Research in Cognitive Development
- Faculty Sponsor: Catherine Sandhofer
- Department: Psychology
- Contact Name: Nikhita Prabhu
- E-mail: nprabhu@g.ucla.edu
- Room Number: 2329 Psychology Building
- Website: https://babytalk.psych.ucla.edu/undergraduates/
Description of Research Project
Research in Cognitive Development
Description of Student Responsibilities
The responsibilities of a Research Assistant (RA) are highly project-specific. Core research duties involve direct participation in the experimental process, including participant interaction through the active recruitment, screening, and scheduling of research participants (e.g., parents and children), and running experiments while strictly adhering to established protocols. RAs also contribute to project logistics by designing and making research stimuli, and managing data through systematic coding of videotapes or other observations, assisting with analyzing data, and maintaining the integrity of datasets. To ensure the continuity and benefit of training, RAs are required to maintain a minimum 7 hour per week commitment to the lab's work for at least 3 consecutive quarters. Furthermore, RAs must participate in mandatory weekly meetings to discuss research progress and collaborate with the lab group.
Teaching, Learning, and Communication Research
- Faculty Sponsor: Melissa Paquette-Smith
- Department: Psychology
- Contact Name: Melissa Paquette-Smith
- E-mail: Paquettesmith@psych.ucla.edu
- Website: https://tlclab.psych.ucla.edu/
Description of Research Project
Teaching, Learning, and Communication Research
Description of Student Responsibilities
The TLC lab investigates teaching, learning, and communication from multiple angles. Much of our work explores how people understand and produce speech, how these processes develop and change over time, and how they influence our everyday interactions. For more information about our research please see our lab website: https://tlclab.psych.ucla.edu/
Our lab uses a variety of methods to explore how people learn, speak, and interact. Many of our studies involve computerized tasks where participants respond to different types of speech or language-based stimuli. The responsibilities of undergraduate research assistants may vary depending on which project they are working on. Typical responsibilities include helping to set up experimental tasks and test participants through the SONA system. Students are also trained to code and analyze data.
National Neuropsychology Network
- Faculty Sponsor: Robert Bilder, Ph.D.
- Department: Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences
- Contact Name: Kristen Emanuel
- E-mail: kenriquez@mednet.ucla.edu
Description of Research Project
Please contact directly for research project description.
Description of Student Responsibilities
-Complete training on database entry procedures
-Accurately input item-level neuropsychological test data into the research database
-Learn and identify specific neuropsychological tests administered
-Understand testing methods, scoring procedures, and scoring interpretation
-Participate in data analysis (including statistical analyses)
-Assist in formulating research hypotheses
-Contribute to writing abstracts for presentations/publications
-Conduct literature reviews to support ongoing research
-Support preparation of research posters
Cognitive and Perceptual Abilities in Card Game Players
- Faculty Sponsor: Zili Liu
- Department: Psychology
- Contact Name: Lucy Cui
- E-mail: lucycuilabRA1@gmail.com
Description of Research Project
We will assess the cognitive and perceptual abilities (e.g., reasoning, numeracy, visual memory, visual attention) of Magic the Gathering players and compare them to non-Magic players.
Students will be responsible for creating/collecting stimuli, modifying images in photoshop, making/modifying psychopy experiments and pushing them to Pavlovia, maintaining a log of participants and/or email correspondence with them, and/or data cleaning and data analysis.
Students should have taken Psych 100A already. Preference for students who have taken Psych 120A, 120B and/or 186C, have played tradition card games, such as Magic the Gathering, Legends of Runeterra, Hearthstone, etc., or have worked with Psychopy and Pavlovia. Students should be familiar with data cleaning and data analysis in R and/or Python, as well as as data analysis methods such as correlation, linear/logistic regression, and ANOVA/ANCOVA.
Description of Student Responsibilities
Students must be able to commit a minimum of 8 hours a week for a minimum of 2 quarters. If interested, please email Lucy (lucycuilabRA1@gmail.com) your resume, unofficial transcript, and graduation term/year.
User Experience Design and Research
- Faculty Sponsor: Zili Liu
- Department: Psychology
- Contact Name: Lucy Cui
- E-mail: lucycuilabRA1@gmail.com
Description of Research Project
We will study the methods used in user experience research and develop subjective and objective measures to track user journeys, usability and customer satisfaction.
Students will be responsible for creating Figma designs, conducting usability tests and user interviews, qualitative coding, and/or data analysis.
Students should have taken Psych 100B already. Preference for students who have taken Psych 124B (Fundamentals of User Experience) or equivalent courses through the Computer Science or Digital Humanities departments and Psych 121 (Cognitive Psychology Laboratory). Data cleaning and analysis experience in R and/or Python is preferred but not required.
Description of Student Responsibilities
Students must be able to commit a minimum of 8 hours a week for a minimum of 2 quarters. If interested, please email Lucy (lucycuilabRA1@gmail.com) your resume, unofficial transcript, and graduation term/year.
Research on Diverse Ethical Perspectives
- Faculty Sponsor: Eugene Caruso
- Department: Business (Anderson School of Management)
- Contact Name: Medha Raju
- E-mail: medha.raju@anderson.ucla.edu
Description of Research Project
How can individuals and institutions effectively manage complex ethical issues when stakeholders have different perspectives and preferences? The pressing problems of ideological polarization and conflict often lead people to engage in short-sighted tactics that inhibit leaders and organizations from actually listening to, and learning from, one other. Decades of research on intergroup dynamics, the basic needs that underlie human motivation, and the various biases that result from the bounded nature of human cognition all offer some insights into the many barriers that prevent people from engaging with, and reaping the benefits of, the diversity of human perspectives—and why these barriers seem particularly intractable when it comes to ethical disagreements.
The work of our Inclusive Ethics Initiative supports researchers, educators, and the general public in exploring how an inclusive approach to ethics— which entails the equitable participation for all stakeholders in the establishment, evolution, and enforcement of ethical norms—can help people across the globe to successfully address their differences. Research assistants are sought to work on projects that address topics like:
- Stakeholder agency in the use of benefit programs (e.g., food assistance programs like SNAP)
-Conversational dynamics in interpersonal conflict
-Determinants of intrinsically motivated participation and support for EDI activities
-The difference between dialogue and debate goals in shaping encounters with difference
-Gratitude as an experience and an asset in encounters with difference
-Ethics of consent procedures
Description of Student Responsibilities
RAs will work on a variety of research-related tasks, including literature reviews, study design, stimuli creation, archival data analysis, and statistical coding. Students should be independent, organized, reliable, and clear communicators. We want RAs who are not only hardworking but also interested in investigating the social, motivational, and cognitive processes that are involved in discussion, debate, and decision making among stakeholders with different perspectives.
Quantitative Research Collaboratory
- Faculty Sponsor: Montoya, Amanda
- Department: Psychology
- Contact Name: Amanda Montoya
- E-mail: Psychology
- Room Number: LSB 5324
- Phone: 310-794-5069
- Website: http://akmontoya.com/QRClab
Description of Research Project
The QRClab focuses on developing and evaluating statistical methods and research practices used to answer psychological research questions. We develop new statistical analyses to be used for testing questions of mediation, moderation, or moderated mediation with complex data structures. We review published research to understand current practices and develop new guidelines for research practice. We conduct qualitative and quantitative research to understand new publishing mechanisms, such as registered reports. We develop tools (e.g., R packages, SPSS and SAS macros) to help researchers implement new statistical methods.
Description of Student Responsibilities
Students may contribute to these projects in multiple ways. For example, finding research articles with specific data structures or from specific domains. Conducting data analysis to demonstrate novel statistical methods or using specific tools. Quality testing of newly developed statistical tools in SPSS, SAS, or R. Literature searches and coding of academic papers to describe how they use certain statistical methods. Searching for useful or interesting datasets to be used in analysis. Students often come to the lab from a wide range of backgrounds, but the most important qualifications are an eagerness to learn, interest in quantitative psychology, and confidence in your analytical and mathematical skills. Students particularly interested in statistics and research methods are highly encouraged to apply.
To apply to the lab go to akmontoya.com/QRClab, download and complete the lab application, and email it to qrclab@psych.ucla.edu.
Graph Perception and Data Visualization
- Faculty Sponsor: Zili Liu
- Department: Psychology
- Contact Name: Lucy Cui
- E-mail: lucycuilabRA1@gmail.com
Description of Research Project
How do people interpret preexisting and novel graphs and data visualizations? What misconceptions and misperceptions do they have? What does this tell us about people’s understanding of data and statistics? We will explore these questions using mixed-methods.
Description of Student Responsibilities
Research assistants will help with data collection by running participants through experiments and will help pilot-test those experiments. Opportunities will be available to get involved in data analysis and experiment development/material creation. Applicants with experience in data analysis (e.g., Excel, SPSS, R) and programming (e.g., python, matlab, javascript) are preferred and will be given priority. Students must be able to commit a minimum of 8 hours a week for a minimum of 2 quarters. If interested, please email Lucy (lucycuilabRA1@gmail.com) your resume or CV, unofficial transcript, quarter availability and planned graduation date.
Moral Decisions & Rational Altruism
- Faculty Sponsor: Falk Lieder
- Department: Psychology
- Contact Name: Zahra Tahmasebi
- E-mail: rationalaltruismlab@gmail.com
- Room Number: 7525 Pritzker Hall
- Phone: (424) 259-5300
- Website: https://ralab.psych.ucla.edu/
Description of Research Project
Note: The early-bird application deadline for Summer and/or Fall 2024 is May 15, 2024. The application remains open until May 30, 2024.
The Rational Altruism Lab is a purpose-driven team with the mission to strengthen the scientific foundations for improving the future of humanity. We conduct fundamental research on crucial questions about morality, altruism, rationality, learning, and decision-making. Our core values include altruism, rationality, scientific rigor, precise theories and models, intellectual humility and open-mindedness, working hard and smart, taking responsibility, open communication, seeking and providing constructive feedback, continuous learning and improvement, publishing our findings, and open science.
The Rational Altruism Lab conducts research in four core areas:
Moral learning and moral decision-making
Identifying the most impactful questions that psychological science can ask by developing a general method for predicting the social impact of scientific research on different topics.
Understanding and promoting effective well-doing
Improving institutional decision-making.
We are looking for research assistants who will contribute to one of the following projects:
Decision-making in social dilemmas. This project investigates how people make decisions in situations where their self-interest is in conflict with the welfare of others. Undergraduate research assistants can contribute to this project in one or more of the following ways: analyzing participants' verbal responses, statistical data analysis in R, setting up Qualtrics surveys, writing descriptions of social dilemmas, and scientific writing.
Promoting altruistic decision-making through systematic reflection. This project investigates whether systematically reflecting on people's decisions can help them learn to become more altruistic and more farsighted. Undergraduate students can contribute to this project by evaluating our systematic reflection intervention in cognitive interviews, creating Qualtrics surveys, writing descriptions of social dilemmas that will be used in the experiment, analyzing written responses, data analysis in R, and scientific writing.
Obstacles to learning how to make better decisions in social dilemmas. This project investigates why people don’t always learn the right lessons from the outcomes of their decisions. In particular, we investigate what can prevent a person who made an overly selfish and/or irrational decision from realizing how bad their decision was for others. Undergraduate students can contribute to this project by analyzing participants’ written responses to questions probing how they evaluate the outcomes of their decisions.
Description of Student Responsibilities
Research Assistants will be routed to one or more of the lab research projects based on their interests and needs of the projects. Primary mentor will depend on the project assignment. Responsibilities (depending on the projects) may include attending project meetings, creating experimental materials, literature research, data collection, study coordination, data analysis, and manuscript preparation. All projects are designed to produce or contribute to scientific articles. All projects will give you the opportunity to earn a co-authorship on one or more publications that your work contributes to.
At least a basic knowledge of psychological research methodology and statistics are necessary for the position. Prior experience working in lab settings is beneficial but not required. The research assistants should be professional and organized, with good communication skills, a desire to learn and dedication to the Rational Altruism Lab core values. A commitment of at least two quarters is expected.
By joining the Rational Altruism Lab, you will benefit from working with a team of skilled and passionate researchers. This will give you the chance to expand your knowledge of psychological research methodologies while providing hands-on experience in various research domains, such as designing and developing research materials, data collection, data analysis, and reporting.
Time Commitment per Week: 12 hours or more
Research Credit Available: Y/N Y
How to Apply: Please complete the Rational Altruism Lab Interest Form: https://forms.gle/td9uvXbykFWaqEkR9
Neural Mechanisms for Empathy and Social Reasoning
- Faculty Sponsor: Marco Iacoboni
- Department: Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences
- Contact Name: Akila Kadambi
- E-mail: akadambi@ucla.edu
- Website: https://iacoboni.bol.ucla.edu/
Description of Research Project
The neural basis for human social connection is complex and multidimensional. In a series of experiments, we examine systems-level brain markers for different dimensions of empathy, social reasoning, and self-awareness. To explore these questions, we use a combination of behavior, non-invasive brain stimulation (TMS), and functional neuroimaging (fMRI). Much of the research is rooted in principles of embodiment, in that social cognition is built upon- and derives from- our bodily and motor functions.
Description of Student Responsibilities
The research assistant will assist, and potentially lead, aspects of: general study coordination, participant recruitment, and data collection. Prior experience working in lab settings with human subjects, clinical populations, and/or functional neuroimaging is preferred. The research assistant should ideally be able to commit a large portion of time to the project, have excellent organizational skills, and provide at least a two quarter commitment. Programming, 3D modeling, and VR integration are responsibilities as well. An interest in neuroscience is a must. If interested, please email your CV/resume and a brief statement of interest to Akila Kadambi, akadambi@ucla.edu.