To err is human. Especially in Robert Simons' research lab. Simons, professor of psychology, and undergraduate research assistant Nicole McDonald, AS 2003, set their subjects up to fail. The purpose of their experiments is to measure the physiological reactions that occur when people realize they have made a mistake.

"We give subjects a relatively simple task to perform, but one where they are almost certain to make a mistake occasionally and to immediately recognize the mistake," Simons says. An example is a computer screen that flashes the name of a color, such as "red," in which the color of the letters making up the word is blue. The research subject, who is a student volunteer, must quickly push a button corresponding to the color and not the meaning of the word.

When the volunteer mixes up the word he is reading with the color he is seeing and pushes the incorrect button, he usually catches his mistake quickly. And, Simons and McDonald have found, about 50 milliseconds later, his brain wave spikes, his heart slows and his sweat-gland activity increases.

McDonald's part of the research is looking at whether, and how, these responses differ between subjects who have anxiety disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and those who do not. So far, she says, she's found that the anxious subjects show a more pronounced brain-wave spike than others, indicating they are more aware of their mistakes.

The research has implications for the diagnosis and treatment of anxiety and possibly other disorders, Simons says.

McDonald became interested in doing research while still a freshman and approached Simons about his work. By the time she graduates in May, she will have assisted in his lab for three years, written a senior thesis and presented her research findings in various formats.

"I've learned so much that I think is going to help me in graduate school," she says. "It's been a wonderful experience."

Simons says the structure of the Undergraduate Research Program, especially the Summer Scholars component, gives students the support they need to do meaningful research.
In his lab, he says, McDonald and
other Summer Scholars were able to use the uninterrupted summer months to learn the techniques of running experiments. When the fall semester began and research subjects returned
to campus, the students were ready to start collecting data immediately, Simons says.

"It takes a long time to teach students how to do this research, so having them available for longer-term work has been a tremendous help to me," he says.

As for McDonald's future, Simons says he expects her to succeed wherever she continues her education. "Nicole is going to have no trouble in graduate school," he says. "She's going to know how to do things right away that most other graduate students will just be beginning to learn."