Dr. David Ross, UC Foundation Assistant Professor of Psychology, and Dr.
Tanja Rapus, visiting Post-doctoral Fellow, recently received $282,238 from
the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a Research in Undergraduate
Institutions (RUI) grant, only the fourth RUI awarded in UTC’s history.

Drs. Ross and Rapus’s RUI project, Understanding Unconscious Transference
and Improving Lineup Identification Accuracy in Adult and Elderly Witnesses,
will study memory processes that may affect eyewitness testimony by the
elderly.

This research should provide a major contribution to the literature in human
development, memory, and law because it investigates a variety of memory
processes, as well as unconscious transference.  As a result of their
research, Drs. Ross and Rapus will be able to provide empirically derived
suggestions on how to improve the accuracy of eyewitness identifications.

The study will take place over the next two years and will enable UTC
undergraduate psychology students to be exposed to a diverse research
setting and to participate in all facets of a research project.  This
project will also serve as a teaching aid in the classroom because it will
provide students with examples of various psychological phenomena.

Congratulations to Drs. Ross and Rapus!  Their research activities and work
with undergraduate students brings great recognition to the Psychology
program at UTC.