Graduate Research
Researchers Use ‘League of Legends’ to Gain Insights Into Mental Models
Psychology researchers have used the game "League of Legends" to advance our understanding of how people build "mental models" — the mental tools that allow people to make use of complex systems.
Committed and Marginalized: How Race and Sexual Identity Impact Activism
What does activism mean to you? More specifically, how can we best understand the psychology of activism among Black people who also identity as LGBTQ? NC State graduate student Kristen Pender’s research explores those questions.
Psychology Students Design Campus Composting Solution
As a project for a human factors psychology course, graduate students Jenna Darrah, Xing Huang and David Feltner researched, designed and tested a system to divert Talley Student Union’s estimated 34,000 pounds of annual paper towel waste from trash cans to compost bins.
Psychologists ask: What motivates older adults to stay active?
As we age, it can be harder to do what’s good for the mind. While research shows that regularly exercising the brain, for instance, can help older adults mitigate normal declines in cognition, that effort comes with costs — such as mental fatigue — that typically increase as we get older. Psychologists at NC State University want to know how those increased costs affect our motivation to engage in cognitively-rewarding tasks.
Study: Mental Health Courts Reduce Repeat Offenses, Jail Time
Research from NC State psychologists shows that mental health courts can reduce repeat offending, and limit related jail time, for people with mental health problems — especially those who also have substance use problems.
Grad Student Focuses Research on Child Welfare
Psychology doctoral student Jenna Montgomery Armstrong wants to prevent child maltreatment among families living in homeless shelters. She has received a Doris Duke Fellowship to help with her research.