The School of Social Sciences recently completed another exciting Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site, Translating Research in the Psychological Sciences to the Real World. Funded by the NSF, the annual program aims to provide undergraduate students with exceptional training in research, as they work alongside Rice psychological sciences faculty members. In addition to room and board, the students receive funding to run their research, present at a conference, and publish in a journal with their faculty mentor.
A highly competitive program, eight students representing various disciplines and institutions from all over the United States are selected to participate. The application includes a matching process, wherein students indicate their top three faculty members, who also rank the students. This year, 179 students applied for one of the highly sought after eight spots.
Throughout the eight-week REU program, students gain critical research skills and learn how to build posters, present, and search for internships and jobs. Students also learn from the IRB ethical research practices with human subjects and data. Faculty meet weekly with their students, who provide progress reports on their research and journal submissions.
Pat DeLucia, associate dean for research for the School of Social Sciences and professor of psychological sciences, is the principal investigator of the NSF grant and serves as one of the eight REU faculty mentors. DeLucia offers a wealth of expertise with human factors in transportation and health care, and studies research topics such as perception of collision, multisensory integration in normal and impaired vision, and virtual reality.
“Every project has a real-world application or implication,” said DeLucia. “Furthermore, the students not only work in a real lab of a certain faculty member, but they also attend seminars that include research talks by each of the faculty mentors and professional development sessions from the Center for Career Development and the Center for Academic and Professional Communication.”
Every year, the program culminates with research talks and posters presented by each of the students. One such student was Laura Pitkin from Iowa State University, who was mentored by Erin Standen, assistant professor of psychological sciences. Pitkin presented Promoting motivation without stigma: Message framing and tone in weight-related advice.
“Participating in the REU at Rice was one of the most rewarding experiences of my undergraduate career,” said Pitkin. “Working alongside incredible faculty mentors and a cohort of passionate student researchers challenged me to grow both personally and academically. The experience not only strengthened my research skills and confidence but also reinforced my passion for psychological science and its potential to make a meaningful difference in people's lives. I'll always be grateful for the mentorship, friendships, and opportunities the REU provided, and it has inspired me to continue pursuing research that has a real-world impact.”
Imad Shaikh from the University of Texas at San Antonio, who was mentored by Tianjun Sun, assistant professor of psychological sciences, presented LUMEN: An AI-delivered behavioral interview for detection of pathological narcissism.
“Narcissism is difficult to measure directly because people may not recognize or accurately report these traits in themselves,” said Shaikh. “This summer, I built an AI interview that asks about ordinary experiences and evaluates the responses across seven dimensions of pathological narcissism. Getting the system to produce scores was only the first step. The harder question was whether those scores actually captured anything meaningful. That is what I want to keep exploring, especially in medicine, where so much of what a clinician learns begins with conversation.”
Because many REU students are interested in continuing their education, one of the main goals of the program is to develop a cohort of students who go into STEM fields. The immersive experience students receive in a real research lab demonstrates the academic rigor required for scientific research and prepares them for the next step.
“We get truly excellent students who are very serious about the REU program,” said DeLucia. “When they first start, they are often overwhelmed by the number of deliverables and don't think they can do it. But then they do meet those deliverables – and do so exceptionally well – which is a valuable lesson they learn about themselves.”
