Grants and opportunities

F.J. McGuigan winner to study adolescents and risk

Parents often wonder what drives their adolescent children to make poor decisions. Unconscious thought processes may be key, believes Elizabeth Shulman, who will use her APF F.J. McGuigan Dissertation Award to examine their role in adolescents’ risky decisions. Shulman is a doctoral candidate in the department of psychology and social behavior at the University of California, Irvine. Her dissertation, "Deciding in the Dark: Differences between Adolescents and Adults in Unconscious Decision-Making Processes," will compare the performance of preadolescents, adolescents and adults on several decision-making tasks designed to assess unconscious risk evaluation.

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APF awards promising graduate students

APF and the Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology are pleased to announce the 2010–11 APF/COGDOP Scholarship recipients:

• Nanxin Li, a fourth-year doctoral student at Yale University, received the $5,000 Harry and Miriam Levinson Scholarship for his proposal "Rapid Antidepressant Effects of Ketamine." His work investigates the protein synthesis of ketamine and its impact on brain morphology and behavior in rats.

• Adam Smith, a second-year doctoral student at Florida State University, received the $3,000 Ruth G. and Joseph D. Matarazzo Scholarship for his proposal "Oxytocin Regulation of the Anxiolytic Effects of Social Support to Psychosocial Stress." Smith’s proposal aims to identify neuroendocrine mechanisms of social support during a stressful experience.

• Michael K. Scullin, a fourth-year doctoral student at Washington University in St. Louis, received the $2,000 Clarence J. Rosencrans Scholarship for his proposal "Understanding Cognitive Declines in Older Adults: Do the Answers Lie in Sleep?" Scullin will investigate whether age-related sleep changes explain cognitive declines in older adults.

APF also awarded 10 $1,000 scholarships to Konrad Bresin, North Dakota State University; Aaron Fisher, Penn State University; Kelsie Forbush, University of Iowa; Larisa Heiphetz, Harvard University; Cecilia Martinez-Torteya, Michigan State University; Ian McDonough, University of Chicago; Eric Pederson, University of Washington; Eva Telzer, University of California, Los Angeles; Jill Waring, Boston College; and Yung-Jui Yang, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Funding opportunities

Apply for the Gerson Memorial Grant

The APF Randy Gerson Memorial Grant advances the systemic understanding of couple and/or family dynamics and/or multi-generational processes. Work that advances theory, assessment or clinical practice in these areas shall be considered eligible. APF gives preference to projects using or contributing to the development of Bowen family systems. Priority also will be given to projects that serve to advance the work of Randy Gerson, PhD.

Gerson was the director of the Atlanta College for Systemic Thinking until he passed away in 1995. He was instrumental in illustrating the growing diversity of family forms and patterns in society, and the application of genograms — a therapist’s version of a family tree — in clinical practice.

Applicants must be graduate students in psychology enrolled full time and in good standing at accredited universities, not planning to receive their degrees before the 2010–11 academic year. The deadline is Feb. 1. For more information, visit Randy Gerson Memorial Grant.

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Fund your research on reproductive behavior or population studies

In 2011, APF will award the $1,500 Henry P. David Research Grant to support ongoing research in human reproductive behavior or related population studies.

Applicants must be conducting dissertation research or not have more than five years postgraduate experience. The grant is made possible through a donation by Henry P. David, PhD. The deadline is Feb. 15. For more information, visit Henry David Research and Travel Grant.

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Apply for the Esther Katz Rosen Fellowship

The Esther Katz Rosen Fellowship supports activities related to the psychological understanding of gifted and talented children and adolescents. APF will award one $25,000 graduate student fellowship in 2011. Applicants must be graduate students who have achieved doctoral candidacy. Students may apply before having passed their qualifying exams, but they must submit proof of having advanced to doctoral candidacy before funds are released. Students must be in good academic standing at a university in the United States or Canada. The home institution of the selected fellow must provide a tuition waiver. The deadline is March 1. Visit Esther Katz Rosen Fellowship for more information.

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Grants available to further the public’s understanding of homosexuality

Graduate students and early career researchers are encouraged to apply for two $15,000 Wayne F. Placek Grants that support scientific research that seeks to increase the general public’s understanding of homosexuality and to alleviate the stress that gay men and lesbians experience now and in the future.

The grants support empirical research from all fields of the behavioral and social sciences on any topic related to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender issues. Proposals are especially encouraged for empirical studies that address heterosexuals’ attitudes and behaviors toward lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people, including prejudice, discrimination and violence; family and workplace issues relevant to lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people; and subgroups of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender populations that have historically been underrepresented in scientific research.

Applicants must be either doctoral-level researchers or graduate students affiliated with an educational institution or a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research organization. The deadline is March 1. Visit Wayne F. Placek Grants for more information.