watson
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Posts posted by watson
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Hahah well, I originally thought I wanted to go clinical...until I realized I hated the idea of ever having to be a therapist!!!! I really have no drive to provide therapy for people. And I wasn't interested in studying "abnormal" behavior--that is the big difference. Social psychologists study what happens in the typical person, rather than disorders, so we actually see it as more broadly applicable. Plus, another difference is if your interests lie at the group or individual level.
For example, I study stereotyping/prejudice/intergroup relations. Pretty direct policy/education applications come out of my work, and it studies an issue that affects people on both the individual and group level. I do a lot of basic research, but I also do research on interventions which is super applied. Plus, my goal is to work in the government, so my research and background will ultimately end up being in a very applied sense, just on the group level again rather than the individual level.
Honestly, based on your examples of social psych studies, I think you probably have a fairly limited exposure to work that most social psychologists do these days, as those studies are not something we'd think is an acceptably worthwhile study to run in your first semester of grad school. Studies usually start at the 2x2 level and most people are more interested in big real world social issues. But even older ones are more interesting than what you seem to think! Milgram experiment! Stanford Prison Experiment! Asch conformity studies! Bystander effect studies! Those are all non-intuitive, social psych studies that had big impact on the field and led to some pretty applied recommendations. Just not for the applied practice of therapy, which is not what all of psychology is.
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Good luck with applications all! For those though that are interested and starting to get antsy and thinking about possible Plan Bs (let's call them safety/back-ups for now), I've posted 3 emails I got in the last 48 hours regarding open lab manager positions over in the "Lab Manager Positions" thread.
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And a third (btw, Jay is awesome and Dave is HUGE in the field, so this would be a great one):
Professors David Amodio and Jay Van Bavel are currently seeking a full-time Lab Manager to begin in August or September 2012, for a two-year commitment. The lab manager will work half-time in David Amodio’s Social Neuroscience Lab and half-time in Jay Van Bavel’s Social Perception and Evaluation Lab, located adjacently in the NYU Psychology Building.
The Lab Manager will work closely with Drs. Amodio and Van Bavel, and their respective lab groups, to coordinate and conduct research studies related to human social cognition using a combination of behavior and neuroscience methods (e.g., EEG, fMRI, peripheral psychophysiology). The Lab Manager will also manage laboratory activities, such as planning research events and meetings, maintaining laboratory computers and equipment, maintaining lab websites, interviewing and supervising research assistants, managing grants, preparing stimuli, programming experimental tasks, processing and analyzing data, reviewing literature, and editing manuscripts. The Lab Manager will also have the opportunity to participate in the broader intellectual community in the New York University Department of Psychology.
This position is open to candidates with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, neuroscience, or a related discipline. Previous experience conducting research in social psychology or cognitive neuroscience is highly desired. Experience with fMRI and/or EEG methods and data analysis and with computer programming (e.g. MATLAB) is preferred but not required, and will otherwise be learned on the job. Above all, we seek a candidate who is self-motivated, highly organized, and a good team player and who, ideally, seeks to eventually pursue a career in psychological science. The ideal candidate will also make creative contributions to the research program and, as such, have opportunities to co-author manuscripts resulting from the research. Salary and benefits will be commensurate with experience.
We will review applications until the position is filled. However, for full consideration, we encourage applicants to submit materials by April 15th. Applicants should submit a brief resume and a 1-page cover letter describing their qualifications for the position, relevant experience, and research interests, along with the names of 2-3 references that may be contacted for a recommendation. Please address applications to both David Amodio (david.amodio@nyu.edu) and Jay Van Bavel (jay.vanbavel@nyu.edu) via email. For more information about our research labs, please visit our respective web sites:amodiolab.org and psych.nyu.edu/vanbavel/
Please feel free to circulate widely.
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Another:
The Aging, Culture, and Cognition Laboratory at Brandeis University,
located in Waltham, MA, is hiring a Research Assistant. The Research
Assistant will coordinate behavioral and neuroimaging (fMRI) data
collection for studies of aging, culture, and memory, under the
direction of Dr. Angela Gutchess.
Examples of Key Responsibilities:
Assists in the collection of fMRI data off-site. Must be
reliable, pay attention to detail, and be interested in learning about
neuroimaging research. Own transportation to drive to Charlestown is
preferred
Administers research studies and data collection. This includes
recruiting participants, phone screening for eligibility, scheduling
sessions, creating experimental stimuli and tasks, conducting
computerized and paper and pencil testing, and data scoring and entry.
Coordinates laboratory activities and administrative matters for
the lab. This includes training and coordinating undergraduate
student research assistants, responding to phone calls, organizing
laboratory space and meetings, troubleshooting computer issues,
documenting laboratory procedures, and organizing human subjects
paperwork and records.
Qualifications:
Attention to detail, reliability, strong organizational skills, and
good interpersonal skills are required.
Must be able to multi-task and take initiative.
Must be willing to work flexibly and professionally with research
participants and members of the research team.
Previous experience in a research setting, such as working with
research volunteers, collecting and organizing data, and proficiency
in Word and Excel are preferred.
Bachelor’s Degree preferred
Background in Psychology and/or Neuroscience preferred.
How to Apply:
Submit cover letter and resume as a single document at
http://www.brandeis.edu/humanresources/jobs/external.html. Elect
option for "External Applicant". Sort the job listing by clicking
the Job ID column heading. Locate the desired job listing. Click the
job title and then Apply Now.
Research Assistant (job id # 520452)
Brandeis University
Brandeis - Waltham Campus
Closing Statement:
Brandeis University operates under an affirmative action plan and
encourages minorities, women, disabled individuals, and eligible
veterans to apply. It is the policy of the University not to
discriminate against any applicant or employee on the basis of race,
ancestry, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, genetic
information, national origin, disability, veteran status, or on the
basis of any other legally protected category.
----------------------------------
Angela Gutchess, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology and
Volen National Center for Complex Systems
Brandeis University
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Got a letter in the mail today from the University of Missouri. Apparently, the Quantitative Psych department has put my name forward for acceptance, and nominated me for a fellowship!!
Not posting acceptance yet on the Results Survey board (since it's pending final review by the graduate program), but it looks good!Congrats! That means you're in
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For the ones that specifically asked for letters, I had my recommenders email the letters to the lab. For all the others, I just included names, phone numbers and email addresses of my recommenders.
Agreed. When you send the application, just tell them to be expecting emails from Dr. X (@ email address) and Dr. Y (@ email address) shortly with letters attached...then make sure that those letters arrive asap
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I have a question that I was hoping you could help me think through: It's now mid-Feb and after having a successful interview, a series of very positive emails with my POI, waiting to hear my fate is so painful! I'm pretty sure the admissions committee has already met. Do you think I could inquire to my professor of interest whether or not I have been admitted -- or take the silence in stride and wait for the grad school to send their notice? There are no dates listed for receiving decision news for my program in GradCafe...
You can email and say how much you enjoyed the interview and casually state "I hope to hear back from you and the committee soon", and if it is your first choice you can emphasize that. POIs will take the hint and fill you in on whether or not the committee has met yet, and may cough up more details but you can't push them too much
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Just got this email, as a heads up:
Dear Colleagues - Please pass this note on to any bright undergraduates or recent grads who may be interested!
Full-time lab manager position at the University of Maryland Developmental Social Cognitive Neuroscience Lab
The University of Maryland Developmental Social Cognitive Neuroscience Lab (www.dscn.umd.edu) directed by Dr. Elizabeth Redcay is seeking a full-time lab manager starting this summer 2012. The DSCN lab investigates the neural and cognitive bases of social-cognitive and communicative development (e.g., joint attention, theory of mind) in typical individuals and individuals with autism. The methods used include functional and structural MRI as well as behavioral measures with adults and children (infancy through adolescence). This is an excellent position for anyone who would like to pursue graduate work in developmental, cognitive, and/or clinical neuroscience. We encourage applicants with a background in psychology, cognitive science, computer science, engineering, or related fields to apply.
Responsibilities will include data collection and analyses of MRI and behavioral studies with infants, children and adults, development and maintenance of lab imaging analysis and stimulus presentation scripts, and scheduling study participants. Additionally, the lab manager will supervise undergraduate research assistants, manage IRB protocols, and be responsible for general lab upkeep. The position will involve MRI operator training on the new 3T Siemens scanner on UMD campus. There may be opportunities for presenting data at conferences and co-authoring publications.
Experience with matlab (and other programming languages), neuroimaging analysis software (e.g., AFNI, SPM, FSL, Freesurfer), and/or linux is preferred. Applicants must have strong organizational and interpersonal skills and must enjoy working with children.
Salary will be competitive commensurate with experience and includes health benefits. The start date is flexible between mid-May and July. This is a 1-2 year position.
To apply please email your application to Daniel O’Young (droyoung@umd.edu). Application materials should include a cover letter detailing qualifications and interest, CV (with GPA), relevant coursework or transcript, and 2 letters of reference (with contact information).
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For anyone who is thinking about next steps for next year, I just got this email:
Dear Colleagues - Please pass this note on to any bright undergraduates or recent grads who may be interested!
Full-time lab manager position at the University of Maryland Developmental Social Cognitive Neuroscience Lab
The University of Maryland Developmental Social Cognitive Neuroscience Lab (www.dscn.umd.edu) directed by Dr. Elizabeth Redcay is seeking a full-time lab manager starting this summer 2012. The DSCN lab investigates the neural and cognitive bases of social-cognitive and communicative development (e.g., joint attention, theory of mind) in typical individuals and individuals with autism. The methods used include functional and structural MRI as well as behavioral measures with adults and children (infancy through adolescence). This is an excellent position for anyone who would like to pursue graduate work in developmental, cognitive, and/or clinical neuroscience. We encourage applicants with a background in psychology, cognitive science, computer science, engineering, or related fields to apply.
Responsibilities will include data collection and analyses of MRI and behavioral studies with infants, children and adults, development and maintenance of lab imaging analysis and stimulus presentation scripts, and scheduling study participants. Additionally, the lab manager will supervise undergraduate research assistants, manage IRB protocols, and be responsible for general lab upkeep. The position will involve MRI operator training on the new 3T Siemens scanner on UMD campus. There may be opportunities for presenting data at conferences and co-authoring publications.
Experience with matlab (and other programming languages), neuroimaging analysis software (e.g., AFNI, SPM, FSL, Freesurfer), and/or linux is preferred. Applicants must have strong organizational and interpersonal skills and must enjoy working with children.
Salary will be competitive commensurate with experience and includes health benefits. The start date is flexible between mid-May and July. This is a 1-2 year position.
To apply please email your application to Daniel O’Young (droyoung@umd.edu). Application materials should include a cover letter detailing qualifications and interest, CV (with GPA), relevant coursework or transcript, and 2 letters of reference (with contact information).
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I've got 7 rejections and 2 assumed rejections out of 16 schools. I feel like some of my undergraduate grades and my GRE Math scores are what are keeping me from getting even an interview and to rant a little: it feels completely insane and unfair.
I'm a rational guy, I understand people bust their ass off to get perfect scores and perfect grades and do research, get clinical experience, and basically show their stuff.
I have a 3.84 graduate masters GPA, took the time to complete an optional research (data collection, interviews, built it from the ground up) masters thesis , have clinical experience, have science research experience in undergrad, and took psych undergrad courses after graduating undergrad to prepare for this journey. I retook the GREs and improved all my scores, above average Verbal, above average Writing, and a slightly average Quant score. Math is my weakness.
I have a few bad grades from undergrad (and it was all during times I was trying to find my flow and find my passion). I found my passion in psych and found my driving motivation doing my own research and being the first in over a decade to do so at my Masters program. I thought, sure the grades overall are good (a few bad marks happen), the GREs aren't everything, and I have a lot of other experience that is relevant in clinical psych!
And yet I have the sinking feeling I'm getting screened out or just rejected because of some undergrad grades and a slightly low Math GRE scores. Mini rant again: Math isn't everything ( we run SPSS and other programs for a reason in Psych!), what I did in undergrad doesn't represent how I really proved myself at the graduate level, and finally it has been researched that upwards of 60% of doctoral students across all fields NEVER graduate (mostly ABD status). There have been countless articles written interviewing graduate programs and the dumbfounded nature of discovering "some of those with the best scores and grades flopped in the program" and "some of those we took a chance on ended up wowing us and really showing their hard work and graduating."
Like a lot of you I know I can really contribute to the field, make a difference, and most important to the clinical psych programs: work my ass off for them teaching and researching and bringing in money for them. And like many of you I can do it without the attitude and with humbleness because I want to learn from the best and want them to know I appreciate having these opportunities. I want to work hard, I want to prove myself, and it is downright depressing to think I and others who really are going to stick to it and get it done with hard work are thrown to the side because someone else has "high math scores" and "straight As" in undergrad.
It's like the law school mess: I knew someone who got a perfect LSAT score (zero law background) and had schools calling and mailing her to offer her scholarships and admission and she didn't even apply! Really these adcoms in all fields need to wake up and realize high GRE scores are NOT good predictors of overall success and the most recent grades of a student in the field tend to be the BEST predictors of overall success!
The thing is really just that there are far, far, far more really awesome, super qualified applicants than there are spots. Especially right now, as more people are applying to grad school than ever before coupled with less and less available funding. The crazy thing is, that with the number of people getting psych PhDs there aren't anywhere near enough jobs (especially academic jobs, if your goal is to be a clinician then you're fine), and now we have a backlog of post-docs who are far cheaper (they only need salary, not tuition remission) who are there to do a lot of the same work and already have training. So yes, a large part of that feeling like it is super random is due to the simple fact that ad-coms have to turn down really super qualified people for PhD programs all the time and right now is a particularly bad time to be an applicant.
You're also correct in that GRE scores are not a good predictor of success, but they are frequently one of the very few ways schools have to judge your quantitative ability. And while we do use SPSS, ad-coms are seriously impressed by strong quant skills because it signals a likelihood of having aptitude for understanding stats beyond the basics (and therefore understanding how to design studies and analyze them appropriately based on stats knowledge). That said, obviously GRE scores aren't about stats skills, but they don't have much else to go on which is why they keep relying on it (flawed as it is). And yes, between two otherwise equal looking applications, they will invite the person with a higher GRE score before the one with the lower GRE score.
I'm not really sure what to say about the ABD thing, since it's way lower in psych and also ad-coms have no way of predicting that based on the application. People admitted to PhD programs typically all look stellar on paper. I think the issue there is with funding matched with the finding that the longer you stay in grad school the more bitter about it you become. But yeah, it's frustrating to think you can't get your foot in the door when other people are in and not liking it or not appreciating it.
When I was applying I applied to 8 schools and got into 5....but now that I'm a 4th year and I see the list of people invited to interview (we get a 'cheat sheet' filling us in on the details) I am blown away by the sheer strength of their applications. I seriously wonder if I could get into a program these days based on what I've seen. The 8 people we interviewed this year (and we're accepting 4) all had worked in labs at least 3 years, were all graduating/graduated at least magna cum laude, had GRE scores that were sky high, had given presentations at conferences, and most had taken a year or two off to be a full-time research assistant or lab manager in a lab headed by a big name in the field. They all had super well fitting research interests and were quite clear about those interests. But I doubt they were the only applicants who fell into those categories and plenty of people never got an interview even with strong applications.
It's just really true that it has never been more difficult to get admitted to a PhD program.
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I asked my mentor which people she would recommend. This got me about 10 schools (with multiple POIs at each). I looked through a few relevant articles and found a couple more. Then I looked through some schools at locations where I would love to live and saw if there were any professors that did research in my very specific area. Ended up with 14 schools and a good mix of top and middle tier programs.
I also asked my undergrad advisors who they thought were good matches. My undergrad was small and only really had clinical and neuro faculty, but I wanted to do social psych. I told them my broad area and so basically they just reported the biggest names they knew in the field. Then I looked at the webpages to narrow it down (plus I only applied to schools in geographic areas I liked). In retrospect, I did it pretty haphazardly. I applied to 8, got into 5, and ended up supremely happy with my choices and final selection. I was beyond lucky how it worked out.
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In our department, all the areas except clinical pretty much accept 1/2 of the students invited to interview, with the others put on a waitlist (unless you do something to totally put the faculty or grad students off). Sometimes if we're really impressed or looking for a bigger class it goes as high as 3/4. For example, this year we interviewed 8 for social, accepted 4 off the bat, put 2 on a waitlist with likely admission if we get a decline, and 2 on a waitlist with very low chances of admission (since we figure we'll get at least 2-3 out of the first 2 groups so we won't have to fill spots). 2 years ago though, we interviewed 8 and made 6 initial offers--5 ended up accepting so the next year we made fewer offers.
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Has anyone applied to Social Psych in Stanford and heard anything? Do they normally require interview for admission?
Anyway, all the best everyone!!!
No idea if they sent invites yet, but I know they do hold interviews.
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Part of this depends on your goal and the school's focus. I'm in an experimental area of psych, but our clinical area is also very much research-oriented (we say we're training researchers who can do clinical work, but not training full-time therapists). If your goal is to go a research/academic/professor route (or if that is the focus of the program, even in clinical), then yes, your age could very well play a huge factor here. The reason is that they figure that 1. it may take you longer to graduate with those other responsibilities, 2. the time/money they put into you may not pay off as much as someone who has 50 years left in the field after finishing the PhD. However, if your goal is to be a practitioner (and that is the focus of your programs) then your age will play a significantly smaller role in the admission process (my undergrad was practitioner-focused, and there was at least one person >40 and they said before I came there was another person >50).
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It also depends largely on what field you are applying to. For example, last year none of the top thirty PhD programs in Economics sent out any acceptances until mid-February to mid-March. I think figuring out when your programs sent out acceptances in past years is the best benchmark for when to get pessimistic
Very true. I know for psych (and particularly for non-clinical areas) the time frame is January and February for the most part. If you're on the top of a waiting list and get in that way you may hear from places in March as well, though you're usually informed if you're on a waiting list by the end of February/first week of March. I actually think it's pretty cruel how many applicants are already rejected but not informed for months because of this process--my current program is a particularly bad offender in this regard.
- Starlajane and ivyworm
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As far as I'm aware (and this could be true only of social psych or of my program only), they take the entire pile of applications and divide it up based on POIs listed. I don't think there is a secret algorithm in the formal sense, but each faculty member basically gets to divide up their pile how they see fit. Some put more weight on GPA, others on years of research experience, etc, but I do believe that they essentially make a few piles outright: (1) scores are high so look at the file closely and positively, (2) scores are middle-range so if they have a great research background move them to the first pile, and (3) scores are too low so barely look and only spend more than a minute if something amazing jumps out of the essay. Truth is, dealing with the anybody who doesn't make it into pile #1 after a review is a very low priority and why it takes SO long to hear from some places. POIs are busy and they choose to spend the energy wooing the top candidates rather than easing the misery of the rest of the applicants. Hell, NU makes their admission decisions and posts them online but doesn't bother to send an email out saying they are up--that is how sad the process gets and precisely why it is so frustrating to an applicant.
- avicus, crazygirl2012 and Starlajane
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Does anyone know if the social programs at Rutgers (NB) and Princeton have formal interview days? I noticed a few people posted that they were contacted for an interview, but I can't tell if it's an official part of the admissions process as I can't find anything about interviews on their websites, or if it's up to the researchers to decide if they'd like to interview applicants interested in their labs on an individual basis.
Double-checked with a friend at Rutgers--they have interviews in a few weeks, invites have been sent out although she wasn't sure if they were all sent yet (only applies for social psych--no info on other areas)
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Does anyone know if the social programs at Rutgers (NB) and Princeton have formal interview days? I noticed a few people posted that they were contacted for an interview, but I can't tell if it's an official part of the admissions process as I can't find anything about interviews on their websites, or if it's up to the researchers to decide if they'd like to interview applicants interested in their labs on an individual basis.
Princeton I know has a weekend for it, and from speaking to some friends there at SPSP I believe at least the social psych invites have gone out
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Thanks for the info!
I applied to 10 programs--2 official rejections and 2 assumed rejections. I know that there are still programs that haven't made decisions, thus I still have a chance, but I still feel like I need a back up plan. The interview went decently, I thought. I think, though, I had a hard time convincing him that I wanted to do the research he was doing since my background is in social neuroscience, which is not what he does at all.
Sign up for the SANS listserv (social affective neuroscience society)....I got like 10 emails this week from them asking for people to send graduating undergrads their way for lab manager/RA positions (but be warned, a good chunk are in Europe, mainly UK)
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I'm sorry. Let me rephrase, "schools of professional psychology".
I think you're talking about the so-called 'professional psych' schools....ones where you get a degree that you pay for (i.e., the Chicago School of Professional Psychology)...you can get a masters or doctorate but there is a charge for tuition and you don't get a stipend. The schools are not always accredited (red flag).
If that is what you're talking about, then I'd be very cautious. Traditional doctoral programs look at those programs with some suspicion (may be a certain level of elitism in there but it is what it is....if the school is not accredited, then I'd say there is good reason to look at it with suspicion and would suggest going with another program if you have the option).
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Had something interesting happen...I had a Prof. email me requesting a phone interview but also extended an invitation to visit in the near future.
I thought that phone interviews were usually aimed at determining if they wanted you to come interview?
Also, it was a Prof. that I didn't express interest in working with in my statement of purpose....wierd....
In that case the phone interview is probably a chance for the prof to ask you if you'd still want to come to the school if he/she was your advisor and not the people you listed in your application. Your POIs may not be taking someone or have invited others, but the prof thinks you'd be a good fit in his/her lab, and is now trying to gauge your interest and see if you really do have a good fit.
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Another question for you, Watson. Suppose you've been accepted by a program. Then, a different program invites you to interview the same visiting weekend as the first. Since you've been accepted by the first program already, do you think it's okay to ask them to schedule a different time to visit (even though you've already told them you could probably make it) so that you can go to interview weekend for the second program?
Now, if the first program was just interviewing, I would of course tell the second one I need to reschedule (since they took so dang long to get back to me). But the key here is that the first one already accepted me. Thanks for your responses. I'm sure all the people on here find your experienced answers helpful.
First I'd decide if you have a clear preference for one or the other...if you do, call the lesser-preferred one and try to reschedule. If they're about equal in your mind, I'd send your POI at the visiting weekend school that you have been offered an interview the same weekend and if it would be possible to come another time. The thing is that you'll miss out on meeting the rest of the cohort, and any activities like tour of campus/town/apartments or getting to sit in on colloquium/brownbag/etc. You probably would also miss out on meeting other faculty in depth (I actually recall OSU's visiting weekend to be super structured...I think we had printed schedules and everything). Not an easy choice! Good luck!
p.s. I PMed my advisor
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Ok good, I have not gotten interview invites yet to any of my programs but they don't have any info on their websites about interviews. Many of the deadlines for apps were Jan 15 so I thought I wouldn't hear back until Feb at the earliest. I am beginning to think I may be completely wrong. I goes its possible that my programs don't interview but I guess maybe they do and I just assume that Im rejected?
Not necessarily--don't give up hope yet! Plenty of programs don't contact til February, and not all do interviews. Wait list offers are made right up until late April.
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Are you saying to not wear a suit the interviews? And what do you mean by the comment about accepting without interviews. Are you saying that they accept you but won't take you unless you go to visiting weekend...?
I meant that some schools that don't interview but have a visiting weekend will make offers and invite those students to visit (already accepted but as a way to woo them into picking that school). Only people offered a place before the visit will be accepted--no new offers later. However, (to answer your question) if you're invited to visit and choose NOT to attend the visiting weekend, they won't withdraw your offer....but I can't see a good reason to select a program you didn't bother going to the visiting weekend for if invited. If you got 2 invites to visit schools on the same weekend, tell one program and they'll usually work out another day for you to visit.
Why Social Psychology?
in Psychology Forum
Posted
Behavioral is correct--as we understand them today, cognitive predates social, and social predates clinical. These days each branch influences the others (e.g., social borrows cognitive methods, clinical borrows social theory, clinical problems like stress are investigated in social labs to see the impact of situation to improve social theory...etc etc etc). Cognitive does not necessarily = neuro. In fact, most cognitive work has no neuro component. I could go into detail, but when I started to I realized I was basically reiterating an entire course on the history of psychology, so suffice to say they are different. Indeed, most departments have a cognitive area, and a separate area for more neuro-focused research (NU calls it BBC, the first B standing for 'brain').
In general, social psych is theory-focused, but a good number of people do applied social psych (some schools actually have dedicate applied social psych degrees).