REU Site: Comparative and Developmental Origins of Social Cognition

该项目由SBE理事会的本科生研究经验(REU)站点计划资助。REU计划将研究和教育结合在一起，具有科学和社会效益。社会认知的比较和发展起源REU网站的广泛目标是为来自代表性不足背景的学生提供比较和发展心理学研究方面的联合培训。学生们将获得从两个不同但又相关的角度研究人类社会认知起源的经验：测试人类儿童的发育研究？S的社会认知，以及研究驯养狗的社会认知的比较研究。REU的学生将有难得的机会参与研究过程的方方面面：研究设计、受试者招募、刺激生成、数据收集、数据输入、编码和统计分析。此外，学生将有机会以同事的身份互动：参加每周的实验室会议，阅读最新文献，为关于社会认知的比较和发展起源的理论讨论做出贡献，并参加职业发展系列活动，重点是申请研究生院，从你的本科生涯中获得最大利益等主题。学生将每周与研究生导师会面，PI和共同PI将参加每两个月一次的社交活动。这个REU网站的一个主要目标是包括那些研究机会较少的学生，包括那些在非研究I大学就读的学生，来自代表人数不足的群体的学生和第一代大学生。通过这种方式，REU的这项提议旨在增加其本科生在申请心理学或相关领域研究生院时具有竞争力的机会。此外，这个REU网站将是世界上为数不多的学生可以从多个角度学习一个主题(社会认知)的地点之一，包括比较方法、发展方法和成人社会心理学方法。

This project is funded from the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites program in the SBE Directorate. The REU program has both scientific and societal benefits integrating research and education. The broad goal of the Comparative and Developmental Origins of Social Cognition REU Site is to provide students from under-represented backgrounds with joint training in comparative and developmental psychology research. Students will gain experience investigating the origins of human social cognition from two different but related perspectives: developmental studies testing human children?s social understanding and comparative studies examining social cognition in domesticated dogs. REU students will have a rare opportunity to participate in all aspects of the research process: research design, subject recruitment, stimulus generation, data collection, data entry, coding, and statistical analysis. In addition, students will have the opportunity to interact as colleagues: participating in weekly lab meetings, reading current literature, contributing to theoretical discussions regarding the comparative and developmental origins of social cognition, and attending a professional development series focusing on topics such as applying to graduate school, getting the most out of your undergraduate career, etc. Students will meet weekly with a graduate student mentor, and the PI and co-PI will attend bi-monthly social events. A primary objective of this REU site is to include students who have fewer research opportunities, including those attending non-Research I universities and students from underrepresented groups and first-generation college students. In this way, this REU proposal aims to increase the odds that its undergraduates will be competitive in applying to graduate school in psychology or a related field. In addition, this REU site will be one of the few locations in the world where students can to learn study one topic (social cognition) from many perspectives including a comparative approach, a developmental approach and an adult social psychological approach.