UROP Project

How does trauma affect how we perceive the world around us?

PTSD, EMA, trauma responses, survey
Research Mentor: Brad Schmidt, Ph.D.,
Department, College, Affiliation: Psychology, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: garcia@psy.fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor): Mr. Jaime Garcia Quiles He/Him/His
Research Assistant Supervisor Email: garcia@psy.fsu.edu
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Psychology
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10, During business hours
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
  • Day: Tuesday, September 1
    Start Time: 5:00
    End Time: 6:00
    Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/4758652269

Project Description

Posttraumatic stress is often characterized by distressing and intrusive memories of a traumatic event. While a significant body of literature has focused on how these threats are encoded, emerging evidence suggests that memory processes after the traumatic event are equally as important in maintaining distress. Dynamic social retrieval theory posits that ongoing retrieval and related forgetting processes shape the changing nature of the trauma memory with these retrieval events varying in intended versus unintended recall after experiencing a trauma-relevant cue. The present study aims to test how these cues are witnessed/recalled in everyday life, and how that may serve to maintain posttraumatic stress.


Research Tasks: Students should expect to gain experience in participant recruitment, project management, literature review, data collection, and developing their own research projects. Students will be encouraged to ask questions and develop their own ideas for how this project may grow and relate to their own interests.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Required: Strong writing skills, open mind, clear communication skills
Recommended: Strong interest in psychology research
Training for specific tasks will be provided.

Mentoring Philosophy

My goal as a mentor is to cultivate my students’ interests and equip them with the tools and knowledge that will best prepare them to engage in rigorous scientific research. I wish for my students to think critically about our project and identify where research should go next. I ascribe to a step up, step back approach where I hope to equip my students with the skills they need to succeed, and then step back to further develop their skills through the roles and experiences given while being around should issues/questions arise.

Additional Information


Link to Publications


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