The National Honor Society in Psychology

Karen Mooney

Peer Relationships Lab

Research Interests

  • Quality of peer relationships (friendships and romantic relationships) in emerging adulthood, and how this is associated with adjustment outcomes (e.g., academics, self-esteem, problem behaviors).
  • Variable-oriented (comparing variable values to other variable values) and person-oriented (differentiating subgroups of individuals based on distinctive patterns) approaches, taking advantage of their complementary nature.

Student Involvement

  • Research assistants are responsible for the following tasks:
    • Reading relevant research articles
    • Assisting with designing studies
    • Collecting, entering, and cleaning data
    • Analyzing data and interpreting results
    • Composing poster presentations for conferences
  • Students will have the opportunity to test their own hypotheses with our data or even initiate their own project on a related topic.

Recruitment Opportunities

  • Dr. Mooney will be recruiting 1-2 students for Spring 2027.
  • The application will be available from October 5, 2026 to November 8, 2026.

Preferred Skills and Qualifications

  • Sophomore or junior standing.
  • Multiple-semester commitment.
  • Conscientiousness, curiosity, reliability, and strong interpersonal skills.
  • Students should have completed both PSYC 250 and PSYC 251 and done well in both.

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