Reflecting on College Research Experiences: An Interview with Jacob Schatz '15
Jacob Schatz, a current student in New York University's Applied Psychology program, embarked on his academic journey at Princeton University, where he graduated in 2015 with a degree in Psychology. His interest in psychology was nurtured at Princeton, leading him to various opportunities, both during his time at the university and beyond.
During his senior year, Jacob conducted independent research under the mentorship of Dr. Catherine Tamis-LeMonda. His research focused on parent-child language interactions during play, a subject that piqued his curiosity. This experience, common among Princeton psychology alumni, offers close mentorship, interdisciplinary methodology training, and access to advanced research resources. These factors collectively enhance skills in experimental design, data analysis, and science communication, preparing students for graduate research, professional lives, and personal growth.
Jacob's research was inspired by his work with Caren Walker at Alison Gopnik's Cognitive Development Lab at the University of California, Berkeley, and a final paper for his Psychology of Social Influence class that looked at educational storytelling on television. His senior thesis research specifically investigated the impact of fantasy elements on cognitive load, narrative recall, comprehension, and understanding of moral lessons in children learning from pedagogical narratives.
After graduation, Jacob worked as a lab coordinator at the Temple University Infant and Child Lab until this past fall. His work there focused on a massive multimedia vocabulary intervention for preschoolers in Head Start schools. This experience further solidified his interest in the field and led him to apply to Ph.D. programs in Psychology and Education based on his work.
Jacob's advice for current students is to begin conceptualizing their thesis research in the middle of their junior year, to befriend the IRB and their IRB representative in their department, and to design a study with a specific research question and as few independent variable manipulations as possible. He encourages students who feel unprepared to remember that their research interests are worthwhile and they will find a way to make it work.
Jacob's research advisers, Drs. Lew-Williams and Hirsh-Pasek, have been invaluable mentors to him, providing both technical guidance and intellectual encouragement. His journey in psychology, from his early days at Princeton to his current studies at NYU, is a testament to the impact of mentorship, research opportunities, and a passion for understanding human behaviour and cognition.
References:
- Princeton's Psychology Program
- NYU's Applied Psychology Program
- Kajal Schiller's Computer Simulation
- Princeton's Psychology Rankings
During his undergraduate education at Princeton University, Jacob Schatz conducted independent work on his senior thesis, focusing on parent-child language interactions during play. His research experience, led by Dr. Catherine Tamis-LeMonda, provided him with skills in experimental design, data analysis, and science communication, fostering education-and-self-development essential for his future in research.
Now, as a student in NYU's Applied Psychology program, Jacob continues to embrace opportunities for independent work, applying the knowledge and skills he gained during his undergraduate research to advance in his academic journey.
