The Psychology program encourages faculty-mentored research, and interested undergraduates may conduct an advanced individual research project. Student research contributes to the creation of new knowledge, sharpens critical and analytical thinking skills, enhances confidence, prepares students for graduate-level study, and clarifies career goals. Students often present their research at the Red River Psychology Conference and the MSUM Student Academic Conference. Some student researchers may also present at national or international meetings and conferences, such as the Midwestern Psychological Association, Minnesota Undergraduate Psychology, Vision Sciences Society, Council for Exceptional Children, Acoustical Society of America, Society for Neuroscience, among others.
Our student-focused program gives majors a wide range of professional experiences. All faculty conduct research and supervise undergraduate projects. Graduate students often involve undergraduates in their research as well. The opportunity for one-on-one interactions with faculty in the department promotes additional learning and lends itself to meaningful recommendations for students to secure jobs or to obtain acceptance into graduate school.
Recent Psychology student research projects:
- Post-High School Aspirations of American Indian Students
- Artistic Quality by Beauty and Interestingness
- Artistic Quality by Complexity and Type of Emotion
- Getting to Know You: Differing Perceptions of Online verses Face–to–Face Self–Disclosures and Satisfaction in College Females
- How You Read to Kids Matters: Efficacy of Specific Techniques in Repeated Read Alouds
- Media’s Influence on Body Image: An Eye Tracking Study
Recent faculty-mentored research projects:
- Social and Normative Influences on Health-Related Attitudes and Behaviors
- Spoken Word Recognition
- Memory Performance and False Recognitions
- Computer Attitudes and Computer Phobia
- Infant Depth Perception
- Application of Psychological Principles to the Challenge of Food Safety