Aging, Culture and Cognition Laboratory

Would you like to participate in research on aging? Are you between the ages of 18 and 80? The Aging and Cognition Lab at Brandeis University, directed by Dr. Angela Gutchess, is currently looking for people who would like to volunteer as research participants for various psychology studies.

Each study involves a series of cognitive tasks that are designed to investigate different ways of thinking and learning. The tasks are interesting, and results from the studies will contribute to our understanding of the aging process.

Participants will complete a variety of pencil-and-paper tasks as well as computerized tasks (no prior computer experience is necessary). You must have at least a 10th grade education and be fluent in English to participate. Each study takes one to four hours to complete. Studies typically pay between $10 and $25 an hour. For more information, please call 781-736-3353 or e-mail aginglab@brandeis.edu.

We are not currently looking for participants ages 18-30 or 60-80 years old for a study on aging and culture, but we will be in the future. If you are interested, please e-mail our lab manager at aginglab@brandeis.edu . Our studies may use fMRI, which is a non-invasive (no injections) method used to examine brain activity.  fMRI studies take place at the Harvard Center for Brain Science, which is accessible by the MBTA via stops at Harvard or Porter Square. Our studies can involve 3 parts in this particular order: 

1. A ~half hour online demographic survey. You're paid $15 for this portion. 
2.  A 1.5-2 hour Zoom session or in-person session (at Brandeis University) doing memory & executive function tasks with me. You're paid $40-50 for this portion.
3.  A 2.5 hour-3 hour fMRI scanning session at Harvard University. You arrive 45 minutes prior to your scan time to get ready. You spend approximately 2 hours in the fMRI scanner. You're paid $70-$75 for this portion.

For new graduate students interested in potentially joining the lab, we may be reviewing applications to Psychology in this year's application cycle (to enter in Fall 2026). Please check back here for updates as the deadline approaches. Due to time demands and in the interest of fairness, I am unable to offer feedback before the application deadline.

For undergraduates potentially interested in joining the lab for the 2025-2026 academic year, we are not currently planning to add new research assistants. However, if you are interested in applying to be considered, in a future semester or should spots open up sooner, please fill out this application and email it to aginglab@brandeis.edu . We look forward to hearing from you! 

Occasionally we hear from students who are interested in remote opportunities. We appreciate your interest, but that is not something that we can currently support.