Dr. Michael Tagler
Dr. Michael Tagler
<b>Department: </b>Psychological Science<br><b>Research Area: </b>Understanding and predicting sleep habits using methods from Health Psychology and Applied Social Psychology. Recent work has focused on how attitudes, social pressure, and control beliefs predict college student sleep habits (e.g., Tagler, Stanko, & Forbey, 2017, available upon request).<br>
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Department: Psychological Science 

Research Focus:  My research focus is on understanding and predicting sleep habits using methods from Health Psychology and Applied Social Psychology. My recent work has focused on how attitudes, social pressure, and control beliefs predict college student sleep habits (e.g., Tagler, Stanko, & Forbey, 2017, available upon request).

Potential Student Project(s): 

  1. Survey research to measure attitudes and beliefs about sleep, focusing on different populations of interest (e.g., college students, athletes, shift workers) and examining potential individual (e.g., personality) and group (e.g., ethnic, gender, SES) differences.
  2. Testing and comparing methods of measuring sleep duration.
  3. Using smart phones and other technology to measure sleep patterns.
  4. Investigating how living in a college dormitory impacts sleep.
  5. Examining the relationship(s) between sleep habits and other health behaviors (e.g., exercise, diet substance use/abuse).
  6. Designing and testing methods to improve daily sleep habits.

Attributes/skills/background sought in undergraduate:

  1. Interest in behavioral science and health behaviors
  2. Interest in human subjects data collection and statistical analysis
  3. Enjoyment of reading, writing, literature searching, and problem solving.
  4. Critical thinking
  5. Conscientiousness
  6. Receptive to feedback

Mentoring Plan: Students will spend a semester engaging in their research: 4 hours per week independently engaged in their research activities plus a regularly scheduled 1-hour weekly meeting to discuss ideas, examine progress, and set plans for moving forward. Early in the semester and based on the area(s) of student interest, I anticipate providing a few readings to the student to introduce them to relevant concepts and scholarship. Once the student has a focused interest, the next steps are to develop a research question regarding sleep habits, examine existing research relevant to the question, and devise a plan/method for addressing the question. Upon completion of a successful pilot study, the student will be provided the opportunity to continue working in the research lab. Moreover, the student will be encouraged to present their research in a presentation or paper to develop their scientific and professional communication skills.

Contact: 765-285-4600, NQ 110G