Research is an integral part of the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology. Students considering participation in the activities of any Centre or research group should contact the researchers responsible, their own program director or advisor about eligibility, types of available involvement, and any registration requirements.
Below is a list of some of the research labs in the Department. Please click on the links to visit each research group or centre's external website for detailed information and contact details.
Achievement Motivation and Emotion (AME) Research Group
Research Focus: The AME Research Group explores the psychosocial determinants of optimal development in academic achievement settings, with a focus on motivational strategies, discrete emotions, and interventions as predictors of health, motivation, and performance.
Common Research Interests: Achievement motivation, motivational interventions, motivational strategies, perceptions of interest/value/control, academic emotions, post-secondary student development and retention, faculty motivation, health and motivation in older adults, student and instructor attrition
Lab Members: Dr. Nathan Hall (director, McGill), Dr. Thomas Goetz (primary collaborator, University of Konstanz); Drs. Raymond Perry and Judith Chipperfield (collaborators, University of Manitoba), Dr. Jutta Heckhausen (collaborator, University of California, Irvine), Dr. Reinhard Pekrun (collaborator, University of Munich), Dr. Carsten Wrosch (collaborator, Concordia University), Dr. Robert Stupnisky (collaborator, University of North Dakota); Kyle Hubbard (RA, MA student, McGill), Jason Ringo (RA, McGill)
Other Information: Opportunities exist for international research exchanges with collaborators as funded through grants to the director, collaborators and student awards (e.g. DAAD).
Research Website: www.ame1.net
Advanced Technologies for Learning in Authentic Settings (ATLAS)
Research Focus: The design and evaluation of technology rich learning environments for classroom and real-world applications; computer-based learning and dynamic assessment in science and medicine; cognition, affect and learning; individual differences.
Common Research Interests: Better understanding learning, problem solving and decision-making across different disciplines.
Lab Members: Dr. Susanne Lajoie (Director), Dr. Jeffrey Wiseman, MD (Research Associate), Omar Sharif Ahmad (Postdoctoral Fellow), Ilian Cruz-Panesso, Yuan-Jin Hong, Lorraine Meilleur, Laura Naismith, Nicholas Gelinas-Phaneuf, Eric Poitras, Maedeh Kazemi, John Ranellucci, Christine Summerside, Kevin Waschke (Graduates Students)
Other Information: Undergraduate volunteers are welcome to join.
Research Website: www.mcgill.ca/atlas-lab/; www.leads.sosy.ca/index.html
Canadian Early Intervention Research Team
Research Website: Canadian Early Intervention Research Team
CORE (Coping and Resilience) Research Team
Research Focus: The main research focus is on stress and coping, with an emphasis on LGBT populations and people living with/affected by HIV. Secondary research foci include bereavement, training and professional issues in counseling psychology, and gender issues.
Common Research Interests: LGBT issues, HIV/AIDS, bereavement, professional/training issues, gender issues
Research Website: www.coreresearchteam.com
Doc-Work
Research Focus: Identity-trajectories of doctoral students, post-docs, and pre-tenure professors (personal and career intentions and experiences over time)
Common Research Interests: Those interested in qualitative research related to identity development; we focus first on doctoral experience and then on career decisions and life plans post-graduation which may lead outside of academia
Lab Members: Lynn McAlpine, Cheryl Amundsen (SFU, Shuhua Chen, Greg Hum (SFU)
Research Website: http://doc-work.mcgill.ca
Higher Education Research Group
Research Website: Higher Education Research Group
International Centre for Youth Gambling
Research Focus: Youth gambling and high risk behaviors.
Research Website: www.youthgambling.com
Heath Research Team
Research Focus: Our research team investigates emotion, mechanisms of resilience, and adaptive functioning in youth at-risk. Currently, our primary focus is the study of non-suicidal self-injury.
Common Research Interests: Non-suicidal self-injury and high-risk behaviours among youth. Emotion dysregulation related to high-risk behaviours, educational contexts, and self-perceptions.
Lab Members: Alyssa Baxter, Erin Beettam, Marianne Christie, Jamie Duggan, Amber Emms, Shannon-Dell MacPhee, Rick Noble, Elizabeth Roberts, Kristin Schaub, Michael Sornberger / Recent graduates: Elana Bloom, PhD, Shareen Holly, PhD, Tamara Soles, PhD, Jessica Toste, PhD, Lana Zinck, PhD
Research Website: www.heathresearchteam.mcgill.ca
Health Psychology Research Group
Research Focus: Health psychology and psychooncology.
Research Website: Coming Decemeber 2011.
High Ability and Inquiry Research Group / Groupe de recherche sur les Habilités intellectuelles et l’Approche par Investigation Raisonnée (HAIR)
Research Focus: Inquiry, Inquiry learning and teaching at all levels of education; high ability including self-regulatory and social processes in support of effective learning, applications in mathematics, science, social and science learning and teaching; related issues in professional development for educators.
Common Research Interests:
Lab Members: Professors: Bruce M.Shore, Mark W. Aulls, Ron Stringer, Krista R. Muis, Annie Savard, Calvin S. Kalman, Marcia A. B. Delcourt, Frank LaBanca
Research Associates: Diana Tabatabai, Juss Kaur Magon.
Postdoctoral Fellow: Sandra Palesc.
Students (as of July 2011): Camelia Birlean, Tanya Chichekian, Patra D. T. Gyles, Liv Hua, Brenda Linn, Cheryl L. Walker, Ahmed Ibrahim, David Lemay, Dawit Getahun, Olivia Leung, Xihui Wang, Xiang Huang, Kei Muto.
Actively Collaborating Graduates: Dominique Morisano, Krista C. Ritchie
Other Information: This research team is a participant in the Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance and is supported by funding from SSHRC and FQRSC.
Research Website: www.mcgill.ca/inquiry
McGill Psychotherapy Process Research Group (MPPRG)
Research Focus:
Psychotherapy process and outcome: The MPPRG conducts studies on the patient/client variables, therapist variables and the interactive process of psychotherapy, and the effect of these on treatment outcome.
Progress tracking and monitoring in psychotherapy: The MPPRG conducts research examining the advantages and disadvantages of using ongoing tracking methods in psychotherapy.
Use of new technologies in delivering psychotherapeutic services: The MPPRG conducts research into the use of new technologies in psychotherapy, including cyberpsychology and virtual reality, and telepsychotherapy.
Mental health services (psychotherapy) in primary care: The Group conducts research examining some of the key variables in effective psychotherapy service delivery.
While many members of the MPPRG are interested in applied clinical research, many others focus on knowledge translation. As such, the MPPRG also aims at developing guidelines related to the practice of mental health assessment and psychotherapy.
Lab Members: Martin Drapeau & Marilyn Fitzpatrick, Directors. Any given year, the MPPRG includes between 20 and 25 research assistants, including master level and doctoral level students.
Other Information: www.mpprg.mcgill.ca; marilyn [dot] fitzpatrick [at] mcgill [dot] ca; martin [dot] drapeau [at] mcgill [dot] ca
Research Website: www.mpprg.mcgill.ca
McGill Youth Study Team (MYST)
Research Website: McGill Youth Study Team (MYST)
Resilience, Pediatric Psychology, adn Neurogenetic Connections Lab (The Connections Lab)
Research Focus: Developing school success in the populations at highest risk for school failure. Among current projects are developing mentoring program for high risk high school students with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL, developing and evaluating high school dropout interventions with the Lester B. Pearson School Board, researching the development of language skills in children with rare genetic disorders and autism, and developing international partnerships to improve the academic performance of children with borderline intelligence.
All research is based on the meta-academic model, which involves the instruction of non-academic factors that lead to school success in high risk students. The identified factors are: social skills, language skills, executive functions, coping with mental health issues, and coping with medical issues. These five areas are a complement to academic instruction and are necessary to school success.
Common Research Interests: Students interested in school psychology, implementing real world interventions with students at risk for school failure, neuropsychological assessment and interventions, international research, and the intersection of medical issues and school performance.
Lab Members: The Connections Lab currently has five doctoral students and six master students. We also have a large number of undergraduate research assistants in the lab.
Other Information: We will be considering undergraduate research assistant volunteers for 2011-2012.
Research Website: Research lab website in under construction and will be ready on September 1, 2011. http://www.mcgill.ca/connectionslab/
Talwar Child Development Research Lab
Research Focus: We are researchers interested in children’s social-cognitive development. Our research is informed by the disciplines of psychology, education and law to examine children’s behaviours that are pertinent to children’s adaptive development, child witness testimony and professionals who work with children.
For instance, we conduct research on children’s adaptive development. We examine how they learn social rules and conventions, understand others feelings and beliefs, and how they develop social behaviours and manage social interactions. Our research mandate covers a wide range of issues and research questions:
The children’s lie-telling and moral development as well as promoting children’s honesty and moral development in applied settings.
Deception detection strategies in children and adults
Children’s social interactions in school, between friends and cyberspace
Children’s conceptions of life, death and spirituality as well as how parents, teachers, and health care workers talk to children about these concepts
Child witness competency and abilities to testify
Our research not only has implications for our theoretical understanding of children’s adaptive development but also aims to provide relevant information to real‑world problems faced by parents and professionals who work with children (e.g., teachers, social workers, legal professionals, police, and health professionals).
Research Website: www.TalwarResearch.com
