Psychology Research Intern
Job Description
The student will develop expertise in psychophysiological measurement which is very attractive for graduate programs or employers that do this kind of research. The student will also develop more advanced skills in research methodology and design, and applied experience in demonstration and presentation, teaching, leadership, and mentorship. This kind of experience would go above and beyond what they would get in the classroom, leaving the student well prepared for advanced graduate study or a career that involves physiological measurement.
Year 1
Responsibility/Function
The student hired for this position will develop expertise in psychophysiological measurement (heart rate, blood pressure, galvanic skin response, etc.) and will eventually become the contact person for both faculty and students who wish to use the equipment as part of their research or in their courses. The intern will also work with faculty on various research support tasks (such as finding assessments, coordinating use of Amazon's mTurk to collect data, etc.) and will represent the department at various admissions events.
During the first year, the student will be trained by our current FIT interns on the iMotions research software and equipment. Along with the current interns, they will develop and set up a system of managing and monitoring the use of the equipment across the department. The intern will work closely with the faculty in the psychology department to provide consultation and training to the faculty and their students on the use of the iMotions equipment. The student will maintain a relationship with the iMotions customer support team to ensure the equipment is maintained appropriately and will be responsible for any updates or calibration the equipment may need. In the spring of the first year, students may begin to provide demonstrations in psychology classes or at psychology department events
Year 2
Responsibility/Function
During the second year, the student will continue to develop their expertise and independence in the measurement of psychophysiological data. The student will continue to be responsible for the managing and monitoring of the equipment. However, the student's main role will evolve to focus much more on research consultation and classroom demonstration. The student will be responsible for designing demonstrations and experiments for classroom demonstrations and will also serve as a consultant in any research projects in the psychology department that might use psychophysiological data.
The student will develop much greater expertise in skills related to research study development and implementation. The student will also develop important skills related to teaching as they continue to design engaging demonstrations for different psychology courses.
The student will also start to train incoming FIT interns at this stage and will serve as peer mentors to these incoming students.
Year 3
Responsibility/Function
During the third year, the FIT intern will take more of a leadership role in mentoring, training, and evaluating the other FIT interns. The student will continue to take part in demonstrations and consultations but will serve as more of a leader and manager for the students earlier in the program.
At this point, the FIT intern will become more of a consultant to the department chair and will be encouraged to make recommendations about additional equipment needed, will assist in any grant writing endeavors to support additional equipment, and will also potentially have the opportunity to be involved in conference presentations or writing up papers using the psychophysiological data.
The FIT intern will also work closely with the department chair to advertise the iMotions equipment to other departments to promote interdisciplinary collaboration on campus. They, and the other FIT interns, will demonstrate the iMotions equipment to faculty/students in other departments and consult on more interdisciplinary research.
*Students are prohibited from driving during work-study employment with the limited exception of authorized work-study driver positions.