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Dr. Carter's Research Lab

psychology wordle

Research Interests

Dr. Carter's primary interests reside in the realms of judgment and decision-making, social cognition, and consumer behavior. He uses a wide range of methodological approaches (laboratory experiments, archival analyses, field studies) and analytical techniques to gain greater insight into human judgment and behavior.

  • Expression and detection of bias in social judgments and beliefs
  • The role of introspection in biased self-assessments
  • Motivated reasoning and self-deception
  • Happiness and consumer behavior
  • Formation and expression of political beliefs

I generally work with both graduate and undergraduate students on projects related to the research areas listed above, but I’m happy to be flexible about the exact topics based on shared interests and motivation.

Working with Graduate Students

Graduate students working in Dr. Carter’s lab will gain valuable research experience that will culminate in the completion of a master’s thesis. Students will have access to funding to support their research projects as well as funds for travel to professional conferences. If you are interested in working with Dr. Carter, please contact him to see there are openings in his lab at tjcarter@roanoke.edu

Working with Undergraduate Students

Students working in Dr. Carter’s lab can work on many aspects of the research process, including developing experimental materials, data collection (in and outside of the lab), data entry and coding, and literature reviews. Highly motivated students will have opportunities for more involvement in study design, statistical analysis, and other more advanced tasks. For students who work toward more independent projects, presenting their work at conferences is also an option.

Interested students are expected to be highly conscientious, hard-working, self-sufficient, and in good academic standing (but can be any level of student, from freshman to upperclassmen). If you are interested in working with Dr. Carter, feel free to email him at tjcarter@roanoke.edu.

See Undergraduate Research for more information about opportunities, expectations, and course credits.