Name: Isabel Mossin
Class Year: 2023
Major: Psychology
Minor: Neuroscience
Hometown: Doylestown, PA
Internship Organization: Temple Infant & Child Lab
Job Title: Research Assistant
Location: Ambler, PA
What’s happening at your internship?
The lab I’m interning at has multiple projects going on, and the one I’m working on is called the Technoference study. The aim of this project is to explore the impact of disruptive technology use on children’s value judgments of adults. To achieve this, two PowerPoint presentations were created and will be shown to child participants aged four and seven: one in which an adult reads through a story with no interruptions, and one in which an adult reads through a story, occasionally pausing to check his phone. Afterward, the children are asked to reflect on their experience and form value judgements towards the adult reader in the video, such as “how often does the adult keep his promises” or “how often does the adult share their toys with others?” As a research assistant, I am currently in the process of recruiting participants by going through Temple’s participant database and contacting parents/scheduling appointments, but I will soon be running the study trials over Zoom. I also attend weekly lab meetings with other members of the lab, during which we’re updated on current projects and asked to give advice or consider future directions. Lastly, I’m working on formatting demographic and consent surveys for the Technoference study.
Why did you apply for this internship?
I applied for this internship because of my passion for developmental psychology, which includes my dream to one day pioneer research in this field that will hopefully inform social policy and better the next generation of children. Additionally, I’m still not set on what exactly I want to do when I finish my undergraduate degree at Bryn Mawr, and I went into this internship hoping to meet new people and mentors, and get an “inside look” into psychological research so that I can come closer to knowing what I want my next steps in life to be.
Working remotely for the first time? What has that experience been like for you?
This is, in fact, my first time working remotely, which I wasn’t intending when I initially signed onto this internship. Unfortunately, there were some unforeseen circumstances that led me to leave my original project, so I was definitely a bit nervous to be working remotely. Honestly, it’s not the most enjoyable experience, as I much prefer to be able to ask questions face-to-face, as opposed to the slow process of communicating over email. Thankfully, I live only about 25 minutes from the lab, so I’ve still been able to go in-person for training and clarification questions, however the actual study trials are conducted over Zoom, which is not how I envisioned my first real data collection to go. On the more positive side of things, though, I’ve been able to work with and meet individuals who are all over the country, which I find to be pretty cool!
Was this internship what you expected it to be?
This internship isn’t really what I expected it to be, as I was prepared for a very intense, hands-on experience, and have been a bit left behind in terms of work I can meaningfully be a part of. While I’m definitely learning how to speak up for my own concerns and needs in a professional manner, I wish that my academic skills were being utilized more than they are currently. In short, I thought I would be contributing more to the lab than just recruitment and data collection, but honestly, I’m learning so much about the reality of what goes into a developmental psychology study that I still feel really grateful to have this opportunity and meet with and connect to the people I have so far.
Visit the Summer Internship Stories page to read more about student internship experiences.