Selected Faculty Work
Senior Aleena Garner began her time at the UO interested in psychology and in learning how the brain works. As she continued her studies, she followed her expanding interest by exploring biochemistry, as well. She ultimately chose to double-major in psychology and biochemistry. “If you want to understand the brain, you have to know behavior and biochemistry,” Garner says.
Garner was fascinated by human development and after looking online for what research was being conducted on campus, she went to speak with psychology professor Helen Neville about her research. Garner worked in the Brain Development lab for a year, where she studied the difference in proficiency and the age of acquisition of English in native and non-native speakers. “I am interested in why the brain is so complicated,” Garner says.
“[Being a research assistant] has been excellent, says senior, Josh Tabaldo.” “I’ve definitely learned a lot of advantageous techniques for grad school.” As a research assistant in professor Dare Baldwin’s development lab, senior Tabaldo researches how children learn verbs and language. “I’m interested in working with kids, so I asked to be a part of it,” Tabaldo says.
Tabaldo also recently won the Thompson Award for his research project, which is connected to the research he is conducting in the Baldwin lab.
Looking back on his undergraduate career, Tabaldo considers his research with professor Baldwin to be the most important aspect of his education. “Working in the lab is a great opportunity,” Tabaldo says. “I got to learn by working with kids and parents.”
Although senior Katie Spaventa doesn’t remember the first time she became interested in psychology, she knew right away that the UO was the place she wanted to study. “I just had a feeling once I got here,” Spaventa says. “It just felt right.”
Four years later, Spaventa is in both the honors college and will also receive honors in psychology. She has also worked on professor Jennifer
Freyd’s research project for the past two years. She helps facilitate professor Freyd’s research on betrayal
trauma theory in the trauma lab. Spaventa gathers articles, puts psychology tests online and formats them for online use.
As for her own research, Spaventa studies the gender differences for the nondisclosure of the child physical, emotional and sexual abuse. “Basically, it’s about the reasons why male children don’t tell about abuse, versus why females don’t tell,” Spaventa says.
Selected Faculty Work
Assistant Professor Jennifer Ablow’s research interests are in developmental psychopathology with emphasis on understanding how psychobiological and family factors combine to influence individual adaptation. Specifically, her work focuses on understanding how the psychological and physiological properties of emotional arousal and styles of emotional regulation in one subsystem of the family shape similar processes in other familial subsystems.
Professor Dare Baldwin researches the various ways we learn. “Humans possess skills for acquiring knowledge
that far surpass those of any other species,” Baldwin says. “I’d like to understand how we do that.” Baldwin has published several articles on the question of how infants
come to be able to make sense of others’ action. Her advice for students interested in psychology? “Join a research lab as soon as you possibly can. You’ll find yourself irresistibly
drawn into the excitement of cutting edge research in psychology.”
Associate Professor Edward Awh’s research has focused on human working memory, selective attention, and the interface between these two cognitive abilities. For example, one line of research has addressed the way in which spatial selective attention plays an active role in the online maintenance of information in spatial working memory
Career Prospects
Psychology can lead to many different careers. Maybe you’ll decide to go into counseling or social work. Psychology is useful in medical and health-care careers. It has practical applications in teaching and in special education. Whatever the specific career, studies in psychology provides a strong foundation for a professional career.