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Research Opportunities These following information is about the areas interest to faculty members. Following the hypertext link will provide the professor's UTA home page which includes their email address and representative publications. This page will be updated with the latest information available regarding research opportunities within the department. Faculty are invited to use the form at the bottom of the page to update information on this page. Harriett Amster Interests are in human memory and its changes in aging, subcortical dementia and sex differences in cognitive processes.  The research in our lab concerns memory, specifically changes that occur as we age, the effects of emotional tone on memory, the possible facilitation of older adults’ memory, comprehension, the cognitive processes which underlie memory. We have become interested in a basic aspect of comprehension, ambiguity resolution, which may involve both facilitation and inhibition. Specifically, this area of focus involves the study of age-related differences in homograph disambiguation and how the processing of homograph meanings may involve facilitation and inhibition. See also Gorfein. Bernstein, Ira H. Studies in depression measures. Additional research concerns the application of multivariate and psychometric models to both psychological inventories and to the study of perceptual processes.  Another current area of research interest is in what makes faces look attractive and how do these differ cross culturally.   Looking for: One research assistant interested in post-partum depression  Method of Credit: Research Credit Number of assistants needed: One Brainerd, C. J. My research during the upcoming year will focus on false memory on children and adults and also on applications of such research in the law. Looking for: Independent study students to serve as research assistants in a study of phantom recollection (the illusory vivid mental states that often accompany false memories). Number of assistants needed: 3-4 Erickson, James R. General interests are in the areas of cognitive psychology, quantitative psychology, and statistical methods. Specific research interests include the development of models for understanding reasoning and problem solving in such areas as formal syllogistic reasoning, categorization, and probabilistic decision making. Fuchs, Perry N. A main focus of my overall research is aimed at exploring the basic, underlying central and peripheral nervous system mechanisms associated with rewarding and aversive stimuli. Experimental models, such as peripheral inflammation and neural injury, produce aversive behavioral responses that are associated with pain. A noxious stimulus usually engages specific peripheral mechanisms, causing several conscious sensations consisting of judgments regarding the location and extent of tissue damage. Typically, there is also an alteration in affect and an induction of subconscious somatic and autonomic responses. Using a variety of experimental models, central mechanisms of pain processing are elucidated using focal electrical stimulation, microinjection, and lesion techniques. Research on peripheral mechanisms focuses on the coupling between the sympathetic and somatic nervous system. Gorfein, David S. Undergraduates interested in enrolling for research credit are invited to participate in a program of research addressed to how the individual processes words for memory and meaning. Specific research topics currently being addressed include the effects of selecting a meaning for ambiguous word, and the nature of priming in conceptual memory tasks. Research students will learn about memory and language research, collect data and be fully informed as to the purpose of the experiment(s).  Looking for: Research assistants interested in the effects of ambiguity with regard to the acquisition of language and meaning. Reliability is a must.  Method of Credit: Research Credit Number of assistants needed: Three Ickes, William The major focus of our research in the UTA Social Interaction Lab is the study of naturally occurring social interaction including empathic accuracy and other aspects of social cognition. Empathic accuracy can be described as "everyday mind reading." With the empathic accuracy assessment procedure, we can measure the degree to which research participants can accurately infer the specific content of the thoughts and feelings reported by other people. The procedure for studying empathic accuracy has been applied to the interactions of strangers, friends, dating couples, and married couples. It has been used to explore the basis of the acquaintanceship effect, the validity of the "women’s intuition" stereotype, the phenomenon of "motivated inaccuracy," the effects of cognitive frames and schemas on empathic inference, the factors that affect empathic accuracy in a clinically relevant setting, the empathic inferences of maritally aggressive husbands, women who score high on the anxious attachment dimension, symptoms associated with borderline personality, and participants who have been paired into same- versus mixed-ethnicity dyads. Jensen-Campbell, Lauri Contact:Amy_Waldrip@hotmail.com My research interests fall at the boundary of social, developmental, and personality psychology.  In addition, many of my lab students are trained to collect psychophysiological measurements (e.g., EEG, ERP, EMG).   I am interested in individual differences and the ways in which they might moderate social behavior, in children, adolescents, and young adults. I also have been interested in studying minority populations, specifically Latino/Hispanic populations. Opportunities: Help Collect Data for an NSF-Funded Project on the Development of Self-Regulation in  Adolescence. Help Collect Data on project that examines psychophysiological responses to social exclusion. Learn psychophysiological data collection techniques (e.g., EEG, ERP). Learn SPSS-X and Prepare for Graduate School. Possibility for Presenting at National Conferences!  For more information, e-mail Amy Waldrip at Amy_Waldrip@hotmail.com or call 817-272-6039.  Looking for: Students meeting the following requirements: GPA of 3.0 or better. Preference for students who can collect data in the evenings and on weekends. Must be available for 9-10 hours a week minimum. Method of credit: Earn Upper-level Psychology Credit (i.e., PSYC 4381). Kimball, Daniel R. Human Learning and memory Lab, Dkimball@uta.edu 817-272-5480  Research involves exploring ways in which various memory enhancement techniques operate to improve memory when they are used in combination, and how assessing what we know may improve memory performance. Help conduct research in human memory, including memory optimization techniques Learn about memory, experimental design, and interpretation of experiment results Flexible hours available Method of Credit: Earn 1, 2 or 3 credits for 3, 6 or 9 hrs/week (PSYC 4181, 4281 or 4381) Levine, Daniel S. 817-272-3598 , Levine@uta.edu or Mr. Steven Estrada 817-272-7159  stevenestrada51@hotmail.com  Undergraduate research assistants Wanted for Laboratory on Emotionally influenced decision   How do monetary gains and losses influence judgments of probability?? How do our emotions about gains and losses shoe in our body responses? Do we prefer predictable or unpredictable rewards and penalties? Method of Credit: Research Credit Number of assistants needed: One Mann, Martha A. Research interests include hormonal, genetic and nutritional aspects of development and behavior. Topics include: territoriality; parental care, lactation and perinatal nutrition; sexual differentiation, population regulation, and comparative approaches to behavior. (I also enjoy baseball statistics.) Mellgren, Roger L. Interests are in comparative cognition and behavior applied animal behavior, evolutionary psychology.  . Recently lizards, turtles, and birds have been used in foraging, learning and social behavior studies. Currently doing research on sex differences in spatial cognition using human subjects, assessing personality relationships between dogs and their owners, and learned behaviors in two species of sea turtles. Odegard, Timothy     Email: odegard@uta.edu Rational Decision Making Lab Phone: 272-3315 Brain Imaging Research This semester I am starting two projects that take physiological readings from human participants’ brains and correlating these readings with human responding in memory tasks. This is being accomplished using Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) for three of the experiments and EEG for three other experiments. NIRS measures blood flow in a similar fashion as fMRI and EEG measures electrical conductance across the scalp. I am seeking undergraduate interested in actually learning how to use this equipment and aiding me in conducting this research. Openings: Fall semester 3  Dyslexia Research I will also begin my NIH funded research investigating cognitive impairments associated with dyslexia. This research will culminate in the creation of an empirically based reading tutorial program to aid children with dyslexia in learning how to read more easily. I am seeking undergraduates to assist me in conducting these experiments and to serve as reading tutors to work with children with dyslexia. Openings: Fall semester 2  For both projects I am looking for: Friendly, bright, resourceful and responsible students  Method of credit: Earn upper level Psychology Credit (i.e., PSYC 4381). Additional Benefits: Every undergraduate who has worked with me has always been listed on at least one national conference presentation. Peng, Yuan Bo I am interested in studying the neurophysiological mechanisms of sensory transmission, especially, nociception by means of electrophysiological techniques in both peripheral and central nervous system.  In brief, we can tease the peripheral nerve into a tiny strand and record at the single nerve fibers to study the firing characteristics; or we can insert a fine electrode to record the neuronal activity of a dorsal horn neurons in the spinal cord; or we can stimulate certain part of the brain to see the effect of stimulation on other neuronal activities. Finally, we can create certain type of pain models and apply drugs to study the effect of those drugs on pain, or the underlying mechanisms. Looking for: Research assistants who want to be involved in experiments which will give them first hand experience about how neurons respond to mechanical and thermal stimulation of the skin. They can also learn to search and organize literature on non-experimental days. These experiences are best for students who plan their future in the biomedical field.   Reyna, Valerie F. Rational Decision Making Lab,  817-272-3315  Research Assistants needed for multiple projects for the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health. The NSF project is concerned with children’s memory and forensic interviewing. It is ideal for  someone interested in false memories, child development or improving the legal system. The NIH project is concerned with risky decision making. It is ideal for someone with interests in judgment, decision making, and improving health. Some research assistants will be involved in teaching a heath education curriculum.  E-mail: odegard@uta.edu,Web: http://reynalab.uta.edu  Looking for:  People with, excellent follow through, attention to detail, ability to work independently, ability to follow instructions, the resourcefulness to overcome challenges. Requires 2 semester commitment and 10 hours per week. Method of credit: 3 hours credits available if enrolled in Research in Psychology class under Dr. Reyna   Post Research Opportunities      Faculty, please use this form to update information on this page. The fields with asterisks are required for the form to work properly. Information will be published as space allows and/or made available to students upon their request. Thank you! What is your name?                       ** Please enter your Email address:    ** Please describe the research opportunities available in your lab Are there any particular abilities, qualities you require? Desire? What is the method of credit or is this a paid position? What kind of time commitments might a student be expected to make?  How many assistants are you looking for (enter "open" for no limit)? If you have a web page for more info about your research, please enter it here: