LAMPINEN LAB

APPLICATION

Thank you for your interest in the University of Arkansas's False Memory Lab. Our lab is very productive, we produce a lot of high quality research and we typically have a number of projects going on simultaneously. We also try to make research fun, because it should be. So we're definitely interested in finding smart, enthusiastic students to work with us next semester.

THE RESEARCH

I am a Cognitive Psychologist with a primary interest in memory and how it works and how it sometimes doesn't work. I am also interested in Psychology and the legal system, especially eyewitness memory. In most cases in which people are wrongfully convicted the people are convicted due to the testimony of confident eyewitnesses. So I'm interested in the conditions under which eyewitness testimony is likely to be inaccurate and ways of making it more accurate. I'm also interested in how good people are at identifying missing persons, false confessions and jury decision making. Lots of my work also focuses on the surprisingly vivid nature of many false memories. People can believe things that are false, but be absolutely convinced that they are true.

THE POSITION

The position is a research assistant position. What this means is that you'd be doing things like running subjects, entering data, helping design materials, basically everything that goes into doing research. You would receive course credit for working in the lab (PSYC 207V Sec 007). You get three hours of credit for the course. In addition to the course credit, you'll be learning a lot about how psychology research is actually conducted. Also, working as an independent study student as an undergraduate looks great on your resume. And if you're responsible and do a good job I'd also be willing to write you a letter of recommendation down the road.

You'd be expected to put in around 6-8 hours per week in the lab.  Most students end up working in the lab for two consecutive semesters. Aside from a mandatory weekly lab (Tuesday 4:00) meeting your schedule would be reasonably flexible. There is no requirement for a paper or anything like that, but you may have to at some point present the stuff you're working on to the rest of the lab at one of the lab meetings.

Early in the semester we decide exactly what project you will be working on. You will be working under the direct supervision of one of my graduate students or honors students on a project they developed in collaboration with me. At the beginning of the semester we'll describe all the projects that we plan to carry out that semester and ask you to rank order the projects you're most interested in. We will try to match you to a project that matches your interests.

THE APPLICATION

If this stuff sounds interesting to you and you're interested in talking more about the possibility of working in my lab please write back and tell me a little bit about yourself. Here are some questions that I'm especially interested in:

1. Name: 

 2. Phone Number: 

 3. Email Address: 

 4. What year in school will you be next semester?

sophomore

junior

senior

5. Are you in the honors program (if so you may qualify to do an Honors Thesis in the lab after you gain some experience)?

yes

no

6. Do you have any plans yet about what you want to do after you graduate, and how could working in this lab help you with those plans?

7. Could you tell me what Psychology classes you've had and how you did in them? Include all classes and your grades in those classes.

8. Is there a faculty member in the Psychology Department who I could talk to to get an impression of how good of a student you are and how responsible you are?

9. Could you tell me about any other research experience? (Lack of previous experience will not automatically disqualify you).

10. Tell me anything else that you think is likely to be relevant or interesting to me. For instance if you have any special skills you'd like me to know about (e.g. programming ability, familiarity with statistical packages, juggling, fire-walking, etc) feel free to tell me about it here. Also feel free to ask me any questions you might have.

By submitting this application you are saying that the information you provided is true and complete to the best of your knowledge.  Falsified information or significant ommisions may disqualify you from consideration and will be considered a violation of academic honesty.

If you would like more information about the lab feel free to contact Dr. Lampinen either via email or at 575-5805.