C.R.O.A.K. Lab

Communication, Rationality, Opinions, Attitudes, and Knowledge Lab



Joining the Lab

Interested in getting involved? We'd love to hear from you.



The C.R.O.A.K. Lab is always open to curious, motivated students — whether you're exploring research for the first time or already deep into psychology, communication, or data science. You don’t need a perfect GPA, years of experience, or a formal application to join us.



Just reach out.
You can email Dr. LaCour, stop by after class (if you're a ULL student), or set up a quick meeting to learn more. We have an open-door policy — literally and figuratively. You're welcome to poke around, ask questions, and see what we’re up to before committing to anything.



Our Culture

Some labs are more exclusive or highly structured. That can be great for focused mentorship or step-by-step training. In our lab, we err on the side of inclusivity — which means we often have a lot of projects going at once, and not every newcomer gets a neat to-do list on day one. Instead, we encourage members to:


The more you show up and ask questions, the more you’ll get out of the lab experience.



Membership structure: Tadpoles & Full-Fledged Frogs 🐸

We know that students have different levels of availability — and that’s okay! Some people pop in occasionally, contribute a little, and drift out. Others stick around, lead projects, and present at conferences. We welcome both!

To keep things organized, we have two informal tiers of lab membership:

FFF members get their photo and bio featured on the website and tend to be the core team behind our research efforts.



Projects, Presentations & Authorship 📝

Students come and go from the lab, and that's fine. But we want everyone to leave with something to show for their time. So our main goal for every member is simple: pick at least one project, see it through, and present it at a conference. Tell Dr. LaCour which project interests you and ask what your role will be.


Authorship means you made a real scholarly contribution to the work, not just that you were in the lab while it happened. This follows the APA Ethics Code. What counts as "enough" depends on what we're producing:


Conference posters (strongly encouraged!)
Posters are the best place for most students to start, and they have a lighter bar for authorship. Poster authors typically:


Journal manuscripts
Papers require a bigger and longer commitment. A manuscript often takes a year or more from first draft to publication, and every author stays responsible for the work the whole way. Manuscript authors typically:


Authorship order
The first author leads the project and does the most work. Relative contribution sets the rest of the order. We talk about order early and revisit it as the project develops, because contributions change.


Ask for clear expectations. Seriously.
When you join a project, ask Dr. LaCour and the project lead to spell out, in writing, what you need to do to earn authorship. You should never have to guess. And if life gets busy and you can't keep up, tell us early. We'll adjust your role, and we'll thank anyone whose contributions fall short of authorship in the acknowledgments.



Lab Meetings

For the Fall 2026 semester, we meet every Tuesday. You can join us in person or via Zoom. Ask Dr. LaCour for the time and place or the Zoom link. These meetings typically include:

You don’t have to attend every meeting to be involved, but regular participation is a great path toward becoming a Full-Fledged Frog.



For ULL Students

If you’re looking for more structure or want to earn course credit, you can enroll in PSYC 397, 497, or 498. Email Dr. LaCour to talk about which course is the best fit.