Graduate Students
Dr. Lougheed will not be considering applications from prospective graduate students to join the Emotion Dynamics Lab for the 2026-2027 academic year. You can read more about our Department’s graduate programs here.
The list below is not exhaustive but it gives a general idea of what types of projects graduate students may be involved in over the next few years.
- The associations between emotion regulation and mental health (e.g., internalizing problems) and well-being in young adults
- Change in mental health symptoms over time and its emotion-related predictors in young adults
- Concordance/discordance among components of the emotion system (autonomic nervous system physiology, self-reported experiences, and expressions)
- Contextual effects on the dynamics of the emotion system
- Intra- and inter-individual variability in emotion processes
- Daily diary/ experience sampling methods
- Behavioural observations of emotion
In general, Dr. Lougheed looks for applicants who have strong computational/statistical skills or a strong interest in learning advanced quantitative methods (or demonstrated potential to do so). These skills are necessary for working with the intensive longitudinal data we collect in this lab, which require the use of methods such as multilevel modelling and structural equation modelling. Dr. Lougheed does not expect students to begin the graduate program already having knowledge or experience with these methods, but rather the interest and aptitude to learn them.
Undergraduate Students
Dr. Lougheed will be seeking undergraduate students to be involved in research in the Emotion Dynamics Lab for the 2025/2026 academic year, through enrolment in PSYO 281, PSYO 381, or PSYO 481 Directed Studies courses (or possibly via volunteer roles). She is seeking students who are interested in gaining hands-on experience with the collection and processing of behavioural observation data. Students do not need to have any previous research experience to get involved. Ideally, students will be able to commit to the lab team for both Term 1 and Term 2. Example roles include:
- Experimenter 1: Instructing participants through laboratory procedures (e.g., completing questionnaires, applying physiological sensors, delivering instructions for behavioural tasks)
- Experimenter 2: Setting up and monitoring the recording of behavioural observation data from multiple synchronized devices (e.g., physiological sensors, video cameras, tablets)
- Physiological data reduction team: Prepare physiological data (electrocardiogram, electrodermal activity, and respiration recordings) for analysis by identifying and removing artifacts
Dr. Lougheed typically seeks interested students about 6 to 8 weeks prior to the term of enrolment for Directed Studies courses. Please reach out to Dr. Lougheed in July, 2025 if you would like to learn more about the above opportunities.
Prospective Honours Thesis Students
For students who are interested in conducting an Honours Thesis under the supervision of Dr. Lougheed, please reach out to her at some point in the year prior to your anticipated Honours year. Dr. Lougheed requires Honours thesis students to take a Directed Studies course (PSYO 381, PSYO 481) with her prior to the Honours year given the time-intensive nature of research projects in the lab.
Dr. Lougheed is now fully committed to Honours students for the 2025-2026 academic year.