaLempert



TITLEOFRESEARCHPROJECT: CanSingingFacilitateLanguageLearning?



Adults are able to extract "words" from a continuous stream of sung syllables such as gimysymimosi

pogysimimosigimysyetc. Inparticular,whenthesequencesaresung,itispossibletodistinguishbetweenwords(e.g.,mimosi,posgysi)andnon words formedbycombining thebeginningandendof two legalwords (e.g.,gysimi). However, it seems as ifdiscriminatingbetweenwords andnonwords isdifficultor impossible for

adults after exposure to a continuous stream of spoken syllable. Ithas alsobeen found that pastmusical

trainingenhancestheextractionofwordsfromastreamofsyllables.

Thepresentprojectexplores the feasibilityofusing sung sequences to facilitate learning the grammarof an

unfamiliarlanguage. ResearchparticipantslistentoCDsofsungorspokensentenceswhichexemplifytherules

of the language. After listening to thesentences, theyhear test sentencesand indicatewhetherornot the

sentenceisacorrectinstanceofthelanguage. Halfthesentencesexemplifylegalexamplesoftherulesandthe

rest violate the rules in someway. After threeblocksof studytest trials,participants arequeried for rule

learning. Theyalso respond toaquestionnaire inquiringabout their languagehistoryandhistoryofmusical

training. This information isobtained inordertodeterminewhethermultilingualismand/ormusicaltraining

facilitaterulelearning.


Studentswillcollectdatafromresearchparticipants,codeandtabulatethedata,enterthedataintocomputer

files,assistwithconstructinggraphsandtablesoftheresults,andassistwithwritingareportofthe findings.

They are expected to become familiar with the background literature and to take advantage of available

opportunities to enhance their knowledge of music cognition. They may also be required to assist with

constructing,recording,andeditingsungand/orspokenauditorystimuli.

ProjectCode: PSY6


14/20

Studentsgainexperienceinresearchbyparticipatinginthefollowingcloselysupervisedactivities;

Conductingliteraturereviewsontheresearchtopic, Collecting,coding,andtabulatingdatafromresearchparticipants, DataentryandstatisticalanalysiswhichwillincludetrainingonExcel,SPSS,andR. Writingresearchreports, LearninghowtoconstructaposterusingPowerPointandExcel., Ifpossible,learninghowtorecordandeditauditorystimuli.

Theskillsgainedthroughinvolvementinthisprojectwillhelppreparestudentsforfutureresearchatthe

undergraduatelevel(e.g.,thesis)andthegraduateorprofessionalschoollevel.


40%ProgressandPerformance,

60%ResearchReports

Progressand

Performance

includes:

Contributionstoprojectasneeded,forexample,assistancewithliteraturesearches,constructionofmaterials,datacollection,isagoodteammember,etc.

Reliabilityandresponsibility,forexample,keepsappointmentswithresearchparticipantsorsupervisorandshowsupontime, givesadvancenoticetoparticipants/supervisorifcannotkeepappointment

Accuracyincollectingdataandworkingwithdata(e.g.,checkswork,ensurestherearenoerrorsinrecordingdata,etc.),

WeightsforResearchReportComponent(duedatesinbracketsaresubjecttominorchange):

10%Introductionsectionforreportonproject(1%fordraftdueOctober20,2013;9%forfinalreport

dueNovember43h)

10% Methodsectionofreport(1%fordraftdueNovember17th;9%forfinalreportdueDecember1)

8% CritiqueofaresearcharticleusedinyourIntroduction(1%for

draftdueJanuary19,2014; 7%forfinaldueFebruary9th)

12% PosteronprojectforArts&SciencePosterFair(probablyonMarch6,2014).

14% Researchproposalonanytopicrelatedtotheproject

(1%one

page

summary

of

the

topic

due

March

16

th

;3%

summary

of

the

Introduction

and

proposedresearchmethodologydueMarch25th; 10% finalreportduelastdayofclasses.

6% Summaryofoneresearchtalk

(duelastdayofclassesbutyoushouldtrytowriteitimmediatelyafterthetalk).

4% Optionalbonuscreditforasecondresearchtalkwriteup.

Youmayrewriteoneandonlyonereportinordertoupgradeyourmark(exceptfortheresearchproposal).


15/20


299YPROJECT

DESCRIPTIONS

2013

2014

FALL/WINTER

NameandTitle: JayPratt,ProfessorandChairDepartment: Psychology


TITLEOFRESEARCHPROJECT:LookingandAttending:HowEyesandAttentionInteract



Thevisualfieldcontainsmuchmoreinformationthanthehumanbraincanprocess. Toovercomethisproblem,

peopleselectportionsofthevisualfieldtodeterminewhich information ispassedontovisualprocessingand

whichinformationwillbeignored. Thisselectioniscriticalforustointeractwithourenvironment,andcanbe

accomplished throughmoving theeyes,ormoving the focusofattention, to specific regions inenvironment

(imagineplayingasportordrivingifyouwerealwayslookingorattendingtothewrongthings). Therelationship

betweentheeyemovementsystemandtheattentionalsystem,however,remainsunknown. Thisprojectwill

attemptto

provide

some

insight

into

this

relationship

through

aseries

of

experiments

in

which

people

will

be

askedto identifybrieflypresented itemsthatcanappearatvarious locations inthevisual field. Usinganeye

trackingdevice,wewilldirectlydeterminewhere theeyesarewhen the target itemsappearanddisappear.

Usingatechniqueknownasprobedetection,wherepeoplerespondtospecificitems,wewillmeasurewhere

attention is and where they are lookingwhen target items appear and disappear. These experimentswill

determineif(a)eyesandattentioncanbedirectedtodifferentportionsofthevisualfield,and(b)ifnot,which

systemdetermineswheretheothersystemwillgo.


Thestudentwillbeinvolvedinallaspectsofthestudy:

a) Literaturereview

full

review

of

the

topic

area

b) Experimentaldesignofexperimentsdevelopmentofmethodsandprocedures

c) Building/programmingtheexperimentscreatingaprogramtoruntheexperimentsd) Datacollectionrunningsubjectse) Dataanalysisstatisticalandgraphicalanalysis

f) Writtenreportofstudyfullresearchreportinresearchjournalformat

ProjectCode: PSY 7


16/20

Programming experience, although not necessary, is an advantage for this project. Strong familiarity with

computers,however, isnecessary as thework is computer intensive and involves several typesof software.

Goodquantitativeskillsarealsouseful,butthemainrequirementsareinterestandenthusiasm.


20% - ROP journal (Feb 15, 2013)

40% - Laboratory work (literature review, data collection, statistical analysis) (April 5, 2013)

40% - final written report (April 5, 2013)


17/20


299YPROJECT

DESCRIPTIONS

2013

2014

FALL/WINTER

NameandTitle: NicholasRule,AssistantProfessor



TITLEOFRESEARCHPROJECT:TheScienceofSnapJudgments:PersonPerceptionandNonverbalBehavior



Peopleformimpressionsofeachotherinjustafractionofasecond.Evencuesasminimalasisolated,individual

facialfeatures(e.g.,apairofeyes)areenoughtoallowonetojudgeagreatdealofinformationaboutaperson.

Thisprojectexploresvariousphenomenarelatedtohow it isthatwequicklyandaccuratelyform impressions

aboutotherpeople.Studentswillworkoncomputerbasedandinterpersonalinteractionexperimentsinwhich

wewill collaborativelywork tounderstand the cues related tojudgmentsofothers groupmembership and

career success. Some tests will involve monitoring participants eyemovements during their perceptions,

measuringtheir

physiological

responses,

and/or

recording

the

activity

of

their

brains

using

fMRI.

A

particular

emphasiswillbegiventotheroleofculturaldifferencesinjudgmentandperception.


Studentswillhavetheopportunitytoparticipateintheresearchprojectinanumberofways:

1) Students will engage in literature review and discussions regarding social perception and cognition.Attendanceatregularlabmeetingstolearnaboutotherresearchbeingconductedisthelabisrequired.

2) Studentswillassistwithexperimentaldesignandpreparation,whichwill includetraining inPhotoshopand

related

stimulus

generation

graphics

programs.

3) Students will assist with data collection and recruitment of participants from the psychologydepartmentsparticipantpool,aswellasthegreaterTorontocommunity.

4) Studentswillassistwithdataentryandstatisticalanalysis,whichwillincludetrainingonEXCELandSPSS.

ProjectCode: PSY8


18/20

5) Studentswillgainexperienceinwritingresearchreportsandpreparingdataforpublication.Thestudentwillbeinvolvedinthewriteupofdata,includingadditionallibraryresearch,writingspecificsectionsof

thepaper,aswellasreadingandcommentingondraftsofthepaper.

Forallaspectsof theproject, studentswillwork collaborativelywithother labmembers (graduate students,

postdocs, research assistants, labmanager, and principal investigator). The skills gained byworking on this

projectwillprovideimportantexperiencetohelppreparebothforfutureresearchprojects(e.g.,thesis)andfor

graduateschool.





(worth10%each):onetoproposeyourprojectandonetopresentyourprojectsfindings.Finally,studentsare

expectedto

produce

afinal

report

(approximately

8pages)

which

follows

the

format

of

ascientific

paper,

includinganIntroduction,Methodssection,ResultssectionandDiscussion(worth15%).


19/20


299YPROJECT

DESCRIPTIONS

2013

2014

FALL/WINTER

NameandTitle: KatreenaScott,AssociateProfessor,CanadaResearchChair

Department: HumanDevelopmentandAppliedPsychology


TITLEOFRESEARCHPROJECT:InfluenceofFathers'AntisocialBehaviours,CoParentingandEmotional

AvailabilityontheDevelopmentalTrajectoriesofMaltreatedChildren



Overthepast15years,therehasbeensubstantialdevelopmentoffatherfriendlypoliciesacrosssocialservices.

Suchdevelopmentsarewelcomegiven fathers' increased involvement inparenting their childrenandon the

basisof research showing that father involvementhaspositive impactson children's social,behavioural and

psychologicaloutcomes.Againstthebackdropofthesepolicyandpracticeshifts,thereisgrowingconcernabout

unintendednegative effects thatmay arisewhenpoliciespromoting father involvement are indiscriminately

extended to men who have been violent in their families. In Canada, there are approximately 103,298

substantiated cases of child maltreatment each year (21.71 per 1000 children). Fathers are identified as

perpetrators in themajority of these cases (i.e., 50%, 56% and 88% of physical and emotional abuse and

exposuretodomesticviolencecases,respectively,Trocmetal.,2005).Suchstatisticsraiseimportantquestions

aboutwhen fathers shouldbebetter included inefforts topromote childwellbeing,when the focus should

remain on themotherchild dyad, andwhen familybased interventions should be abandoned in favour of

limitingfathers'accesstochildrenthroughchildprotectionandcriminaljusticeactions.

Unfortunately,ourabilitytoanswerthesecriticalpolicyandpracticequestionsishamperedbyasubstantiallack

of basic developmental research on the impact of fathers on atrisk children over time. The current study

representsoneof the first touse longitudinaldata collected from fathersand inObservationof fatherchild

dyadsto identify factorsthataggravateormitigatebehaviouralproblems inchildrenatriskbyvirtueofbeing

maltreated. Following from findings in normative samples, we expect thatmen's engagement in antisocial

behaviour(e.g.,

illegal

behaviour,

deceitfulness,

irresponsibility)

will

moderate

the

relationship

between

father

childcontactandchildoutcomessuchthatchildrenwillbenefitfromfatherinvolvementonlywhenmenarenot

antisocial.Disrupted coparenting isexpected tobe akeymediatorof this relationship.Weare investigating

thesequestionswith a sampleof 250 fathers,mothers and their4 to8 yearold children followedover the

courseoftwoyears.Dataarebeingcollected fromfathers,mothers,and inobservationoffatherchilddyads.

Analyseswillusehierarchicallinearmodelling(HLM)toexaminetheinfluenceofthesevariablesontrajectories

of child behaviour problems over time and logistic regression to examine predictors of rereferral to child

protection.

ProjectCode:PSY9


20/20


TheROPstudentsselectedforthesepositionswillbecomepartoftheteamengagedinthisprojectandwillgain

valuableexperienceinappliedresearch.

DutiesforthisGAincludethefollowing:

- Assist intherecruitmentandschedulingofassessmentsessionswithfathers,mothersandfatherchilddyads

- Receivetraininginassessmentmethods- Inpairs,conductassessmentsoffathers,mothers,andoffatherchilddyads- Participateindatamanagementandincodingofdatafromassessments- Attendandparticipateinlabmeetings

Experienceinservicesforanyofthefollowingpopulationswillbevaluedinselection: shelters,childwitnessto

violenceprograms,domesticviolencecrisisservices,criminaljusticeservices


FallJournal

December

10

10%

Interimreport November1 10%

Falltraininganddiscussiongroup SeptembertoNovember 10%

Presentationtolab December 25%

WinterJournal April1 10%

Participationinlabmeetings Ongoing 10%

Posterpreparation March 25%

PSY ROP Fallwinter

Documents

Transcript of PSY ROP Fallwinter