SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

At the University of Texas

Undergraduate Research Opportunities in Social Psychology

Things are cooking in the social psychology labs these days. There are research opportunities for laboratory studies and projects in the real world. You can help with online projects or studies that measure biological activity. If you want to do research on something interesting, you've come to the right place. Check out these ongoing projects:

Communication in intimate relationships

Language, depression, and working memory

Natural language use and personality

Testosterone, status, and cognitive performance

Research opportunities in the Gosling lab

But WAIT. Those aren't the only projects that are going on. Look at the websites for the faculty and graduate students. If you see that someone is doing something that you are particularly interested in, go by and visit them.

How do you sign up for research? After you have spoken with a faculty member or graduate student and you both agree that there is a good fit, you can work in a variety of capacities:

• As a volunteer. You agree to help out and you learn the inside scoop on research in that person's lab.

• As a research class: Psychology 357. If you are at least a junior and a psychology major, you can take Psych 357 and receive course credit for conducting research. It is a Credit/No Credit course but, even though you don't get a real grade, it looks good on your transcript.

• As a paid research assistant. This is the least likely of the possibilities because it depends on the researcher's having a research grant and a specific need for a student. But it never hurts to ask.

What's in it for you? Fame, glory, the usual. Beyond that, most graduate schools in psychology expect you to have some research experience. It also gives you the opportunity to work with some of the top faculty and graduate students in the nation on cutting edge research projects.