ResearchPsychological Science

Research Apprenticeship Opportunities (PSY 290)

PSY 290 is for students interested in collaborating with a faculty member on a research project in the faculty member’s area of research expertise. The purpose of this course is to provide the student with extensive experiences in a particular area of research which can be useful in various ways including preparing the student to conduct subsequent independent research.

If this sounds like something you’d like to pursue, please review the lab descriptions below and identify a faculty member who has research interests that align with your own, set up a meeting with them to discuss their current projects and whether they currently have open 290 positions. They can also tell you the next steps to sign up for PSY 290.

Psychological Science Laboratories

Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory

Faculty: Dr. Kelle Nett
Contact: kellenett@gustavus.edu 
Location: Beck 215 
Topics: Decision-making, inhibitory control, goal-directed behaviors

Critical Perspectives Laboratory 

Faculty: Dr. Jaren Crist
Contact: jarencrist@gustavus.edu 
Location: Beck 316
Topics: Social Justice, Critical Race Theory, Cultural Psychology

Center for Developmental Science

Faculty: Dr. Kyle Chambers (Dr. Chambers is on leave as Dean in the Provost's Office)
Contact: kchamber@gustavus.edu 
Location: Beck 109
Website: https://gustavus.edu/developmentalscience 
Topics: cognitive development, language learning, data visualization, and exhibit & program evaluation for the Childrens’ Museum of Southern Minnesota

Gender and Help-Seeking Lab

Faculty: Dr. Patrick Heath
Contact: pheath@gustavus.edu 
Location: Beck 105 
Topics: mental health stigma, men and masculinities, self-compassion, and help-seeking decisions

HolmLab

Faculty: Dr. Lucie Holmgreen (Dr. Holmgreen is on leave for Spring and Fall 2024)
Contact: lholmgr3@gustavus.edu
Location: Beck 312 
Topics: Sexual violence perpetration, rape myths, attachment

Memory & Cognition Lab

Faculty: Dr. Jennifer Ackil (Dr. Ackil is on sabbatical for Spring 2025)
Contact: jackil@gustavus.edu
Location: Beck 314 
Topics: human memory processes, including specifically autobiographical remembering and false memory development

Perception & Attention (PAtt) Labs

Faculty: Dr. Lauren N. Hecht (Dr. Hecht is on sabbatical for the 2024/25 academic year)
Contact: lhecht@gustavus.edu
Location: Beck 316
Topics: perceptual organization in vision, attentional selection, crossmodal attention, and multimodal attention

Identity and Emotion Lab

Faculty: Dr. Marie Walker
Contact: mwalker@gustavus.edu 
Location: Beck 314 
Topics: political identity development; emotional self-regulation, including meditation practices; microaggression and microaffirmation

For Participants

Researcher Resources