The Team
The Relationship Science Centre has arrived at Centre College! Check out our team below and take a look at what our students researchers do under the Lab Position descriptions.
Go to Lab Positions
Lead Investigator
Dr. Morgan Cope
she/her
Dr. Morgan Cope is an incoming Assistant Professor at Centre College and the Lead Investigator for the Relationship Science Centre. Her research focuses on the intersection of the self and close relationships with particular interest in relationship breakup and how romantic connections change people's sense of self. Using multi-modal methods including experimental, longitudinal, and dynamical paradigms, Morgan also investigates motivations underlying maladaptive relationship behaviors including relationship rekindling and commitment to low quality relationships. Outside the lab she is an avid runner and painter, and novice violinist.
Ph.D. and M.A. Florida Atlantic University (2024; 2021), B.S. Ursinus College (2019)
Assistant Researchers
_heic.png)
Massiel Mora Fernandez
Pronouns: she/her
Year: Senior
Major: Psychology
Interests: Therapy and practice with refugee and child populations
​
Peyton Gahm
Pronouns: she/her
Year: Senior
Major: Psychology
Interests: Mental health and school counseling
Around Campus: Field Hockey, Greek Life, PSY/BSN Club
_HEIC.png)
Claire Yungbluth
Pronouns: she/her
Year: Senior
Major: Psychology
Interests: School psychology, education, and development.
Around Campus: Trumpet player in the Centre Symphony Orchestra, Centre Ambassador, After School Program volunteer.
.jpg)
Turner Roach
Pronouns: she/her
Year: Senior
Major: Psychology and Spanish
Interests: Law and social psychology.
Around Campus: Cheerleader
Social Media Coordinator
Claire Henson
Pronouns: TBA
Year: TBA
Major: TBA
Interests: TBA
Around Campus: TBA
Lab Positions
The Relationship Science Centre is new to Centre College! We have completed recruitment for the 24-25 academic year. Students have been chosen to serve in researcher positions and gain hands-on experience using a variety of methods in social psychology. Students will foster theoretical, methodological, and communication skills that prepare them for both graduate school and the job market. Read our position descriptions below if an overview of 1) qualifications you may need to hold the position, 2) the lab time commitment, 3) skills you can expect to develop, and 4) learning outcomes for Fall and Spring semesters. Although recruitment is complete for the 24-25 academic year, you may still submit an application of interest on our homepage! We will reach out if anything comes up.
Researcher Positions
Assistant Researcher (X4)
Quick Click: Current Positions
New to research? Apply to become an Assistant Researcher at the Relationship Science Centre! Assistant Researchers are students looking to get involved in research for the first time. You will work with other Asst. Researchers on on-going data collection, contribute to project outcomes (e.g., posters, papers), and become familiar with lab structure. Depending on the project, you may work directly with the lead investigator on a short-term studies or as part of a team on larger project. Students can also expect to engage in professional development (e.g., grad school/job preparation) as part of the lab curriculum.
​
Frequently Asked Questions:
Who can apply? Psychology majors at Centre college may apply for this position. Exceptions may be made for non-psych majors with adequate justification for joining the lab. No research experience is required for this role. There is no official GPA requirement, although students must be able to manage their workload without academic warnings or significant detriments to personal well-being.
​
What is the commitment? Your workload will depend on the number of credit hours of research you enroll in. If you are enrolled full-time, you can expect to spend 5-7 hours per week in lab in addition to a 1 hour in-person lab meeting with the lead investigator. Your schedule will be created in collaboration with the lead investigator. Your acceptable into the RSC may depend on your weekly availability and the current needs of the lab.
​
What skills will I develop? The skills you develop will vary by semester and project you are assigned each term. The lead investigator will also work with you to determine what capabilities are most relevant to you by considering both your future goals and the current needs of the lab. Some examples of skills you may develop include:
-
Theory construction in relationship science
-
Study design (survey, experimental, longitudinal, dynamical, and quasi-qualitative designs)
-
Data collection (in person and online; dyadic)
-
Data analysis (data wrangling and storage, descriptive and inferential statistics)
-
Data presentation (posters, scientific manuscripts)
-
Scientific communication (social media posts, popular press articles, campus communication)
​
What will I work towards in Fall/Spring? Each semester will involve different projects and tasks. For descriptions of the lab's current projects, see our Research Division page. That being said, each semester will have distinct themes and research/professional development foci:
Fall Term: Themes - New Projects + Graduate Application Season
Research Foci - Theory construction, study design, research ethics...+
Professional Development Foci: Graduation school search and applications
Outcomes: Completed study prep for Spring, submitted graduate apps...+
Spring Term: Themes - Project Execution + Acceptance/Graduation Season
Research Foci - Data collection and presentation
Professional Development Foci - Graduate school interviews, graduation prep (seniors)
Outcomes - Student-authored posters presented at the RICE symposium and the Society for
Personality and Social Psychology, manuscripts, +graduate school interviews,
acceptances, and graduation
Associate Researcher (X2)
Have research experience? Apply to become an Associate Researcher at the Relationship Science Centre! Associate Researchers are students who have at least one semester of experience conducting research in a lab setting. Associates work with the lead investigator to manage large and/or long-term lab projects. They are also designated as a student project leader and given managerial responsibilities to oversee project progress across the semester. Associate Researchers will receive advanced methodological and statistical training and will be asked to serve as first authors on poster presentations on/off campus.
Associate Researchers who serve the Relationship Science Centre for at least two semesters (even if 1st semester was served as an Assistant Researcher) may initiate their own project in the lab. Students who join the lab as 2nd semester Juniors may also initiate an independent project in the Fall of their Senior year if they enter the RSC as an Associate Researcher. All lab members can expect to engage in professional development (e.g., grad school/job preparation) as part of the curriculum.
​
Frequently Asked Questions:
Who can apply? Psychology majors at Centre college who have at least one semester of research experience in any lab may apply for this position. Exceptions may be made for non-psych majors with adequate justification for joining the lab. There is no official GPA requirement, although students must be able to manage their workload without academic warnings or significant detriments to personal well-being. Applicants must also be comfortable serving in a leadership position and managing other team members in collaboration with the lead investigator.
​
What is the commitment? Your workload will depend on the number of credit hours of research you enroll in. If you are enrolled full-time, you can expect to spend 5-7 hours per week in lab in addition to a 1 hour in-person lab meeting with the lead investigator. Your schedule will be created in collaboration with the lead investigator. Your acceptable into the RSC may depend on your weekly availability and the current needs of the lab.
​
What skills will I develop? The skills you develop will vary by semester and project you are assigned each term. The lead investigator will also work with you to determine what capabilities are most relevant to you by considering both your future goals and the current needs of the lab. In addition to the skills listed for the Assistant Researcher position, examples of skills you may develop include:
-
Project management
-
Team leadership and management
-
Professional communication with lead investigator and other collaborators/professors at colleges and universities
-
Poster creation and presentation
-
Manuscript writing and submission
-
Advanced statistical analysis (e.g., mixed-models, text analysis, longitudinal design)
What will I work towards in Fall/Spring? See the Assistant Research role description for details. Assistant Researchers will work towards the same outcomes as Assistant Researchers, likely in a team setting. Note that Associate Researchers will pursue these additional learning outcomes across both semesters:
-
Communicating leadership capabilities
- Developing effecting mentorship strategies with Assistant Researchers
- Other outcomes may be added in the future
Outreach Positions
Quick Click: Current Positions
Social Media Coordinator
Interested in a career in marketing, social media, or scientific communication? Like making beautiful and informative social media posts? Apply to be our Social Media Coordinator for the Relationship Science Centre! The research we conduct in the lab is only important and impactful in we can communicate it to diverse audiences. We are committed to making our science accessible and connecting with a wide audience through major media platforms. The Social Media Coordinator will not be involved with conducting research or working on a specific project. Instead, they will be tasked with regularly posting relevant content to our lab's Instagram page. This includes, but is not limited to:
-
RSC team profiles
-
New studies, posters, and publications
-
Lab and department news events (e.g., conferences, campus events, student and professor spotlights)
-
Centre College news
-
Scientific article spotlights (overviews of new and/or interesting published research)
​
Who can apply? As part of our commitment to making science accessible, we have created this position that is open to all majors. Applications should be committed to forming good relationships with other labs in the Psychology program and beyond at Centre College, and be dedicated to exemplifying academic excellence at Centre in the content they create. Graphic design experience or interest is essential to this role! There is no official GPA requirement, although students must be able to manage their workload without academic warnings or significant detriments to personal well-being.
​
What is the commitment? Our Social Media Coordinator will be expected to make two posts a week on our lab's Instagram page. They will also create an end-of-term publication that details the events of the semester, which will be posted on the lab's website. Moreover, the SMC may work alongside the Clinical Liaison to create content to bridge RSC research with clinical work and implications. *The Relationship Science Centre website will be mainly run by the lead investigator. However, the Social Media Coordinator may work with them to update the contents when necessary. Although the responsibilities of the SRC do not require lab hours, the student in this role will be expected to attend all lab meetings and will have access to the RSC lab space.
​
What skills will I develop? The main learning outcome for this position is scientific communication, broadly defined. The SMC should expect to learn how to synthesize scientific findings from academic publications and create accessible media posts for a wide audience. The SMC will also learn how to use popular content creation platforms including Canva and acquire graphic design capabilities appropriate for the aims of scientific communication.
Clinical Liaison
Interested in Clinical Psychology? Apply to be our Clinical Liaison! The Relationship Science Centre conducts foundational research in the field of Social Psychology. Although our findings and conclusions are considered non-clinical, the field of Relationship Science has meaningful implications for fields such as Marriage and Family Therapy. The Clinical Liaison will be responsible for conducting targeted literature reviews from select clinical psychology journals and drawing connections between the clinical field and our lab's work. They will collaborate with the Social Media Coordinator to make their findings accessible on media platforms across the semester, as well as produce a final publication at the end of the term detailing their efforts.
​
Who can apply? All psychology majors with an interest in clinical psychology can apply for this role. An interest in Marriage and Family Therapy is highly encouraged, but not required. Students must also be familiar with reading scientific journal articles, although master of this skill is not required for the appointment. There is no official GPA requirement, although students must be able to manage their workload without academic warnings or significant detriments to personal well-being.
​
What is the commitment? Our Clinical Liaison will be expected to locate and read 3-5 journals articles per week. All articles will need to be approved by the lead investigator, and all notes must be submitted in a single document at the end of the semester. Although the responsibilities of the Clinical Liaison do not require lab hours, the student in this role will be expected to attend all lab meetings and will have access to the RSC lab space.
​
What skills will I develop? The Clinical Liaison will gain advanced experience reading journal articles and synthesizing both basic and clinical research findings. They will also gain scientific communication skills including note taking, writing, document formatting, and media posting to wide audiences. Additional skills such as scientific writing for publication may become relevant if the CL is interested in conducting and publishing an official literature review on a topic related to those studied in the RSC.
Interested in a position? Apply today! Click HERE.
Menu
© 2024 Relationship Science Centre