Summer STLR Student Research: RCSA by Ted Mofle

​The UCO Psychology Lab at the University of Central Oklahoma is the one place every experimental psychology student at UCO wants to be.  I remember at the beginning of fall semester last year, I began to realize this was the hub for all of the psychology research on the UCO campus.  I began to just hang out in the lab working on homework and trying to get some face time with the lab assistants.  I was just trying to get some exposure to the research studies that where happening on campus.  I began to volunteer in the lab for anything that the lab assistants might need. My full exposure began once I initiated designing a study for my undergraduate experimental design class.  

As I began to work on a project in the lab, I learned more about the ins and outs of the lab.  To be completely honest, I was a bit envious of the lab assistants, because I held them in such high regard. The lab assistants were not only running the lab, but receiving compensation for their work all while acquiring some valuable experience and knowledge along the way.

​Imagine my surprise when I received an email explaining that the lab had received a STLR grant for the summer, and I was selected as one of the students to work in the lab over the summer.  I was so excited. Now, I get to work in the lab and be one of the students that will be at the forefront of psychological research at UCO.  At first, I did not know what kind of project I would be working on, but I did not care.  I was just excited to officially become a member of the lab staff.

After some discussion with Dr. V,  I began working on the phenomenon I would be studying.  The project I started was concerned with detecting deception.  I began to read many articles about the detection of deception and formulate an in-depth literature review.  As I began to piece together my experimental design, program a computer experiment to collect the data I needed, and plan how to work with Direct RT, my minor exposure to the program during my experimental class was central to the experiment’s success.  I am very excited to now be in the same position as the students that I looked up to.

I am very excited to begin working on my project, but most of all collecting data to be analyzed in novel creative and challenging new ways. My summer research experience will make all the difference for I intend to apply for Human Factors graduate programs.