Important note: Dr. Kahn is not able to take on new students in fall 2008 or spring 2009 because of an upcoming sabbatical. Please explore research opportunities with other professors in the department.
Interpersonal processes are central to health and well-being. For example, talking to others when one is upset and expressing those upsetting emotions are associated with better physical health, less psychological disturbance, and greater life satisfaction. Dr. Kahn’s ongoing research examines these processes and addresses questions such as why and under what circumstances these processes are helpful. Answering these questions has relevance for counseling and psychotherapy, personality theory, and relationship formation.
Much of Dr. Kahn’s research
involves undergraduates. Student involvement might include collecting data and interacting
with research participants, coding source data such as
videotaped interactions or verbal material, and entering questionnaire
and behavioral observation data into SPSS. Students
contribute to this research while also learning about
the research process. Through regular small-group meetings with Dr. Kahn
and the research team, students
become familiar with relevant literature, discuss research
questions, debate alternate methodologies, discuss
logistical issues regarding the research, formulate
conclusions from the data, and write a paper when the
study is completed.
Participating as a member of this research team will be worth credit in PSY 290. (Honors students may take IDS 285 for honors credit.) Only students with the highest levels of academic achievement will be considered. Typically students commit to 9 hours of work on this research per week in exchange for 3 credit hours of PSY 290. There are also opportunities for a two-semester experience of PSY 290 and PSY 390, which fulfills the capstone requirement. If you are interested in learning more about how you may be involved in this research, contact Dr. Kahn at 438-7939 or at jhkahn@ilstu.edu.