Psychology and Statistics

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Volunteer Basis, Potential for UROP Funding, Potential for Academic Credit

Overview

Professor Catherine Caldwell-Harris seeks volunteer interns for diverse projects that integrate psychology, neurodiversity, statistics and AI. If interested, contact Lab Manager Dawson Xuan (djxuan@bu.edu).

1. Bilingualism:

Bilingualism, culture, and frame-shifting. How does the language you speak and your culture affect your emotions and your moral reasoning? Prof C-H has several ongoing studies on this topic, including studies on Mandarin, Turkish, Russian, Spanish and Hindi speakers.

2. Neurodiversity. Projects include:

a. Comparing autism vs. schizophrenia in China vs. North America

Our survey is already developed. We need help reviewing the Mandarin translation and posting the survey online.

b. How do people of different neurotypes experience online communities like Discord?

Join a team where you interview people with Discord experience about what worked for them and how conflicts were resolved.

c. Entertainment media and personality (New project)

Do personality and cognitive styles predispose people to appreciate specific genres of science fiction or other categories of entertainment media? For example, do people with a logical scientific orientation find Star Trek more compelling, while those interested in hero quests and fantasy find a home in Star Wars fandom? What types of immersive fictional worlds draw people with autistic vs. ADHD traits?

3. When artificial and human intelligence meet. Projects include:

a. Prof C-H is designing classroom activities and assignments to help students use AI to expand intellectual development, and to avoid using AI to curtail or short-circuit cognitive effort.

b. The claim has been made that LLMs can’t be relied on to fact-check, make jokes, use irony, or understand someone’s specific context. But if AI can do these things, what does this imply for human abilities?

4. Teenagers and screens:

Does childhood exposure to nature protect teenagers and young adults from compulsive media use? What other factors are important? This project is 2 years old, and we just finished collecting 120 surveys and interviews. We need help analyzing the collected data and organizing a second study with updated materials.

General Information

In all these projects, there will be opportunities to assist with study design, running participants, analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data, reviewing the literature, and writing reports, including for conference/journal submission.  Statistics majors or those with strong data analysis skills can jump right into analyzing already collected data.

You will work with a team of students. You have the opportunity to choose what you work on. There is no set number of hours per week, because I value creativity, energy, knowledge, skills, and students who can get work done. I value students who can take on tasks independently, set their own schedules, their own tasks and todo-lists, and effectively contribute towards team goals. The goals are to develop and complete important projects that will make a difference and can be published in academic journals.

Send your resume to the Lab Manager, djxuan@bu.edu. Include the project you prefer, and your background relevant to the specific project, as well as your skills in psychology and data management, analysis, and interpretation.

The professor can sponsor you for UROP funding after one semester as a volunteer.

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