Join the Lab

Graduate Students

The Self, Health & Emotion Lab will be accepting new graduate student(s) for Fall 2022. If you are interested in research related to health communication/persuasion, health behavior, motivation, self-concept, and/or emotions, consider applying to become a graduate student in our lab. As a graduate member of the lab, you will typically begin as a collaborator on one of our ongoing research projects, and as you progress through the Ph.D. program you will have the opportunities to develop your own unique and independent lines of research. Papers and presentations from our research programs can be found here. Applicants should have previous research experience (for example, honors thesis, or extended experience as an undergraduate research assistant), although it is not necessary to have research experience on any particular topic. Information about the Ph.D. Psychology program at Kent State University can be found here, and application materials are here.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact Dr. John Updegraff via email.

Undergraduate Students

If you are interested in learning more about psychological research or are thinking about graduate school in psychology or medicine, getting experience in a research lab is an invaluable opportunity that will put you on the right track.  Our lab has a number of positions for undergraduate research assistants.  Responsibilities include helping with the collection of data via various methods (experiment, survey, experience sampling), coding open-ended and observational data, entering and analyzing data, and attending regular laboratory meetings.  In meetings, we learn about the theory and research behind our projects, conduct training, and discuss progress on our various projects.  

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Positions are on a volunteer basis, although you do receive course credit via Psychology 31498 / 41498.  Because of the training involved in being a research assistant in our lab, we ask for a minimum 9hr/week commitment for at least 1 full academic year.  You do not need previous research experience - just a curiosity about human behavior and the research process in psychology, ability to work well with people, conscientiousness, and the ability to make the time commitment.

The application for undergraduate research is here. We usually recruit new assistants at the beginning of each semester, but will always accept applications for upcoming semesters. We are currently accepting applications for the upcoming semester.