RESEARCHOPPORTUNITYPROGRAM 299YPROJECTDESCRIPTIONS20132014 FALL/WINTER

ProjectCode: PSY1 NameandTitle: MorganBarense,AssistantProfessor Department: Psychology PhoneNumber: 4169785429 Email:barense@psych.utoronto.ca TITLEOFRESEARCHPROJECT:TheUnderlyingCauseofForgettinginAmnesia NUMBEROFSTUDENTPLACESAVAILABLE:2 OBJECTIVESANDMETHODOLOGY: Amnesia, meaning loss of memory, can be a devastating consequence of brain damage or disease. Individuals with severe amnesia are unable to form new memories and cannot integrate information from the past to understand the future. As such, they live from moment to moment in an eternal present. Although research has told us much about what areas in the brain are important for forming new memories, we still do not fully understand why people with amnesia forget new information so quickly. Recent exciting findings suggest that there may be a fundamental problem with the way amnesics perceive the world around them, and that this deficit in perception may partially underlie their deficit in memory. The proposed project will investigate this possibilityfurther,andindoingso,willprovidenewinsightsintothenatureoftheamnesicsyndrome. The primary methodology involves computerbased memory tests. During some of the tests, participants eye movements will be simultaneously recorded. Initially the research will be conducted in healthy control populations, but will subsequently be adapted for use in patients who have memory disorders and in fMRI neuroimagingexperiments. DESCRIPTIONOFSTUDENTPARTICIPATION: Studentswillhavetheopportunitytoparticipateintheresearchprojectinanumberofways: Students will engage in literature review and discussions regarding memory and perceptual deficits in amnesia. ROP students are considered full members of the laboratory and thus attendance at regular lab meetings (Mondays,12:00pm)tolearnaboutotherresearchbeingconductedisthelabisrequired. 1) Students will assist with data collection (initial piloting and collecting normative data in healthy control participants). 2) Studentswillassistwithdataentryandstatisticalanalysis,whichwillincludetrainingonEXCELandSPSS.

3) Students will gain experience in writing research reports and preparing data for publication. The studentwillbeinvolvedinthewriteupofthedata,includingadditionallibraryresearch,writingspecific sectionsofthepaper,aswellasreadingandcommentingondraftsofthepaper. For all aspects of the project, students will work closely with the faculty supervisor. The skills gained by working on this project will provide important experience to help prepare both for future research projects (e.g., thesis) andforgraduateschool. MARKINGSCHEME(assignmentswithweightandduedate): The majority of the grade (65%) will be based on participation in the lab. This includes attendance and contributiontoweeklylabmeetings,andconductingresearchinanefficient,effective,andprofessionalmanner. To monitor progress, students are expected to keep a research journal/work log to record lab activities every week. In addition to this, students are expected to give two short (approximately 10 minutes) presentations to the lab (worth 10% each): one to propose your project (given by 30 November, 2012 at the latest) and one to present yourprojectsfindings(givenbyApril1,2013). Finally, students are expected to produce a final report (approximately 68 pages) which follows the format of a scientificpaper,includinganIntroduction,Methodssection,ResultssectionandDiscussion(worth15%).

RESEARCHOPPORTUNITYPROGRAM 299YPROJECTDESCRIPTIONS20132014 FALL/WINTER

ProjectCode: PSY10 NameandTitle: ProfessorIanSpence Department: Psychology PhoneNumber:4169787623 Email:ian.spence@utoronto.ca TITLEOFRESEARCHPROJECT:GenderandSpatialCognition:TheRoleofVisualWorkingMemory(VWM) NUMBEROFSTUDENTPLACESAVAILABLE:23 OBJECTIVESANDMETHODOLOGY: A recent nonexperimental study (Kaufman, 2007) found evidence of a gender difference in visual working memory(VWM).ExperimentaldatafromourlabconfirmgenderdisparitiesinVWMandspatialattention(Feng, Spence, & Wu, 2012), but only when the tasks are sufficiently difficult. Gender differences on mental rotation tasks (MRT) also only appear at high levels of difficulty. Our early experiments used different participants in separateVWM,selectiveattention,andMRTstudies.Experimentswhereparticipantsperformallthreetasksare needed to establish causal connections among visual selective attention, visual working memory, and mental rotation. We expect that concomitant gender differences in VWM, selective attention, and MRT will be observed, but only at high levels of difficulty on all tasks. There will be opportunities for bright students to help developtheoreticalmodelsofhowthesecognitivefunctionsareinterrelated. Relatedreferences(emailProf.forPDFsifinterested) Feng,J.,Spence,I.,&Pratt,J.(2007).Playinganactionvideogamereducesgenderdifferencesin spatialcognition.PsychologicalScience,18,850855. Kaufman, S.B. (2007). Sex differences in mental rotation and spatial visualization ability: Can they be accounted forbydifferencesinworkingmemorycapacity?Intelligence,35,211223. Spence,I.,&Feng,J.(2010).Videogamesandspatialcognition.ReviewofGeneralPsychology,14,92104. Spence, I., Yu, J.J., Feng, J., & Marshman, J. (2009). Females match males when learning a spatial skill. J. Exp. Psychol.:Learning,Memory,&Cognition,35,10971103. DESCRIPTIONOFSTUDENTPARTICIPATION: ROP students will be involved in all aspects of their chosen project, from assisting in developing the experimental design, through participant recruitment, running the experiment(s), analyzing the data, and

writinguptheresults.StudentswillalsopresenttheirresultsatregularlabmeetingsandattheAnnualResearch Fair. MARKINGSCHEME(assignmentswithweightandduedate): Proposalandliteraturereview(15%) 12pagestatementofintention Participationinlabmeetings(15%) Weeklyorbiweeklydependingonstageofwork Participationinlabwork(30%) Asrequired(average8hrs/week;greaterinsomeweeks) Journalstylepaperreportingproject(40%) Atendofcourse

RESEARCHOPPORTUNITYPROGRAM 299YPROJECTDESCRIPTIONS20132014 FALL/WINTER

ProjectCode: PSY11 NameandTitle: AshleyWaggonerDenton,Lecturer Department: Psychology PhoneNumber: 4169783020 Email:waggonerdenton@psych.utoronto.ca TITLEOFRESEARCHPROJECT:PeerEffectsintheUniversityClassroom NUMBEROFSTUDENTPLACESAVAILABLE:2 OBJECTIVESANDMETHODOLOGY: Peerscanhaveanimportantinfluenceontheirclassmateslearning,andthisinfluencecanbeeitherpositive (e.g.,increasingengagement)ornegative(e.g.,decreasingengagement).Importantly,thereisevidenceto suggestthatpeerattitudes(e.g.,enthusiasmforthecourse)mayplayamoreimportantroleintheirclassmates learningoutcomesthanpeerability(e.g.,academicaptitude).Thegoalofthisprojectistoempiricallyexamine: (1) Whetherandhowpeerattitudes(namelyenthusiasm)contributetostudentengagementand performanceoutcomes; (2) Waystoincreasepositiveattitudestowarduniversitycourses(evenbeforethefirstdayofclass); (3) Waystomakepositivepeerattitudesmorevisibletostudentsinlargelecture(oronline)classes, whereinclassinteractionwithpeersmaybelimitedornonexistent Theprimarymethodologythatwillbeusedtoinvestigatethesequestionsinvolvesbothpaperandpenciland computerbasedtasks.Forexample,participantsmaybepresentedwithmanipulatedclassroomscenariosand beaskedtoprovidemeasuresofattitudesandlearningoutcomes. DESCRIPTIONOFSTUDENTPARTICIPATION: Studentswillbegiventheopportunitytoparticipateintheprojectinanumberofways,andwillworkclosely withmyselfonallaspectsoftheproject.Theskillsdevelopedinthiscoursewillprovideimportantexperience andtrainingforfuturelabworkand/orgraduateschool,andwillalsoenhancecriticalthinkingandproblem solvingskills.Activitiesmayinclude: Conductingliteraturereviewsandassistingwithstudydesign Helpingtoprogramexperimentsandcreatesurveys Assistingwithdatacollection(i.e.,runninghumanparticipants) Enteringandanalyzingdata(traininginExcel,SPSS,and/orR)

Presentingresearchideasandfindings(oralandposterpresentations;traininginPowerPoint) Writingresearchreports

MARKINGSCHEME(assignmentswithweightandduedate): Labperformanceandparticipation(50%) o Participation:Studentswillbeexpectedtospend8to10hoursperweekinthelab(ordoinglab relatedactivities) o Performance:Studentswillbeexpectedtoshowevidenceofcommitment,engagement, reliability,professionalism,andcompetenceonlabtasks o Performanceandparticipationwillbeevaluatedthroughouttheyear,andstudentswillbegiven periodicnotificationofwhethertheyaresurpassing,meeting,orfailingtomeetthese expectations(andifso,howtoremedythesituation) Journal(10%) o Studentswillbeexpectedtokeepajournalwithweeklyentriesofwhattheydidinthelabthat week,whattheylearned,howtheprojectisprogressing,etc. o SubmittedattheendoftheFallandWinterterms Presentations(10%) o Oralpresentation(Fallsemester) Projectoverview,litreview,studydesign o OralorPosterpresentation(Wintersemester) Researchquestion,hypothesis,background,methods,results,discussion FinalReport(30%) o Finalwrittenreportoftheproject(followingAPApublicationguidelines) o Approximately68pages o DuebytheendoftheWintersemester(beforetheAprilexamperiod)

RESEARCHOPPORTUNITYPROGRAM 299YPROJECTDESCRIPTIONS20132014 FALL/WINTER

ProjectCode: PSY2 NameandTitle: GillianEinstein,PhD;AssociateProfessor Department: Psychology PhoneNumber: 4169780896 Email:gillian.einstein@utoronto.ca TITLEOFRESEARCHPROJECT:EstrogensandCognition NUMBEROFSTUDENTPLACESAVAILABLE:2 OBJECTIVESANDMETHODOLOGY: The objective of this project is to better understand the effects of estrogens on cognition in younger women. The model is a deprivation model that allows us to compare cognition and memory in women without their ovariesand hence, estrogenswith women of the same age who still have their ovaries. We are also correlating performance on neuropsychological tests with estrogen levels and with two genes, apolipoprotein E andbreastcancerassociatedgenes1and2.FormsofAPOEareassociatedwiththeriskofdementiaandnoone has yet looked at the possible effect of the BRCA genes on cognition. Our populations are women with the BRCA1/2 mutation who have or have not had their ovaries removed and agematched control women from the community. DESCRIPTIONOFSTUDENTPARTICIPATION: Students will be trained to carry out and draft literature searches. They will also be trained to contact prospective participants from an established list of potential participants, explain the project to them, and ask if they are interested in taking part. They will also be trained to interview participants, explaining the purpose the research to them.Giventhestudentslevelofmaturityandinterest,theymayalsobetrainedtoadministercognitiveteststothe nonclinical populations. Students will assist with data entry and statistical analysis using Excel and SPSS. They will alsohelpwiththeanalysisofthedifferentneuropsychologicaltestsaswellasofthegeneticstatus.Studentswillgain experienceinwritingresearchreportsandpreparingdataforpublication.Thestudentwillbeinvolvedinthewriteup of the data, including additional library research, writing specific sections of the paper, as well as reading and commenting on drafts of the paper. Finally, through mandatory attendance at lab meetings (times for which will be establishedonceindividualtimetablesareknown)studentswilllearntoaskquestionsandpresenttheirworkaswell aspapersintheliteraturerelevanttotheirwork.

MARKINGSCHEME(assignmentswithweightandduedate): The majority of the grade (55%) will be based on participation in the lab. This includes attendance and contributiontoweeklylabmeetings,andconductingresearchinanefficient,effective,andprofessionalmanner. In addition to this, students are expected to give two short (approximately 20 minutes) presentations to the lab (worth10%each):oneonapaperrelevanttoyourproject(givenbyNovember3,2013)andonetopresentyour projects findings (given by March 30, 2014). Finally, students are expected to produce a final report (approximately 8 pages) using the format of a scientific paper, including an Introduction, Methods section, ResultssectionandDiscussiondueattheendofthewinterterm(worth25%).

RESEARCHOPPORTUNITYPROGRAM 299YPROJECTDESCRIPTIONS20132014 FALL/WINTER

ProjectCode: PSY3 NameandTitle: JoanGrusecProfessorEmerita Department: Psychology PhoneNumber: 4169787610 Email:grusec@psych.utoronto.ca TITLEOFRESEARCHPROJECT:TheSocializationofConcernforOthers NUMBEROFSTUDENTPLACESAVAILABLE:3 OBJECTIVESANDMETHODOLOGY: The research asks how different forms of prosocial behavior (concern for others) are taught by parents and other agents of socialization. People behave in a considerate and helpful way for a variety of different reasons (some more impressive than others, e.g., because being helpful is part of their selfidentity vs. because being helpful to someone means that person will have to reciprocate in the future). We want to know what kind of parenting produces truly prosocial or altruistic behavior as opposed to that done for more selfish reasons. Families will be brought to the research lab where they will complete questionnaires and be interviewed about their parenting practices. A number of measures of prosocial behavior (e.g., willingness to share, displays of empathy for others in distress) will be administered and parents will be observed as they talk to each other aboutvariousmoralissues. DESCRIPTIONOFSTUDENTPARTICIPATION: Students will be trained to contact families to take part in the research. They will learn how to conduct interviews with mothers, fathers, and children and to administer a variety of tasks involving prosocial action. They will also be trained to code interviews for relevant content and to enter and check data. There will be periodiclabmeetingswhereattendanceisrequired. MARKINGSCHEME(assignmentswithweightandduedate): Generalparticipationinandcontributiontolabactivities:75% Journal:duetheendofeachterm15% Essay(5pages)ontopicrelevanttotheresearch:dueendofthesecondterm10%

RESEARCHOPPORTUNITYPROGRAM 299YPROJECTDESCRIPTIONS20132014 FALL/WINTER

ProjectCode: PSY 4 NameandTitle: CharlesC.Helwig,FullProfessor Department: Psychology PhoneNumber: 4169787609 Email:helwig@psych.utoronto.ca TITLEOFRESEARCHPROJECT:ChildrensSocialandMoralReasoning NUMBEROFSTUDENTPLACESAVAILABLE:2 OBJECTIVESANDMETHODOLOGY: Ongoing research examining childrens and adolescents social and moral reasoning, including reason on topics such as judgments about childrens rights and society, parenting practices, sexual orientation, parenting practices, and educational practices in schools. Part of the research involves a crosscultural component, includingjudgmentsaboutsomeoftheseconceptsinmainlandChinaandCanada. DESCRIPTIONOFSTUDENTPARTICIPATION: Student participation involves a variety of tasks, including one or more of the following: literature reviews, the collection of data (surveys, interviews), the devising of coding systems, and the coding of responses. The student may also assist with some (supervised) data analysis. Students will participate in regular (weekly or biweekly) lab meetings, during which research issues will be discussed. Students will prepare a poster for presentationattheannualFacultyofArtsandScience299ResearchFair. MARKINGSCHEME(assignmentswithweightandduedate): Journal containing research notes and reactions, comments on assigned articles, learning experience: Preliminary research report (contained within journal) due November 11, 2013, and whole journal submitted againonApril1,2014forgrading:40%oftotalmark. Evaluation of participation in lab work over term (1st term evaluation, December 1, 2013, 2nd Term evaluation April1,2014):30%oftotalmark. Evaluationofcompleted299ResearchFairPoster(midMarch,afterResearchFair):30%oftotalmark.

RESEARCHOPPORTUNITYPROGRAM 299YPROJECTDESCRIPTIONS20132014 FALL/WINTER

ProjectCode: PSY5

NameandTitle: JennyJenkins,Professor Department: AppliedPsychologyandHumanDevelopment PhoneNumber: 4169780939 Email:jenny.jenkins@utoronto.ca TITLEOFRESEARCHPROJECT:Kids,Families,Places NUMBEROFSTUDENTPLACESAVAILABLE:3 OBJECTIVESANDMETHODOLOGY: Kids, Families and Places is a study examining the impact of 3 contexts (neighborhood, childcare and family) on thedevelopmentofsocioemotionalcompetenceinyoungchildren.Duringthehomevisitsmotherchildandsib child interactions are video recorded. Some parents and siblings are better than others at explaining difficult concepts to young children. We have taped interactions between parents and their children while parents are helpingchildrenbuildLegodesign,learnconflictresolutionandwhilesiblingsareplayingtogether.We codethe interactions to assess how well the parents and siblings are at explaining the problem. Our interest is to see how well parent and sibling explanations predict childrens executive function and theory of mind development a couple of years later. The tapes are fun to watch and the coding scheme is easy to learn. As part of your projectwewillgiveyouaccesstochildrensperformanceontasksacoupleofyearslater. DESCRIPTIONOFSTUDENTPARTICIPATION: You will code films of mothers and children interacting using an established coding scheme. We will train you in the coding scheme and will examine reliability (the extent to which you agree with an expert coder). In addition to this students will be involved in transcription of 5 minute episodes during motherchild and sibchild interactions, in which participants discuss a conflict between them. We expect 810 hours of coding/transcriptions per week during Sept to April to a max of 240 hours), completion of your ROP journal (~1 pageevery3weeks)andattendanceatlabmeetings(2hours,biweekly,includingreadingpapers,discussion). You will join an active research lab with undergraduates, Masters and PhD students working in clinical and developmental psychology. We work as a team. We will choose a maximum of 3 ROP students to join the team. Itisanidealpositionforundergraduateswishingtogainexperiencetoapplytograduateprograms.

We look for highly motivated students who are interested in child development. You do not need previous experience of coding but you must be observant, organized and careful in data documentation. Some experienceofExcelorSPSSisanadvantage. MARKINGSCHEME(assignmentswithweightandduedate): Codingtapes,8hoursp/w.GradegivenFeb1,2014............................worth40% Codingtapes,8hoursp/w.GradegivenApril1,2014..........................worth10% ROPjournalincludingobservationsoncoding.1submissionevery3weeks. GradegivenFeb1,2014..............................worth10% ROPjournalincludingobservationsoncoding.1submissionevery3weeks. GradegivenApril1,2014............................worth10% Finalposterorpaper(formattobediscussed)duedateatendofproject. DuedateApril1,2014..................................worth30%

RESEARCHOPPORTUNITYPROGRAM 299YPROJECTDESCRIPTIONS20132014 FALL/WINTER

ProjectCode: PSY6 NameandTitle: Dr.HenriettaLempert Department: Psychology PhoneNumber: 4169787817 Email:lempert@psych.utoronto.ca TITLEOFRESEARCHPROJECT:CanSingingFacilitateLanguageLearning? NUMBEROFSTUDENTPLACESAVAILABLE:2 OBJECTIVESANDMETHODOLOGY: Adults are able to extract "words" from a continuous stream of sung syllables such as gimysymimosi pogysimimosigimysyetc.Inparticular,whenthesequencesaresung,itispossibletodistinguishbetweenwords (e.g., mimosi, posgysi) and non words formed by combining the beginning and end of two legal words (e.g., gysimi). However, it seems as if discriminating between words and nonwords is difficult or impossible for adults after exposure to a continuous stream of spoken syllable. It has also been found that past musical trainingenhancestheextractionofwordsfromastreamofsyllables. The present project explores the feasibility of using sung sequences to facilitate learning the grammar of an unfamiliar language. Research participants listen to CDs of sung or spoken sentences which exemplify the rules of the language. After listening to the sentences, they hear test sentences and indicate whether or not the sentenceisacorrectinstanceofthelanguage.Halfthesentencesexemplifylegalexamplesoftherulesandthe rest violate the rules in some way. After three blocks of studytest trials, participants are queried for rule learning. They also respond to a questionnaire inquiring about their language history and history of musical training. This information is obtained in order to determine whether multilingualism and/or musical training facilitaterulelearning. DESCRIPTIONOFSTUDENTPARTICIPATION: Students will collect data from research participants, code and tabulate the data, enter the data into computer files, assist with constructing graphs and tables of the results, and assist with writing a report of the findings. They are expected to become familiar with the background literature and to take advantage of available opportunities to enhance their knowledge of music cognition. They may also be required to assist with constructing,recording,andeditingsungand/orspokenauditorystimuli.

Studentsgainexperienceinresearchbyparticipatinginthefollowingcloselysupervisedactivities; Conductingliteraturereviewsontheresearchtopic, Collecting,coding,andtabulatingdatafromresearchparticipants, DataentryandstatisticalanalysiswhichwillincludetrainingonExcel,SPSS,andR. Writingresearchreports, LearninghowtoconstructaposterusingPowerPointandExcel., Ifpossible,learninghowtorecordandeditauditorystimuli. Theskillsgainedthroughinvolvementinthisprojectwillhelppreparestudentsforfutureresearchatthe undergraduatelevel(e.g.,thesis)andthegraduateorprofessionalschoollevel. MARKINGSCHEME(assignmentswithweightandduedate): 40%ProgressandPerformance, 60%ResearchReports ProgressandPerformanceincludes: Contributionstoprojectasneeded,forexample,assistancewithliteraturesearches,constructionof materials,datacollection,isagoodteammember,etc. Reliabilityandresponsibility,forexample,keepsappointmentswithresearchparticipantsorsupervisor andshowsupontime,givesadvancenoticetoparticipants/supervisorifcannotkeepappointment Accuracyincollectingdataandworkingwithdata(e.g.,checkswork,ensurestherearenoerrorsin recordingdata,etc.), WeightsforResearchReportComponent(duedatesinbracketsaresubjecttominorchange): 10%Introductionsectionforreportonproject(1%fordraftdueOctober20,2013;9%forfinalreport dueNovember43h) 10%Methodsectionofreport(1%fordraftdueNovember17th;9%forfinalreportdueDecember1) 8%CritiqueofaresearcharticleusedinyourIntroduction(1%for draftdueJanuary19,2014;7%forfinaldueFebruary9th) 12%PosteronprojectforArts&SciencePosterFair(probablyonMarch6,2014). 14%Researchproposalonanytopicrelatedtotheproject (1%onepagesummaryofthetopicdueMarch16th;3%summaryoftheIntroductionand proposedresearchmethodologydueMarch25th;10%finalreportduelastdayofclasses. 6%Summaryofoneresearchtalk (duelastdayofclassesbutyoushouldtrytowriteitimmediatelyafterthetalk). 4%Optionalbonuscreditforasecondresearchtalkwriteup. Youmayrewriteoneandonlyonereportinordertoupgradeyourmark(exceptfortheresearchproposal).

RESEARCHOPPORTUNITYPROGRAM 299YPROJECTDESCRIPTIONS20132014 FALL/WINTER

ProjectCode: PSY 7 NameandTitle: JayPratt,ProfessorandChair Department: Psychology PhoneNumber: 9784216 Email:pratt@psych.utoronto.ca TITLEOFRESEARCHPROJECT:LookingandAttending:HowEyesandAttentionInteract NUMBEROFSTUDENTPLACESAVAILABLE:1 OBJECTIVESANDMETHODOLOGY: Thevisualfieldcontains much moreinformationthanthe human braincanprocess.Toovercomethisproblem, people select portions of the visual field to determine which information is passed onto visual processing and which information will be ignored. This selection is critical for us to interact with our environment, and can be accomplished through moving the eyes, or moving the focus of attention, to specific regions in environment (imagineplayingasportordrivingifyouwerealwayslookingorattendingtothewrongthings).Therelationship between the eye movement system and the attentional system, however, remains unknown. This project will attempt to provide some insight into this relationship through a series of experiments in which people will be asked to identify briefly presented items that can appear at various locations in the visual field. Using an eye tracking device, we will directly determine where the eyes are when the target items appear and disappear. Using a technique known as probe detection, where people respond to specific items, we will measure where attention is and where they are looking when target items appear and disappear. These experiments will determine if (a) eyes and attention can be directed to different portions of the visual field, and (b) if not, which systemdetermineswheretheothersystemwillgo. DESCRIPTIONOFSTUDENTPARTICIPATION: Thestudentwillbeinvolvedinallaspectsofthestudy: a) Literaturereviewfullreviewofthetopicarea b) Experimentaldesignofexperimentsdevelopmentofmethodsandprocedures c) Building/programmingtheexperimentscreatingaprogramtoruntheexperiments d) Datacollectionrunningsubjects e) Dataanalysisstatisticalandgraphicalanalysis f) Writtenreportofstudyfullresearchreportinresearchjournalformat

Programming experience, although not necessary, is an advantage for this project. Strong familiarity with computers, however, is necessary as the work is computer intensive and involves several types of software. Goodquantitativeskillsarealsouseful,butthemainrequirementsareinterestandenthusiasm. MARKINGSCHEME(assignmentswithweightandduedate):
20% - ROP journal (Feb 15, 2013) 40% - Laboratory work (literature review, data collection, statistical analysis) (April 5, 2013) 40% - final written report (April 5, 2013)

RESEARCHOPPORTUNITYPROGRAM 299YPROJECTDESCRIPTIONS20132014 FALL/WINTER

ProjectCode: PSY8 NameandTitle: NicholasRule,AssistantProfessor Department: Psychology PhoneNumber: 4169783948 Email:rule@psych.utoronto.ca TITLEOFRESEARCHPROJECT:TheScienceofSnapJudgments:PersonPerceptionandNonverbalBehavior

NUMBEROFSTUDENTPLACESAVAILABLE:4 OBJECTIVESANDMETHODOLOGY: Peopleformimpressionsofeachotherinjustafractionofasecond.Evencuesasminimalasisolated,individual facialfeatures(e.g.,apairofeyes)areenoughtoallowonetojudgeagreatdealofinformationaboutaperson. This project explores various phenomena related to how it is that we quickly and accurately form impressions about other people. Students will work on computerbased and interpersonal interaction experiments in which we will collaboratively work to understand the cues related to judgments of others group membership and career success. Some tests will involve monitoring participants eyemovements during their perceptions, measuring their physiological responses, and/or recording the activity of their brains using fMRI. A particular emphasiswillbegiventotheroleofculturaldifferencesinjudgmentandperception. DESCRIPTIONOFSTUDENTPARTICIPATION: Studentswillhavetheopportunitytoparticipateintheresearchprojectinanumberofways: 1) Students will engage in literature review and discussions regarding social perception and cognition. Attendanceatregularlabmeetingstolearnaboutotherresearchbeingconductedisthelabisrequired. 2) Students will assist with experimental design and preparation, which will include training in Photoshop andrelatedstimulusgenerationgraphicsprograms. 3) Students will assist with data collection and recruitment of participants from the psychology departmentsparticipantpool,aswellasthegreaterTorontocommunity. 4) Studentswillassistwithdataentryandstatisticalanalysis,whichwillincludetrainingonEXCELandSPSS.

5) Studentswillgainexperienceinwritingresearchreportsandpreparingdataforpublication.Thestudent will be involved in the writeup of data, including additional library research, writing specific sections of thepaper,aswellasreadingandcommentingondraftsofthepaper. For all aspects of the project, students will work collaboratively with other lab members (graduate students, postdocs, research assistants, lab manager, and principal investigator). The skills gained by working on this project will provide important experience to help prepare both for future research projects (e.g., thesis) and for graduateschool. MARKINGSCHEME(assignmentswithweightandduedate): The majority of the grade (65%) will be based on participation in the lab. This includes attendance and contributiontoweeklylabmeetings,andconductingresearchinanefficient,effective,andprofessionalmanner. In addition to this, students are expected to give two short (approximately 10 minutes) presentations to the lab (worth 10% each): one to propose your project and one to present your projects findings. Finally, students are expected to produce a final report (approximately 8 pages) which follows the format of a scientific paper, includinganIntroduction,Methodssection,ResultssectionandDiscussion(worth15%).

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ProjectCode:PSY9 NameandTitle: KatreenaScott,AssociateProfessor,CanadaResearchChair Department: HumanDevelopmentandAppliedPsychology PhoneNumber: 4169780971 Email:Katreena.scott@utoronto.ca TITLEOFRESEARCHPROJECT:InfluenceofFathers'AntisocialBehaviours,CoParentingandEmotional AvailabilityontheDevelopmentalTrajectoriesofMaltreatedChildren NUMBEROFSTUDENTPLACESAVAILABLE:4 OBJECTIVESANDMETHODOLOGY: Overthepast15years,therehasbeensubstantialdevelopmentoffatherfriendlypoliciesacrosssocialservices. Such developments are welcome given fathers' increased involvement in parenting their children and on the basis of research showing that father involvement has positive impacts on children's social, behavioural and psychologicaloutcomes.Againstthebackdropofthesepolicyandpracticeshifts,thereisgrowingconcernabout unintended negative effects that may arise when policies promoting father involvement are indiscriminately extended to men who have been violent in their families. In Canada, there are approximately 103,298 substantiated cases of child maltreatment each year (21.71 per 1000 children). Fathers are identified as perpetrators in the majority of these cases (i.e., 50%, 56% and 88% of physical and emotional abuse and exposuretodomesticviolencecases,respectively,Trocmetal.,2005).Suchstatisticsraiseimportantquestions about when fathers should be better included in efforts to promote child wellbeing, when the focus should remain on the motherchild dyad, and when familybased interventions should be abandoned in favour of limitingfathers'accesstochildrenthroughchildprotectionandcriminaljusticeactions. Unfortunately,ourabilitytoanswerthesecriticalpolicyandpracticequestionsishamperedbyasubstantiallack of basic developmental research on the impact of fathers on atrisk children over time. The current study represents one of the first to use longitudinal data collected from fathers and in Observation of fatherchild dyads to identify factors that aggravate or mitigate behavioural problems in children at risk by virtue of being maltreated. Following from findings in normative samples, we expect that men's engagement in antisocial behaviour (e.g., illegal behaviour, deceitfulness, irresponsibility) will moderate the relationship between father childcontactandchildoutcomessuchthatchildrenwillbenefitfromfatherinvolvementonlywhenmenarenot antisocial. Disrupted coparenting is expected to be a key mediator of this relationship. We are investigating these questions with a sample of 250 fathers, mothers and their 4 to 8 yearold children followed over the course of two years. Data are being collected from fathers, mothers, and in observation of fatherchild dyads. Analyses will use hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) to examine the influence of these variables on trajectories of child behaviour problems over time and logistic regression to examine predictors of rereferral to child protection.

DESCRIPTIONOFSTUDENTPARTICIPATION: TheROPstudentsselectedforthesepositionswillbecomepartoftheteamengagedinthisprojectandwillgain valuableexperienceinappliedresearch. DutiesforthisGAincludethefollowing: - Assist in the recruitment and scheduling of assessment sessions with fathers, mothers and fatherchild dyads - Receivetraininginassessmentmethods - Inpairs,conductassessmentsoffathers,mothers,andoffatherchilddyads - Participateindatamanagementandincodingofdatafromassessments - Attendandparticipateinlabmeetings Experience in services for any of the following populations will be valued in selection: shelters, child witness to violenceprograms,domesticviolencecrisisservices,criminaljusticeservices MARKINGSCHEME(assignmentswithweightandduedate): FallJournal December10 10% Interimreport November1 10% Falltraininganddiscussiongroup SeptembertoNovember 10% Presentationtolab December 25% WinterJournal April1 10% Participationinlabmeetings Ongoing 10% Posterpreparation March 25%