This is an on-going REU Site at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Psychology: Psychology Research Experience Program (PREP). The faculty of the Department of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are highly qualified and motivated to conduct this project, as evidenced by the results from six prior years of PREP; in addition, both the department and university provide environments and resources that are excellently suited for and supportive of this REU site. The site already has a great reputation and attracts a large number of applicants.
Intellectual Merit. The Psychology Research Experience Program (PREP) provides intensive mentoring and experience in scientific research and in professional development to undergraduates from historically underrepresented populations -- racial and ethnic minorities, low-income, and first generation college students -- who have expressed and demonstrated an interest in a career in scientific psychology. Pedagogically, PREP has been designed within the framework of social constructivist models of learning. The students participate in a broad range of activities in teams, and as a consequence, they internalize the outcomes/benefits produced by working together. It features a balance of mentored laboratory research and a curriculum of scientific instruction, professional development, and networking opportunities.
Broader Impacts. The explicit motivation of this program is to address the well-documented achievement gap whereby members of the targeted populations (1) apply to PhD programs in psychology and (2) successfully complete their doctoral training in proportions far lower than their representation in the overall population. PREP's combination of intensive research experience and training in professional development and networking is designed to equip its participating students with the skills that are necessary for a successful career in academic psychology. Thus, it expects to broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in many branches of the psychological sciences.
During the summers of 2011, 2012, and 2013, the Psychology Research Experience Program (PREP) brought 27 students to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for 9 weeks of mentored summer research in scientific psychology. All students were from populations historically underrepresented in psychology (racial and ethnic students of color, students from low-SES backgrounds, and/or first-generation college students), and had demonstrated interest in a research career in psychology. Many also attended undergraduate institutions lacking a substantial research infrastructure. PREP provided students with the opportunity to participate in cutting-edge research in biological, social, clinical, developmental, cognitive, and perceptual psychology. Each PREP student engaged in intensive mentored research with a UW-Madison Department of Psychology faculty member, with day-to-day mentoring and supervision provided by a graduate student or postdoctoral researcher working in that professor’s laboratory. Beyond the laboratory research, PREP students were exposed to a broad variety of research questions and techniques faculty lectures, lab tours, and shared coursework. In addition, PREP provided professional development and networking opportunities, both within the UW-Madison Psychology Department and across UW-Madison departments. Both in the lab and in the classroom, each PREP student gained experience with all aspects of the research process: literature review, experiment design, data collection, statistical analysis, scientific writing, and oral presentation. Each year, PREP culminated with a department-wide symposium, during which PREP students each gave a research talk about their projects. After three years of PREP, benefits at the individual-student, department, and institutional levels are already apparent. In post-program surveys, PREP students universally reported gains in both ability and confidence on a large variety of research skills, as well as a strong desire to continue in the field of scientific psychology. Upon graduating, the majority of PREP students have gone on to prestigious graduation programs or competitive post-baccalaureate research positions in psychology and similar fields. Several PREP students have formed lasting professional relationships with their mentoring faculty, which have resulted in continued collaboration and offers of graduate admission to UW-Madison. PREP students who have not yet graduated from their undergraduate institutions have generally succeeded in further psychology research at their home institutions. In terms of Intellectual Merit, PREP has trained students in essential research skills and instilled confidence in their ability to succeed in scientific psychology. With regard to Broader Impacts, there are two important highlights. First, PREP alumni have used their skills and confidence to continually succeed at subsequent steps of the scientific psychology career path, thereby increasing the participation of individuals underrepresented groups in the field. Second, graduate-student and postdoctoral mentors have participated in a carefully developed Research Mentor Training workshop that has been demonstrated empirically to generate lasting benefits both for the mentor and for that mentor’s mentees, as measured by long-term retention in STEM disciplines and by career satisfaction and effectiveness.
