Summer
Internship Program
Pennebaker
Lab, 2008
Each
summer, the Pennebaker lab takes in 2-5 students to help out with ongoing
research projects. The goal is to give
people a broad experience of psychology research in a way that can help them
appreciate the world of a graduate student.
Research topics. Each summer, the research projects
differ. In addition, the research
studies that are ongoing now may well change by June. It is a safe bet that we will be studying
features of language use and their links to people’s psychological states. Likely projects this summer will include:
|
Topic |
Supervising Graduate
Student |
|
How
young children talk to their parents at home and in the lab |
|
|
The
language of dieters as they discuss their lives in their blogs |
|
|
How
teachers change the ways they speak from one class to another |
|
|
How
characters in literature reflect their authors |
|
|
Helping
returning soldiers from |
|
|
Exploring
texts when they are translated back and forth from English, Spanish, and
Arabic |
|
|
Social
interactions and working memory |
Most interns will work on multiple
projects over the summer. We also encourage students to formulate their own
ideas. It is not uncommon for interns to
eventually run their own research projects by the end of the summer. If you would like to know more about each of
these projects, you can contact the supervising graduate students directly. You should also check out the various
research projects that we have recently completed by going to:
Summer pay. Most internships are
on a volunteer basis. In some cases, grant money may become available. If so, the
pay is generally minimum wage. At the current time, assume no money will become
available. This may change depending on some pending grant applications.
Your daily life. We expect our summer interns to take the
research experience seriously. Some of
the work will be tedious, other work will be broad and
exciting. Everyone is expected to come
to the weekly research meeting where new ideas and ongoing projects are
discussed. Interns generally work closely
with one or more graduate students and will meet periodically with Dr.
Pennebaker. Work hours are flexible
although it is assumed that students will spend as much time as possible in the
lab.
Interns will be housed in the
Pennebaker research area which will include office space, a computer, and whatever
else you need to get work done. You will
also get a UT ID card which will give you access to the library and other
university facilities. It is hoped that
you will spend time talking with the grad students and other interns. This should be a fun and fulfilling
experience.
Work schedule. The graduate students and Dr. Pennebaker will
be around most of the summer. Everyone
tends to leave for a week or two at different times for vacation. Classes at UT end the first week of May and
graduation is May 17. Students are
encouraged to begin whenever they can.
Generally, the summer ends around August 20. Note that some students only work for 2-3
weeks whereas others work the entire summer.
We also know that some students hold down a regular paying job and
consequently can only devote 10-20 hours per week to research. We can work with complicated schedules. In
our experience, the more time people work, the more they get out of it.
Living arrangements. You are on your own about finding a place to
live. The good news is that many students sign 12-month leases and are
desperate to rent out their apartments over the summer. Check the UT website
for places to live.
Selection process. If you are interested in becoming a summer
intern, please contact Dr.
Pennebaker. In your email, describe
your background, what you would like to accomplish, and when you would like to
begin.