Project Description

Decision makers often establish an early preference after being exposed to preliminary information about their choices and this early preference can affect how subsequent information about choice options is processed. Importantly, such information distortion can have a substantial influence on people's final judgments and decisions. This project would build upon the student's Honor's thesis research on information distortion--which has been well documented in decision-making contexts using textual stimuli--also extends to prediction contexts in which the key stimuli is primarily visual. The initial study of the thesis work involved a paradigm in which people predicted winners of an art competition, and the new work will involve development of a paradigm in which people predict employment outcomes. Participants will learn that their task is to view the portfolios of two applicants for a prestigious job and eventually make predictions about which applicant was awarded the job. By revealing the portfolio contents and stages and asking for a series of evaluations and predictions, the research team will be able to measure the degree to which and early leaning, set up in an initial stage, biases information processing and ultimately final predictions in later stages.

Student Statement

“This project greatly captures my interest as it builds upon my Honors Thesis work and explores a relatively new concept in the field of decision sciences in an applied context. I would love to learn from my research experience this spring and improve upon it in the summer. I always wanted my research to have a meaningful connect with the real world and working on these new paradigms motivates me to become an impactful researcher.  

Moreover, this project is also very important to me due to my mentor Dr. Windschitl. I have been working in his lab as a research assistant for 4 semesters now and have grown a lot as a researcher. My research interests align with the lab projects very well, ranging from desirability bias to decision aids. Dr. Windschitl’s informed guidance, astute insights, and diligent work ethic along with the way he fosters a supportive environment for his students has helped me find my academic belonging. 

This project would help me continue my in-depth involvement in lab work and pursue another independent study that I am passionate about. Without classes in session, I would be able to focus on research more thoroughly and chase arduous goals like a journal publication. Ultimately, this project would also enhance my research experiences for a graduate school application as my next career goal is to pursue a PhD in Decision Sciences.”

Project Description

Individuals who use more than one language (bilinguals) switch between their languages effortlessly only when they live in environments where switching happens regularly (Beatty-Martinez et al., 2017; Tiv, Kutlu et al., 2022). While most studies on this topic have explored spoken language bilingualism, little is known regarding bimodal bilingualism. Sign languages are fully developed language systems that use gestures and body movements. Therefore, sign languages and spoken languages represent two different modalities in the brain: a sound-based system and a sign-based system. The intriguing question is whether individuals who use both modalities will depend on the same or different language mechanisms in the brain. In this study, we will test participants who speak American English and American Sign Language. Participants' social network structure will be measured with a social network survey designed by PI Dr. Kutlu (Kutlu et al., 2021; 2022a; 2022b). We will then couple the network tools with eye-tracking equipment, which allows us to record eye movements which are indicative of how individuals process language. All items will include spoken and sign language mixed together. We hypothesize that bimodal bilinguals use shared cognitive resources when processing bimodal language and expect this to be modulated by their social network structure.

Student Statement

“My research interest lies in the intersection of language acquisition and processing. After taking my first linguistics course, I became interested in applying my background in science and mathematics to the study of language. This brought me to Dr. Kutlu’s VoiceLab, where I have been a research assistant since the Fall of 2023. Dr. Kutlu’s research on the psycholinguistics of bilingualism appealed to me in particular due to his experimental and statistical foci. In the VoiceLab, I have applied my theoretical math background to psycholinguistic data processing.   

With further exploration into the field of linguistics, an exploration enthusiastically supported and directed by Dr. Kutlu, my primary research interests have converged on the study of signed languages. This is a relatively new and underexplored area of research, and this funding would give me the opportunity to be on the cutting edge of language science as an undergraduate at the University of Iowa. Through this project, I want to shed light on an aspect of human language that has been historically neglected and discredited. This is evident even in studies where bimodal bilingualism has been the topic of interest. I aim to study how the mind represents spoken and sign languages using eye-tracking and network science tools. 

Designing and executing my own study, performing real and relevant scientific research, would provide me with invaluable knowledge and skills for my goals of studying experimental linguistics in graduate school and going on to a career as a linguist. Through this project, I would gain hands-on experience using laboratory equipment (including eye-tracking software), analyzing data with industry-standard programs, and writing, publishing, and presenting my research to the larger scientific community.”

Project Description

The Disasters, Migration, and Violence (DMV) Lab (Mitchell & Pizzi) is creating a new dataset on government responses to disasters for all geophysical, meteorological, hydrological, and climatological disasters registered in the EM-DAT International Disasters Dataset for each country (1900-present). We examine government policy responses to natural disasters to better understand which types of policies increase political violence risks including 1) relocation of affected individuals, 2) restrictions on movement, 3) reconstruction of damaged areas, and 4) regulations of third-party disaster relief. We expect that political violence is more likely when governments restrict movements of disaster affected populations, restrict third party actor aid efforts, give aid unequally to politically favored areas, and rely on decentralized disaster management strategies. To date, the project has produced research papers on disaster response patterns in Peru (1900-2020), on the relationship between disaster responses and armed conflicts in Peru at the administrative 2 level (1989-2020), and text analysis of 12,268 disaster-related newspaper articles in Turkey between the earthquake and presidential election in 2024. Members of the lab are currently working on a new project on how disaster response differs near contested interstate borders vs. uncontested interstate borders.

Student Statement

“As a political science major and history minor at the University of Iowa, I have long had an interest in studying how both these subjects interconnect on a global stage. Learning about cases of disasters and how governments and NGOs respond to them will help further my understanding of both the history and politics of environmental disasters. My studies in Political Science will help me understand the implications of government responses on the potential onset of violence or other negative consequences. Being able to collect data on Iran and Iraq, two rival states that are threatened by environmental changes, will expand my knowledge about conflicts in the Middle East.

In the spring 2023 semester, I was able to take Professor Mitchell’s Civil Wars class. This course has given me a broader understanding of not only the history of civil conflicts around the globe, but also data collection related to these conflicts and how to apply it in a scholarly manner. Throughout my time in the course, I am grateful to have learned from Professor Mitchell’s expertise on the course material. I am excited to work alongside her in the DMV Lab, as this opportunity will allow me to further expand my horizons concerning governmental responses to disasters and other issues.”

Project Description

Sophia will work with Professor Pizzi to collect information on disaster response in Myanmar. The focus will be on understanding the variation in policies after natural disasters and how disaster responses differ depending on the region of the country. Myanmar regularly suffer disasters, conflict, and mass displacements and responds in a variety of ways.

Student Statement

“I am interested in working with Professor Pizzi on natural disasters in Myanmar because I find Myanmar's politics and human rights fulfillment compelling especially within the context of natural disasters. I also find it particularly captivating how natural disasters may lead to or intensify conflict. I chose to work with Professor Pizzi because Professor Pizzi is a scholar in the areas of comparative environmental and international politics and I am also interested in these areas as an academic. Professor Pizzi is also currently my Comparative Environmental Politics Professor and I wish to continue to learn from her under this project.”