Psychology

Research area: I examine teams, with recent interest in how shared team states, like team mindfulness, emerge and develop over time. Team mindfulness refers to a collective capacity to pay attention, stay present, and respond thoughtfully without judgment. Research shows that teams with higher mindfulness experience better outcomes. I am also deeply interested in employee well-being and mental health more broadly..

Student roles:
Student interns will play an active, hands-on role across all phases of this research project. The internship is structured in three broad stages, though knowledge dissemination activities will run throughout.

In the first stage, interns will engage with the academic literature on teams, team mindfulness, and video-based research methods. This foundational reading ensures students understand the theoretical context of the project and the methodological approach before data collection begins.

In the second stage, interns will take the lead on participant recruitment. This involves reaching out to potential participants, managing scheduling, and coordinating logistics for lab sessions. During data collection, interns will be present in the behavioral lab, supporting the smooth running of sessions and managing data as it is collected. This stage involves direct interaction with research participants and requires reliability and professionalism.

In the third stage, interns will be trained to code video-recorded team interactions using a structured coding scheme. This involves carefully reviewing footage and systematically identifying behavioral and verbal sequences that reflect team mindfulness processes. Attention to detail and consistency are critical here.

Throughout all stages, interns will work on knowledge dissemination activities, developing teaching materials such as slides, teaching notes, and infographics on team mindfulness and video-based research methods. These materials translate research findings into accessible formats for broader audiences.

The two to three interns on this project will work collaboratively, supporting one another across tasks. The team will meet with the supervising researcher at least twice per week to discuss progress, address challenges, and plan next steps. This regular contact ensures interns receive ongoing mentorship and feedback throughout the internship.

Skills required:
No prior experience with specialized software or research methods is required. Students should have strong attention to detail, as the project involves careful, systematic coding of video-recorded team interactions. Comfort with interpersonal communication is important, as interns will interact directly with research participants. The ability to work independently and manage tasks reliably is essential. An interest in team dynamics, organizational behavior, or social psychology is an asset. All technical skills, including relevant software and coding procedures, will be taught. I welcome applications from any motivated undergraduate student eager to gain hands-on research experience.

Research area: In recent years, I have become interested in the use of immersive technologies to support the rehabilitation of people living with schizophrenia in prison and forensic psychiatry. My current research focuses more specifically on the contribution that different forms of immersive technology can make to relaxation, social cognition training and emotion regulation.

Student roles:
The student will have a role in collecting data from participants (completing evaluation questionnaires) and, depending on his/her skills, in the preliminary analysis of quantitative data. Depending on the student's knowledge of French, he or she may also participate in the collection of qualitative data (individual interviews). The student will also take part in team meetings held during the project. The student will also be involved in the adaptation of written or oral communications related to the project. In any case, the student will have the opportunity and latitude to familiarize him/herself with the research theme, the internship environment, the activities required and the technologies used (virtual reality application, database software, etc.).

Skills required:
We are looking for a student with a background in psychology, criminology or psychosocial rehabilitation. The student must be comfortable interacting with people with mental health disorders. Knowledge of French and basic skills in quantitative research are assets for this project.

Research area: My current research focuses mainly on personnel selection, with an emphasis on finding valid and fair methods of hiring the best employees. Most recently, I have investigated two factors that affect interview performance: interview anxiety, which negatively affects interview performance, and impression managment (honest and deceptive), which tends to increase interview performance.

Student roles:
The role of the student in this project will be to administer a large-scale survey about interview techniques, following ethical guidelines for research with human participants. The student will also manage the data (e.g., storage, data cleaning) and conduct some statistical analyses on the data. The student will also assist with writing manuscript. As well, the student will conduct qualitative interviews, and do some coding of those responses.

Skills required:
This position will require:
1. Knowledge of the ethical conduct of research with human participants
2. Knowledge of data management (e.g., data storage, data security, file management)
3. Background in Psychology (a course in Work Psychology would be very helpful)
4. Completion of at least one course in statistics
5. Effective written and oral communication skills

The following would be assets:
1. Experience with Qualtrics survey software
2. Knowledge of in personnel selection processes
3. Experience doing data analysis in R Studio
4. Experience working with qualitative data

Research area: I primarily research the stigma of wrongful conviction. My current projects in this area focus on methods of improving attitudes toward freed and exonerated individuals, including means for increasing the assistance exonerated individuals receive post-incarceration. My work always starts with undergraduate students, but branches off to examine the generalizability to community members or specific relevant populations as well.

Student roles:
For this project, the student will assist with creating training materials for a multi-phase simulation that walks participants through the obstacles and challenges faced by formerly incarcerated individuals in the first month of reentry (rejoining the community after release from prison), managing online participation in a more traditional video-based education program, categorizing open-ended responses into mutually exclusive and exhaustive categories, and/or analyzing pilot data from an experiential classroom project.

Skills required:
Reliable, professional, and respectful. Proficiency and confidence with research methodology and statistical analyses in psychology is an asset.

Research area: I am an associate professor in psychology with training in cognitive neuroscience, neuroimaging, and machine learning applied to brain data. My research program aims to understand and predict pain modulation in health and disease. One of its specific objectives is to develop new measures of pain that complement subjective reports and can be used in clinical and research contexts. To this end, I am developing machine learning models capable of predicting pain perception from brain activity recorded with functional magnetic resonance imaging or electroencephalography during various experimental pain stimulations.

Student roles:
The student will be involved in the analysis of EEG and/or fMRI signals recorded during various states of experimental pain, with the goal of building predictive models capable of estimating the pain intensity reported by participants during the recordings. Specifically, the student will be trained in the analysis of neuroimaging data (e.g., pre-processing, quality control) and in the development and application of machine learning models to this type of data. The student will contribute to the creation, validation, and interpretation of predictive statistical models using the computing resources of the Digital Research Alliance of Canada (formerly Compute Canada). The student will also take part in all lab activities, including lab meetings and journal clubs, and will have opportunities to present their work to and interact with other students and researchers. Depending on their interests, the student may also occasionally take part in other projects in the lab, including those involving data collection in human participants.

Skills required:
Students from all disciplines related to the project (psychology, neuroscience, machine learning, computer science, etc.) are welcome to apply. Prior experience or training in Python programming is required for this project. Knowledge of common machine learning libraries (scikit-learn, PyTorch), a background in neuroimaging, neuroscience, or pain research, and a demonstrated capacity for autonomy, teamwork, and original thinking will be considered assets. Excellent written English proficiency is required to read and understand the scientific literature and technical documentation relevant to the project.

Research area: Mes travaux ont porté sur les neurosciences affectives. Je m’intéresse aussi à la manière dont des facteurs individuels tels que les antécédents culturels influencent ce traitement. En étudiant les sons émotionnels via le langage et la musique, mes intérêts se sont développés vers l’étude de la parole et de la neuropragmatique. Mes projets portent sur le rôle de la prosodie (ton de la voix) dans la transmission d’informations significatives, que ce soit en termes d’émotion ou d’intention réelle des locuteurs, par exemple dans l’ironie, les mensonges ou encore les insinuations.

Student roles:
Participation active dans l'équipe pour aider à:
- la construction du paradigme expérimental
- l'enregistrement des données audio
- la collecte des données
- l'analyse des données

Skills required:
L'étudiant doit avoir de bonnes bases en psychologie cognitive, et/ou linguistiques/pragmatique. Même si des formations seront fournies et assurées, les projets requièrent de bonnes facultés d'apprentissage pour la programmation et l'enregistrement de données psychophysiologiques.

Research area: My research in Affective Neurosciences aims to understand the neural correlates of the processing of emotional information and their impact in social and cognitive spheres. With the recording of electroencephalography (EEG), eye movements and psychophysiological signals (Heart rate, skin conductance responses), I study the links between emotions and cognitive processes (attention, memory, language). I use visual (faces, scenes), auditory (music, language) and olfactory (odors) stimulations to understand the influence of the context in which these stimulations appear and their links to individual factors such as cultural background, emotional competencies and development.

Student roles:
Active participation within the research team to help to:
- Build the experimental paradigm
- Collect data
- Analyze data

Skills required:
The student should have a good background in cognitive psychology, psychophysiology, and/or neuroscience. The project also requires good learning skills for some technical aspects (programming, acquisition of psychophysiological data) though training will be provided.

Research area: The project is supervised by Dr. Toni Schmader and Dr. Frances Chen and a graduate student. Toni Schmader is the Director of the Social Identity Laboratory at the University of British Columbia. Her research examines how stereotypes and bias constrain people’s performance, preferences, and self-views, with a particular focus on gender stereotypes and implicit bias. Frances Chen is the Director of the Social Health Laboratory at the University of British Columbia. Her research combines approaches from health psychology, social psychology, and neuroendocrinology to investigate how our social lives are connected to our mental and physical health.

Student roles:
The main responsibility for interns will be to run laboratory sessions for the study described above. This includes scheduling appointments with participants, running the sessions, debriefing participants at the end of the study, and coding participant’s behavioral responses.

That being said, interns will also be presented with a range of opportunities to explore other ongoing projects in the lab as well as different steps of the research process like designing a study, analyzing behavioral data, or writing up research reports, depending on the lab's current capacities and the intern’s personal interests and preferences. The intern will also have the opportunity to join lab meetings and research talks that occur during the internship period, in order to provide the most enriching research and personal experience.

Skills required:
Students should have a background in Psychology or related fields of study like Sociology, Public Health, Medicine, or Behavioral Neuroscience.

Apart from an interest in topics of social/health psychology, students should demonstrate exceptional levels of organizational ability and conscientiousness to keep up with everyday tasks and the logistics of the laboratory study. Interns should be team players and bring soft skills like good communication ability, in order to provide the best experience for participants in the lab and the team of Research Assistants they will be working alongside.

Research area: My research in Affective Neurosciences aim to understand the processing of emotional information and its neural correlates. With the recording of electroencephalography (EEG), eye movements and psychophysiological signals (Heart rate, skin conductance responses), I study the links between emotions and cognitive processes (attention, memory, language). I use visual (faces, scenes), auditory (music, language) and audio-visual stimulations to understand the influence of the context in which these stimulations appear and their links to individual factors such as cultural background, emotional competencies and development.

Student roles:
Active participation within the research team to help to:
- Build the experimental paradigm
- Collect data
- Analyze data

Skills required:
The student should have a good background in cognitive psychology, psychophysiology, and/or neuroscience. The project also requires good learning skills for some technical aspects (programming, acquisition of psychophysiological data, use of EEG) though training will be provided.

Research area: My research examines how digital technologies and AI shape individual and societal outcomes, with a focus on human behavior in AI-mediated environments, sustainability, and the broader societal implications of intelligent systems. I use experimental methods, computational text analysis, and agent-based modeling to study how people respond to AI-driven technologies across social, environmental, and institutional contexts. My current research investigates how audiences perceive and engage with AI-generated social media influencers, and what conditions make the artificial nature of those influencers socially consequential.

Student roles:
The student will contribute to all stages of the experimental research cycle, from instrument development through data collection, analysis, and writing. The role combines behavioral research methodology with applied questions about AI and social media, giving the student broad experience in academic knowledge production.

1- In the first phase, the student will review the literature on parasocial interaction, authenticity perception, and AI disclosure, and contribute to finalizing the experimental stimuli. This includes helping design the eight mock influencer profiles that operationalize the three experimental manipulations, and refining the survey instrument measuring parasocial engagement, trust, authenticity perception, and behavioral intention. The student will also assist with piloting the instrument to check for comprehension and manipulation effectiveness.

2- In the second phase, the student will manage the data collection process on Prolific, monitor response quality, apply attention checks and exclusion criteria, and prepare the clean dataset for analysis.
3- In the third phase, the student will conduct the primary statistical analysis. This includes running manipulation checks, testing main effects and interaction effects using factorial ANOVA and regression, and examining theoretically motivated moderation patterns.
4- In the fourth phase, the student will contribute to interpreting the findings in relation to the companion observational study and the broader literature on AI agents in social contexts, and will write the methods and results sections of the manuscript.

Throughout the internship, the student will attend weekly research meetings, maintain a documented analysis script, and engage with the broader research questions around AI and digital social behavior. The internship is structured to produce a co-authored publication targeted at an IS or human-computer interaction venue.

Skills required:
The ideal candidate has a background in quantitative research methods and is comfortable with experimental design and statistical analysis. Experience with survey-based data collection and familiarity with platforms like Prolific or Qualtrics is an asset. The student should be proficient in statistical analysis, including ANOVA, regression, and interaction testing. Knowledge of mediation or moderation analysis is a strong advantage.

Research area: Our Child and Teen Studies Lab investigates the moral development of children and youth, the development of resilience across the lifespan and around the globe, and adolescent development of social relationships. The moral development research with focus on Academic Integrity (rule abidance) of young children. The resilience research is positive psychology quasi-ecological investigations "A Day in the Life" of thriving people. The teen social relationships interviews query Asian boys' conflict communications and western girl's best friendships. We are expanding this work to develop knowledge mobilization techniques to take our research findings into the community via public library engagements.

Student roles:
The intern will be trained with respect to the priority research projects to:
1. conduct literature searches on topics of relevance
2. accumulate information for writing annotated bibliographies
3. study ethical standards for working with children, families, and youth over the internet and in
schools, homes, and in the community
4. gain training in conducting interviews, focused discussions, and standardized human-participant protocols
5. collect qualitative and quantitative research data in the four strands of research, as appropriate
6. transcribe audiotaped interviews
7. enter data in qualitative (NVivo) and quantitative (SPSS) software and conduct preliminary analyses
8. contribute to reporting our findings in papers and presentations
My research students are involved in our many publications (see Cameron CV). These recent/past years, they have engaged in presenting numerous local, national and international conference presentations. We have a vibrant lab at UBC and UNB; the majority of members are international students with diverse backgrounds. We most recently (summer 2023) hosted a highly successful Mitacs Globalink Internship student from Hong Kong. Previously, we have welcomed dynamic interns from Brazil, China (who is now a PhD graduate from the University of California, San Diego), Hong Kong (now a graduate student in the University of London) and Germany, who have all now successfully completed their graduate degree studies. The Mitacs intern next year will be involved in several projects depending on their preferences and the needs of the lab. The opportunity to engage in our integrated research programme affords a richly variegated research experience. Our findings have theoretical, developmental and practical implications for advanced psychology, education, counselling, as well as child, family, and youth-care service provision.

Skills required:
Interested students need a background in studies in psychology, a strong interest in human behaviour, and experience and a keen interest and liking for working with children, youth and their families. Each RA in the lab chooses a main focus from the projects available to them but are also encouraged to engage in a collegial way with all ongoing projects in the lab. So the ability to work both independently and collaboratively is needed. Students in the lab need to be able to read research carefully, create research questions, conduct studies gathered ethically, analyze and carefully write up their findings.

Research area: Obésité Biais liés au poids Stigma

Student roles:
Collecte de données, recrutement, nettoyage de base de données

Skills required:
Rigueur, esprit d'équipe, entregent

Research area: Despite many attempts over the years, rates of sexual aggression have remained relatively consistent. Dr. Lucia O'Sullivan and Dr. Scott Ronis have worked at identifying physically aggressive and verbally coercive sexual strategies that have been used across a variety of situations. They have recently completed an anonymous study with a large sample of men, who generally noted using one or more strategies to get women to have sex with them in spite of not consenting. They also have used alternative methods, including accessing public data on the darknet and support forums and completing qualitative interviews, to understand sexual aggression.

Student roles:
The student will work across two research labs (Dr. Scott Ronis, Dr. Lucia O'Sullivan) and will be involved with graduate students working on relevant projects. The student will meet regularly with Dr. Ronis or Dr. O'Sullivan and will complete tasks relevant to the noted projects, although opportunities exist for related work. Students will complete literature reviews, research ethics applications, program online surveys, manage datasets, export data, complete data analyses in SPSS or other relevant platforms (e.g., R, Excel), and assist with writing up results. Depending on time constraints and interests, the student may be involved in programming AI-generated simulations of relevant bystander situations (e.g., at a party, in a bar), piloting simulations for research with university-aged populations, and completing initial analyses of data.

Skills required:
Students should have interest and experience in sexuality, aggression, or victimization. Additional interests in the use of immersive training environments would be beneficial, but not necessary. Further, familiarity and experience with any of the following areas would be considered assets: psychological research, survey research methods, SPSS, quantitative analysis, writing for peer-reviewed publications, knowledge mobilization approaches, gaming, and generative AI for educational purposes. Strong grasp of the English language and western culture are important.

Research area: Adolescence is a critical developmental period for the maturation of mentalizing skills (e.g., Theory of Mind, mind mindedness), self processes, and emotion regulation. Although these skills allow adolescents to understand others’ thoughts and emotions, they can be used to support either kind, prosocial engagement or incivility and manipulation. This program of research investigates how adolescents develop a growth oriented kind mindset—the belief that kindness is malleable and can be cultivated—and how this mindset is shaped by mentalizing abilities, self knowledge, emotion regulation, and context (e.g., school climate). The ultimate goal is to identify mechanisms that connect cognition, emotion, and kindness,

Student roles:
The student will play an active role in all stages of the research process, including administering online questionnaires and interviews, corresponding with participants and educators, coding and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data (e.g., using SPSS), and contributing to data interpretation and scholarly writing for conference presentations and peer‑reviewed publications.

Skills required:
Students need to have a psychology background and experience working with youth either in formal research/educational settings or in informal settings. Ideally, they will have conducted psychological research before and have experience with statistical analyses. The student should demonstrate strong critical evaluation skills, including experience conducting literature reviews, producing academic writing, and working with quantitative online data. They should also bring solid analytical, reflective, and collaborative abilities, as the role involves close teamwork within a research setting. An intrinsic interest in understanding adolescent cognition and emotional development would be an asset.

Research area: Mes recherches en neurosciences cognitives m'ont amené à développer des projets en lien avec le développement de capacités cognitives comme l'inhibition, la planification et la prise de décision par la pratique d'activités sociales stimulantes cognitivement comme l'apprentissage de la musique, d'une nouvelle langue ou encore la pratique des échecs et des jeux de société. L'idée principale de ces projets est de montrer des effets de transfert de compétences d'un domaine à un autre. Les résultats obtenus permettent de placer ces activités comme des méthodes d'entrainement cognitif et/ou éducatif pour le développement harmonieux de compétences socio-cognitivo-émotionnelles.

Student roles:
L'étudiante ou l'étudiant choisi seront impliqués dans les étapes de réflexion du sujet, la construction des paradigmes expérimentaux et choix des questionnaires, la collecte et l'analyse des données.

Skills required:
L'étudiant ou l'étudiante choisie devrait idéalement avoir une formation en psychologie cognitive et/ou sciences de l'éducation.

Research area: Dr. Zinga focuses on youth transitions and mental health broadly in youth as well as in specific populations (e.g. student athletes, dancers, Indigenous youth, first generation youth). As a cognitive psychologist within a multidisciplinary department she employs multidisciplinary approaches drawing from psychology, education, and sociology. She primarily focuses on mixed methods and qualitative approaches and strategies. Within her research there is a focus on perfectionistic sport contexts, mental health concerns, achieving balance (e.g. school, sports, family), fostering health and well-being, and the influence of parents and teachers/coaches on youth.

Student roles:
The role of the student will fluctuate with the current priorities of the lab. The primary role of the student
will be twofold. First the student will be largely focused on the project of interest as identified in
conjunction with the supervisor. In addition to that role, the student will also be involved in supportive
activities related to lab priorities opening up opportunities for additional training and publications. The
project of interest is designed such that the student can complete the project and move into
dissemination within the 12 week window. This may involve assisting on an existing project or creating a
new small project. Students will also be offered opportunities to join in on other projects already in
process. The supportive lab environment encourages questions and strong engagement. The student will
participate in weekly lab meetings as well as weekly one-on-one meetings with the supervisor.
Throughout each week the student will have individual activities to be accomplished along side group
activities that will involve working with various lab team members as small, focused working groups.
Students will also work directly Dr. Zinga and Dr. Molnar and have opportunities to work with Drs. Holmes and Beaudette.
Throughout the time in the lab the student will be actively engaged in research training in the following areas: ethics; research data management;
research methodologies; transcription; data cleaning; interviewing techniques; qualitative and/or
quantitative analysis; knowledge mobilization. The student will gain an appreciation of the research life
cycle and have the opportunity to put training into practice. The successful student is expected to take an
active role in co-designing the training program with the supervisor and identifying key goals to be
accomplished during the internship. Lab meetings and supervisory meetings will be used as an
opportunity to monitor progress towards goals and timelines that have

Skills required:
The successful student will need to be able to work well in a team environment and independently. They will also be able to manage their time effectively across multiple tasks and deadlines. Students should have some training in or knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research methods, the project can be somewhat tailored to student strengths and interests. Strong work ethic and openness to training and constructive feedback are essential. Proficiency in literature searches, strong communication skills, strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to learn programs (e.g. NVivo, SPSS) and research procedures are also key skills.

Research area: My research aims to enhance our understanding of sustainability education (SE), with emphasis on natural and cultural heritage as a basis for community engagement, sense of place development, and wellbeing. This student position would contribute to a project that examines the relationship between natural history museums and psychological wellbeing, including the potential for museum exhibits and programs to play an enhanced role in the medical system through social prescriptions for eco-anxiety and other mental health issues.

Student roles:
This research will involve reviewing quantitative survey and qualitative interview data collected prior to the start of the internship, and gathering additional information using an established survey tool and interview guide. Ethics approval will be secured before the student arrives, so his/her time can be devoted to data collection and analysis, report writing, and event planning. To that end, the student will contact and set up meetings with potential interviewees to collect additional information, and with local healthcare workers and their organizations to discuss the project results. He/she will also produce a final project report and draft a research paper that lays out the main findings, recommendations, and potential next steps.

I have written approval from the Chair of the Geography and Environmental Studies Department at the University fo Regina, to supervise Mitacs students as an Adjunct Professor within this department, without pre-approval or oversight. The office space for the intern is located at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, just off the University of Regina Campus. The RSM provides all interns with bus passes, so they can travel between the campus and museum.

Skills required:
The ideal student for this position will have a background in environmental or educational psychology, with interest or skills in nature connection, sense of place development, quantitative and qualitative research methods, especially basic statistical tests, interview techniques, and narrative analysis. He/she will also be a personable and cooperative team player with strong communication and organizational skills who shows initiative, is willing to take direction, and is meticulous about taking notes and working safely. An appreciation for nature and sustainability, and a strong interest in environmental issues and eco-anxiety, would be assets.

Research area: Dr. Malloy's lab is focused broadly at the intersection of psychology and law. She conducts studies on youths' eyewitness testimony, youths' deception, investigative interviewing, and interrogations. This research project draws on the intersection of developmental and forensic psychology to analyze the influence of parents on teens' legal decision-making using a virtual simulation and in-person discussions between the parent and child, identifying factors that influence how adolescents want to proceed through the legal system. This research will inform future research on the factors related to youths' legal decisions and how they go about making these decisions.

Student roles:
The prospective intern will act as a research assistant (RA) who works closely with the supervisor and graduate students to undertake the current research project. The primary goal of the intern will be to administer and collect surveys, recruit families, run participants through the experimental paradigm, enter data, code data, and assist with data analysis and knowledge dissemination. The candidate will also assist with literature reviews and preparing submissions to academic journals and conferences as relevant. The contribution of the student intern will be fundamental for project success, and there is also opportunity for the intern to potentially co-author presentations.

Skills required:
The ideal candidate must have the following: 1) able to speak, write, and understand English; 2) comfortable contacting families interested in participating and interacting with them in the lab; and 3) desire and ability to work in a team environment.

The ideal candidate would preferably, but is not required to, have the following experience: 1) conducting experimental psychological studies; 2) working with children or adolescents; 3) transcribing audio-video files; 3) conducting statistical analyses, 4) entering and coding qualitative data; and 5) conducting literature reviews.

Additional training will be provided by graduate students in the lab when necessary

Research area: My research in Affective Neurosciences aims to understand the neural correlates of the processing of emotional information and their impact in social and cognitive spheres. With the recording of electroencephalography (EEG), eye movements and psychophysiological signals (Heart rate, skin conductance responses), I study the links between emotions and cognitive processes (attention, memory, language). I use visual (faces, scenes), auditory (music, language) and audio-visual stimulations to understand the influence of the context in which these stimulations appear and their links to individual factors such as cultural background, emotional competencies and development.

Student roles:
Active participation within the research team to help to:
- Build the experimental paradigm
- Collect data
- Analyze data

Skills required:
The student should have a good background in cognitive psychology, psychophysiology, and/or neuroscience. The project also requires good learning skills for some technical aspects (programming, acquisition of psychophysiological data) even though training will be provided.

Research area: My research examines how children interact with toys and play materials and how these interactions shape play engagement and cognitive development. Using experimental designs, observational methods, and behavioural coding, my research team and I investigate how material characteristics such as openness, structure, and flexibility influence the duration, quality, and complexity of children’s play. Our work integrates video-based observational data, standardized cognitive assessments, and quantitative analysis across solitary, peer, and parent-child play contexts. This collaborative research program trains students in developmental research while advancing knowledge on how material and social contexts shape children’s play and learning.

Student roles:
The student will support multiple stages of the research process, including coding and analyzing video-recorded play sessions to identify patterns in children’s play engagement, symbolic transformation, and material use. The student will be trained in coding protocols, inter-rater reliability procedures, and ethical handling of child-based research data. Additional responsibilities include literature reviews, data entry and management, preliminary quantitative and qualitative analysis, and contributing to knowledge mobilization activities such as conference presentations, community reports, and educational resources.

Skills required:
Students from psychology, educational psychology, cognitive science, statistics, or related disciplines are encouraged to apply. Strong organizational skills, knowledge of research methods, and proficiency in statistical analysis (e.g., R or JASP) are important. Coursework or experience in child development, experimental research methods, and behavioural observation is highly valued. Familiarity with qualitative data coding, data management, and quantitative analysis is expected. Strong spoken and written English proficiency is essential. Prior experience in academic writing, conference presentations, or scholarly publishing is an asset, along with interest in innovative knowledge mobilization and children’s play research.

Research area: I research how consumers and brands can communicate in ways that help them build and maintain strong relationships. This research forms two main streams that examine brand communication and consumer communication. In my research in brand communication, I examine brands as relationship partners, examining how brands use marketing communications—especially humor—to facilitate anthropomorphism and deepen relationships with consumers. In my research on consumer communication, I strive to understand both (1) how consumers communicate, with themselves and others, in order to make better decisions and (2) how gifts can be used as a symbolic form of communication in close relationships.

Student roles:
The student will work with me on several projects examining communication and relationship building in the marketplace. This might include the following:
(1) Performing literature reviews on topics like positive emotions, relationship building and social support
(2) Using the Qualtrics software to prepare survey-based experiments
(3) Performing data cleaning and analysis
(4) Using python or R to quantify social media posts based on their visual and linguistic features

Personal traits and qualities I look for in students
(1) Openness to admitting when you have made a mistake or are struggling -- the faster you tell me, the faster we can fix it together.
(2) Passion for research -- you love asking questions and are a very curious person
(3) Positive response to feedback -- you can take constructive criticism and use it to grow, rather than letting it get you down
(4) Autonomous worker -- You can organize your time and solve problems. You know when to reach out for help to stop you from getting stuck.

In general, I tend to run a small lab and be very hands-on in the summers. I treat summer research as a focused and productive period of work. Students should expect to be fully engaged and to make substantial progress over the course of the internship. The student may have the opportunity to work with other summer students from UBC and perhaps PhD students as well.

They should expect to meet with me in-person at least once a week for check-ins on progress. My goal is to help students develop skills in the areas they're passionate about, so I am happy to adapt the assigned research tasks to the skills you would like to learn. My goal is always to provide you with the support you need without micromanaging.

Skills required:
REQUIRED TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES
-- The student must have taken at least one statistics course, and must be comfortable interpreting statistical tests
-- The student's level of English is high enough that they are able to read and understand academic papers in psychology and marketing

NICE-TO-HAVE TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES
-- Familiarity with a coding language like R or Python -- please still apply if you do not have this, but are willing to learn. I am happy to pay for you to take courses.
-- A student who has completed some RA work in a psychology or marketing lab in the past

Research area: My research explores the cognitive and brain mechanisms of schizophrenia, with a focus on delusions, hallucinations, and cognitive impairments. My labs integrate behavioral testing, neuroimaging, non-pharmacological treatment for psychosis, and innovative applied multivariate statistics, with these paths converging on the study of the overlap between cognition and symptoms in schizophrenia at the level of cognitive modes detectable by fMRI. My long-term goal is understanding the symptoms of mental illness, particularly delusions and hallucinations in schizophrenia.

Student roles:
The student will be directly involved in multiple stages of the project, including data organization and preprocessing, conducting fMRI analyses, literature reviews, and interpretation of cognitive modes associated with hallucinations and delusions in schizophrenia. They will learn how to read functional brain images, upload them to our in-house software for data analysis, run the software, create reports on the results, and apply a range of different analysis methods. Through participation in lab meetings, mentorship, and collaborative research activities, interns will gain technical and professional skills that will support future graduate studies and careers in neuroscience, statistics, and psychology.

Skills required:
Computer programming skills and experience with multivariate statistics are not required, although they would be considered an asset. A strong interest in learning about and applying these methods to the study of human behaviour is essential. This internship will provide valuable skills and experience that serve as an excellent foundation for a career in cognitive neuroscience research. At the same time, students with more advanced experience in computer programming, brain imaging, or multivariate statistics will also find many opportunities to further develop their expertise with our lab. Most importantly, the intern should be collaborative, adaptable, and easy to work with.

Research area: The DSEC Lab's research focuses on the development of emotional communication skills and social cognition in adolescence. We are particularly interested in the ways in which youth learn to express and perceive emotions through nonverbal cues, such as facial expressions and tone of voice. We further examine how these skills relate to youth's social functioning and psychological well-being across development. Our long-term objective is to translate this knowledge to effective policies and/or interventions that improve the social lives of teenagers.

Student roles:
The MITACS student would contribute to the project’s day-to-day management, working closely with the lab coordinator and graduate students to complete tasks. Specifically, the student will be involved in: a) ongoing scheduling of enrolled participants (scheduling participants and research assistants for study visits); b) data collection (including working with teens to guide them through our study tasks and questionnaires, including in the MRI scanner and eye-tracking devices), c) data analysis (including processing neuroimaging and eye-tracking data, as well as statistical analyses of the data); d) interpretation and communication of findings to broader audiences (including the preparation of briefings and manuscripts). In addition, the MITACS student will be folded into the broader activities of the research team. This will involve attending and participating in weekly lab meetings with the team; working with the lab director, lab coordinator, and other members of the study team to advance the above project (and others as needed); and contributing to lab-wide efforts towards knowledge translation (e.g., writing blog posts, creating social media content to explain results of studies in laypeople terms, designing infographics about concepts in developmental psychology for use by teens/parents/teachers). Work hours generally overlap with business hours, with occasional need for weekend work (due to families' availabilities for study visits). Depending on interest, opportunities for involvement in additional projects (e.g., on adolescents' emotional expression patterns or dyadic interactions with friends) and the lab's ongoing community workshops are available.

Skills required:
The ideal candidate would possess the following skills and qualities:
-Leadership skills and the ability to work with a team;
-Excellent time management and organizational skills;
-Strong attention to detail and conscientiousness;
-Strong communication skills and an interest in knowledge translation/science communication;
-Experience and/or academic training in research (e.g., previous experience as research assistant in a lab; knowledge of basic experimental design principles acquired through practice or coursework)
-Knowledge of basic statistics (e.g., coursework in statistics)
-Experience with data entry, data management, and/or data processing is a plus
-Experience with, or knowledge about, neuroimaging/MRI or eye-tracking analyses is a plus

Research area: My research is focused on hiring (personnel selection and assessment). This includes (a) applicants’ behaviors during the selection process, such as their use of impression management tactics, faking, or use of artificial intelligence (AI) to cheat; (b) employment discrimination and bias in hiring; (c) how to use new technologies (e.g., social media, asynchronous video interviews, AI) as selection tools; and (d) developing new forms of assessments (e.g., conditional reasoning test for workplace psychopathy). See my research website for more information: www.atlanticpersonnelselection.com

Student roles:
The student(s) will help with designing and conducting some of the research studies for this project, as well as help with data preparation and preliminary analyses.
For example, the project will include two surveys (one focused on employers/human resources professionals, one focused on job seekers). The surveys will be designed to identify different types of GenAI adoption strategies, potential antecedents of such strategies (e.g., personality measures, perceptions of the risks vs. benefits of using GenAI), and outcomes (e.g., how using GenAI helped people be more productive at their job or more likely to secure a new job). The Mitacs student(s) would help designing and pre-testing the online surveys, support the data collection process, check, clean, or recode the data collected, and conduct preliminary analyses (e.g., examine the reliability of measures, conduct correlations).
Depending on the progress of the project and their experience with qualitative research, the Mitacs student(s) could help conduct semi-structured interviews with hiring managers or job seekers to obtain richer evidence about GenAI adoption strategies, antecedents, and benefits and/or help analyze transcriptions of those interviews (e.g., code for content or identify recurring themes via thematic analysis).
This work will be conducted under the direct supervision of the faculty (Dr. Nicolas Roulin) and will also include work supervised by PhD students in Dr. Roulin's team.

Skills required:
The successful Mitacs student for this project should have:
- A major in psychology, ideally with some knowledge, coursework, or interest in industrial/organizational (or work) psychology OR a background in business/management, with a focus in human resources or organizational behavior.
- Interest in research around employee hiring, the role of technology, and particularly AI.
- Experience with (or knowledge in) quantitative research (e.g., designing or analyzing survey data) and/or qualitative research (interview, content/thematic analysis) is an asset.
- Experience working with GenAI tools, statistical software (e.g., SPSS, R), or survey design tools (e.g., Qualtrics) is also valued.

Research area: Dr. Malloy's lab is focused broadly at the intersection of psychology and law. She conducts studies on youths' eyewitness testimony, youths' deception, investigative interviewing, and interrogations. This research project draws on the intersection of developmental and forensic psychology to analyze how forensic/investigative interviewers conduct interviews with adolescents aged 12 to 17 in Canada. Identifying how adolescents engage with the interview process (e.g., using pre-interview instructions like ground rules) and factors that may result in their reluctance to engage with interviewers. This research will inform future development of strategies for best practice interview protocols for teens.

Student roles:
The prospective intern will act as a research assistant (RA) who works closely with the supervisor and graduate students to undertake the current research project. The primary goal of the intern will be to recruit participants; collect, code, and enter data; and assist with data analysis and knowledge dissemination. The candidate will also assist with literature reviews and preparing submissions to academic journals and conferences. The contribution of the student intern will be fundamental for project success.

Skills required:
The ideal candidate must have the following: 1) able to speak, write, and understand English; 2) comfortable contacting families interested in participating and interacting with them in the lab; and 3) desire and ability to work in a team environment.

The ideal candidate would preferably, but is not required to, have the following experience: 1) conducting experimental psychological studies; 2) transcribing audio-video files; 3) conducting statistical analyses, 4) entering and coding qualitative data; 5) conducting literature reviews, 6) working with children or adolescents.

Additional training will be provided by graduate students in the lab on necessary requirements.

Research area: Why do we sometimes rely on slow, deliberative, and effortful choices, while at other times we rely on fast, habitual, and reflexive choice? Why don't we always marshal all of our resources to make the best possible decision? My lab investigates when and why rely on cognitively effortful behaviour. For example, how does an individual's reliance upon reflective versus reflexive decision-making vary situationally based on factors like availability of cognitive resources, stress, time pressure, or perceived costs and benefits? To answer these questions, we use a combination of computational, behavioral, and psychophysiological techniques.

Student roles:
The student will take an active role in designing and conducting a series of experiments examining the role of confidence in choice under uncertainty. Further, he or she will lead analysis of the data and take an active role in interpretation and designing follow-up studies and/or dissemination of the results through journals and conference submissions.

Skills required:
The student should have completed coursework in experimental design / research methods and statistics. Ideally the student will have some experience programming (in any language) and some previous experience working in a laboratory setting.

Research area: The Animal Cognition Research Group (ACRG) has a broad interest in animal behaviour, with a particular emphasis on how learning and cognitive abilities allow animals to solve problems they face in the wild, such as locating food, identifying conspecifics, and building a nest. A key focus of our work is investigating how animals acquire and use information, both individually and socially, and how these learning mechanisms contribute to behavioural variation across individuals. We are especially interested in the causes and consequences of among-individual variation on complex behaviours like nest building.

Student roles:
Students will be involved in all aspects of the research project. Running experiment: This includes working several hours a day in the lab with birds, recording their behaviour on video during experiments, preparing and counting nest materials, checking nests for eggs, and taking standardized photos of nests. Data management: Tasks involve preparing data sheets for collection, entering and organizing data in electronic spreadsheets, and ensuring that all data is up-to-date. Cleaning: Cleaning bird cages, cleaning food and water dishes, sweeping and mopping floors in bird rooms. Animal care: Monitoring health, providing food, water, and supplements. Laboratory group: The ACRG is a large and diverse team including - postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, undergraduate honours and independent study students, undergraduate volunteers, and visiting summer students from high schools. Our team meets weekly to discuss recent literature, share progress, practice conference presentations, and troubleshoot any challenges. Our working environment is very social and team-oriented. Our team members also come from different countries and academic backgrounds, thus enriching both our academic and non-academic conversations. The "human" laboratory space, where the student will be based when not in the experimental lab, offers computer workstations, a communal meeting area with a projector and whiteboard, and kitchen facilities such as a fridge, microwave, coffee maker, sink, and kettle. This provides a collaborative environment and a central home base for the student alongside other team members.

Skills required:
The student needs to be diligent in conducting experiments by strictly following the experimental procedure and collecting data from videos and photographs. They should also be organized when handling large datasets in spreadsheets and be efficient in completing tasks within deadlines. A background in psychology and biology (especially classes in animal learning/cognition/behaviour) is useful but not a requirement. Students should be able to work in a team of colleagues from diverse backgrounds, communicate respectfully, and follow direction of supervisors.