UROP Project

Connecting Memory Performance to the Accuracy of Self-Reported Psychopathology

Neuroscience, Psychology, Cognition, Memory

Research Mentor: Danielle Jones,
Department, College, Affiliation: Psychology, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: djones@psy.fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: This position is open to all majors, but it's a great fit for students planning to apply to grad school in psychology, neuroscience, or healthcare fields like medicine, nursing, or PA programs.
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Yes
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 10, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:

• Day: Tuesday, September 2
  Start Time: 7:00
  End Time: 7:30
  Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/99232558029
• Day: Wednesday, September 3
  Start Time: 4:00
  End Time: 4:30
  Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/97583482306

Project Description

In psychology, we often ask people to describe their mental health symptoms—how anxious, sad, or irritable they’ve been over the past two weeks. But here’s the catch: memory isn’t perfect, and for people with mental health issues, memory can be even less reliable. This study asks: How much can we trust what people remember about their own mental health?

We’re recruiting 125 participants who will wear EEG caps (which measure brain activity) during lab sessions, complete daily mental health surveys for two weeks, and then give a final summary of how they felt during that time. We’ll compare their daily reports to their “retrospective” summary to see how closely they match—and more importantly, we’ll see which one is more accurate by comparing them to biological markers in the brain.

The brain data (like attention and emotional processing signals) give us something like an anchor or reality check. If the daily reports line up better with the brain responses than the retrospective ones do, that tells us something huge about how we should be measuring mental health in both research and clinical practice.

Research Tasks: As a research assistant on this project, you'll be trained to handle every step of the study process. You'll start by learning how to use EEG equipment to record brain activity. This includes prepping the scalp, placing the EEG cap, checking signal quality, and running the recording software. I’ll teach you how to troubleshoot common issues, manage participant comfort, and make sure the data you're collecting is high quality. By the end of your training, you'll be able to set up and run EEG sessions independently.

In addition to EEG, you'll guide participants through the entire study visit. This includes obtaining informed consent, collecting saliva samples, walking them through each task, and monitoring them throughout the session to make sure everything goes smoothly. You’ll also help with setting up the daily survey system (delivered via text), installing a location tracking app, and conducting a short interview where participants describe their daily experiences during the study period. You'll be the main point of contact for participants, so this is a great role if you like interacting with people and want a deeper understanding of how complex studies are run from start to finish.

EEG data processing can be pretty technical, but you’ll start learning the basics as you prepare your poster presentation. If you're interested in programming, you’ll have the chance to work with MATLAB to clean and preprocess EEG data, and use R to run analyses that link brain activity to mental health symptoms. If you’re not into coding, no problem—there are non-programming alternatives. You’ll use Brain Vision Analyzer, a point-and-click program for EEG data processing, and SPSS for statistical analysis. Both options will give you hands-on experience working with real data and learning how to interpret brain responses in the context of psychological research.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Required Skills: None – all training will be provided.

Recommended Skills:
- Strong attention to detail
- Comfortable interacting with people
- Reliable and organized
- Interested in mental health or brain research
- Willingness to learn new technology and procedures
- Good communication skills
- Ability to follow protocols and problem-solve in real time
- Professional and respectful