Dive Deep. Our faculty specialize in a wide variety of areas, with most leading their own research labs. Students have the unique opportunity to work directly with faculty who are accomplished experts in their respective fields—a truly one-of-a-kind experience.
Find faculty members whose work interests you. Search the table below of faculty who often have research for undergraduate students. Then, click on “Lab Openings” to see if they are accepting new undergraduate students for upcoming semesters and reach out!
| **Research opportunities in Psychology and Human Development for undergraduate students at Vanderbilt or TSU or Fisk students through the research consortium | ||
|---|---|---|
| Faculty mentor (alphabetical by last name) | Brief description of research and undergraduate involvement | Application instructions |
| Benton, Deon | Computational Cognitive Development Lab (CCDL) We study how infants and children learn about cause and effect and to evaluate others based on their social and moral actions; in other words, we study the cognitive mechanisms of change that give rise to these capacities. A typical undergraduate in our lab is directly involved with all aspects of our research. | Apply via our online application |
| Boles, Jessika | CHILL Lab (Children's Healthcare, Illness, Legacy, and Loss) Psychosocial needs and interventions in pediatric intensive care, bereavement support service needs and experiences, legacy perceptions and needs in healthcare contexts, use of and response to facility dog interventions in pediatric healthcare settings, patient and family experiences of healthcare and healthcare transition, pediatric medical complexity (emphasis on qualitative and mixed-methods) | Please submit online application here |
| Booth, Amy | Little Learners Lab (LLL) Research opportunities focus on understanding the causes and consequences of early variability in learning and motivation. Current projects focus primarily on learning and interests in the domains of science and language. | Please submit application available on our website |
| Booth, James | Brain Development Laboratory Our active projects involve examining the neuro-cognitive basis of language and reading acquisition. We have studies examining typical and atypical populations, including dyslexia, late talkers, hard of hearing, autism and anxiety. Activities include participant recruitment, data collection and management, as well as analysis and writing reports. | Submit application through lab website under "Want to join our team?" |
| Brown-Schmidt, Sarah | Conversation Lab Our research focuses on language processing and memory, especially in conversational contexts, in healthy adults and persons with brain injury. | Visit my website |
| Compas, Bruce | Stress and Coping Lab Research on the effects of stress on mental and physical health in children and adolescents and families. Studies include (a) Huntington's disease (a genetic neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disease) (b) Parenting, emotions, and school safety concerns, (c) Childhood cancer survivorship & psychological outcomes, and (d) Neurocognitive outcomes among pediatric brain tumor patients | Contact Prof. Bruce Compas or Lab email |
| Fazio, Lisa | Building Knowledge Lab Research focuses on memory in children and adults and how people learn true and false information from the world around them. Strong focus on misinformation, conspiracy theories, and how to correct false beliefs. | Email buildingknowledgelab@gmail.com for an application |
| Garber, Judy | Mind over Mood Lab Research on risk and interventions for depression and anxiety in adolescents. Currently studying (1) the efficacy of an online, coached mindfulness program for preventing depression and anxiety in at-risk teens, & (2) perspective taking/ theory of mind in depressed adolescents. Opportunities to be a mindfulness coach and to submit posters to conferences. | Email jgarber.vanderbilt@gmail.com for an application |
| Hoch, Justine | Exploration & Learning Lab We study the development of exploratory behavior. Our studies focus on how new motor skills (e.g., sitting, crawling, walking) offer infants new opportunities to interact with the environment and new ways to learn. | Apply on our website under the tab "Join Our Lab" using the Google Form |
| Humphreys, Kate | Stress and Early Adversity Lab The SEA Lab investigates (1) the effects of early experiences on child development and (2) the neurobiological changes that occur across pregnancy. We use clinical, behavioral, and neuroscience methods (e.g., EEG, MRI). | https://redcap.vumc.org/surveys/?s=WTWFTJRPAM |
| Kujawa, Autumn | Mood, Emotion, & Development Lab We study the role of emotion and social processing in mood disorders and how insights from emotional development can improve intervention. We use clinical, behavioral, and neuroscience methods (e.g., EEG), along with longitudinal and clinical trial designs, with children, adolescents, and parents. | https://www.moodemotionlab.com/join |
| Lane, Jonathan | Social Cognition Lab Our research explores children's social-cognitive development--their ideas about people, minds, social groups, and morality. Most research is conducted with children ages 3-8 years, but some projects include older children or adults. | Email resume; list of courses taken in psychology or education; describe your experience working with children; and explain what lead to your specific interest in our research to: jonathan.lane@vanderbilt.edu |
| Levin, Dan | Visual Cognition Lab Our research explores how social cognition - particularly theory of mind - predicts reflection on fiction films. We also investigate how people perceive naturalistic visual events and represent space during film viewing. In collaboration with Vanderbilt’s School of Nursing, we are developing technological supports to enhance learning in real-world, dynamic settings. | Email: daniel.t.levin@vanderbilt.edu |
| Marble, Kimberly | SPARK (Social Perception And Reasoning about Knowledge) Research focused on social cognition (early-middle childhood and adults). We examine how children and adults decide who is a good source of information and evaluate whether identity is important for assessing the quality of another person’s knowledge. Our work integrates moral reasoning, social perceptions, ideas about status, and more with issues relevant for teaching and learning. | Email a resume, list of relevant psychology courses, and details of your experience working with children to: kimberly.marble@vanderbilt.edu |
| Mehari, Krista | Violence Prevention Research Team Research focused on youth violence prevention, gun injury prevention, and positive youth development, using community-engaged and participatory methods. We work to understand the causes and predictors of violence and injury and partner with communities (e.g, schools, agencies, community-based organizations) to develop/adapt, implement, and evaluate youth violence prevention strategies. Currently, all data collection is off-site. The current focus of my work is analyzing and disseminating data on gun-related injury prevention. See the Project GRIP website for some of our ongoing work. | Email: krista.mehari@vanderbilt.edu |
| Needham, Amy | Violence Prevention Research Team Research focused on youth violence prevention, gun injury prevention, and positive youth development, using community-engaged and participatory methods. We work to understand the causes and predictors of violence and injury and partner with communities (e.g, schools, agencies, community-based organizations) to develop/adapt, implement, and evaluate youth violence prevention strategies. Currently, all data collection is off-site. The current focus of my work is analyzing and disseminating data on gun-related injury prevention. See the Project GRIP website for some of our ongoing work. | Fill out the RedCap form on our website to be added to our waitlist for upcoming interviews |
| Rittle-Johnson, Bethany | Violence Prevention Research Team Research focused on youth violence prevention, gun injury prevention, and positive youth development, using community-engaged and participatory methods. We work to understand the causes and predictors of violence and injury and partner with communities (e.g, schools, agencies, community-based organizations) to develop/adapt, implement, and evaluate youth violence prevention strategies. Currently, all data collection is off-site. The current focus of my work is analyzing and disseminating data on gun-related injury prevention. See the Project GRIP website for some of our ongoing work. | We review applications around course registration time; Learn more and complete the survey here |
| Saylor, Meg | Language Development Lab We study preschoolers' question asking and word learning, and how babies understand which people or things someone is talking about. In both of these areas we ask how early memory skills affect comprehension and learning. | Application available on the lab website. Email completed application to Professor Saylor |
| Vinci-Booher, Sophia | Learning and NeuroDevelopment (LAND) Lab Investigates how the brain mediates the relationship between action and perception throughout the lifespan, often focusing on handwriting and early reading. The lab employs a variety of methods, including several MRI-based neuroimaging techniques, training paradigms, and behavioral assessments. | Submit an application |
| Watson, Duane | Communication and Language Lab Research focuses on studying adult, child, and adolescent language use; this includes studies of prosody and intonation in natural conversations as well studies on reading. Undergraduates would help with stimulus design, coding data, and running participants. | Email a resume and a list of relevant coursework to languagelab@gmail.com |
| Wilkey, Eric | Number Lab We study how math skills develop and how they are related to executive function development using behavioral experiments and MRI. Undergraduates are trained to run participants, do standardized testing, and work with data. | Email: eric.d.wilkey@vanderbilt.edu, or numberlab@vanderbilt.edu to let us know that you have filled out the REDcap survey available on our lab website on the "Join Our Team" page. |
| Zepeda, Cristina | Advancing Learning Lab Our research focuses on how people learn, how they regulate their learning via cognitive and motivational strategies, and how to best support learners. Our studies are with middle school to college-age students. They are often conducted in STEM classrooms with some studies occurring in the lab and online. | Please email advancinglearninglab@gmail.com once you have filled out the application available on our lab website |