Research

Our research opportunities are broad and varied, and our award-winning faculty offers encouragement and innovative analysis throughout your time at Hope. Because our faculty presents at conferences, publishes research articles and writes books, our student research assistants are well-prepared for advanced study after graduation.

Many of our students who pursue supervised research go on to present at conferences themselves and some are even published!

Find a faculty member (or two) you’d like to work with? Fill out the Common Application to apply to be a research assistant in their lab!

Not sure yet about getting involved? Fill out this short Research Interest Form to get connected with a psychology faculty member who can tell you more about undergraduate research at Hope.

Take a look at the research opportunities our faculty provides:

Dr. Carrie Bredow

Broadly speaking, Dr. Bredow’s research focuses on questions regarding the origin and consequences of peoples’s preferences for a long-term romantic partner: Where do people’s standards for a partner come from, and do these criteria “matter”? Current projects include longitudinal research examining how people’s implicit (unconscious) and explicit (reported) preferences for a romantic partner interact to shape their relationship outcomes, and research examining the influence of parents and other early relationship models on people’s schema for a romantic partner.

Opportunities at a glance: Dr. Bredow is looking for motivated students and generally can take on 1–2 new students per year. Preference is given to students who have already taken PSY 200 and statistics and are able to make a one year commitment to the lab. Spots are most often available beginning in the fall semester, so interested students are advised to apply (using the Common Application) during the spring semester if possible. Email bredow@hope.edu for more information about current opportunities.

Dr. Alyssa Cheadle

Dr. Cheadle’s research focuses on how religiousness and spirituality are associated with health. Her methods include correlational and longitudinal studies involving interviews and surveys and physiological assessments of stress hormones and inflammation. She has ongoing projects in which students can get involved, including studies of religiousness and spirituality in pregnant and postpartum women and diverse college-aged young adults. In addition, students can become involved in the early stages of her newest project at Hope, a daily diary study that will investigate health behaviors and religiousness and spirituality.

Opportunities at a glance: Students interested in health psychology and particularly religiousness and spirituality are welcome to apply. If you’re interested in joining a research lab, complete the Common Application and list the faculty member(s) (up to 4) that you are interested in working with, in order of preference. If you'd like to know more about the lab before applying via the Common Application, email cheadle@hope.edu.

Dr. Andrew Gall

Dr. Gall's research is focused on understanding the neural mechanisms and functions of sleep and circadian rhythms in animals and in humans. Currently, Dr. Gall and his students are examining environmental influences that are associated with sleep disruptions. In addition, his research team is collaborating with Dr. Charlotte Witvliet to examine the role of forgiveness and accountability on sleep quality and quantity in college students. Finally, his research team is examining the effectiveness of neuroscience outreach in K–12 students in the Holland-Zeeland communities.

Opportunities at a glance: If you're interested in joining a research lab, complete the Common Application and list the faculty member(s) (up to 4) that you are interested in working with, in order of preference. If you'd like to know more about the lab before applying via the Common Application, email gall@hope.edu.

Dr. Mary Inman

Dr. Inman will continue her work on body image and body attitudes. Some semesters she continues her other line of research on perceptions of discrimination. The students who are selected to work with her usually sign up for Supervised Research PSY 290 for 1 credit. Depending on which phase the project is in, students will help design the study, learn the ethics of doing research, learn about the ethics proposal, conduct the study, code the data, enter the data, write up portions of an APA style paper that pertains to the work, present the research and receive career advice and writing suggestions.

Opportunities at a glance: Usually 1 or 2 slots are available. Students must have taken PSY 200 and a statistics course to apply. If you’re interested in joining a research lab, complete the Common Application and list the faculty member(s) (up to 4) that you are interested in working with, in order of preference. If you'd like to know more about the lab before applying via the Common Application, email inman@hope.edu.

Dr. Nathaniel Klooster

Dr. Klooster studies memory and language broadly and how semantic knowledge grows deeper and richer with age and experience. He uses neuroscientific methods, studying patient populations with Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and patients with focal brain lesions. In healthy populations, he relates memory abilities to structural imaging. He studies how concepts in psychology and religious concepts grow richer over the course of a college career. He will study how knowledge continues to grow in healthy aging, and how this knowledge is affected in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease. He will employ tDCS (transcranial direct current stimulation) and EEG (electroencephalogram) in his research program.

Opportunities at a glance: If you’re interested in joining a research lab, complete the Common Application and list the faculty member(s) (up to 4) that you are interested in working with, in order of preference. If you'd like to know more about the lab before applying via the Common Application, email klooster@hope.edu.

Dr. Benjamin Meagher

Dr. Meagher's primary research focus is in the area of ecological social psychology, investigating the relationship between physical environments, social environments and individual differences in personality. For example, his work has explored the influence of personality traits on preferences for particular physical settings, the effect of social context on judgments of distance and spaciousness, and the connection between ideological beliefs and perception-action processes (e.g., how sexism impacts our behaviors towards highly gendered physical objects). His most recent projects have centered around the design and layout of religious settings, the use of home environments to cope with stress and the personality trait of hospitality. You can read more about his research at Dr. Meagher's website.

Opportunities at a glance: If you’re interested in joining a research lab, complete the Common Application and list the faculty member(s) (up to 4) that you are interested in working with, in order of preference. Any students interested in talking more about the topic of environmental psychology are encouraged to email meagher@hope.edu.

Dr. Lindsey Root Luna

Dr. Root Luna’s research focuses on virtue, emotion, psychophysiology and flourishing. Current projects include physiological data collection examining the relationship between personality traits and engagement, and survey methodology investigating the relationship between virtues and well-being. Additionally, she has interests in forgiveness seeking, as well as the impact of other specific virtues (e.g., gratitude, hope, humility), emotion regulation, and the study of faith and religion.

Opportunities at a glance: Dr. Root Luna finds collaborating with students an exciting and rewarding component of the research process. At any given time, she is usually working with 4–6 students. If you’re interested in joining a research lab, complete the Common Application and list the faculty member(s) (up to 4) that you are interested in working with, in order of preference. If you'd like to know more about the lab before applying via the Common Application, email rootluna@hope.edu.

Dr. Lauren Slone

Dr. Slone conducts experiments and semi-naturalistic studies to understand word and category learning in young children and adults. She specializes in eye-tracking research, including both remote eye-tracking (e.g., tracking where participants look on a computer screen) and head-mouted eye-tracking (e.g., tracking where participants look as they play or move around their environment), often using longitudinal methods to study learning over time. She and her research students investigate questions like: How do people learn? How do learning mechanisms change across the lifespan? Why do some people learn faster than others? 

Opportunities at a glance: Dr. Slone is always looking for eager students and usually has a lab of approximately 4–8 students. Interested students should be able to make a one-year commitment to doing research (and may work longer). If you're interested in joining a research lab, complete the Common Application and list the faculty member(s) (up to 4) that you are interested in working with, in order of preference. If you'd like to know more about the lab before applying via the Common Application, email slone@hope.edu.

Dr. Kendra Thomas

Dr. Thomas is curious about how youth grapple with justice in their daily lives, particularly in contexts of high inequality. Much of her work is translational and applied as she partners with schools and NGOs to develop and assess programs that promote virtue development. She works with a large team promoting social responsibility and positive school climate interventions in multiple Brazilian schools. Currently, her lab studies how virtuous hope develops and spreads through an early child development intervention in South Africa. 

Opportunities at a glance: If you're interested in joining a research lab, complete the Common Application and list the faculty member(s) (up to 4) that you are interested in working with, in order of preference. If you'd like to know more about the lab before applying via the Common Application, email thomas@hope.edu.

Dr. Daryl Van Tongeren

Dr. Van Tongeren conducts research on three primary topics: meaning in life, religion and virtues (such as humility and forgiveness). Specifically, he is exploring why people are leaving religion and the lingering effects of religious identity (religious residue), how to cultivate intellectual humility, and how people find existential meaning. His research is currently funded by the John Templeton Foundation, and you can explore recent work at his website.

Opportunities at a glance: Dr. Van Tongeren is always looking for eager students and usually has a lab of approximately 3–5 students (though availability varies depending on projects). Interested students should be able to make a one-year commitment to doing research (and may work longer, if mutually beneficial). If you're interested in joining a research lab, complete the Common Application and list the faculty member(s) (up to 4) that you are interested in working with, in order of preference. If you'd like to know more about the lab before applying via the Common Application, email vantongeren@hope.edu.

Dr. Charlotte vanOyen-Witvliet

Dr. vanOyen-Witvliet conducts research at the interface of clinical psychology, emotion regulation and positive psychology. Current topics include accountability, forgiveness and gratitude. Her methods include experiments and correlational studies examining psychophysiology, linguistic analyses and self-report measures.

Opportunities at a glance: Ideal students will have taken PSY 100, 200, 370, and Math 210 or 311 and have a two-year commitment to the lab, particularly when psychophysiology is involved. If you're interested in joining a research lab, complete the Common Application and list the faculty member(s) (up to 4) that you are interested in working with, in order of preference. If you'd like to know more about the lab before applying via the Common Application, email witvliet@hope.edu.