UROP Project

Antecedents and Consequences of Character

character, virtue, morality, character education

Research Mentor: Dr. Heath Maranges,
Department, College, Affiliation: Psychology, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: maranges@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: 1
Relevant Majors: Psychology
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 9-11, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable

Project Description

Individuals’ character and virtues shape one’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors across domains such as intellect, morality, and performance that promote both the individual's and broader social group's well-being. The different character traits that individuals develop are key factors in many life outcomes—certain character traits are often linked to delinquency, behavioral problems, and academic success; resiliency, motivation, and stress; and mood and well-being across the lifespan. Our lab is focused on how character is being measured, the characteristics of the studies conducting this research, and identifying (1) what factors lead to the development of certain character traits and (2) which outcomes are associated with these character traits. This project includes collecting data in the lab, conducting literature reviews on character and virtue in psychology and educational research, building a database with relevant study detail, and analyzing key study characteristics and associations. Through this research, one will not only learn how different character traits affect life outcomes, but also the different factors that lead to the development of character traits, how these character traits are most commonly being measured, and the limitations in character research.

Research Tasks: Collecting data through in-lab participants
Literature reviews
Reading literature
Extracting data from research articles
Entering data into database
Writing
Presenting

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Familiarity with Microsoft and Google Drive (specifically excel/google sheets; required)
Experience in creating APA style literature reviews
Understanding how to read basic research results sections (recommended and can be taught)
Curiosity and perseverance