Research Assistant Position: Associative Learning and Virtual Reality
Dr. Alexandra Acunzo and Prof. Elizabeth Phelps, Psychology/FAS
spring and summer 2020


Project description: This study examines whether virtual reality can be used to enhance extinction learning in healthy humans. Animal research has demonstrated that weak learning followed by exploration of a novel open field enhances retention of the learning the next day (Moncada, D., Ballarini, F., & Viola, H. (2015). Behavioral tagging: a translation of the synaptic tagging and capture hypothesis. Neural plasticity, 2015.). Likewise, we hypothesize that a novel virtual reality exploration task could enhance learning in humans. We are particularly interested in enhancing extinction learning - how people learn that feared stimuli are in fact safe. Extinction learning is thought to be a core process involved in exposure therapy, which is a common treatment for anxiety and PTSD. Thus, research in this area may help us develop better treatments for these disorders. Responsibilities: RAs will be responsible for assisting with participant recruitment, running participants through experimental procedures including fear conditioning and virtual reality, data entry and preparation, and management of administrative tasks. RAs will be trained in valuable research methods including fear conditioning procedures, psychophysiological assessment (i.e., skin conductance and pupillometry), and the use of virtual reality for research. RAs are invited to attend lab meetings where they can hear about ongoing projects in the lab and relevant research on affect, learning, and decision making (lab website: https://www.phelpslab.com/). There may also be opportunities to assist with other lab research projects. Requirements and Expectations: Expected hours per week: At least 10 hours/week. For this study, you must have availability on three consecutive weekdays at the same time of day for at least 2 hours (e.g., Monday through Wednesday from 9-11). Course or skills background required or desired: Psychology or Neuroscience major Additional Information; This is a volunteer position. To Apply: Please complete the form at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScPE_ZJtbAxxwuD7KIxeF1cs9BLzhVVAXCS2Knwawc7wxyr8w/viewform and indicate that you are interested in working with Xandra Kredlow, PhD on the Associative Learning and Virtual Reality Study. (posted 12/2019)