Narcissism & Other-Derogation

                                                

   Amy Ma is a senior majoring in Psychology with a minor in Quantitative Sciences. She was awarded a Fall 2019  Independent Grant which he used to conduct research on Human Behavior under Dr. Jessica Barber. 

Since April 2019, I have been working with Dr. Barber on my honors project in social psychology. I developed my research topic by taking Dr. Barber’s seminar on attitudes and persuasion. During this seminar, I had the valuable opportunity to peruse research articles and discuss study methodology with my classmates. This class allowed me to carefully think about how to use research design and statistical tools to investigate something as multifaceted and complex as human behavior. 

After deciding on my general research topic and hypotheses, I spoke with several professors frequently to bounce new ideas off each other. Originally, I wanted to conduct my study online, making data collection less time-consuming. After speaking with Dr. Barber, we agreed that an in-person study would be more beneficial for my research topic. Initially, I felt intimidated to convert my design into an in-person study. I was worried about having to devote so much more time to data collection. In addition, given the relatively small student population at Emory University, I was concerned that we would not be able to obtain enough participants. Dr. Barber really helped me by deciding to recruit some research assistants to work with me on this project. In addition, I also applied to several grants to increase my chance in getting enough people to participate.

The research assistants are mostly responsible for collecting data. Every week, they help administer the study and interact directly with participants. Working with research assistants on the study has been a very fun and collaborative experience. Since they are interested in conducting academic research, Dr. Barber’s research assistants are really engaged and involved in the whole research process. I appreciate the enthusiasm and support that they have given me throughout this the project and gained valuable teamwork and collaboration skills. During our meetings, we discuss our ideas and updates for the project over coffee and bagels. By listening to each other’s insight and differing perspectives, we were able to use each of our strengths to build a stronger and more efficient team.

Conducting the study in person means that I must interact directly with participants. This was really exciting for me because for the past three years of being a research assistant in other professors’ labs, I never got the chance to directly work with the participants. Before running the study, the research assistants and I had to rehearse multiple times to make sure that we behave professionally and appropriately in front of the actual participants. We would schedule meetings to do mock sessions and give each other feedback afterwards. During the actual study sessions, I was surprised to see that participants were very intrigued and interested in my study’s aim and results. I enjoyed talking with the participants about my research interests. In fact, a few people even contacted me after the study session to ask more information about the study! 

Overall, I am having a really positive and inspiring experience for my honors project. I love working with my faculty advisor and my other teammates on this research topic that I am genuinely interested in.

Visit the Undergraduate Research Programs website to learn more about applying for Independent Research Grants.