ABOUT

The primary purpose of our lab is to conduct and disseminate innovative social psychological research that has the potential to make practical and meaningful contributions to individuals and society as a whole.  A central theme is the focus on social psychological principles related to etiology, prevention, and treatment of addictive and health related behaviors.

Specific outcomes and processes of interest include:

• Brief interventions for heavy drinking, other substance use, and problem gambling, and intimate partner violence.
  • Norms based interventions
  • Web based personalized feedback
  • MI delivered personalized feedback
  • Expressive writing
  • Event and context specific interventions
• Protective effects of religion and spirituality and incorporation in brief interventions
• Egocentric and sociocentric social networks and implications for interventions
• Effects of alcohol on relationships
• Effects of global and social anxiety and anxiety sensitivity
• Expectancies, motives, protective behaviors, family history, culture, shame and guilt
• Novel statistical methodologies
• Populations of interest:
  • College students
  • General population
  • Military/Veterans
  • HIV/AIDS

​

Dr. Neighbors will be reviewing applications for the Fall 2023 application cycle.

Graduate student info, Fall 2023 Applicants

Undergraduate RA info, Fall 2023 Recruitment

The Social Influences and Health Behaviors (SIHB) lab offers a unique research opportunity that provides graduate students with the skills necessary to be successful and productive scholars. Dr. Clayton Neighbors, director of the SIHB lab, typically meets with the graduate students on a biweekly basis or more often when needed. Graduate students are encouraged to become involved in ongoing lab projects and usually have publication and conference presentation opportunities from existing data sets and ongoing projects. In addition to their thesis and dissertation requirements, students are also recommended to initiate independent studies under the supervision of Dr. Neighbors. They receive thorough training in grant writing and statistical methods. Students are also advised to apply for an NIH NRSA (F31) grant application at the end of their second year. The close mentorship and focus on the scientist-practitioner model prepares graduate students to become well-rounded psychologists in academic or applied research settings. If you would like more information, please contact Dr. Clayton Neighbors at cneighbo@central.uh.edu.

Requirements:
The SIHB lab does not have a GRE cut-off score.  We review all applicants in a holistic manner, taking into account every part of the application. 

Undergraduate students are also offered educational opportunities as research assistants (RA’s), either in a volunteer capacity or for course credit. Undergraduate RAs are involved in many ways on research projects, including but not limited to: assisting in grant-related preparations, literature searches, running participants through research protocols, data entry and management, recruitment, survey programming, and manuscript/poster preparation. Additionally, undergraduate RAs will be required to attend bi-weekly lab meetings to discuss research articles relevant to projects currently being conducted in the lab and topics relevant to professional development. Before lab meetings, all RAs will be asked to read an assigned research article and write a 1-2 page reaction paper. Lab meeting dates vary by semester and can be found on the Undergraduate Research Assistant Application.

Requirements:
All applicants must have taken at least PSYC 2301 (Intro to Methodology) and PSYC 3301 (Intro to Statistics). Additionally, all applicants must have a Psychology GPA of at least 3.0. Undergraduate RAs may work in our lab either for course credit or as a volunteer. As a volunteer, a RA must commit to at least 8-10 hours per week in our lab. If pursuing course credit, a RA may file a general petition for either 2, 3, or 4 credit hours. 

If you are an undergraduate interested in applying as a RA to our lab, please email Frida de Luna, Lab Supervisor, at famorade@central.uh.edu​, and request an Undergraduate Research Assistant Application.