Research Opportunities

Research Experiences for Undergraduates

The department's exceptional facilities include an eight-room observational laboratory equipped with one-way mirrors for research in developmental and social psychology, as well as thirty laboratory rooms equipped for research in cognitive psychology, psychophyisology, social/personality psychology, developmental psychology, and neuroscience.

Research that is currently being done by the professors and also professors who need students to get involved in their research are listed below:

Dr. Carrie Bredow
Broadly speaking, my current research is focused on examining the question: Do people’s standards and preferences for a marriage partner “matter”? One of the major projects that my lab is working on this year is a longitudinal study examining how people’s cognitions and criteria for a marriage partner interact with other factors in the mate selection process to influence their romantic behaviors and experiences. We are presently in the process of collecting the third wave of data for this study (an 18-month follow-up) and much of our work this year will be focused on cleaning and beginning to analyze this data, as well as preparing for the final wave of data collection which will begin in April. In addition to this ongoing project, I will be launching a study in the spring semester examining people’s implicit (unconscious) preferences for a romantic partner and how these preferences interact with explicit (reported) preferences to influence dating behavior. Although I am not able to accept any additional research assistants this fall, I will be seeking 1 or 2 students to join the lab beginning in January, 2014 (spring semester). If you are interested in joining our team, please email me at bredow@hope.edu and I will provide you with a lab application. After completing the application, I will set up a time for us to meet to further discuss whether my lab would be a good fit for you.

Dr. Mary Inman will continue her work on body image and body attitudes in the Spring 2014. She currently has all the needed help this fall, but will likely need 1 or 2 assistants in the spring. Students who are selected to work with her will sign up for Supervised Research Psy290 for 1 credit. Depending on which phase the project is in, students will help design the study, learn the ethics of doing research, learn about the ethics proposal, conduct the study, code the data, enter the data, write up portions of an APA style paper that pertains to the work, present the research, and receive career advice and writing suggestions. Interested students should email Dr. Inman (inman@hope.edu) to ask for an application and to get a copy of the expectations for Spring 2014 students. Interested Psychology majors who are motivated and eager to learn and who have had Psy100, Psy200, Psy230, and Statistics before this lab experience are eligible to apply.

Dr. Hernandez Jarvis will be conducting research this year in the neurocogniton of dance. This is a new field that investigates mental mapping, knowledge representation, memory, and learning of complex body movements. The fall semester will be spent learning about this field through literature reviews and designing materials to conduct a study. Data collection, and data analysis will take place in the spring semester. I would like students with interest in the psychology of motion. I will particularly welcome students with an interest in body movement (sports or dance). Skills with video filming and editing will be particularly useful (but not necessary).

Dr. Root-Luna
My current research project focuses on how people respond to a hurtful interpersonal event (a transgression). Participants engage in mental imagery about when they were hurt in a way that was both painful and wrong; that is, the offense mattered to them. They come to the lab twice and we monitor physiology (heart rate, heart rate variability, blood pressure, cardiac output, and facial muscles). They also complete a daily questionnaire between visits. More broadly, I am also interested in how people seek forgiveness and what effect that has on relationships, as well as other virtues (e.g., humility, gratitude), emotion regulation, and the study of faith and religion. I am currently seeking (2-3) students who are interested in joining the lab to train them on how to use the psychophysiology equipment, work one-on-one with student participants to get them started on the study, and analyze and interpret data. If you are interested please email me at rootluna@hope.edu. I will provide you with a lab application. Once you have completed the application we can meet to discuss whether my lab would be a good fit for you. Give the nature of the work we do, a commitment of at least 5 hours/week is required to join the lab.

Dr. Patricia Roehling conducts research in the following areas:

Weight Discrimination - Patricia Roehling researches the impact of discrimination against the overweight and obese in the areas of employment and the electoral process. She has also conducted research examining the processes underlying biases against the overweight, and the role of gender in weight discrimination.
Work and Family – Professor Roehling conducts research examining the intersection of work and family among men and women at different life stages. She is beginning a project examining the adjustments that men and women make to their work life when their children leave home.

Pedagogy – Patricia Roehling conducts research examining the effectiveness of different teaching pedagogies. These topics have included how to run effective classroom discussions and the effectiveness of using PowerPoint in upper versus lower level courses. She is currently conducting research on the “flipped classroom.”
Current research needs:

Currently Professor Roehling has a full research lab. She anticipates having an opening in the spring of 2014 in her Work and Family lab. If you are interested in working with Professor Roehling, you will need to complete an application. If you are interested in learning more about research opportunities with Professor Roehling, please email her: roehling@hope.edu

Dr. Gwenda Schmidt is investigating the neural basis of understanding
figurative language (metaphors) in her EEG lab this year. There are
several projects underway, including one which will test adults on the
autism spectrum. Students involved in the lab will have the
opportunity to help with the design of experiments, collect EEG and
behavioral data, analyze data, and perform other tasks. This is a
great experience for anyone wanting to study cognitive neuroscience in
graduate school. Projects will be presented at MPA and possibly other
conferences. For more information about what we do, visit the lab
website at http://schmidteeglab.wix.com/schmidt-eeg-lab. If you are
interested in getting involved, please contact Dr. Schmidt at
schmidtg@hope.edu to get an application. She is mainly interested in
students willing to make a 2-year commitment to the lab, as there is a
long learning curve!

Dr. Daryl Van Tongeren recently received a grant from the John Templeton Foundation to study the role of meaning in scientific and religious meaning systems. Accordingly, for the 2013-2014 academic year, he and his lab group will be conducting research on how individuals interact with those holding different beliefs, as well as exploring various ways to reduce potential conflict among those with divergent worldviews. Dr. Van Tongeren is always looking for eager students who are responsible, motivated, and committed to learning more about the research process. He may have an opening for one student. Interested students can email Dr. Van Tongeren at (vantongeren@hope.edu) and must complete an application that can be downloaded from his lab’s website (http://darylvantongeren.wix.com/lab) in order to apply to join the lab.