RA Information Form

Emotion & Psychopathology Lab
Research Assistant Application

The Emotion and Psychopathology Lab (Faculty: Renee Thompson) is seeking undergraduate research assistants to begin in summer or fall 2013. To apply, please send your vita (résumé)along with your answers to the questions below. Please answer each question candidly and substantively. These are not designed to be “trick questions,” and there is no litmus test for the job. No one will have all the experience or skills needed. That is ok! Please send the two documents as PDFs to as “[lastname]_cv.pdf” and“[lastname]_application.pdf” in an email with the subject line, “[your full name], Research Assistant Search 2013.” Review of applications will take place on a rolling basis.

Name:Email:

Phone number:Year:

Major:Estimated graduation:

LOGISTICS

1. Please indicate which semesters you want to work in the lab: (A two-semester commitment is required for the position.)

☐summer ☐fall ☐spring

2. Would you prefer to receive course credit (Psych 500) or volunteer? (Either is fine).

☐Psych 500 credit ☐volunteer☐ either

3. How many hours per week can you dedicate to research work for the semesters you indicated being interested in? If you are interested in Psych 500, 1 credit hour is equivalent to 3 hours of work per week, and students typically enroll for 2-3 credit hours per semester.

4. For those interested in summer positions, the earliest research assistants will be needed is June, 2013. If you are interested in a position this summer, please list below times in which you are regularly available for at least three hours. List all possible times even though you would only work a subset of these hours. This simply gives me an idea of how flexible your schedule is and if our schedules match. If you are interested in starting in the fall, please skip this section.

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

Saturday:

Please note any blocks of time this summer when you know you will be unavailable (e.g., vacation).

INTEREST

1. Please describe your interest in emotion, depression, and/or anxiety.

2. Please elaborate on your reasons for obtaining a research assistant position, including what you are hoping to learn.

3. Name a psychology course or a piece of psychology writing (a book, an empirical or theoretical paper) that you have enjoyed. What made it interesting, compelling, inspiring, etc.?

4. What are some of the careers or career trajectories you are currently considering?

EXPERIENCE

1. Have you ever worked in a psychology lab before? Describe what kinds of tasks related to lab organization (e.g., putting together online surveys) and data management you completed (e.g., data entry, checking data). If you have not worked in a lab but have other relevant work experience, please describe that here. The job does not need to be related to psychology.

2. Describe what types of interactions you have had with study participants (or the public if no previous psychology lab experience). For example, have you run participants through a study? Have you scheduled participants via the phone or email? Again, it is ok if you have not.

3. Describe any work you have done that is related to clinical psychology (e.g., volunteering at a suicide hotline, counselor at a camp for children with special needs).

4. Please list software (e.g., SPSS, Photoshop) or programming (e.g., HTML) with which you have experience. Please note your level of proficiency for each.

5. What do you envision your position as a research assistant will be like? What do you imagine you will do during your time in the lab?

6. Please provide the contact information for two individuals who could be asked for a recommendation.