PSYC240: Research Experience

At the Centre for Cognitive Development (PI: Dr. Odic), we are interested in how children think about number, space, and time, and how these early representations help them learn about language, mathematics, and metacognition. Students in our lab are trained on how to contact local Vancouver families by phone and email to invite them to come to our lab and participate in our studies. Students can expect to be part of a team that contacts families and will be trained on how to conduct the studies themselves both online and in our on-campus lab. We also expect that students will participate in weekly meetings that will help them grasp the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of the projects.

We are currently looking for Daycare RAs at our lab. In this position, you would book, commute to, and conduct studies at schools and daycares in the Vancouver area. For a more complete list of Expectations and Responsibilities for Daycare RAs, you can read our formal document on our website.

• Minimum Commitment: 8 hours/week - 2 weekdays
• Minimum Semester Commitment: 2 semesters.
• Will References Be Requested: No
• Will Transcript Be Requested: No
• Will Interview Be Requested: Yes
• Additional Information Required: description of previous experience working with children, if any.

The UBC Centre for Infant Cognition’s research explores the origins of social and moral thought from a developmental perspective. In particular, we examine our tendency to judge individuals’ actions as good or bad, as deserving of reward or punishment, and as morally praiseworthy or blameworthy. We ask whether and how these social and moral evaluations influence our understanding of others’ future acts, their mental states, and their underlying personalities. We also study how these evaluations affect our willingness to perform prosocial behaviours. We examine these questions using preverbal infants and young toddlers, in order to study the foundational origins of these processes before complex cognitive abilities (such as language and inhibitory control) fully develop, and prior to the influences of cultural norms and values. RA roles include: maintaining ongoing positive relationships with participating families including contacting families and scheduling appointments using a research database, setting up experimental equipment according to prescribed protocols (e.g. Eye-Tracking devices and recording materials), completing the consenting process with participating families, administering studies and assessments according to prescribed protocols, entering data into a research database according to established protocols, assisting with validating and cleaning of data assisting with data analysis. Opportunity to develop skills in R, SPSS, GitHub, Lookit, Adobe Suite, and Observer XT and a variety of looking-time software (such as PyHab, jHab).

• Minimum commitment: 10h/week
• Minimum semester commitment: 2 Semesters
• Will references be requested: No
• Will transcripts be requested: Yes
• Will interview be requested: Yes
• Additional information: None

Additional Questions:

1. A research position at Centre for Infant Cognition involves working closely with babies and their families. In what ways do you think you would be a good fit for this role? (this includes interests, experiences and goals).
2. A volunteer at the Centre for Infant Cognition will be expected to use a complex google calendar system and database. Describe why you believe you will be able to succeed in this context (this includes interests and experiences).
3. Excellent customer service is a core value of the Centre for Infant Cognition. Explain your reasoning for how you would preform well in this area (this includes interests, experiences and goals).
4. Describe any previous research experience or any research that you have come across in early childhood development that has interested you.
5. Besides your previous answers to the questions above, why are you interested in volunteering with the Centre for Infant Cognition in particular?

The Culture and Self Lab is spearheaded by Dr. Steve Heine, where we are working on different distinct research programs at the intersection of Cultural Psychology, Meaning Maintenance, and Moral Psychology. RAs will be expected to write and edit online survey studies, generate ideas for experiments, and oversee data collection. We also expect that students will participate in regular meetings in which ongoing research projects will be discussed.

• Minimum Commitment: 5 hours/week
• Minimum Semester Commitment: 1 semester
• Will References Be Requested: We will request (but not require) any references from past research-related roles.
• Will Transcript Be Requested: Yes
• Will Interview Be Requested: Yes

Additional Information Required: Additional information addressing anything about your transcript that you think is not representative of your performance / abilities.

Additional Questions:

1. Why are you interested in working with this lab?
2. What research skills are you most interested in developing?
3. In 1-2 sentences: What research question(s) would you like to study?
4. Are there any things in your transcript that you think are a poor representation of your abilities?

At the Emotion & Self Lab (PI: Dr. Tracy), we study the evolutionary function, nonverbal expression, and psychological structure of emotions and self. Much of our research is focused on self-conscious emotions, but we also study more basic level emotions linked to moral behaviour as well as other complex social emotions like humility and schadenfreude. In all of our research, we tend to take a functionalist perspective – asking why questions about emotion and self, and seeking both ultimate and proximate answers. A student with research assistant position in our lab can expect to run psychological studies that involve Qualtrics surveys, roles as confederates, or other forms of assessment. Research assistants have the opportunity to participate in data analysis or study design depending on their interest as they advance within the lab.

• Minimum Commitment: 7.5 hours/week
• Minimum Semester Commitment: No minimum, but 2 semesters preferred.
• Will References Be Requested: No
• Will Transcript Be Requested: Yes
• Will Interview Be Requested: Yes
• Additional Information Required: N/A

We study how people’s goals and motivations interact with their beliefs and ideologies. Think topics like politics, morality, social inequality, and how we convince ourselves to hold onto beliefs that make us feel good even when evidence tells us they’re wrong. As a new RA, you might be asked to read and summarize scientific articles, make ratings of participants in our studies based on videos they’ve recorded or short essays they’ve written, learn how to use survey software like Qualtrics and / or data analysis softwares like R, and help create study materials.

• Minimum commitment: 5h/week
• Minimal semester commitment: 1 semester
• Will References Be Requested: No
• Will Transcript Be Requested: Yes
• Will Interview Be Requested: Yes

Additional Information Required: Additional information addressing anything about your transcript that you think is not representative of your performance / abilities.

Additional Questions:

1. Why are you interested in working with this lab?
2. What research skills are you most interested in developing?
3. In 1-2 sentences: What research question(s) would you like to study?
4. Are there any things in your transcript that you think are a poor representation of your abilities?

At the PANGEA Lab (PI: Friedrich Götz), we study the many ways in which humans and their environments shape each other and what these person–environment–interactions mean for individuals and the places they live in.

The primary focus of research of our lab is geographical psychology, and more specifically, the causes and consequences of regional personality differences. We pursue an interdisciplinary Big Data approach that seeks to combine classic interactionist theories from social and personality psychology with an applied behavioural science perspective and consequential real-world outcomes.

However, we also pursue an eclectic mix of other projects related to personality – from using AI to develop better personality scales to charting our personality development across the lifespan, to studying the ways in which personality shaped individual and collective experiences and behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic. These projects change each year and are driven by contemporary societal discourse and personal interests of the researchers involved.

We are united in diversity and the firm belief that the different views, experiences, and approaches that each of us brings to the lab are what brings us together as humans and what empowers us to do the best, most innovative, relevant, and mindful research that we can do. It is in this spirit, that we strive to create an inclusive, collaborative, and safe space that welcomes people from all backgrounds and offers equal opportunities for everyone without diminishing individual uniqueness.

• Minimum Commitment: 5 hours/week
• Minimum Semester Commitment: 2 semesters
• Will References Be Requested: No
• Will Transcript Be Requested: Yes*
• Will Interview Be Requested: Yes
• Additional Information Required: None

Additional Questions:

1. Please tell us about why you are interested in joining our lab (250 words or less).
2. Please tell us about the skills that you bring to the lab and the skills that you wish to gain from joining our lab (250 words or less).
3. If available, please attach your class schedule.

*Your grades will be weighed less than your Statement of Interest (answers to “Additional Information Required”) and interview.

Doing hands-on research in psychology labs is a common way of gaining many skills that are important for graduate work in psychology (e.g., data coding, participant recruitment, administration of tests and measurements, and more). These positions are known as “research assistantships”, or RA positions. While most psychology labs at UBC support undergraduate students as RAs, this is typically only done through volunteer experiences or third- and fourth-year directed studies courses.

Many students, however, cannot volunteer their time to work in psychology labs as RAs, and are therefore systematically excluded from this opportunity. The central goal of PSYC240 is to provide students with an alternative arrangement of working in a psychology lab for course credit, if they prefer this to volunteering.

We have three goals:

1. be a vehicle for students who have entry-level research positions (acquired through the portal or otherwise) to receive course credit for position instead of volunteering;
2. to simplify the process of applying to entry-level research assistant psychology labs through a centralized portal for students looking for new positions;
3. to better understand the barriers that students experience when joining psychology labs, such that we can update our Department’s policies and protocols to, in the long run, be more transparent and equitable about students joining labs.

The portal typically opens in early July and November, each time recruiting for the upcoming semester. We suggest that you pay attention to this page and to Department of Psychology social pages for updates on the date the portal will open. The portal closes when the add/drop date for the upcoming term passes.

Note that the portal remains open even if all labs with new positions have recruited to allow students to submit conversions from volunteer positions.

We don’t think so. Students in this course, like any course, will receive course credit that they can apply towards their degree requirement, and this course in particular can help create space within their timetables. Additionally, labs are not asked to hold or reserve any positions for PSYC240, so the pool of positions remains as open as it was before the introduction of the course.

A single credit in PSYC240 is equivalent to 5 hours/week in a lab as an RA for the duration of an academic term. While we expect most students to take PSYC240 for three credits, we want to give additional flexibility for students who do not have enough time for this commitment. Students therefore can take PSYC240 in a number of different configurations.

For example, a student can decide that they can at most spend 5h/week for 2 semesters, and therefore enroll in PSYC240 to gain one credit in the first term and one credit in the second. Or, a student might have 15h/week in the second term, but no time in the first.

Any of these configurations are acceptable so long as the student and the lab they are participating in agree on it. Once the student and the lab agree, the PSYC240 Course Coordinator is notified and handles all the administrative details to make this happen.

No – as with any other UBC course you can only take it once. For students interested in gaining course credit after PSYC240, we recommend that students review Directed Studies as an option.

No – at this time the course is limited to three credits.

Most labs require a minimum commitment of 7.5h/week for two semesters. The easiest way to make this happen is to have the student enroll in a half credit split (2 credits in the Fall term and 1 credit in the Winter term), but have them split their time evenly in both, working 7.5h/week for both semesters.

If a lab asks you to do 7.5h/week for two semesters, the easiest way to accommodate this is by doing a half credit split (2 credits in Fall and 1 in Winter) and doing 7.5h/week throughout both terms. There is no way to accommodate half credits.

For labs with this requirement, you will receive 2 credits for your 10h/week in one term, and 1 credit for 5h of your 10h/week in the other term. To satisfy the lab requirements you will have to volunteer 5h/week in that 1-credit term. Unfortunately, the reality of some areas of psychology research is that a higher hourly commitment is required, though it is often matched by more experience gained, as well.

This means that the lab has filled their positions for the upcoming term, and has been “taken off” the portal until the next time they have open positions. We do our best to update this page when labs are done recruiting, but the portal is the authoritative list of the labs that have positions open for new positions.

Absolutely, any Department of Psychology lab can support PSYC240 students (only a subset use the portal for new positions). Simply gain approval from a member of the lab (usually a graduate student, lab manager, or faculty) and use the portal to make a "conversion".

Unfortunately not. After you submit your application you will receive an email confirmation that it has been forwarded, and at that point you just have to wait for a lab to contact you back. Some labs are quick to reply, some slow, so there is no way to find out at what stage they are each in. The only way to know that your application was not successful is that you are not contacted by the time you receive an email that all positions have been filled, which is usually around the add/drop date.

If you are worried about labs not getting back in touch, our advice is to continue looking for volunteer positions in other labs not listed on the portal while you wait. Each lab lists their own protocols for applying on their websites.

Not in this term, but you can apply for the subsequent term.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• reflect on the process of how quantitative research is conducted in psychology, including ethical decision making throughout;
• reflect on how the ethical principles of the TCPS (Tri-Council Policy Statement; or Animal Care, depending on the lab) are applied in practice to ensure ethical treatment of participants (or non-human animals), and enact those principles as relevant;
• summarize how faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students work together to create knowledge in psychological science;
• contribute tangibly to an ongoing research project by performing tasks accurately and on time (e.g., data entry, coding, scheduling, materials preparation, data collection, literature search), as assigned by the Principal Investigator (PI) of the lab you are working in;
• describe how their tasks contribute to an ongoing research project;
• discuss the role of lab meetings and/or progress update meetings with the PI and/or lead graduate student; contribute to the progress of research;
• compare and contrast research practices across psychology’s many subfields.

You will not receive a letter-grade for this course but will instead either be granted the credits or not at the end of each term. You will pass if:

1. you completed the agreed-upon number of hours in the lab, and performed your duties as expected; and
2. you completed the mandatory TCPS2 ethics training and uploaded your certificate to Canvas; and
3. for each credit you signed up for, you submit a one-page reflection paper to Canvas, alongside a list of tasks and hours completed.

For the reflection papers, you will be asked to use specific examples to discuss how you have made progress toward the PSYC 240 learning objectives. For example, you might describe the tasks they have performed over the course of the past month, and explain how these tasks have contributed to knowledge generation in empirical psychology.

Yes, all the normal rules of course add/drop/withdraw deadlines apply normally.

If you and the lab you are in both agree to change anything, please contact the PSYC240 Course Instructor, whose contact information will be on Canvas, and they will sort out any changes you need.

No, but the PSYC240 coordinator will offer optional virtual meet-ups during which we will spend time discussing careers in psychology, graduate school, finding other research positions, and more.

Before applying, please take time to read the brief description of each lab, provided for you here. You will learn about the research topics, typical responsibilities of entry-level students in the lab, and what additional application details you might need to submit at a later time. When deciding on which labs to apply to, the most important details will be making sure that you can meet their hourly and semester requirements, that you are interested in the kind of research that they do, and whether the typical tasks for RAs match the skills you want to acquire. It is also very useful to think about what skills you already have that seem like a good fit for the lab (e.g., experience working with special populations, coding skills, etc.).

Most labs want to know about why you applied to them. Some ask additional questions, and these are listed in the Lab Descriptions so you can prepare for them in advance. Consider writing a short statement about what part of their research seems particularly exciting to you (and why), and what skills you might have that make you a good fit for them.

If you are converting an existing position, we will contact a member of the lab you are in to make sure you have approval, and then add you to the course.

If you are applying for a new position, then after the application is submitted, each lab that is still recruiting students and was selected by you will receive a short version of you application, which will only have the details for them (they won’t see what other labs you applied for, or the optional demographic details). They will then review your submission and, if interested, contact you via email about next steps.

There is not, though we strongly urge you to spend time reading the descriptions of various labs and only applying to those that you are actually interested in.

We expect that many more students will apply than can be accommodated into labs (this is true for volunteer positions, too). If you do not hear back from any of the labs and you are notified that all positions are closed, it means that none of them decided to advance your application further. For all students who were not matched to a lab, the PSYC240 coordinator will also offer advice for applying next year via an email.

We also encourage students to apply to any other lab within the Department – even if they are not listed on the Application Portal – since you can always gain a volunteer position on your own and then convert to PSYC240.

PSYC240 can only accommodate work in a single lab. You are welcome to simultaneously be in other labs as a volunteer or paid RA, but you can only be formally in a single lab for the PSYC240 credits.