Psych Scoop, 7/12/22

July 12th, 2022

The Psych Scoop is sent to all Psychology Undergraduate students and alumni every Tuesday throughout the academic school year. 

Share your news with psyadvis@umn.edu!

Psychology Advising Announcements

Feedback for the department? Check out our suggestion box.

1. Announcing the 2022 Diversity in Psychology Virtual Program

The University of Minnesota’s Diversity in Psychology Program is excited to announce that we are accepting applications for the Fall 2022 virtual diversity program event (Friday, November 4, 2022). The program is designed for individuals who are historically underrepresented in psychology graduate programs and who are interested in earning their Ph.D. from the Department of Psychology, Institute of Child Development, or the Department of Educational Psychology, at the University of Minnesota. As a participant in the program, you will learn, through formal and informal experiences, how to construct a successful graduate school application. You’ll also have the opportunity to get a sense of the graduate school experience in our departments. If you are interested in applying for the Diversity in Psychology Program (or know someone who might be), please visit our website. View other programs around the country as well. 

2. Photos from the 2022 Psychology Undergraduate Celebration are Posted!

Photos from our 2022 Psychology Undergraduate Celebration are now posted on our Facebook page. Thanks for helping us celebrate graduates from Fall 2019 through Spring 2022! We can't wait to celebrate our next batch of graduates in Spring 2023.

Psychology Student Group Announcements

All students interested in Psychology are welcome to participate in Psychology student organizations. No previous participation or membership is required. If you're interested, please attend! To learn more, visit our website.

3. Join the Chinese Psychology Student Association

The Chinese Psychology Student Association (CPSA) is currently recruiting new members and potential leaders for the organization. CPSA is an academic student association composed of Chinese students with a major in psychology at UMN. Our intention is to set a foundation to unite and provide a platform to communicate, share, and establish comprehensive information in the psychological field between alumni and students, including topics on academic discussions, research/graduate programs, career perspectives, etc. For more information, email Pengxiang Xia at xia00116@umn.edu.

Events

4. Save the Date: 2022 AMENA-Psy Conference

Friday, September 23, 2022- Saturday, September 24, 2022
Cost: $25 for undergraduates
Location: Virtual

The American Arab, Middle Eastern, and North African Psychological Association (AMENA-Psy) is hosting our third conference from Friday, September 23rd to Saturday, September 24th, 2022. The conference will be held virtually from 11:00 am to 7:20 pm EST on Friday, and from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm EST on Saturday. The theme of the conference this year is MENA Intersectionality: Embracing Our Shared and Unique Experiences. The conference is designed to balance the delivery of content and the opportunity for interactive discussion between attendees and presenters in a virtual environment. Multidisciplinary, international, and student scholars are welcome! Please visit our website for more details about the conference, our theme, and call for proposals!

5. Underrepresented Students in STEM Symposium

Saturday, September 24, 2022
Cost: Free
Location: TBD

The Underrepresented Students STEM Symposium invites you to submit an application to participate in a symposium taking place on September 24, 2022. This symposium is free and tentatively going to be held in person at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, East Bank Campus. The symposium will allow underrepresented students to present research, current literature, or a research proposal to STEM professionals and other undergraduate students. Students will be paired with a mentor to work through the presentation process and for future questions about graduate school and applications. The symposium will also include panels on what graduate school entails, how to apply, and what grad student life looks like. Learn more and RSVP online.

Courses of Interest

6. PSY 4960 - 001: Advanced Topics in Quantitative Methods: R Programming - Fall 2022 (3 credits)

Conducting psychological research involves collecting data, but what happens next? Completing research projects involves more than just analyzing data! In this course, we will learn about the research pipeline and how to incorporate Open Science practices to generate reproducible and transparent analyses. Specifically, students will learn both basic and advanced R programming to carry out data cleaning, analyses, and visualization. Finally, students will learn how to share their code and data via GitHub. A large component of this course will involve hands-on programming that will culminate in an independent final project. It is strongly suggested that students take PSY3801: Introduction to Psychological Measurement and Data Analysis prior to taking this course, but it is not required.

PSY 4960-001 will meet in Bruininks 530A, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:45 am- 11:00 am CST

Instructor: Dr. Amanda Woodward

Note: this course counts as elective credit for the Psychology majors. If you are a minor, please email us at psyadvis@umn.edu about the course.

7. 5960-001: Socio-Cultural Psychology - Fall 2022 (3 credits)

This course will provide a comprehensive introduction to general theories and methods in socio-cultural psychology. The course examines how social environment and culture shape psychological and physiological functioning, along with the cyclical nature of these relationships. Together, we will focus on specific topics that bridge socio-cultural psychology and identity, including group and identity formation, stereotyping, prejudice, stigma, intergroup contact, and multiculturalism. We will also focus on how diverse aspects of humans’ day-to-day lives — including social relationships, cognitive processes, basic visual perception, judgments of morality, and mental illness — both differ and are constant across cultures. Last, we will place special emphasis on critiquing research methods and analyzing real-world treatments of culture based on topics covered in the course. This course has a significant and sustained emphasis on diversity, power, and justice issues. It is strongly suggested that students take PSY 3001W: Introduction to Research Methods prior to taking this course, but it is not required.

PSY 5960-001 will meet in Bruininks 530A, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:30 pm- 3:45 pm CST

Instructor: Dr. Drexler James

Note: this course counts as elective credit for the Psychology majors. If you are a minor, please email us at psyadvis@umn.edu about the course.

8. PSY 5960-002: Brain, Reward, and Motivation - Fall 2022 (3 credits)

This course is aimed at providing an overview of the concepts of reward, motivation, learning, and decision making, and understanding the brain circuits and molecules that support these processes that are shared across species. To understand this, we will have a combination of lectures, readings, and discussions on our current scientific understanding of reward and motivation in animals and in humans, and compare this to pop culture depictions of the brain (for instance, lots of memes about dopamine) and motivated behavior (for instance, viral videos of cute and surprising antics of animals). The goal for students is to have a better understanding of how their own brains work, to provide perspective on decision-making and motivation challenges, and to use this knowledge to improve popular understanding of the brain, one meme at a time. It is strongly suggested that students take PSY 3061: Introduction to Biological Psychology prior to or concurrent with this course, but it is not required.

**Course will be scheduled soon - please check Scoop next week for details

Instructor: Dr. Nicola Grissom

Note: this course counts as elective credit for the Psychology majors. If you are a minor, please email us at psyadvis@umn.edu about the course.

9. EPSY 1281: Psychological Science Applied - Fall 2022 (4 credits)

This course introduces students to applied psychology as a discipline and reviews fundamental principles of psychology through the lenses of applied and professional areas. We spend a lot of time building relationships and developing learning strategies that will help you thrive in this class and all of your other classes. Each topic applies concepts from psychology to real-world problems. EPSY 1281 serves as a foundation for future coursework in education, health sciences, and psychology. The course is designed to meet the Liberal Arts/Social Sciences core requirement.

EPSY 1281 is in-person, times and locations vary (Check Schedule Builder)

Instructor: Dr. Martin Van Boekel

Note: this course does not count as elective credit for the Psychology majors or minors.

10. EPSY 5122: Programming Fundamentals for Social Science Research - Fall 2022 (3 credits)

What is computer programming, and how can it be used to improve your research? This course teaches the fundamental concepts and techniques of programming using the open-source Python 3 language, while emphasizing a variety of applications to social science research, including data analysis, visualization, task automation, and retrieving data from the internet through APIs and scraping. You'll learn fundamental programming concepts, as well as software engineering topics such as writing robust code, testing, debugging, collaboration, version control, and working with file systems. The class takes an active, hands-on approach to programming, including class discussions and group work. It is designed to be accessible to students without any prior programming experience.

EPSY 5122 is in-person, Ford Hall B10, Wednesdays 2:30 pm - 5:10 pm CST

Instructor: Jeffrey Bye

Note: this course does not count as elective credit for the Psychology majors or minors.

Research

11. *Credit or Volunteer* *Credit or Volunteer* RA Position with a Real-Time Study of Substance Use

Dr. Britt Stevenson in Addiction Recovery Services at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System is looking for a student research assistant for Fall 2022. RA will be integral in launching a pilot study to examine the daily life experiences that contribute to substance use in Veterans who are receiving substance use treatment. The study uses ecological momentary assessments (EMA), i.e., measures these factors via real-time surveys on Veterans' phones, and provide Veterans with individualized graphs of their responses. RA will assist Dr. Stevenson in setting up EMA surveys, recruiting participants, and monitoring/assuring high-quality data collection for the study, as well as soliciting Veterans’ feedback about how we can improve the EMA methods. Dr. Stevenson will provide mentorship and career development guidance. Opportunities to present a poster or practice scientific writing may be available. RA must be available at least 9 hours per week. Students can earn between 1-3 credits for PSY 4993. Preference will be given to those who can commit to both Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 in the lab. To learn more about this position and to be considered, please send your CV/resume and a short introduction to Britt Stevenson at Brittany.Stevenson@va.gov. Students from historically underrepresented groups in science are strongly encouraged to apply.

Learning Abroad

12. May 2023 Learning Abroad Opportunity: Japanese Traditions & Psychology of Well-Being

In this seminar, immerse yourself in Japanese culture while exploring family-focused topics and examining rituals, and traditions, with an emphasis on how Japan promotes well-being or emotional struggles. These topics have important relevance to extending knowledge in the areas of psychology, human development, and cultural studies. Students receive credit for PSY 3621 - approved for Psychology Distribution Area B course OR as Psychology Elective credit for the Psychology Majors or General Psychology Minor. Applications are now open! Enrollment on this program is limited to 25 students. Admission is granted on a rolling basis and applications are reviewed in the order they are completed. Some programs may fill to capacity prior to the application deadline, therefore applying early is recommended. Additionally, applying early will allow for more time to plan ahead and prepare for the program. Learn more online.

Resources

13. Online Pre-Law 101 Module

Check out the Pre-Law 101 Module. This module is perfect for someone just starting to explore law school, and outlines how to explore, ways to gain experience, and a brief overview of the timeline and application process.

14. Health Career Exploration Courses

The Pre-Health Student Resource Center has a variety of courses to help students explore health careers. AHS 1101 is a great fit for someone still considering many different options. The Future Physician Series is designed for students interested in learning about a career in medicine. Our global seminars take students out of their comfort zones to learn about themselves and health in a larger context. The Writing a Personal Statement course helps students tell their stories when they are nearing application time. Learn more online!

Jobs/Internship Opportunities

IMPORTANT: Organizations listed below are not necessarily affiliated with or endorsed by the Department of Psychology or Psychology Undergraduate Advising. Please exercise the same discretion you would in viewing any other source.

15. Research Coordinator - Minneapolis VA Health Care System

We have an opening at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System for a full-time Research Coordinator (RC) under the direction of Casey Gilmore, Ph.D. The RC will be responsible for coordinating the “Effects of Neuromodulation and Cognitive Training for Suicide in Veterans (ENACTS)” study and assisting with the performance of various research projects (depending on current study needs) in a clinical setting. Data collection may involve the use of technology including transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), electroencephalography (EEG), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This position will require working directly with clinical patients in a research capacity. Clinical populations include high-risk suicide inpatients, traumatic brain injury, depression, anxiety, substance use, and impulsivity. Starting pay will be a GS-7 level position (based on qualifications). For a full position description and information on applying, please contact Dr. Casey Gilmore at Casey.Gilmore2@va.gov.

16. Youth Residential Counselor - CRTC

CRTC is looking for more Residential Counselors. As a Residential Counselor, you gain hands-on, therapeutic experience without needing a Graduate Degree. If you are interested in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, learning de-escalation techniques, and being a positive role model for teens with various mental health diagnoses, I highly encourage you to apply for this job. Our Residential Counselors play a huge part in creating and maintaining a therapeutic environment for our kids. Learn more online or by contacting me, Annie O'Hagan at anna.ohagan@voamn.org.

17. Direct Care Professional - ACR Homes

ACR Homes is hiring psychology students to become Direct Care Professionals! Apply today for positions starting now over the summer or secure a spot for the Fall. You would work in a home setting alongside a co-worker to care for 4 people who have disabilities. You will get the chance to gain direct patient care hours by caring for the medical, emotional, and physical needs of the residents as well as enjoying fun activities with them during your shifts. ACR is VERY flexible for students, min of 12hrs/week (shifts are 4, 6, or 8hrs...any combo to reach 12 hours) but of course, you could work more. Starting pay is $13-$15/hr depending on the shift you work, paid training, and we have locations near campus, and you don't need to have a car! On top of all of that, we even offer custom research-based INTERNSHIPS that end with a letter of recommendation from our CEO who is a licensed psychologist. Contact Kayla Wildes at wilde177@umn.edu if you are interested in applying!

18. Research Coordinator Position at the University of Minnesota

Dr. Bob Krueger and Dr. Glenn Roisman of the University of Minnesota, Co-Principal Investigators on two coordinated five-year NIH-funded grants to follow up the large Sibling Interaction and Behavior Study (SIBS) and the Minnesota Twin Registry (MTR) cohorts into late life, seek to hire a Research Coordinator (8352P2: Researcher 2) responsible for coordinating field studies by recruiting participants and coordinating research assistants (e.g., scheduling participant visits). The Research Coordinator will review data to assure quality and prepare data for analysis and publication, as well as maintain records and assist with communication with the UMN IRB and the research sponsor (NIH/NIA). They will ensure that components of the project are completed in an ethically and scientifically rigorous manner. These duties require knowledge and experience with health research, including knowledge of relevant regulations and reporting requirements and procedures. In addition, the Research Coordinator will serve as a key resource to the PIs and other staff regarding regulatory compliance, including identification of potential issues and working to resolve issues in collaboration with the PIs and other project staff. The Research Coordinator will work closely with the SIBS and MTR research participants, co-investigators, and RAs, so a bachelor’s degree is required and research experience, knowledge, and skills plus outstanding communication and problem-solving skills are preferred. Search for Job ID 348894 on the UMN Human Resources page.

19. Overnight Resident Assistant - Vail Place

Do you want to work for a mission-driven agency that works together to create connection, opportunity, and purpose? Are you looking to jump-start your career in Human Services? Start by joining as a Resident Assistant today! What does the Resident Assistant do? The Resident Assistant supports the individual recovery goals of Vail House residents in coordinating services, such as crisis prevention and intervention, medication monitoring, attending to group supports, and independent goals. Vail House is staffed 24 hours a day; this position's regular scheduled hours are Fridays and Saturdays, 11 PM-7 AM. Resident Assistants may be asked to help cover shifts and must be available to remain on shift until relieved by a replacement. All Resident Assistants may be required to work weekend, holiday, and overnight hours based on schedule & coverage needs. Apply online.

20. Clinical Research Assistant/Mobile Exposure Coaches - Alpert Medical School of Brown University

The Pediatric Anxiety Research Center (PARC; located in Bradley Hospital in East Providence, RI, and affiliated with the Brown Medical School) is an integrated research and clinical program nationally recognized in pediatric OCD and anxiety. Current PARC research focuses on developing and evaluating innovative treatment models for youth with OCD and anxiety; improving quality and outcomes in exposure therapy for OCD and anxiety; training providers in the community to deliver evidence-based treatment for OCD and anxiety; testing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) for adolescents with OCD; examining the relationship between sleep and treatment for anxiety and OCD, and training parents to support exposure practice as part of exposure therapy. PARC is looking for a full-time clinical research assistant/mobile exposure coach for our Partial Hospital treatment program. This position includes a combination of research and clinical (assessment and/or treatment) components. Commitment to at least two years in a position is preferred. This is primarily an in-person position with some limited flexibility for working from home. The position requires relocation/ ability to commute to Bradley Hospital in East Providence, RI, and to other locations throughout RI for conducting in-home clinical visits. To apply, please send a cover letter, resume/CV, and two written recommendations (sent directly by your recommenders) to Marika Marklin at parc.impact@gmail.com no later than July 22nd, 2022. We will review applications as they are received and contact applicants to extend interview invitations. Please address application materials (i.e., cover letter, resume/CV, and two letters of recommendation) to Kristen Benito, Ph.D.

21. Peer Coaches - CAPE

The Center for Academic Planning and Exploration (CAPE) at the University of Minnesota is designed to provide targeted, "high-touch" academic transition support for students who will most benefit from such assistance – highly undecided students, students desiring competitive majors, and students transitioning from one college to another. CAPE's mission is to empower undergraduate students to make informed, self-determined choices about their academic plans at the University of Minnesota. Our Peer Coaches staff the CAPE drop-in hours and assist students with getting started on the major exploration process and getting connected to other resources. Peer Coaches also serve as TA’s for sections of OUE 2100: Academic Planning & Exploration, and assist with grading and facilitating in-person class meetings. Students can apply via the U of M employment website using the Job Code ID 349075. The priority application deadline is July 22nd, 2022.