A Project to Make it Easier to Understand and Connect with the Latest Psychology Research
We invite you to explore our Making Research Personal series which features 10 video interviews with outstanding researchers in the field of psychology. These leading researchers, from diverse fields and backgrounds, share insights on the world of research. In a time where in-person events are not being held, these videos serve as a bridge between leading psychology researchers and curious learners.
About the Project
Did you know that undergraduate students report negative views of science and research and only about a third feel that they belong in the science field (Berdan Lozano & Tilman, 2016)? This finding alarms us, as we deeply believe in the importance of scientific research. Guest speakers can help combat these negative views. They help retain student interest in a subject, model skills (such as public speaking), help students select career goals, and increase awareness of jobs in the field. However, the COVID-19 pandemic limits (and possibly eliminates) guest speakers due to health and financial concerns.
We were inspired to begin the Making Research Personal project as a way of addressing these needs. On this site, you’ll find 10 video interviews with outstanding researchers. They represent diverse research areas and come from various backgrounds. They express common themes- such as a passion for the field of psychology, curiosity about the world, and a desire to support and encourage others. There are key differences, as well, such as their early experiences that led to this career; views on the roles of research, policy, and activism; and ways to establish a rewarding personal and professional life. Each video is about 20 minutes long. You’ll also find a list for each researcher of representative publications (with links to online access), their affiliated website, and suggested class activities. We’ve also provided keywords and potential course matches to help you sort through all this information.
We hope you share our enthusiasm and find these materials useful!
-The Making Research Personal Project Staff
Project Information
Grant Information
This project was supported through the Association for Psychological Science Teaching Fund Microgrants program, part of the APS Fund for Teaching and Public Understanding of Psychological Science.
Dr. Allison Buskirk-Cohen is the chair of the Psychology Department at Delaware Valley University. She has experience with program development and evaluation, along with a strong publication and presentation record. Her research focuses on how interpersonal relationships influence academic success and well-being.
Tanya Letourneau, M.A., is an adjunct instructor in the Department of Psychology and the eLearning Faculty Liaison for Delaware Valley University’s Distance Education office. She supports faculty with instructional design ideas and ways to use online educational tools effectively.
Lisa Schell is a graduate research assistant and is completing her master’s degree in counseling psychology at Delaware Valley University. Lisa assisted with the development of resources for the interviews and evaluation piece of the project.
Tyler Newman is an undergraduate student at Delaware Valley University completing his degree in media and communication. Tyler assisted with editing the video interviews.
Dr. György Buzsáki
Dr. György Buzsáki is the Biggs Professor of Neural Sciences at the NYU Neuroscience Institute, New York University. His primary research interests include the mechanisms of memory, sleep, and associated diseases. He is among the most-cited neuroscientists and received the Brain Prize in 2011.
Representative publications:
- Buzsáki, G. (2020). The Brain–Cognitive Behavior Problem: A Retrospective. Eneuro, 7(4). Click here to view
- Buzsáki, G., & Draguhn, A. (2004). Neuronal oscillations in cortical networks. Science, 304(5679), 1926-1929. Click here to view
- Buzsáki, G. (2019). The brain from inside out. Oxford University Press.
Dr. Luke Chang
Dr. Luke Chang is an assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences at Dartmouth College. His research focuses on understanding how emotions and expectations are represented in the brain and impact learning and decision-making in social contexts. In 2019, Dr. Chang received the Janet Taylor Spence Award from the Association for Psychological Science for transformative early career contributions to psychological science.
Representative publications:
- van der Meer, J.N., Breakspear, M., Chang, L.J., Sonkusare, S., & Cocchi, L. (2020). Movie viewing elicits rich and reliable brain state dynamics. Nature Communications, 11(1), 1-14. Click here to view
- Yu, H., Koban, L., Chang, L.J., Wagner, U., Krishnan, A., Vuilleumier, P., ... & Wager, T. D. (2020). A generalizable multivariate brain pattern for interpersonal guilt. Cerebral Cortex, 30(6), 3558-3572. Click here to view
- Chang, L.J., Yarkoni, T., Khaw, M.W., & Sanfey, A.G. (2013). Decoding the role of the insula in human cognition: functional parcellation and large-scale reverse inference. Cerebral Cortex, 23(3), 739-749. Click here to view
Dr. Katherine (Katie) Ehrlich
Dr. Katie Ehrlich is an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Georgia. She takes an interdisciplinary approach to her research, with a particular interest in questions about risk and resilience, minority health disparities, and close relationships in adolescence. In 2019, Dr. Ehrlich received the Association for Psychological Science Janet Taylor Spence Award for transformative early career contributions. In 2020, she was awarded the 2020 American Psychological Association Distinguished Scientific Award for an early career contribution to psychology.
Representative publications:
- Oshri, A., Duprey, E.B., Liu, S., & Ehrlich, K.B. (2020). Harsh parenting and youth systemic inflammation: Modulation by the autonomic nervous system. Health Psychology, 39(6), 482. Click here to view
- Ehrlich, K.B., Miller, G.E., Shalowitz, M., Story, R., Levine, C., Williams, D., ... & Chen, E. (2019). Secure base representations in children with asthma: Links with symptoms, family asthma management, and cytokine regulation. Child Development, 90(6), e718-e728. Click here to view
- Adam, E.K., Heissel, J.A., Zeiders, K.H., Richeson, J.A., Ross, E.C., Ehrlich, K.B., ... & Peck, S. C. (2015). Developmental histories of perceived racial discrimination and diurnal cortisol profiles in adulthood: A 20-year prospective study. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 62, 279-291. Click here to view
Dr. Willem Frankenhuis
Dr. Willem Frankenhuis is an associate professor of psychology at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. He studies the skills and abilities that develop in response to adversity, using a “hidden talents” approach to understand them. He became an Association for Psychological Science fellow in 2018 and received the APS Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions in 2019. The Jacobs Foundation awarded him an Early Career Research Fellowship 2018-2020.
Representative publications:
- Frankenhuis, W. E., & Nettle, D. (2020). Current debates in human life history research. Evolution and Human Behavior, Click here to view
- Frankenhuis, W. E., Young, E. S., & Ellis, B. J. (2020). The hidden talents approach: Theoretical and methodological challenges. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. Click here to view
- Thomsen, L., Frankenhuis, W.E., Ingold-Smith, M., & Carey, S. (2011). Big and mighty: Preverbal infants mentally represent social dominance. Science, 331(6016), 477-480. Click here to view
Dr. Daniel (Dan) Gilbert
Dr. Daniel (Dan) Gilbert is the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. He is interested in how individuals navigate the complexities of time and social life. Dr. Gilbert’s research interests include happiness, emotions, social inference, and affective forecasting. He was named as one of the 50 most-followed scientists on social media by Science in 2014. He also was the recipient of the William James Fallow Award from the Association for Psychological Science in 2019.
Representative publications:
- Quoidbach, J., Gilbert, D.T., & Wilson, T.D. (2020). Your life satisfaction will change more than you think: A comment on Harris and Busseri (2019). Journal of Research in Personality, 86, 103937. Click here to view
- Gilbert, D.T., & Malone, P.S. (1995). The correspondence bias. Psychological Bulletin, 117(1), 21. Click here to view
- Gilbert, D. (2009). Stumbling on happiness. Vintage Canada.
Dr. Thomas Joiner
Dr. Thomas Joiner is the Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the Florida State University. His research focuses primarily on the study of the nature, causes, and management of suicidal behavior and related disorders across multiple settings, including military and first-responders. Most recently, he received the 2020 James McKeen Catell Award for lifetime contributions to the area of applied psychology research from the Association for Psychological Science.
Representative publications:
- Twenge, J.M., & Joiner, T.E. (2020). US Census Bureau‐assessed prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in 2019 and during the 2020 COVID‐19 pandemic. Depression and Anxiety, 37(10), 954-956. Click here to view
- Joiner, T. (2017). Mindlessness: The corruption of mindfulness in a culture of narcissism. New York: Oxford.
- Joiner, T. (2014). The perversion of virtue: Understanding murder-suicide. New York: Oxford.
Dr. Kristin Laurin
Dr. Kristin Laurin is an associate professor at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Laurin is interested in how motivation shapes a person’s identity. Her research examines how people’s goals and motivations interact with their beliefs and ideologies. In 2018, she received the SAGE Young Scholar Award, became a Fellow with the Association for Psychological Science and the Society for Experimental Social Psychology, and received the Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions. Most recently, Dr. Laurin received the Killam Faculty Research Fellowship through the University of British Columbia.
Representative publications:
- Jost, J. T., Halperin, E., & Laurin, K. (2020). Editorial overview: Five observations about tradition and progress in the scientific study of political ideologies. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 34, iii. Click here to view
- Heltzel, G., & Laurin, K. (2020). Polarization in America: two possible futures. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 34, 179-184. Click here to view
- Kay, A. C., Gaucher, D., Peach, J. M., Laurin, K., Friesen, J., Zanna, M. P., & Spencer, S. J. (2009). Inequality, discrimination, and the power of the status quo: Direct evidence for a motivation to see the way things are as the way they should be. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97(3), 421. Click here to view
Dr. Elizabeth (Betsy) Levy Paluck
Dr. Betsy Levy Paluck is a professor of psychology and public affairs at Princeton University. Her interdisciplinary work focuses on prejudice and conflict reduction, using large-scale field experiments to test theoretically driven interventions. She has received numerous awards for her scholarship, and is a fellow in the Association for Psychological Science. In 2017, Dr. Levy Paluck received one of the world’s most prestigious fellowships- a MacArthur Fellowship, often referred to as the Genius Grant.
Representative publications:
- Gruber, J., Mendle, J., Lindquist, K. A., Schmader, T., Clark, L. A., Bliss-Moreau, E., ... & Borelli, J. L. (2020). The future of women in psychological science. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 1745691620952789. Click here to view
- Tankard, M.E., Paluck, E.L., & Prentice, D.A. (2019). The effect of a savings intervention on women’s intimate partner violence victimization: heterogeneous findings from a randomized controlled trial in Colombia. BMC Women's Health, 19(1), 17. Click here to view
- Paluck, E.L., & Green, D.P. (2009). Prejudice reduction: What works? A review and assessment of research and practice. Annual review of psychology, 60, 339-367. Click here to view
Dr. Kenneth (Ken) Rubin
Dr. Kenneth (Ken) Rubin is a professor of human development at the University of Maryland, where he studies child and adolescent social and emotional development. Dr. Rubin’s research examines peer and parent-child relationships, and anxious-withdrawal and aggression, all from a cross-cultural perspective. Dr. Rubin is a fellow of the American and Canadian Psychological Associations, the Association of Psychological Science, and the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development. Dr. Rubin has received many awards and honors. Most recently, he was honored with the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development.
Representative publications:
- Novick, D.R., Smith, K A., Barstead, M.G., Danko, C.M., Rubin, K.H., Druskin, L., ... & Chronis-Tuscano, A. (2020). Predictors and Moderators of Parent Engagement in Early Interventions for Behaviorally Inhibited Preschool-Aged Children. Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 1-16. Click here to view
- Parker, J.G., Rubin, K.H., Erath, S.A., Wojslawowicz, J.C., & Buskirk, A.A. (2006). Peer relationships, child development, and adjustment: A developmental psychopathology perspective. In D. Cicchetti & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology: Theory and method (p. 419–493). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- Rubin, K.H. (2002). The Friendship Factor. New York: Viking.
Dr. Stacey Sinclair
Dr. Stacey Sinclair is a professor of psychology and public affairs, and an associated faculty member in the African American Studies program at Princeton University. Her research focuses on how interpersonal interactions translate culturally held prejudices into individual thoughts and actions, as well as how they shape our understandings of ourselves and others. Dr. Sinclair is a fellow of numerous professional organizations, including the Association for Psychological Science.
Representative publications:
- Starck, J.G., Riddle, T., Sinclair, S., & Warikoo, N. (2020). Teachers are people too: Examining the racial bias of teachers compared to other American adults. Educational Researcher, 0013189X20912758. Click here to view
- Riddle, T., & Sinclair, S. (2019). Racial disparities in school-based disciplinary actions are associated with county-level rates of racial bias. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(17), 8255-8260. Click here to view
- Lowery, B.S., Hardin, C.D., & Sinclair, S. (2001). Social influence effects on automatic racial prejudice. Journal of personality and social psychology, 81(5), 842. Click here to view
For media inquiries, please contact Annmarie Ely at annmarie.ely@delval.edu or 267.454.4686.
For all other inquiries about this project, please reach out to Dr. Allison Buskirk-Cohen at Allison.Cohen@delval.edu.