Rachael Waldrop graduated with a MS in Experimental Psychology in 2020. She shares about her experience working on research projects below.

1) When did you start working on research with Dr. Warren and in what capacity?

I was introduced to Dr. Warren in January of 2019 when she presented to our psychological research lab about her research on allyship. I have since been working with Dr. Warren as a research assistant, consulting on existing and new projects that we have disseminated through conference presentations and journal publications.

2) What are the different activities you did on each of the projects?

Dr. Warren and I have collaborated on various research projects that intersect our interests of applying a positive psychological perspective to understanding and improving intergroup relations. Through our projects together, I have helped theoretically develop a framework for understanding the values and underlying regulatory process of allies who aim to positively navigate intergroup dynamics. In developing this framework, we have conducted a scoping literature review to delineate the positive counterparts of prejudice reduction models to promote a shift toward understanding factors that guide positive intergroup behaviors. For other projects, I coded qualitative data to understand the positive effects of emotional expression/regulation of leader-allies (Allyship project) and the experiences and well-being of teachers in Dubai, UAE who implement positive psychological education programming (International project). I have also supported the investigation into testing a positive psychological allyship intervention for leader-allies in the workplace through quantitative analysis and editing.

3) What skills have you developed through your research assistantship?

Although I had developed strong research skills through the Experimental Psychology MS program at Western, working with Dr. Warren exposed me to a different variety of skills that I otherwise would not have built. Specifically, I feel stronger in my ability to work with and interpret qualitative data, I am more familiar with academic literature pertaining to organizational and cross-cultural psychology, I have taken on more independent roles in developing theories and writing manuscripts, I have presented research at academic conferences, and I have been able to establish my research identity through our stream of work. Most importantly, I have felt properly supported and appropriately challenged by Dr. Warren’s mentorship style.

4) What are your ambitions for how you want to use this research experience for your future professional goals?

I am currently in between schooling–I recently graduated with my master’s from WWU and plan to pursue a doctoral degree in the psychological sciences. While I am garnering relevant work experience in the meantime, my collaboration with Dr. Warren allows me to continue working on research that will be pertinent to my PhD pursuits.