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Social Science Course Dates and Deadlines
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Horizon features flexible start dates.
Applications are open and assessed on a rolling-basis. However, students should apply 4-6 weeks prior to their preferred start date
Horizon Social Science Courses
Horizon offers undergraduate students the opportunity to work one-on-one with leading researchers and lecturers from some of the world's best known universities to develop highly specialized and unique research projects in interdisciplinary topics in the sciences and humanities. Horizon allows students to get individualized mentorship from instructors who are on the front lines of PhD-level research, often who are in the process of completing their own PhD or postdoctoral research. These instructors are intimately acquainted with the latest studies, the most relevant data sets, and the most interesting perspectives being introduced in their respective fields. Through 20 hours of one-on-one mentorship with their instructors, Horizon students can get access to useful and unique data sets, develop customized reading lists to enrich their writing, get individualized feedback about their paper drafts, and hear advice on publication opportunities from experts in their fields.
What justifies the authority of the state? What are the basic liberties that a just society should secure? How should societies reckon with implicit bias, historical injustices, and structures of racism, classism, and sexism? Can meritocracy exist alongside entrenched privilege? We examine these questions and more in Mr. Cabezas's course, based on his section of the Contemporary Civilization (CC) course at Columbia University.
How does our psychology influence the decisions we make every day and, ultimately, economic outcomes? We explore the rules-of-thumb that our brains constantly employ to makes choices, and how they can backfire, leading to biases in our decisions. You will be a participant in live experiments and learn how social scientists use them to study behavior.
What are the causes of war and peace? How does the international system affect the behavior of states, and how does this affect people on the ground? We explore the theories, patterns, and frameworks of international relations. We critically examine controversies surrounding current phenomena such as world governance, state failure, international injustice, and great power competition.
In recent decades, views on what constitutes a “mental illness” and what constitutes humane treatments have evolved with social norms. Psychopathology has also become increasingly amenable to the discussion of “public issues” that fall outside of an individual’s private life. This course takes a sociological lens to the study of psychotherapy, grounding itself in the emergence of a modern “therapeutic society.” We focus on the practice of psychotherapy itself and the topics that individuals bring to psychotherapy, as well as how those topics are discussed in society. In so doing, we consider both the role of “the medical expert”—the therapist—and the role of “the patient”—the individual attending therapy.
Horizon Academic is thrilled to offer a full range of 72 subtopics in psychology, spanning key questions in clinical, social, developmental, and cognitive psychology. Our psychology program started out with a narrower focus on data science and pathology, but our psychology offerings have continued to grow as more instructors of diverse psychology backgrounds have joined our team. We invite you to have a closer look at the many diverse psychology sub-topics we offer.
Horizon
One on One Mentorship. Specialized Research Topics. Flexible Timing.
- Research Questions by Each CourseBelow are the lists of pre-approved topics for each Horizon course. Please note that these lists are not restrictive or exhaustive: students at Horizon often submit customized research topics or proposals. If a student wishes to research something else besides these questions but still related to the general course topic, then they should identify their proposed research question in their application. Prior to evaluating their application, we will consult with the course instructor to confirm whether the custom topic request is permitted.
Political Theory and Philosophy
【 César Cabezas Gamarra 】|【 Sonny K. 】|【 Johan T. 】
What justifies the authority of the state? What are the basic liberties that a just society should secure? How should societies reckon with implicit bias, historical injustices, and structures of racism, classism, and sexism? Can meritocracy exist alongside entrenched privilege? We examine these questions and more in Mr. Cabezas's course, based on his section of the Contemporary Civilization (CC) course at Columbia University.
Pre-approved Topic List
1. What justifies the authority of the state? What are the problems associated with social life in the absence of government (i.e. a state of nature)? How does the "social contract" proposed by the likes of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau work as a solution to these problems?
2. What are the supreme principles (if any) that should guide our moral conduct? Do they admit of exceptions?
3. What is implicit bias? Should we blame agents for having implicit biases even if they are outside their control?
4. Can we explain the various aspects of social reality purely in terms of individual beliefs, actions and intentions? Or does an adequate explanation of social reality require reference to social phenomena such as organizations, social structures and social laws?
5. Is morality merely a matter of personal (or group) opinion? Or are there objective moral facts that transcend cultures and historical eras?
6. What are the basic liberties that a just society should secure? Is being free not having others interfere with one's personal affairs? Or is it to have the capacity to make one's own laws by participating in the collective process of government? Or is freedom a matter of not being subject to the arbitrary power of the state and/or other subjects?
7. What is the role of privileges or unearned advantages in sustaining systems of oppression?
8. What are our moral duties regarding injustices in which we participate indirectly (e.g. buying clothes produced in sweatshops)?
9. Are we morally responsible for the moral failures of our ancestors (e.g. colonization, slavery, the Holocaust)? What about the present-day consequences of their moral failures?
10. What are some convincing argument for the right to reparations for African-Americans?
11. Why are epistemic virtues such as humility, open-mindedness, and curiosity important for our life in community?
12. What is the importance of public deliberation and disagreement for a democratic society?
13. Can people be willfully ignorant? If so, how does willful ignorance contribute to the maintenance of social injustice?
14. Given that science has ruled out the existence of biological races, should we give up the concept of race? Or is there a plausible non-biological concept of race that can contribute to a better understanding of racial relations?
15. What is the difference between race, ethnicity and nationality?
16. Is racism a matter of individual beliefs, intentions and actions, or can racism also take place at the level of institutions and social structures?
17. What is intersectionality? How does it contribute to a better understanding of gender, race and class?
18. What is work? What is meaningful work? How might we make work more meaningful?
19. Is work an oppressive institution? Can we make work (more) free? How?
20. What is a Universal Basic Income? What are the best arguments in favor of UBI and what are the strongest objections?
21. What is care-work? How does the distribution of responsibility for care
22. Is work becoming more "precarious”? How do we weigh the benefits of flexible work up against the perils of precarity?
23. What is civil disobedience? When, if ever, is civil disobedience justified?
24. How should the climate justice movement think about the use of civil disobedience? Might there be arguments for going even further? What about uncivil disobedience?
25. On revolution, with a focus on Hannah Arendt: Why did Arendt favor the American over the French revolution? What does it tell us about her conception of modern politics?
26. What is an oligarchy? Is the US an oligarchy? What can be done to make an oligarchy more democratic?
Behavioral Economics
【 TBA 】
How does our psychology influence the decisions we make every day and, ultimately, economic outcomes? Professor Gallo's course explores the heuristics, or rules-of-thumb, our brain constantly employs to makes choices, and how in some instances they systematically backfire leading to biases in our decisions. You will be a participant in live experiments and learn how social scientists use them to study how people behave. Professor Gallo has previously taught at Harvard and Oxford, and he is currently teaching behavioral economics as well as other courses at Cambridge.
Pre-approved Topic List
1. What behavioral principles should be used to design a pension scheme?
2. What type of policies mitigate the bad consequences of unemployment?
3. Design an insurance policy that is going to attract consumers by exploiting psychological biases.
4. Humans are prone to errors when making decisions under uncertainty. How can modern technology reduce these errors?
5. Pollution is a problem affecting most large metropolitan areas. How may insights from psychology inform urban policy to decrease pollution?
6. Top students from disadvantaged backgrounds often do not apply to the best universities. What are the potential reasons and what kind of actions can be taken to change this?
7. Doctors routinely make recommendations that may have life/death implications for their patients. How can biases in decision-making affect their advice?
8. How can we increase the rate at which individuals recycle?
9. Describe how psychological biases may affect judicial decisions and propose policy changes to minimize their negative impact.
10. Delays in paying income tax lead to significant financial losses from governments. What design changes could be made to tax collection policy to minimize these delays?
11. Buying a house is an infrequent transaction with large financial consequences. In what ways can a prospective house buyer or seller avoid mistakes due to psychological biases?
12. A new type of fertilizer has been invented that increases crop yields by 300%. Nevertheless, farmers are not adopting it. What could be the reasons and what policies can be implemented to increase takeup?
13. A major supermarket chain has hired you as a consultant to apply behavioral principles to improve their sales. Write a report with your recommendations.
14. You are a financial advisor for a wealthy individual. Come up with an investment strategy that avoids pitfalls from biases in decision making.
15. Develop an idea for a phone app that uses insights from behavioral economics to improve an individual’s health.
Controversies in International Relations
【 Miriam Hinthorn 】
What are the causes of war and peace? This course explores the theories, patterns, and frameworks of international relations. It critically examines controversies surrounding current phenomena such as world governance, state failure, international injustice, and great power competition.
Pre-approved Topic List
1. Should countries (like the US or others) allow companies and individuals to hack back against foreign cyber attackers?
2. Which country has the best model for fighting global pandemics?
3. What strategy should the US adopt for managing its relations with China?
4. What is the greatest challenge to China’s “Belt and Road” initiative and how can it be overcome?
5. Should other countries be happy or worried about the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)?
6. What is the best type of free trade agreement for Asia?
7. What explains China’s remarkable economic growth?
8. Is China a revisionist or status quo power?
9. Was Brexit the right decision for the United Kingdom?
10. What political outcome has the best chance at resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
11. In light of the massive flow of refugees from places like Ukraine and the Middle East to Europe, is international migration bad for host countries?
12. What is the best solution to address the plight of the Rohingya?
13. Should the international community prohibit Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons?
14. Is global poverty better reduced through free trade or international aid?
15. Does humanitarian disaster justify military intervention?
16. Was it a right choice for America and its allies to have invaded Libya?
17. What role should countries play in their policy toward Syria?
18. What strategy should the US adopt for managing its relations with Russia?
19. Do you believe that Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine is the West’s fault?
20. What carbon tax or carbon emission trading scheme do you favor to address the threat of global warming?
21. In light of the similarities and differences between credit monitoring systems in different countries, what changes, if any, would you make to China’s social credit system?
Medical Sociology: Psychotherapy in the Modern Era
【 Nick Rekenthaler 】
In recent decades, psychotherapy has become increasingly popular and diverse. Views on what constitutes a “mental illness” and what constitutes humane treatments have evolved with social norms. Psychopathology has also become increasingly amenable to the discussion of “public issues” that fall outside of an individual’s private life. This course takes a sociological lens to the study of psychotherapy, grounding itself in the emergence of a modern “therapeutic society.” We focus on the practice of psychotherapy itself and the topics that individuals bring to psychotherapy, as well as how those topics are discussed in society. In so doing, we consider both the role of “the medical expert”—the therapist—and the role of “the patient”—the individual attending therapy. Students taking this course will thus learn about the broad field of study that is “medical sociology,” along with the critical perspective through which it operates.
Pre-approved Topic List
1. How did modern medicine emerge? When did medicine become a “profession?”
2. How did psychotherapy emerge? What role did Sigmund Freud play in its emergence?
3. How does psychotherapy work? What are its goals?
4. What does it mean that some psychotherapists work in a “public” setting, while others work in a “private” setting?
5. In what ways has psychotherapy changed over the past twenty years? What about over the past fifty years?
6. How do the topics that individuals bring to psychotherapy compare to the topics of old?
7. How do the topics that individuals bring to psychotherapy compare across demographic groups?
8. What are some of the core demographic variables with which sociologists are concerned? Why?
9. How does one’s social context affect their health? What are the “social determinants of health”?
10. Name a few branches of psychotherapy and describe how their approaches differ. Why are these differences important?
11. What is “therapeutic society?” How does this differ from “religious society?”
12. What does it mean to “psychologize” a problem? What are the consequences of psychologization?
13. C. Wright Mills famously wrote of the “sociological imagination”? What is the sociological imagination?
14. How does a sociological approach differ from a psychological one? How might their methodologies differ?
15. Why might we consider psychotherapy a form of “social control”?
16. Why might we describe mental illness as being “socially constructed?” Does this mean to say mental illness is not real?
17. How might we understand the various forms of expertise that a psychotherapist possesses?
18. In what ways do psychotherapists exercise “moral authority”? How might we define moral authority?
19. How does the doctor-patient interaction influence health? To what extent is a psychotherapist a “doctor?”
20. What are the barriers to access to psychotherapy? How are these barriers differentially spread across demographic groups? What explains differing levels of social stigma in seeking psychotherapy?
21. In the not-so-distant past, many psychotherapists viewed homosexuality as a mental illness. Why and how did this change? How should we understand the persistence of “conversion therapy” for LGBTQIA people?
22. Anxiety, high libido, irritability, or simply having an assertive personality among women was once considered a psychopathology called “female hysteria”. Why and how did this view change?
Psychology
【 Sori Baek 】|【 Brian Earp 】|【 Megha C.】|【 Andy S.】|【 Erik N. 】|【Ellen R.】|【Joanna Szypula】|【Ana Maria Pereira de Souza】|【 Christa C.】|【 Jiyoung 】|【 Aliza 】|【 ChiChi M. 】|【 Alex R. 】|【 Jackie Katzman 】|【 Alexander Jay 】|【 Karly D. 】|【 Emily 】
Please note that topics offered by Ms. Sori Baek are marked with "B" next to them. Those offered by Mr. Brian E. are marked as "E". Those offered by Ms. Ellen R. are marked as "R". Those offered by Ms. Joanna S. are marked as "J". Those offered by Ms. Megha C. are marked as "M". Those offered by Ms. Ana Maria Pereira de Souza are marked as "A". Those offered by Mr. Andy S. are marked as "S". Those offered by Ms. Christa C. are marked as "C". Those offered by Jiyoung are marked as "I". Those offered by Ms. ChiChi M. are marked as "H". Those offered by Ms. Aliza are marked as "L". Those offered by Ms. Alex R. are marked as "X". Those offered by Ms. Jackie Katzman are marked as "K". Those offered by Mr. Alexander Jay are marked as "D". Those offered by Ms. Karly D. are marked as "Y". Those offered by Emily are marked as "Z".
Topics in Cognitive Psychology
1. How do people learn a new language? Is it different for adults and kids? [B, R, M]
2. What helps a memory stick? What helps us remember things better? [B, R, J, M, A, S, L, Y]
3. What makes memories become more accurate or inaccurate? What does this mean for eyewitness testimonies? [B, J, M, A, S, L, K, Y]
4. Why are we so good at seeing “faces” from objects, like an outlet or a smiley face [ :) ]? Does this have an evolutionary reason? [B, R, M, A, S]
5. Carrying a heavier backpack can make a hill look bigger. What are some other ways in which things change our perception? [B, R, S, Y]
6. What affects our attention, and what distracts us? How do we select what we pay attention to? [B, M, A, S]
7. How do other people affect how we think? How do opinions of others change our own opinions? [B, N, R, M, A, S, L, X, Y]
8. Why are we so captivated by surprising and unexpected things, like magic? Does this have an evolutionary reason? [B, S]
9. How do optical illusions work? How do they trick our brains? [B]
10. What happens in our brain when we make predictions that turn out to be wrong? How does this experience help us learn? [B, S, X, Y, Z]
11. We’re really good at hearing our name, even if it’s said by someone standing really far away in a loud room. Why does this happen? [B, R, M, A, S]
12. Are babies’ brains as good as adults’ brains? In what way? [B, R, H, Z]
13. What do babies do to learn? Are they good learners? [B, R, H, L, Z]
14. Can newborn babies tell their mothers apart from other people? In what way? [B, R, H, L, Y]
15. A lot of toys are marketed to be good for the brain. Is this true? Which toys? Why or why not? [B, H, Y]
16. What is our brain doing when we form memories and remember things from the past? [B, S, X, Y]
17. What is our brain doing when we see numbers and do math? [B]
18. What is our brain doing when we see alphabets and read a sentence? [B]
19. What is our brain doing when we’re not paying attention in class? [B, S]
20. How does the brain change when we learn a new skill and become better at it? [B, M, A, S, Y, Z]
21. What factors lead to differences in intelligence? Is IQ a good measure of how intelligent someone is? [R, M, A, C, L, Y]
22. What makes different education styles work better than others? What does it mean to be a certain type of learner? [L, Y]
23.What are the differences between short and long term memory? How do attention and memory interact? [J, M, A, L, Y]
24. What role does memory play in eating behaviors? Can we use memories to help us lose weight? [J]
25. What are the barriers to access to mental health services between different racial and ethnic groups? [H, L, Y]
26. Are there differences in how mental illness is perceived between different racial and ethnic groups? [H, L, Y]
27. Are there differences in perception of mental illness between men and women, and does this have long term consequences? [H, L, Y]
Topics in Clinical Psychology
Clinical psychology is concerned with identifying, understanding, and treating psychological disorders. This course will explore questions such as how we differentiate sadness from depression, why some people develop mental disorders while others don’t, what the best treatments for anxiety disorders are, and more. Students will have the option of focusing on specific mental disorders or studying basic psychological mechanisms that have clinical relevance.
1. Uncertainty is a core feature of our everyday lives, especially during current times. How do humans respond to uncertainty? How does it affect our cognition, emotions, and behavior? [N, M, A, L, Y]
2. How does the psychological trait of intolerance of uncertainty increase risk for anxiety disorders? [N, M, L, Y]
3. Does it make sense to think of mental disorders are discrete categories or as dimensions that we all vary on? [N, M, I, L, Y, Z]
4. How do cognitive factors like attention, memory, and interpretation contribute to depression? [N, M, L, Y]
5. What is the difference between fear and anxiety? [N, M, A, L, Y, Z]
6. How do we regulate our emotions? How does emotion regulation go awry in psychopathology? [N, M, A, I, L, Y, Z]
7. Is worry adaptive? [N, M, L, Y, Z]
8. Rumination refers to repetitive negative thought about the past, and worry refers to repetitive negative thought about the future. Are these two processes fundamentally the same or different? [N, M, A, L, X, Y]
9. Why are we not better at treating mental disorders? [N, M, L, X, Z]
10. Does it make more sense to call mental disorders (e.g., depression) a "brain disease"? Why or why not? [N, M, A, H, L, X, Y, Z]
11. What are the "active ingredients" in psychotherapies for emotional disorders? How do we know that these are really the mechanisms of change? [N, I, L, X, Y, Z]
12. What is depression, exactly? Is it one syndrome, or is it a collection of different syndromes that we've grouped under the same name? [N, M, I, H, L, X, Y, Z]
13. Are today's youth really more anxious and depressed than youth in the past? If so, what is contributing to this increase? [N, M, A, H, L, X, Y, Z]
14. What do we know—and what do we not know—about treatments for emotional disorders? [A, L, Y]
15. How do scientists study treatments for mental health problems? What are empirically supported treatments, why are they useful, and what are their limitations? [A, I, L, X, Z]
16. How can mental health treatments be delivered? What are the advantages and disadvantages of certain delivery formats? [A, I, L]
17. How can we increase access to mental health treatments? [I, L, Y]
18. Are apps and internet programs effective treatments for common mental health problems? [I, L, Y]
19. How have treatments been adapted for people in low- and middle-income countries? What strategies are used to ensure that treatments are effective and culturally appropriate? [H, Y]
20. What is the research-implementation gap? How long does it take for research evidence to reach clinical practice? [I, L, Y]
Topics in Pathology and Data Science
What causes mental illness? Mr. Jones's course explores competing theories on the origins of emotional disorders such as depression, social anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. We examine how complexity approaches in statistics and machine learning, such as network analysis, can help us understand the problem. Depending on their interests, students can focus on a substantive area of mental health or delve deeper into the computational aspects.
1. The network theory of mental disorders states that mental disorders do not have a single underlying cause, but instead are the result of feedback loops in a complex system. How does this theory apply to depression? Anxiety? Trauma? Other psychological problems? [N, M, A, I]
2. Why do mental disorder co-occur at such high rates? How can network analysis inform the comorbidity between them? [N, M, A, I, L]
3. How can novel developments in data science (e.g., machine learning methods) contribute to the field of clinical psychology? [A, C, I, L, Z]
4. What can we learn from exploratory data analysis of mental disorder symptoms? What kinds of psychometric data analyses and visualizations are most helpful? [A, C, I, L]
5. Why are rates of emotional disorders often observed to be more common in developed nations compared to less developed nations? [L, Y, Z]
6. One hallmark of anxiety disorders is avoidance. What factors lead people to avoid versus approach their fears? [N, M, A, L, X, Y, Z]
7. Rates of violence across the world have been steadily decreasing. If this is indeed the case, why are rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) stagnant or even increasing? [N, Y]
8. To what extent do mental disorders represent a "mismatch" between the modern world and our environment during evolution? What factors of modernity might influence mental illness? [E, M, A, Z]
9. Why do some individuals with PTSD seem to compulsively revisit their traumatic past? How does this square with research on avoidance? [N, M, A, L, Y]
10. Are trigger warnings or safe spaces effective approaches to helping those with PTSD? Why or why not? [N, M, A, L, Y]
11. Today, phones and devices capture a huge amount of data about individuals (e.g., location, movement, texts, phone calls, app usage). Can this data be used for good when it comes to mental health? How? [N, A, C, I, L, Z]
12. Can people really experience "post-traumatic growth" after a trauma? If so, what does this growth look like? [N, A, L, Y, Z]
13. What is idiographic science? How can we study one person at a time? [I]
14. Can we personalize psychotherapy interventions for each person? [A, I, L, X]
15. How can data science help us predict substance use for each person? [A, I]
16. Can a single survey item capture enough information, or do we always need multiple items? [I, Y]
17. How much can we generalize from group-level research? [I, Y]
18. How can we best capture fluctuations in people's emotions? What are affective dynamics? [I, L]
Topics in Psychology and Law:
1. For cases in which juvenile offenders are transferred to adult court, do jurors take their developmental vulnerabilities into account when they make decisions about them? [K]
2. Mistaken identification is the leading cause of wrongful conviction. What procedural best-practices can make eyewitness evidence more reliable? How can social psychological theory inform these practices? [K, D, Y]
3. Do the demograhics of the people selected as jury members affect their ultimate verdict decisions? [K, D]
4. What strategies can help jurors better understand complex evidence in the courtroom? [K, D]
5. Most all criminal cases are adjudicated thorugh plea negotiation. how can social psychological theory help attorneys better advise their clients? [K, D]
6. Racial disparities in the criminal justice system are well documented and widespread. How can we lessen racial bias in policing, prison populations, and participation on juries? [K, D, Y]
7. Why do people make false confessions? What aspects of police interrogations might increase the rate of false confession? [D, Y]
8. Why do innocent people plead guilty? What components of plea bargaining increase the odds an innocent person will plead guilty? [D]
9. How do the racial characteristics of a criminal case impact jurors' decision-making? [D, Y]
10. How do robust social cognitive processes, such as stereotyping, affect jurors' perceptions and decision-making in civil and criminal cases? [D, Y]
11. What is criminal profiling, and does it resemble the crime shows on t.v.? What does the science say about criminal profiling? How is it practiced by law enforcement agencies, and does it work? [D, Y]
12. Jurors are often presented with a lot of complex information presented in a disorganized fashion. How do jurors make sense of the evidence, and render their decisions? [D]
13. How do jurors' emotions impact their decision-making? [D]
14. How does pre-trial publicity impact jurors decision-making? [D]
15. What is 'juror rehabilitation'? Can it successfully reduce jurors' biases? [D]
16. Jurors are constitutionally required to be impartial at the outset of a trial, but are they? How effective are legal system safe-guards (e.g., voir dire and jury selection) at removing biases? What about implicit biases? [D]
Additional Topics in Psychology:
1. Is psychology really a science? Should we trust findings in psychology more or less than in other fields? What is the "replication crisis" in psychology? [E, R, J, M, A, S, L, K, D, Y, Z]
2. Some researchers believe that most published findings in psychology (and some other disciplines) are false alarms and so not reproducible. Why might they think that? Are they right? [E, R, J, M, S, L, K]
3. How do psychologists use statistical information to infer the existence of invisible phenomena like psychological states or attributes? What are some of major problems with the way psychologists use statistics? [E, R, M, A, S, L, Y, Z]
4. What does it mean to falsify a finding in psychology? If Researcher A runs an experiment and gets result X, and you run the same experiment and don't get that result, have you disproved their finding? Have you falsified their hypothesis or theory? Why does any of this matter? [E, R, J, M, S, D, Y, Z]
5. What is the psychology of scientific communication -- and belief? Do people just believe whatever scientific findings they agree with morally? is belief in science politically polarized? What determines whether someone believes in climate science? Why do some people think vaccines are harmful? [E, R, M, S, Y]
6. What does it mean to be "the same person" over time? Are you the same person as you were when you were a baby? If so, in what sense? What factors influence the perception that someone is "a completely different person" after some big change in their life (like becoming addicted to drugs, or undergoing a religious conversion)? [E, R, M, A, S]
7. Does Alzheimer's disease change who you are? If you sign a contract before the disease sets in, is it still valid if you lose most of your memories? [E, A, S]
8. What is the relationship between moral intuitions and psychological traits or disorders? If someone is willing to sacrifice the life of one person in order to save a greater number of people, for example, could this have something to do with the trait of psychopathy? [E, M, A, S, L]
9. How does relational context influence moral judgments? Why are some things okay to do in one kind of relationship, but not okay in other relationships? What explains our moral intuitions about different actions? Is it all about causing harm, or are there other reasons for judging a behavior as wrong? [E, R, M, A, S]
10. Where does our sense of right and wrong come from? Why do we judge some things to be morally okay, and other things as NOT morally okay? When people from different cultures disagree about moral questions, does at least one of them have to be wrong? [E, R, M, A, S, L]
11. Does believing in free will make you a more moral person? Does encouraging a belief in determinism make people more likely to me immoral (e.g., cheat on an exam)? [E, M, A, S, L]
12. What is gender? Is it the same thing as sex? Are there more than two genders? Is your gender a matter of having certain feelings or psychological properties? [E, R, M, A, H, Y]
13. How does gender bias affect judgments about how much pain someone is in? Do stereotypes like 'boys don't cry' affect how we perceive the pain of others? [E, R, M, A, H, L, Y]
14. Can your brain start processing visual information -- for example, people's faces -- prior to conscious awareness? Is there such a thing as "unconscious perception"? How can you study the unconscious mind? [E, M, A, S, L]
15. What is sexual orientation? What determines the sexual orientation a person has? [E, R, M, A, L, Y]
16. Is it possible to be addicted to love? [E, S, L]
17. What is the reproducibility crisis in psychology? How can scientists work to make the field better? [R, J, M, A, S, I, L, K, D, Y, Z]
18. What are emotions? What theories do psychologists and philosophers have for how our feelings – a cornerstone of human experience – function? What issues are there with our theories of emotions, and how can we improve them? [N, R, M, A, S, I, L, Y]
19. How do we best manage our emotions? What skills can people use to regulate what they’re feeling, and how can we make these skills most efficacious? [N, M, A, S, I, L, Y]
20. How do emotions change across age? When do children and adolescents start to have certain emotional experiences, and what does this mean for their well-being? [N, A, S, L, X, Z]
21. How does language relate to emotion? Do people of different cultures have different emotional experiences, and what does this mean about the mind? Can changing what words we use to talk about our feelings change how we feel? [N, A, L]
22. How does language relate to mental health? Can we use linguistic methods in verbal communication to learn things about how well someone is doing psychologically? Can we develop tools to intervene when people aren’t doing well? [N, A, L]
23. How does the brain represent and regulate emotions? What brain regions are involved in these processes, and can we connect deregulations in brain functioning to mental health problems? [N, A, S, L, X, Y]
24. How does the brain develop across childhood and adolescence, and what does this mean for the development of emotions, mental health, or social functioning? [N, S, L, X, Z]
25. It has long been the understanding of social psychologists that people do not intuitively use base-rate information when they make predictions. Is it possible to increase the relevancy of base-rate information? How? [K]
26. Norm development is one of the most powerful vehicles for changing people's behvaior and beliefs. How do norms influence our behavior? How can they be developed? [K, Y]
27. What are the dimensions underlying our social perceptions of others? How do these relate to stereotypes of people and groups? [D, Y]
28. What causes stereotypes? Can stereotypes change? How do stereotypes impact a perceiver's emotional and behavioral reactions? Can they affect a perceiver's causal attributions for another behavior? [D, Y]
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