Our
lab
conducts
exciting
and
enriching
research,
and we take great pride
in having the strongest undergraduate students as our research
assistants. The demands of working in our lab are high, but so
are the benefits. We require at least a two-semester commitment,
and an average of 10 hours of work per week.
Our
lab is involved in a variety of research projects, most of which are
related to the study of stereotypes and prejudice. At the beginning of
the semester, our research assistants are presented with our various
research projects and allowed to choose the project that interests
them. The projects include research on individual differences in the
way people experience and control the activation of stereotypes and
prejudice in their thoughts, emotions, and behavior, and on the impact
of situational cues on the expression of prejudice. Most of our
research focuses on African Americans as the target of stereotyping and
prejudice; however, we also have projects that examine prejudice toward
women and toward gays and lesbians. We use a broad range of methods in
our research, including cross-cultural surveys, high-impact situational
manipulations, priming and reaction time tasks, and
electrophysiological measurement of brain activation (EEG), facial
muscle activity (EMG), and emotion-modulated startle response. People
working in our lab have the opportunity to gain experience with these
methods at multiple stages of the research process, and their input
into this process is valued highly.
Last
but
not
least,
Trish
Devine
is
dynamic
and fun to work with (according
to her students), and she is always willing to meet with students to
talk about research. Our lab's research maintains a high profile in the
field, and favorable recommendations from Trish can carry a lot of
weight in an application for a social psychology graduate program. Our
lab is typically large and social. We have a lab potluck party every
semester, and people usually end up making some good friends along the
way.
StudentsŐ
responsibilities
We
expect
lab
assistants
to
spend
10
hours
a week on lab activities. These
include our weekly large group meeting, weekly small group meetings
with project leaders, and running individual experiments. Depending on
the experiment, lab assistants may need to call participants, run
simple computer programs, and/or engage in a little role play/acting.
In addition, most of our effort at the beginning of the semester is
focused on processing and entering data from the mass survey. We
require everyone to put about 5 hours into this activity.
Applicants
should
possess
the
typical
prerequisites
for
joining
a research lab.
We'll train people for anything they don't already know. Most
importantly, students should be motivated, reliable and enthusiastic
about working on the research team.
