Openings for Undergraduate Research Positions – Cohen Lab
Department of Psychology, The Brain and Mind Institute
The Cohen Lab (Department of Psychology; The Brain and Mind Institute) at the University of Western Ontario is currently recruiting students for honors theses, independent study, and work study. Research projects focus on a) social attention (the ability to attend to where others are attending), b) theory of mind (the ability to think about what others are thinking), and c) their interaction (attending to where others are attending in order to learn about what they are thinking). We study how systems for social attention and theory of mind develop from infancy into adulthood, and we use a variety of techniques including behavioral measures (reaction time, eye tracking) as well as structural and functional neuroimaging (s/f/fcMRI, DTI). Our work is interdisciplinary, bridging developmental psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and evolutionary biology to address fundamental issues in cognitive science. This is an excellent position for those planning to pursue graduate study in the brain and cognitive sciences or its sub-disciplines (psychology, cognitive neuroscience, etc.).
Thank you for your interest in working in our lab! Undergraduate research assistants include honors thesis, independent study, and work study students, working in close supervision with graduate students and the lab director.
Description:
Research assistants' duties may include running experiments, preparing stimuli, recruiting participants, coding, and data entry. Advanced research assistants’ responsibilities may also include attending lab meetings, reading in-progress manuscripts, giving feedback on study design and materials to others in the lab, and discussing study results. We are looking for students who enjoy interacting with other lab members, including graduate students and undergraduate research assistants. We are accepting applications from students who are interested in working in our lab across at least two semesters (preferably more) for at least 10 hours per week, although hours may vary depending on the week.
Honors thesis and independent studies students’ duties include all of those listed above, as well as additional thesis-specific or independent study-specific tasks, including contributing to study design, conducting data analyses, creating a poster, presenting results, and writing a thesis or final paper. The time commitment for honors and independent studies students will be two semesters (Fall–Winter) for at least 10 hours per week, not including a significant amount of time outside of lab for reading and writing.
Please make sure that you meet the requirements before applying (the last 2 are desired but not required):
Additional requirements for honors thesis and independent study applicants:
How to apply:
1. Read the undergraduate research announcement on this page.
2. Complete the application form.
3. Submit a completed application and current transcript to cohenlabwestern AT gmail. DOT com
Additional instructions for honors thesis and independent study applicants:
In addition to the application and transcript, please provide a writing sample that best demonstrates your research experience and/or writing ability. The sample should ideally be a research paper from a psychology course (e.g., formal write-up of independent studies research, research proposal, literature review, etc.).
Additional information from the UWO Psychology department and UWO work study:
Honors thesis here
independent studies here and here
work-study here
Thank you for your interest in working in our lab! Undergraduate research assistants include honors thesis, independent study, and work study students, working in close supervision with graduate students and the lab director.
Description:
Research assistants' duties may include running experiments, preparing stimuli, recruiting participants, coding, and data entry. Advanced research assistants’ responsibilities may also include attending lab meetings, reading in-progress manuscripts, giving feedback on study design and materials to others in the lab, and discussing study results. We are looking for students who enjoy interacting with other lab members, including graduate students and undergraduate research assistants. We are accepting applications from students who are interested in working in our lab across at least two semesters (preferably more) for at least 10 hours per week, although hours may vary depending on the week.
Honors thesis and independent studies students’ duties include all of those listed above, as well as additional thesis-specific or independent study-specific tasks, including contributing to study design, conducting data analyses, creating a poster, presenting results, and writing a thesis or final paper. The time commitment for honors and independent studies students will be two semesters (Fall–Winter) for at least 10 hours per week, not including a significant amount of time outside of lab for reading and writing.
Please make sure that you meet the requirements before applying (the last 2 are desired but not required):
- Must be highly motivated, intellectually curious, self-directed, and responsible; must have an excellent work ethic; must be eager to get hands-on research experience! Read points #1 and #4 here
- Must be able to commit 10 hours per week for a minimum of 2 semesters (see scheduling section below for more details).
- Students from departments within the cognitive sciences (Psychology, Neuroscience/Biology, Computer Science, Philosophy, Linguistics, Anthropology, etc.) are strongly encouraged to apply.
- Students with knowledge of statistics, research methods, and various computer applications including Excel, SPSS, Matlab are strongly encouraged to apply, as are students with computer programming experience
Additional requirements for honors thesis and independent study applicants:
- Should have prior research experience (exceptions may be considered)
- In addition to committing 10 hours/week in lab, honors and independent study students are expected to spend a significant amount of time on their projects outside of lab (e.g., reading articles and writing the thesis or final paper)
- Must be able to provide contact information of a faculty member (preferred) or grad student who can provide a letter of reference on your behalf
How to apply:
1. Read the undergraduate research announcement on this page.
2. Complete the application form.
3. Submit a completed application and current transcript to cohenlabwestern AT gmail. DOT com
Additional instructions for honors thesis and independent study applicants:
In addition to the application and transcript, please provide a writing sample that best demonstrates your research experience and/or writing ability. The sample should ideally be a research paper from a psychology course (e.g., formal write-up of independent studies research, research proposal, literature review, etc.).
Additional information from the UWO Psychology department and UWO work study:
Honors thesis here
independent studies here and here
work-study here