The Social Health Lab and Social Identity Lab: Volunteer Research Assistants

The Social Health Lab (PI: Dr. Frances Chen) and the Social Identity Lab (PI: Dr. Toni Schmader) are jointly seeking new RAs to support ongoing projects focused on disparities in health and wellbeing outcomes based on gender and social class.

Position overview 

This is a great opportunity to gain in-depth hands-on experience in a dynamic research environment and would be a particularly good fit for students who are considering applying for graduate school in Psychology or related disciplines. Applicants will have opportunities to help prepare study materials, interact with research participants and other members of a research team, gain experience with data collection, and develop skills in areas including data management and data analysis.

Position responsibilities

Typical RA responsibilities include:

  • Preparing study materials
  • Recruiting, screening, and scheduling participants
  • Overseeing lab visits
  • Debriefing participants about the purpose of research studies
  • Data management and data coding
  • Conducting literature reviews

Position requirements
Successful applicants for RA positions in the lab typically

  • -Are registered UBC students
  • Have taken PSYC101, 102, and 217, or equivalent courses
  • Have maintained a B+ (or above) average in their courses over the past year
  • Can contribute 6-9 hours per week for at least 12 months
  • Experience with R or SPSS, are a plus.

We evaluate applications holistically and thus do make exceptions for outstanding applicants who do not fit the profile described above. If the profile above does not describe you, but you still feel like you’d be a great fit for the lab, please make sure to tell us why in your application!

To apply

Please fill out the application form.

About the labs

The Social Health Lab seeks to understand the obstacles that people face while making friends and seeking social support from loved ones, as well as the health consequences of loneliness and interpersonal conflict. The lab is developing interventions to promote social connection with the goal of making a positive impact on people’s health and well-being.

The Social Identity Lab examines how people are affected by social identities and the stereotypes attached to them. We examine social stereotyping from the point of view both of perceivers and those who are targeted by stigmatization. And in much of our work, we aim to harness theory and basic science in psychology to better understand and address inequality created by social biases.