Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP) Scholar

May 2015 – August 2015

In support of my plan of applying to doctorate programs after graduation, I applied and earned acceptance into the University of Michigan’s SROP program in my senior year of undergrad. This program provided me with an invaluable opportunity to work with Dr. Terri Conley in her Stigmatized Sexualities Lab in the Department of Psychology on several projects. I supported Dr. Conley on the her (1) Casual Sex Study and (2) Orgasm Goal Orientation Study.

This was one of my first experiences conducting content analyses of academic journals including The Journal of Social and Personal Relationships and Personal Relationships. I was also trained on how to code qualitative data for the studies that examined physical and instrumental reasons for why men and women engage in casual sex.

At the end of the program, I created and printed my first academic poster on casual sex differences between men and women and presented at the final SROP poster symposium.

Upon completion of the SROP program, I received a certificate of achievement, and felt much more prepared for grad school. Overall, this experience helped me develop my public speaking and research communication skills. This experience also motivated me to pursue an independent research project during my last year of undergrad.

See Social Media as a Relationship Outlet project for details.