The social, health, AND risk perception lab
Interested in joining our team?
Graduate students
Information on how to apply to the Kent State University Psychological Sciences PhD program can be found at the link below. Dr. Taber will be considering applications for graduate students to begin in Fall 2025. The list of below broadly represents general topics (not exclusive) that Dr. Taber is currently interested in pursuing in collaboration with future graduate students:
-
O’Brien, A.G., Meese, W.B., Taber, J.M., Johnson, A.E., Hinojosa, B.M., Burton, R., Ranjan, S., Rodarte, E.D., Coward, C., Howell, J.L. (2024). Why do people avoid health risk information? A Qualitative Analysis. SSM – Qualitative Research in Health, 6, 100461.
-
Foust, J.L. & Taber, J.M. (2023) Information avoidance: Past perspectives and future directions. Perspectives on Psychological Science. Advance online publication, October 11, 2023.
-
Taber, J.M., Updegraff, J.A., Sidney, P.G., O’Brien, A.G., & Thompson, C.A. (2023). Experimental Tests of Hypothetical Monetary Lottery Incentives on Unvaccinated Adults’ COVID-19 Vaccination Intentions. Health Psychology, 42(1), 33-45.
-
Simonovic, N., Taber, J. M., Scherr, C.L., Dean, M. Hua, J., Howell, J.L., Chaudhry, B.M., Wain, K.E., & Politi, M. (2023). Uncertainty in healthcare and health decision making: Five methodological and conceptual research recommendations from an interdisciplinary team. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 46(4), 541-555.
-
Thompson, C.A., Mielicki, M.K., Rivera, F., Fitzsimmons, C.J., Scheibe, D.A., Sidney, P.G., Taber, J.M., & Waters, E.A. (2023). Leveraging Math Cognition to Combat Health Innumeracy. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 18(1), 152-177.
-
Taber, J.M., Aspinwall, L.G., Drummond, D. Stump, T.K., Kohlmann, W., & Leachman, S.A. (2020). Priority of risk (but not perceived magnitude of risk) predicts improved sun-protection behavior following melanoma genetic counseling. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 55(1), 24-40.
-
Taber, J.M., McQueen, A. Simonovic, N., Waters, E.A. (2019). Adapting a self-affirmation intervention for use in a mobile application: Smokers who self-affirm report greater intentions to smoke. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 42(6), 1050-1061.
-
Segar, M.L., Taber, J.M., Thai, C.L., Patrick, H., & Oh, A. (2017). Rethinking Physical Activity Communications: Using Focus Groups to Understand Women’s Goals, Values, and Beliefs to Improve Public Health. BMC Public Health, 17(1), 462.
-
Taber, J.M. & Klein, W.M.P. (2016). The role of conviction in personal risk perceptions: What can we learn from research on attitude certainty? Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 10(4), 202-218.
-
Taber, J.M., Leyva, B., & Persoskie, A. (2015). Why do people avoid medical care?: A qualitative study using national data. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 30(3), 290-297.
Undergraduate Research assistants
Getting research experience in a lab (or multiple labs) is important for pursuing a career in psychology. Positions in our lab are on a volunteer basis or you can receive course credit via Psychology 31498. We are looking for students who can commit to a minimum of 6 to 8 hrs/week for at least two consecutive semesters. You do not need previous research experience. Everyone starts somewhere and the earlier you get involved, the better. We are looking for students who are eager to learn about the research process in psychology, have an ability to work well with other people, are conscientious, and can make the time commitment. Responsibilities may include helping with literature reviews, collecting data via various methods (experiment, survey, online), coding open-ended data, and entering and analyzing data.
If you would like to be considered for a position in our lab, please click on the link below, fill out the application, and email it to icheng1@kent.edu and CC jtaber1@kent.edu. If you have a resume, please send that as well. Please contact Dr. Jennifer Taber with any questions.