UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal: Submission #1103

serial: '1103'
sid: '20111'
uuid: 1e72377e-1266-481f-9ff6-d10124193080
uri: /urop-research-mentor-project-submission-portal
created: '1754678023'
completed: '1754678023'
changed: '1758120987'
in_draft: '0'
current_page: ''
remote_addr: 98.230.80.170
uid: '0'
langcode: en
webform_id: urop_project_proposal_portal
entity_type: node
entity_id: '1116'
locked: '0'
sticky: '0'
notes: ''
metatag: meta
data:
  roundtable_info:
    - day: 'Friday, September 5'
      endingtime: '4:00'
      starttime: '3:30'
      zoomlink: 'https://fsu.zoom.us/my/kaiou'
  approximately_how_many_hours_a_week_would_the_research_assistant: '5-10 hours'
  are_you_currently_looking_for_students_: 'No'
  confirmation_1: '1'
  contact_email_fsu_email: ''
  contact_email_fsu_email2: ''
  contact_email_fsu_email_if_affiliated_: kou@fsu.edu
  faculty_advisor_confirmation: ''
  faculty_advisor_name: ''
  faculty_advisor_s_fsu_email: ''
  fsu_college: 'Social Sciences and Public Policy'
  fsu_department_if_applicable_: 'Department of Political Science'
  headshot_optional_: '63446'
  if_the_project_location_is_off_campus_does_the_student_need_to_p: ''
  mentoring_philosophy: 'I view mentoring as creative work that keeps mentees’ curiosity alive and turns them from passive receptors to active learners. My primary goal in mentoring is to help mentees develop a systematic approach to analyzing their questions. I always aim to let mentees acquire something more important: the passion for understanding politics, the ability to examine conventional wisdom, and the creativity to solve puzzles.'
  mentor_handbook_and_faqs: '1'
  name_of_other_faculty_collaborator_if_applicable_: ''
  number_of_assistants_needed_faculty_postdoc_max_6_graduate_stude: '3'
  other_faculty_collaborator_s_preferred_pronouns: ''
  overall_research_project_description: 'Public debates over immigration policy often reveal an underlying cognitive shortcut: when people lack clear, reliable information about the consequences of a policy, they may default to zero-sum thinking—the belief that one group’s gain necessarily comes at another’s loss. This tendency is not limited to immigration, but the politics of immigration provides particularly vivid examples. For instance, uncertainty about how immigrant labor affects wages or public resources has led some citizens to oppose pro-immigration reforms even in regions where empirical evidence shows net economic gains. Similarly, during debates over pandemic relief or housing assistance, narratives framing resources as finite and threatened by “outsiders” gained traction despite studies showing broader benefits of inclusionary policies. In such contexts, asymmetric information—where individuals have incomplete or uneven access to credible information—creates fertile ground for zero-sum intuitions, which in turn can steer collective decision-making toward policies that are not only suboptimal, but sometimes counterproductive to the very constituencies that support them. This project examines how informational uncertainty interacts with zero-sum thinking in shaping public opinion and policy preferences, with immigration as a central empirical case.'
  please_add_any_additional_information_here: ''
  please_provide_a_link_to_your_publications_a_video_clip_or_a_web: 'https://cosspp.fsu.edu/polisci/faculty/kai-ou/'
  please_select_the_choice_that_most_accurately_describes_your_exp: 'Partially Remote'
  please_select_the_location_of_your_project_: 'On FSU Main Campus'
  position_availability_for_student_research: 'During Business Hours'
  position_title: Faculty
  primary_research_mentor_name: 'Kai Ou'
  project_keywords: 'Immigrant, Zero-Sum Thinking, Behavioral Game Theory, Collective Decision-Making'
  relevant_student_major_s_: 'Open to all majors'
  research_mentor_preferred_pronoun2: ''
  research_mentor_pronouns: ''
  research_mentor_supervisor_if_different_from_above_: ''
  research_tasks_for_student_research_assistant_s_: 'The UROP research assistants will engage in various research-related tasks, including literature reviews, data collection, data entry, conducting laboratory experiments, reaching out to individuals for interviews, and other pertinent assignments. These tasks will be structured as weekly assignments. Mentees will receive email notifications detailing their assignments at the start of each week, typically on Sunday or Monday, with the expectation that the work will be completed by Friday afternoon. Approximately 30% of tasks can be executed remotely, and 70% of tasks should be performed in person. Regular research meetings between the mentor and mentee will be held every 2 weeks. Mentees are anticipated to possess the necessary skills for their assigned tasks, although they may be encouraged to acquire new skills as needed to effectively complete their assignments. Most work will be conducted and submitted electronically. Therefore, it is expected that mentees have proficiency in using software such as MS Office, Adobe, and any other relevant applications.'
  roundtable_times_and_zoom_links: |+
    September 5, 3:30-4:00pm, https://fsu.zoom.us/my/kaiou


  skills_that_research_assistants_may_need_: 'Required skills vary depending on each mentee’s assigned tasks. The only universal requirement is the ability to conduct literature reviews without using large language model tools (e.g., ChatGPT), which, while useful, can produce false information or cite non-existent sources. Priority will be given to individuals with experience in conducting interviews, running lab experiments with human subjects, or developing websites.'
  title_of_the_project: 'When Gains Feel Like Losses: Theory, Experiments, and Observational Evidence'
  update_url: 'https://cre.fsu.edu/urop-research-mentor-project-submission-portal?token=vh_ByR1lpvUK09MLqgGm7-14UOMQw-GLqsqBFiNpv04'
  urop_performance_evaluation: '1'
  urop_poster_presentation: '1'
  when_potential_research_assistants_are_reaching_out_via_email_2: ''
  when_potential_research_assistants_are_reaching_out_via_email_wh: ''
  when_students_are_reaching_out_via_email_what_is_your_preferreda: 'Dr. Ou'
  would_you_like_to_participate_in_the_urop_research_mentor_round2: 'Yes'
  would_you_like_to_participate_in_the_urop_research_mentor_roundt: ''
  year: '2025'