Austin Lee Nichols
Department of Psychology
University of Florida
PO Box 112250
Gainesville, FL 32611-2250
352-273-2129
Email: austinln@ufl.edu

Educational Background:

Ph.D., Psychology- University of Florida
 Anticipated May 2010

M.S., Psychology- University of Florida, May 2008

B.S., Psychology- Minor in Statistics, The Florida State University, cum laude with honors, April 2006

Research Interests:

Current research: I have very diverse research interests, only a minute number have I begun exploring. Currently I am working on three lines of research. First, I have been investigating the effects of participant demand characteristics. My main focus has been on these effects when participants have acquired prior knowledge of the intent of the study, by means of friends, family, and strangers, before participating in the study.  Next, I am exploring the importance that people place on certain personality traits when considering an ideal leader, as well as other group members. Last, I have begun looking into the multiple audience problem. My intent it to determine how successful and confident people are in situations that involve a desire to convey distinct impressions to different people simultaneously. Also, I am examining what individual and situational variables affect success and confidence.

Areas of research interest: leadership, groups, motivation, personality, emotion, decision-making, judgment, stereotypes, attention, mating preferences, close relationships, evolutionary psychology

Employment:

Instructor, Introduction to Psychology, University of Florida, Summer 2008

Laboratory Instructor, Research Methods in Social Psychology Laboratory, University of Florida, Spring 2008-Present. Advisor: Barry Schlenker, Ph.D.

Laboratory Instructor, Research Methods in Social Psychology Laboratory, University of Florida, Fall 2007. Advisor: Catherine A. Cottrell, Ph.D.

Graduate Research Assistant, University of Florida, Fall 2006-Spring 2007. Advisor: Catherine A. Cottrell, Ph.D.

Research Assistant, College of Nursing- University of Florida, Summer 2006-Summer 2007. Supervisor: Ann L. Horgas, Ph.D.

Laboratory Director, Florida State University, Fall 2002-Spring 2003. Designed experiments, organized sessions, conducted experimental sessions, analyzed data, and trained experimenters. Advisor: Marten Sheffers, Ph.D.

Research Experience:

Graduate Researcher, University of Florida, Fall 2007-Present. Performing a research on a wide range of topics. Advisor: Catherine A. Cottrell, Ph.D.

Graduate Research Assistant, University of Florida, Fall 2006-Spring 2007. Performed research and managed a social psychological laboratory. Advisor: Catherine A. Cottrell, Ph.D.

Research Assistant, College of Nursing- University of Florida, Summer 2006-Present. Analyzing data, writing up manuscripts, and submitting manuscripts for publication. Supervisor: Ann L. Horgas, Ph.D.

Research Supervisor, Florida State University, Spring 2006. Supervised undergraduate research assistants, scheduled sessions, participated in research team discussions, and analyzed data. Advisor: Jon Maner, Ph.D.

Honors Researcher, Florida State University, Spring 2005-Fall 2005. Independently proposed research idea, performed research investigation, designed experiment, trained experimenters, conducted experimental sessions, analyzed data, composed manuscript, defended research in front of three committee members, and prepared article for publication. Advisor: Jon Maner, Ph.D.

Research Assistant, Florida State University, Fall 2004. Participated in research team discussions, conducted experimental sessions, and analyzed data. Advisor: Jon Maner, Ph.D.

Research Assistant, Florida State University, Spring 2004. Conducted experimental sessions and analyzed data. Advisor: Roy Baumeister, Ph.D.

Research Assistant, Florida State University, Fall 2003. Assisted in criminal case analyses, participated in research team discussions, and conducted experimental sessions. Advisor: John Brigham, Ph.D.

Laboratory Director, Florida State University, Fall 2002-Spring 2003. Designed experiments, organized sessions, conducted experimental sessions, analyzed data, and trained experimenters. Advisor: Marten Sheffers, Ph.D.

Teaching Experience:

Instructor, Introduction to Psychology, University of Florida, Summer 2008

Laboratory Instructor, Research Methods in Social Psychology Laboratory, University of Florida, Spring 2008. Instructing students on the research process, including how to find past research, formulate a novel research idea, design a study, analyze data, and write a research paper for publication. Advisor: Barry Schlenker, Ph.D.

Laboratory Instructor, Research Methods in Social Psychology Laboratory, University of Florida, Fall 2007. Instructed students on the research process, including how to find past research, formulate a novel research idea, design a study, analyze data, and write a research paper for publication. Advisor: Catherine A. Cottrell, Ph.D.

Teaching Assistant, Florida State University, Spring 2004.  Directed a subsection of Introduction to Psychology.  Led student discussions, initiated activities, and administered quizzes. Advisor: Dianne Tice, Ph.D.

Publications:

Nichols, A. L., Jackson, B., Sherk, M. & Dooley, M. (2008). Handwashing: Realization vs. Proclamation. - in preparation

Cottrell, C. A., Richards, D., Nichols, A. L. (2008). Measuring Prejudice in Survey Research: From General Affect to Discrete Emotions. - in preparation

Horgas, A. L., Yoon, S. L., Nichols, A. L., Marsiske, M. (in press). The Relationship between Pain and Functional Disability in Black and White Older Adults. Research in Nursing and Health.

Nichols, A. L., & Maner, J. K. (2008). The Good Subject Effect: Investigating Participant Demand Characteristics. Journal of General Psychology, 135, 151-165.

Horgas, A. L., Nichols, A. L., Schapson, C. A., & Vietes, K. (2007). Assessing Pain in Persons with Dementia: Relationships Among the Non-communicative Patient’s Pain Assessment Instrument, Self-report, and Behavioral Observations. Pain Management Nursing, 8(2), 77-85.

Symposium Presentations:

Nichols, A. L. & Cottrell C. A. (2008) The Multiple Audience Problem: Or Is It. University of Florida- Gainesville, FL. Presented at the Graduate Student Council Research Forum (April 2008).

Nichols, A. L., & Maner J. K. The Good Subject Effect: Investigating Participant Demand Characteristics. Clemson University- Clemson, SC. Presented at the 1st Annual ACC Meeting of the Minds Conference. One of twenty undergraduates from The Florida State University chosen to present (April 2006).

Nichols, A. L., & Maner J. K. The Good Subject Effect: Investigating Participant Demand Characteristics. Florida State University- Tallahassee, FL. Presented at the Howard D. Baker Award Competition (April 2006).

Nichols, A. L., & Maner J. K. Effects on Demand: Investigating Participant Demand Characteristics. Florida State University- Tallahassee, FL. Presented at The Florida State University Honors in The Major Symposium (April 2006).

Poster Presentations:

Nichols, A. L. & Cottrell, C. A. (2008) The Multiple Audience Problem: Considering Personality and Situational Factors- February 2008- Poster presented at the 9th Annual Society for Personality and Social Psychology Conference- Albuquerque, NM.

Nichols, A. L. & Maner J. K. (2007) The Good Subject Effect: Investigating Participant Demand Characteristics- January 2007- Poster presented at the 8th Annual Society for Personality and Social Psychology Conference- Memphis, TN.

Nichols, A. L. & Maner J. K. (2006) The Good Subject Effect: Investigating Participant Demand Characteristics- November 2006- Poster presented at the 2006 Annual Meeting of the Society for Southeastern Social Psychologists- Knoxville, TN.

Honors and Awards:

Department of Psychology Travel Grant, February 2008, University of Florida Department of Psychology

GSC Travel Grant, February 2008, University of Florida Graduate Student Council

Department of Psychology Travel Grant, January 2007, University of Florida Department of Psychology

GSC Travel Grant, November 2006, University of Florida Graduate Student Council

2nd Place, June 2006, Psi Chi/Allyn & Bacon Award for Best Overall Empirical Study

Grinter Fellowship, 2006-2009, The University of Florida- Awarded to outstanding incoming graduate students.

1st Runner-up, April 2006, Howard D. Baker Award for Best Undergraduate Research, The Florida State University

National Deans List, 2005

Presidents List, Fall 2005

Dean’s List, Spring 2004, Summer 2004, Fall 2004, Spring 2005, Summer 2005, Fall 2005, Spring 2006

Professional Memberships/Affiliations:

Golden Key International Honor Society, 2006-Present

Association for Psychological Science, Campus Representative, 2006-2007

Association for Psychological Science, 2006-Present

American Psychological Association, 2006-Present

Phi Beta Kappa Society, 2006-Present

Society for Personality and Social Psychology, 2006-Present

Psi Chi National Honor Society in Psychology, 2005-Present

Phi Sigma Theta National Honor Society, 2003-Present

Relevant Coursework:

Advanced Psychology Coursework

Survey of Social Psychology- University of Florida, Spring 2008. Instructor: John Chambers, Ph.D.

Advanced Research Techniques in Social and Personality Psychology- University of Florida, Fall 2007. Instructor: Barry Schlenker, Ph.D.

Self and Identity- University of Florida, Fall 2007. Instructor: James Shepperd, Ph.D.

Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination- University of Florida, Spring 2007. Instructor: Catherine Cottrell, Ph.D.

Impression Management- University of Florida, Fall 2006. Instructor: Barry Schlenker, Ph.D.

Survey of Developmental Psychology- University of Florida, Fall 2006 Instructor: Scott Miller, Ph.D.

History and Systems of Psychology- Florida State University, Fall 2005 Instructor: Jeanne O'Kon, Ph.D.

Teaching of Psychology- Florida State University, Spring 2004. Instructor: Dianne Tice, Ph.D.

Advanced Statistics/ Methods Coursework

Multilevel Modeling- University of Florida, Spring 2008. Instructor: James Algina, Ph.D.

Structural Equation Modeling- University of Florida, Fall 2007. Instructor: James Algina, Ph.D.

Advanced Research Techniques in Social and Personality Psychology- University of Florida, Fall 2007. Instructor: Barry Schlenker, Ph.D.

Multivariate Statistics- University of Florida, Spring 2007 Instructor: Michael Marsiske, Ph.D.

Applied Regression Methods- Florida State University, Fall 2005. Instructor: Eric Chicken, Ph.D.

Analysis of Variance and Design of Experiments- Florida State University, Spring 2006. Instructor: Somesh Chattopadhyay, Ph.D.

References:

Catherine Cottrell, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
University of Florida
PO Box 112250
Gainesville, FL 32611-2250
352-273-2155
cacott@ufl.edu

C. Nathan DeWall, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
201 Kastle Hall
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40506-0044
859.257.8105
nathan.dewall@uky.edu

Matt Gailliot, Ph.D.
Roetersstraat 15
1018 WB Amsterdam
Room: A922
+31 20 525 6889
M.T.Gailliot@uva.nl

Jon Maner, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32306-1270
850-645-1409
maner@psy.fsu.edu

Barry Schlenker, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
University of Florida
PO Box 112250
Gainesville, FL 32611-2250
352-273-2164
schlenkr@ufl.edu

Dianne Tice, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32306-1270
850-644-2897
tice@psy.fsu.edu