I'm curious about what you guys research!

[socialcog]

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wow. Let me just say that I am thoroughly impressed with all of the posted areas on interests thus far. These are some very challenging populations. You're all a bunch of rock stars!

 

[KillerDiller]

I am interested in the college-age or young adult clinical populations and would like to work in the areas of Borderline Personality Disorder and/or eating disorders. Relatedly, I also enjoy learning about treatments for depression and anxiety. I'm intrigued by the psychodynamic approach, but wouldn't go so far as to call it my orientation by any stretch.

Also, I would love to do some forensic assessment as a supplement to whatever career I end up having.

 

[Ollie123]

Broadly, health psychology.

Specifically, I'm pretty scattered. My primary interest is in the basic cognitive processes that underlie substance use and abuse, specifically tobacco. I tie this in to my secondary interest, which is depression research because I think many of these cognitive processes are what helps explain the high comorbidity between these two (and many other, for that matter) psychological disorders - though I don't exactly have empirical support for that yet, talk to me after my master's😉. Though I have limited experiences with it thus far, I'm also extremely interested in psychophysiology (starting to do the basic hr/sc/startle but I'd love to get into some neuroimaging as well) and genetics. I also have some tangential interests that are kind of along the I/O line - what role employers can play in improving worker physical and mental health.

So yeah....scattered.

edit: Oh yeah, orientation.

I don't believe in that stuff. Unless "empirical" counts as an orientation.

Orientation to me implies a certain degree of long-term commitment. I don't ever want to be in a position where I won't consider a new treatment because its outside my arbitrary "model". Plus I've heard of some people picking orientations based off what they find more enjoyable, which I think is akin to a doctor recommending surgery over medication because he's bored and thinks poking around in someones spleen is "neat".

Yes, I am registered to vote as an independent, in case you were wondering😉

 

[spillsomepaint]

it's really interesting reading about all the diverse areas we are all into! Broadly, my focus is on women's health, with specific interests in feminist perspectives in psychology, and body image. I actually am finally getting towards the end of my senior research project (I'm still undergrad) which focused on how relationship status effects women's body esteem.

I'm hesitant to ascribe to a school of thought at this point. From what everyone has said on the boards, grad school can and probably will change everything. 😛

 

[psych08]

the impact of survivors of childhood sexual abuse on risky decision making across the lifespan and predisposition to furthur asbuse, the victimization and revictimization of rape survivors, interpersonal functioning of adult survivors and sexual assault prevention programs.

 

[JockNerd]

Broadly, sexual orientation. There are particular niche area that I work on in this. Psychometrics is another huge interest of mine. LOVE my stats classes thus far. Also concepts of masculinity and femininity, stereotyping, and applications of psych to social justice.

I'm actually right in your field on orientation, Ollie. My theoretical model is as a scientist-practitioner. Fie on "pick-a-theory." 👍

 

[Ollie123]

Psychometrics is another huge interest of mine. LOVE my stats classes thus far.

Oh yeah, that too. I LOVE measure development, and might be doing one as a component of my research in the near future. I'm taking psychometrics right now with a guy who specializes in Item Response Theory. We haven't gotten to it yet but I can't wait.

I'm actually kind of concerned I might be a little too scattered. Like, breadth is great and all, but I need to make sure I do still have an "expertise" otherwise I'll never find a faculty job.

 

[Aura5]

I'm kind of all over the place. Always been interested in forensics (esp. sex offenders and violent crime) but my undergrad thesis was about attachment style similarity in romantic relationships. Now I'm in grad school and I'm in a forensic lab, but with a combination of hating the attitude of the forensic people I've met so far and my assessment prof telling me I'm better suited to other types of clinical work, I'm getting away from the "hard" forensic stuff. Now I'm interested in the "police personality," and coping skills for critical incident stress.

It'll probably change again. I haven't told my supervisor that I'm not doing a thesis on sex offenders yet because he scares me and will probably not be pleased.

AH! Your interests are like mine! So what happened, the forensic people don't have good attitudes at your place? I've always...I mean, I feel more toward clinical, but the interest areas of mine (sex offenders, violent crime. etc) typically fall under forensic, right? But the legality of things, court cases, etc does NOT interest me. I want to help, therapy, that stuff. So I'm not sure what to aim for.

 

[Aura5]

And thanks for everyone who responded so far. I love seeing what people are doing, and it sheds some light on you as a person as well. 😉 Just kidding, but it does help to know others better by knowing their interests. I'm surprised this kind of thread hasn't existed before!

 

[thewesternsky]

Neat thread-- looks like we have quite a variety of interests here.

I'm mainly interested in cognitive (and some social-cognitive!) factors that influence risk for psychopathology, with an emphasis on depression and social anxiety disorder.

As for orientation-- I don't have clinical training yet, so that's harder for me to say, although I do lean toward treatments that have been empirically validated for specific disorders (e.g., CBT and IPT for depression, etc.)

 

[RayneeDeigh]

AH! Your interests are like mine! So what happened, the forensic people don't have good attitudes at your place? I've always...I mean, I feel more toward clinical, but the interest areas of mine (sex offenders, violent crime. etc) typically fall under forensic, right? But the legality of things, court cases, etc does NOT interest me. I want to help, therapy, that stuff. So I'm not sure what to aim for.

You typically need a clinical degree to do forensics, although not in all cases.

My supervisor's a jerk so he's inspired everyone in the lab to be the same way and it's a pretty negative environment.

I know it sounds really interesting to do therapy with sex offenders and it was a rude awakening to me when I had to give up on that idea. It's (in my opinion) one of the most political fields of psychology and I think that would be exhausting.

 

[Aura5]

You typically need a clinical degree to do forensics, although not in all cases.

My supervisor's a jerk so he's inspired everyone in the lab to be the same way and it's a pretty negative environment.

I know it sounds really interesting to do therapy with sex offenders and it was a rude awakening to me when I had to give up on that idea. It's (in my opinion) one of the most political fields of psychology and I think that would be exhausting.

Hmm. Yeah. The area seems more taboo than a lot so I guess a lot of crap could go with it. But, I guess, what do you mean by political? If this is getting too off-topic from my topic 😉 I can ask you in a PM.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

My primary interests are in eating disorders (particularly low-weight anorexia nervosa) and the role of body image in the development of an eating disorder. My secondary area of interest is in crisis response and the actual development of PTSD in scenarios like Columbine, Paduka, VTech, etc. I know...they are quite contrasting, though my population of interest are general adolescents and young adults, so it all fits....somehow, if you squint or something.

My clinical orientation (originally explained here) is a mix of psychodynamic approaches (primarily object relations), informed by Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. I utilize a number of interventions from other models, though my primary case conceptualization comes from the above orientations. I dabble in DBT, though that is mostly in regard to treating borderline patients who are not cut out for an object relational approach.

-t

 

[RayneeDeigh]

Hmm. Yeah. The area seems more taboo than a lot so I guess a lot of crap could go with it. But, I guess, what do you mean by political? If this is getting too off-topic from my topic 😉 I can ask you in a PM.

It's not that it's taboo, it's that work with sex offenders requires work with government agencies. It translate into politics in grad school 'cause supervisors work with the government and then they hate other groups and yadda yadda yadda. Most of our lab group meetings involve our supervisor bashing how other provinces do things.

 

[Aura5]

edit

 

[Aura5]

It's not that it's taboo, it's that work with sex offenders requires work with government agencies. It translate into politics in grad school 'cause supervisors work with the government and then they hate other groups and yadda yadda yadda. Most of our lab group meetings involve our supervisor bashing how other provinces do things.

Hmm. It's unfortunate that that sort of crap pushed you away from what you were initially interested in. Though I'm sure you don't need me reminding you.

 

[RayneeDeigh]

Hmm. It's unfortunate that that sort of crap pushed you away from what you were initially interested in. Though I'm sure you don't need me reminding you.

Oh that's okay, interests have to evolve one way or another. I'm sure most people don't spend 60 years doing the same kind of research/work.

There's a prof I know who spent the first half of her career doing very scientific quantitative research, then one day she felt like she was missing something so she started doing qualitative and now that's all she does.

 

[Aura5]

Oh that's okay, interests have to evolve one way or another. I'm sure most people don't spend 60 years doing the same kind of research/work.

There's a prof I know who spent the first half of her career doing very scientific quantitative research, then one day she felt like she was missing something so she started doing qualitative and now that's all she does.

Lol so you've given up on the sex offenders? I'd be curious what schools you looked at for that sort of thing (and/or violent crime)as that was your initial interest... just because, I'm not sure what's out there as far as that goes. Again, I could PM to ask but also don't want to bother you too much 😛

 

[RayneeDeigh]

Lol so you've given up on the sex offenders? I'd be curious what schools you looked at for that sort of thing (and/or violent crime)as that was your initial interest... just because, I'm not sure what's out there as far as that goes. Again, I could PM to ask but also don't want to bother you too much 😛

I wouldn't say I've given up. If I thought I could do it properly I would have stayed in it and dealt with the mess, but I think I've come up with something I can be much better at and help more people.

I'll PM you in a sec.

 

[ClinPsyD917]

I'm focusing on veterans with comorbid PTSD and substance abuse. I want to deal with war veterans who come home, aren't identified as having PTSD (even though they do), and go home and end up in a cycle of substance abuse as a result. I'm interested in the VA system and how it evaluates PTSD in war veterans. The ultimate goal would be to change things so that PTSD is better recognized, and if it's not, to destigmatize mental health help to the point where veterans would actually regularly seek it out. Hahaha, so basically changing the world. But hey, we've all gotta believe we can do that or we wouldn't be doing this, right? Also I'm really interested in assessment. My orientation swings CBT, but not exclusively. I'm just starting to have an interest in family systems, and work that into the veteran's family unit that they return home to... and how their PTSD and substance use affects the family and the veteran.

Very cool thread 👍

 

[Aura5]

Hahaha, so basically changing the world. But hey, we've all gotta believe we can do that or we wouldn't be doing this, right?

Indeed. Or at least the whole starfish thing. That's what I'm aiming for. I have a feeling changing the world is impossible. But if you can help at least one...that's more than if you hadn't even done that. And sometimes helping just one can have a bigger effect, so on.

And, with something like what you want - if you can actually implement a more fundamental change...hey the process of change may be slow but every step towards it counts.

 

[ClinPsyD917]

Indeed. Or at least the whole starfish thing. That's what I'm aiming for. I have a feeling changing the world is impossible. But if you can help at least one...that's more than if you hadn't even done that. And sometimes helping just one can have a bigger effect, so on.

And, with something like what you want - if you can actually implement a more fundamental change...hey the process of change may be slow but every step towards it counts.

You got it! Maybe someday with a LOT of hard work this will happen... we will see 🙂. All you can do is try! And definitely agree about helping one person... that is so much better than nothing at all! 😀

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I'm focusing on veterans with comorbid PTSD and substance abuse. I want to deal with war veterans who come home, aren't identified as having PTSD (even though they do), and go home and end up in a cycle of substance abuse as a result. I'm interested in the VA system and how it evaluates PTSD in war veterans. The ultimate goal would be to change things so that PTSD is better recognized, and if it's not, to destigmatize mental health help to the point where veterans would actually regularly seek it out. Hahaha, so basically changing the world. But hey, we've all gotta believe we can do that or we wouldn't be doing this, right? Also I'm really interested in assessment. My orientation swings CBT, but not exclusively. I'm just starting to have an interest in family systems, and work that into the veteran's family unit that they return home to... and how their PTSD and substance use affects the family and the veteran.

Very cool thread 👍

What's your view on the current classification of PTSD? I've found that it being mis-diagnosed left and right. It seems to be given freely for people who have experienced a traumatic event (though in reality they are at a sub-clinical level based on the actual experiences), while other populations (particularly war veterans) are being under-diagnosed.

Thoughts?

-t

 

[paramour]

Research areas previously posted here.

 

[wdd]

Research areas previously posted here.

Ahh, so now we can see how everyone's interests have changed, and call them out on it 😀

 

[bookworm06]

Broadly, health psychology.

Specifically, I'm pretty scattered. My primary interest is in the basic cognitive processes that underlie substance use and abuse, specifically tobacco. I tie this in to my secondary interest, which is depression research because I think many of these cognitive processes are what helps explain the high comorbidity between these two (and many other, for that matter) psychological disorders - though I don't exactly have empirical support for that yet, talk to me after my master's😉.

That is the area I've been working in for a while... working on a qualitative study with adolescents who are both depressed and smoking to see if they see links between the two and to try to understand how they view their depression and smoking and how these two things are handled in their family. It also examines whether they'd go to primary care for tx for their depression or smoking. Although not my primary interest, I think it's a really interesting line of research.

 

[Thrak]

I'll be pretty easy to identify after this, but what the hell...

As an undergrad, I did research on academic use of the internet, television viewing, and how it related to grades. But that was back in the late 90s, and the Internet wasn't what it is today 😛. You had to log on with a token ring, both ways uphill in the snow. And we liked it, you young whippersnappers! I also did a nice semester-long longitudinal study on how honors students and non-honors students view what course grade would be considered "acceptable" and how it related to what they actually got.

In grad school, I did research on teens and sex using the general social survey. I also did a project making people watch commercials (some for fast food, some not), then watching a slaughterhouse video, then watching the commercials again, and seeing if there were any physiological changes in pulse rate across each of the three segments. That was a very small sample, and I never even submitted it for a poster.

My thesis was a study on what motivates the intentionally childless to be, well, intentionally childless. I also did a little survey on some of their social and political views.

Out in the real world, I worked in marketing research (hey, it was with a bunch of psych PhDs... so it's still research ), and did a bit of work on people's privacy concerns, as well as the usual product and concept testing.

For the past 5 years, I've been doing vision research. A couple of those years were in psychophysical (low vision, light/dark/transient adaptation), then vision, diabetes, and retinal imaging, and now I work in a vision lab on driving simulation and vision problems.

My real interest is in childfree/childless-by-choice issues, including how that lifestyle choice relates to stress, marital relationships, social stigma, gender identity, yadda yadda. I'm also interested in health psych, mainly the choice to get sterilized and (the lack of) eventual regret, but also pain management and treatment compliance.

I honestly just love psych research 😀

 

[islandgirl1]

Undergrad RA: infant perceptual and cognitive development.

Currently: more doing clinical work than research

Future possibilities: pediatric psych research, HIV/AIDS in children and families and associated issues, adolescent female body image research or adolescent GLBT issues.
I'm interested in a lot and haven't been yet able to narrow down.

 

[ananasaroma]

I am interested in chronic stress, trauma, PTSD and its comorbid disorders. In my undergrad I did work with community violence and cortisol patterns of inner-city children. I also did some natural disaster research and worked with adolescents after hurricane Katrina. I am currently doing research on cognitive biases in combat veterans.

 

[Aura5]

Aha, see, I figured my thread was out-of-place somehow 😉 . Although my thread was beyond just research interest, for those who are more clinically oriented as well. But still interesting to read... Seems to be a lot of trauma related interest.

 

[Salsybabe]

My main research interests are in media and cultural influences on eating disorder development and body image perceptions in female minority adolescents. Currently I'm doing a qualifying paper on the subject, which is like a master's thesis, except we're writing toward publication and going through the process of submitting it for publication, rather than going through defending it as a thesis. I also have interest in school-based prevention programs in eating disorders and other at-risk behaviors like teenage pregnancy.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

😉

-t

 

[psy19]

... is it just me or does ^ not add up to 100%?....


maybe my eyes are going bad from staring at the interview invite thread too much 🙄

 

[psychanon]

... is it just me or does ^ not add up to 100%?....


maybe my eyes are going bad from staring at the interview invite thread too much 🙄

Nope, sure doesn't, and the 10% wedge is bigger than the 14% and 18% wedge. But who cares! It's funny. And apt! 😆

 

[joetro]

Mine are stress and depression in couples.

 

[joshie6891]

I work in a cultural psychology lab that studies the differences between Westerners and East Asians in things like cognition and social interaction.

I also do some work in a developmental lab that runs twin behavior genetics studies, but cultural psych is my passion. I just do the development stuff because it's fun.

 

[RayneeDeigh]

I work in a cultural psychology lab that studies the differences between Westerners and East Asians in things like cognition and social interaction.

I also do some work in a developmental lab that runs twin behavior genetics studies, but cultural psych is my passion. I just do the development stuff because it's fun.

Interesting, you say that after I just spent 8 hours doing reading for my Culture and Mental Illness class that I loathe. But it's a prof thing not a subject thing, I think it's fascinating.

 

[paramour]

Interesting, you say that after I just spent 8 hours doing reading for my Culture and Mental Illness class that I loathe. But it's a prof thing not a subject thing, I think it's fascinating.

Sounds like my class. Some of the comments I've heard already (made by the prof) in Multiculturalism are absolutely hilarious. People start turning to each other with "did he really just say that?" looks on their faces.

 

[Psych528]

I thought it might be interesting to see what everybody is interested in researching/specializing in.

 

[Psych528]

(cont'd)...your doctoral program

 

[erg923]

Our group is based within the med school and has multiple grants on multiple topics, although most of them center on studying the neurocognitive and endocrinological correlates of treatment-resistant depression and depression with psychotic features. We also have a study looking at the same variables in schizoaffective disorder. Within all this we have tons of psychometric and self-report data (too much really) so that those interested can look at anything from personality correlates to trauma history in these subjects.

However, since im not gunning for any academic careers, my pubs/presentations are all over the map and range from factor analysises of the HAM-D scale, to the effects of dementia on ADLs and IADLS (taken from public database), to the effects of gastric bypass surgery on cognition (and outside project that I served as the psychometrican for).

I really have the goal of being a true scientist-practitioner, rather than an academic with a focused line of grant funded research. I have neither the desire, nor the patience for such a career.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

MOD NOTE: I combined your thread with one we had previously on the topic. -t4c

 

[cara susanna]

Mindfulness, personality, and emotions. Specifically, what personality traits are associated with mindfulness and how they relate to personality pathology.

 

[KillerDiller]

It's interesting to go back and read my original responses to this thread. After getting a lot more clinical experience under my belt, I don't consider myself psychodynamic at all, but instead have a behavioral orientation.

Additionally, my thesis ended up being much more about sexual risk taking than infidelity specifically.

 

[RayneeDeigh]

Wow, my research sure changed since I started this thread, haha.

My dissertation is a two-parter. The first is qualitative research with experts about victim-offender mediation to see what "effectiveness" is. The second part is a quantitative study investigating the possible contributing factors to victim-offender mediation effectiveness. One of the specific questions I'm asking is whether or not attachment style of the victims and offenders makes a difference in perceptions of effectiveness after they participate in mediation.

Phew, sorry that was long-winded. I'm writing my proposal, can you tell?

 

[PrisonPsych]

Wow, my research sure changed since I started this thread, haha.

My dissertation is a two-parter. The first is qualitative research with experts about victim-offender mediation to see what "effectiveness" is. The second part is a quantitative study investigating the possible contributing factors to victim-offender mediation effectiveness. One of the specific questions I'm asking is whether or not attachment style of the victims and offenders makes a difference in perceptions of effectiveness after they participate in mediation.

Phew, sorry that was long-winded. I'm writing my proposal, can you tell?

What school are you at?

 

[futureapppsy2]

Disability, especially physical, sensory, and chronic health disabilities or other disabilities with physical or sensory components, particularly those that occur pre-/young adulthood. Within that population, I'm specifically interested academic and psychosocial adjustment/accommodation/inclusion and school and family factors that impact those, success/resiliency, and the creation and validation of accessible assessment tools.

 

[PhDClinical]

I work on conceptual / theoretical issues. I've done research on dissociative identity disorder, delusion, emotion, and currently i'm tackling some issues to do with psychiatric nosology / classification.

Are you applying to programs now, or are you already in? I'm intersetd in the theoretical/conceptual issues underlying delusion and the DSM, but I'm applying to schools based on my empirical interests, which are quite different...

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

It's interesting to go back and read my original responses to this thread. After getting a lot more clinical experience under my belt, I don't consider myself psychodynamic at all, but instead have a behavioral orientation.

...that is quite a shift. Of course, I do almost exclusively short-term CBT/DBT/PET, so my psychodynamic stuff is sitting on my shelf rather idle.

Wow, my research sure changed since I started this thread, haha.

It is interesting how things shift. I think part of it had to do with burnout and needing something "new" to focus on. The research section of my CV is rather diverse, so I need to some how spin that to being a good thing. I am more interested in TBI and early on-set ALZ work now, though I haven't produced anything as of yet. I'm hoping with my last 6 months I can get started on something and finish during the 1st year of my fellowship, and/or roll it into my fellowship work.

 

[irish80122]

My research has also changed a bit. I am currently studying the relation between insomnia symptoms, nightmares, and suicidal ideation. I have a manuscript about to go out the door on the topic, another data collection that just finished (both using college students) and I am planning a new study to look at the same variables in older adults.