Supervising Faculty: Dr. Amanda Forest
Contact: Emily O’Brien, ero36@pitt.edu (for questions only; if you’re interested in applying, please fill out the Google form linked below)
Area of Research: Social Psychology: Close relationships
Description of Research: We are looking for highly motivated, organized, reliable, and community-oriented Psychology students to join the Pitt Relationship Processes lab. Students should be eager to learn about and participate in the conduct of research on close relationships, and to work collaboratively with other members of our lab.
Students will have the opportunity to learn about social psychology and close relationship processes while gaining hands-on research experience. Some tasks may be independent, while others may be in groups with other students. Training and supervision will be provided.
Current projects in the lab examine how people communicate with others, how they pursue goals together or support each other’s goal pursuits, and how people respond to events and situations that might make them feel that their romantic relationships are at risk.
Duties of Students: Students will be trained and involved in various phases of the research process and will be given substantial responsibility. Tasks vary by semester and may include: coding written, audio-recorded, or video-recorded data; scheduling and/or running participants in lab-based or remote studies (e.g., on Zoom); assisting with the development of study materials and procedures; participating in the administration of online studies; and performing data entry, management, and/or analysis. Students will also be expected to attend and participate actively in lab meetings.
Total number of hours of participation per week will be approximately 8 hours (spread across multiple days) for 3 credits. Interested students should be able to commit to coming in to our lab space in Sennott Square at least 3 days of the week for 1-3 hours each shift, and must be available to attend lab meetings held in Sennott Square on Wednesdays from 2:00-3:00pm. Previous research experience is an asset but is not required. For some positions, preference will be given to students who can commit to 2 terms of Directed Research in the lab.
If you are interested in learning more about our lab, please visit our website: www.pittrelationshipprocesseslab.com
If you would like to apply, please fill out our application form here: https://forms.gle/fhzABYKmsCHcub2SA
Additional Requirements:
-
Able to attend weekly lab meetings in Sennott Square on Wednesdays from 2:00-3:00 pm
-
Overall GPA of 3.0 or higher
-
12 credits of Psychology (including current term)
-
STAT 0200/1000/1100 Statistics
-
PSY 0036 Research Methods Lecture
-
PSY 0037 Research Methods Lab
-
PSY 0105 Introduction to Social Psychology
-
Strong motivation to learn about psychological research and interest in relationships research in particular
-
Good interpersonal skills
-
Dependability, ability to work collaboratively in a group as well as independently
We will begin to review applications for Fall 2024 positions on Tuesday, August 6th and will consider applications until positions are filled, prior to the start of the Fall semester.
