SPREE: Social Psychology of Research Experiences and Education

Our research group is interested in how social psychological and sociocultural phenomena influence student learning, development, and success. Our group primarily studies research experiences, including undergraduate and graduate research, as a context for teaching, learning, and mentoring. In particular, we study course-based undergraduate research experiences (often called CUREs; see website for CUREnet) and mentoring of undergraduate and graduate researchers in the life sciences. We also study how interpersonal interactions and configurations promote or hinder student learning and success in biology courses. We make use of theory and methods from social and organizational psychology to understand the interpersonal and contextual factors that influence undergraduates’ access to research and their personal and professional development through research, as well as how research experiences and research mentoring influence their educational and career trajectories.