At the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, psychology researchers are exploring these questions through a growing network of labs focused on sleep, cognition, and human-AI interaction.

Across three specialized lab spaces, faculty and students are examining how biological, cognitive, and technological forces intersect to shape human behavior. From tracking brain activity during sleep to modeling how stress affects memory and studying how people interact with AI systems, their work is helping answer questions that are increasingly relevant in everyday life.

Measuring Sleep and Its Consequences

In the department鈥檚 Biobehavioral Laboratory, often referred to simply as the sleep lab, Dr. David Mastin studies how sleep and sleepiness affect everyday life.

Sleep affects nearly every aspect of daily functioning, from reaction time and memory to mood and overall health. According to Mastin, many people operate at a deficit without realizing it.

鈥淎lmost everyone carries a sleep debt,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like being overdrawn in your checking account. You owe your body sleep.鈥�

He also notes that modern life makes that debt difficult to avoid, as artificial light, technology, and constant stimulation can disrupt natural sleep patterns and keep people from getting the rest they need.

That deficit can have serious consequences. Even one night without sleep can significantly impair performance.

鈥淚f you pull an all-nighter and we put you on a driving simulator, you would make as many mistakes as someone who is legally drunk,鈥� Mastin said.

The space is equipped with tools designed to measure brain activity, including electroencephalography (EEG), which tracks brain waves during different stages of sleep. A nap bed and observation room allow researchers to monitor eye and body movement without disturbing participants, while biofeedback equipment measures the body鈥檚 physiological responses to different stimuli.

Beyond these tools, the lab also relies on controlled sleep tests that measure alertness and fatigue, providing objective data that can be compared with how participants report feeling.

Much of the lab鈥檚 research extends beyond campus. Mastin and his students frequently work in the community. Right now, for instance, they are studying firefighters to better understand how sleep impacts performance in high-stakes environments. 

As part of this research, Mastin and his students attended a firefighter convention in Hot Springs to interview participants about their sleep habits. The next step is to digitize the survey to reach firefighters across different regions and cultures, with the goal of improving both their well-being and performance. 

Students play an active role in the research process, contributing to ongoing studies and developing their own projects under faculty guidance. Through this work, the lab connects physiological measurement with real-world behavior, bridging psychology with biological and health sciences to show how sleep quietly shapes nearly every part of daily life.

Understanding How We Think Under Stress

Just down the hall, Dr. Colton Hunter鈥檚 cognitive psychology lab focuses on how stress shapes the way people process and remember information.

Hunter鈥檚 research centers on working memory, the short-term ability to hold and manipulate information. Specifically, he studies how socioeconomic status influences cognition, examining how stress from factors such as income, education, and environment contribute to changes in how people process and recall information 鈥� highlighting how psychological processes are shaped by broader economic and social forces.. His primary research examines the effects of financial worry on working memory.

鈥淭he idea is that your financial problems might be occupying mental resources,鈥� Hunter said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like the equivalent of having too many tabs open on your computer. It鈥檚 going to slow down performance.鈥�

In one common task used in his lab, participants are briefly shown a set of colored squares before the image disappears and reappears. They are then asked to determine whether anything has changed. While the task appears simple, it allows researchers to measure how much information a person can hold in mind, how accurately they respond, and how quickly they process what they see. 

These tasks are paired with socioeconomic survey data and written responses in which participants reflect on financial stressors, personal challenges, and neutral daily experiences. Hunter鈥檚 research explores whether financial stress uniquely impairs cognitive performance compared to other types of stress.

鈥淭he idea is that for participants from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, writing about financial worries would potentially take away from their working memory performance more than a neutral event, but also more than any other type of stressor,鈥� Hunter said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 something special about financial stress.鈥�

A key feature of the lab is a high-powered computing system that allows Hunter to run complex statistical models and analyze large amounts of data quickly 鈥� work that would otherwise take days or even weeks.

The lab integrates students into every stage of the research process. Undergraduate participants contribute to ongoing studies as participants, while others serve as research assistants through independent study, gaining hands-on experience in experimental design, data collection, and analysis. This approach also allows Hunter to examine how financial worry affects cognition specifically within the student population.

Studying the Future of Human-AI Interaction

In the department鈥檚 newest lab, Dr. Mohsen Rafiei is exploring one of psychology鈥檚 quickest evolving frontiers 鈥� how humans interact with artificial intelligence.

Rafiei鈥檚 lab focuses on human-AI interaction, examining how people use, interpret, and trust increasingly sophisticated systems. 

鈥淲e are trying to understand how people interact with AI,鈥� Rafiei said. 鈥淲e want to understand how you as a human being interact with a smart system so we can learn to optimize that system for you.鈥�

One current project looks at how students use AI in their daily lives, including whether they trust the results from their questions 鈥� and whether or not that trust is warranted.

鈥淎I systems are probabilistic, which means there is always a good chance they are wrong,鈥� he said. 鈥淢any students don鈥檛 know this and trust whatever answer they are given. Our goal is to learn how to optimize this so we can address this problem.鈥�

To study these interactions, Rafiei鈥檚 lab is equipped with advanced tools that allow researchers to observe both behavior and brain activity in real time. Eye-tracking technology reveals where users focus their attention on a screen, while EEG and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) systems measure which areas of the brain are active during interaction. Virtual reality headsets allow researchers to build immersive environments 鈥� such as a classroom with an AI assistant 鈥� and study how people respond in more lifelike scenarios. 

The lab also houses an incredibly powerful computer, known as an AI cluster, that allows researchers to run and customize AI models locally. By operating outside of internet-based systems, the lab can test models in a controlled environment without privacy concerns, giving researchers the ability to study how people interact with AI systems specifically designed for the experiment.

Together, these tools allow Rafiei and his students to examine not only what people do when interacting with AI, but also what is happening in their minds as they do it.

The work is inherently interdisciplinary, combining psychology with neuroscience, computer science, and physiology to better understand how humans engage with increasingly intelligent systems.

Students play a key role in that process, gaining hands-on experience working with AI models and advanced research tools. Skills gained in this lab prepare them for emerging careers in human-AI interaction.

鈥淭his is a new field,鈥� Rafiei said. 鈥淲e know about human cognition and perception, but how do we interact with another intelligent system? We don鈥檛 even know all the questions we need to ask yet.鈥�

As AI systems become more advanced and increasingly human-like, the challenge becomes even more complex.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not like interacting with a tool,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 more like interacting with another intelligent being. And there are still so many open questions we need to answer.鈥�

Looking Ahead: Expanding Innovation in Psychology

Across all three labs, a common thread is clear: the future of psychology at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock is increasingly hands-on, interdisciplinary, and grounded in real-world impact.

For Dr. Sherwin, chair of the Department of Psychology, the new labs mark a turning point in the department鈥檚 identity.

鈥淩esearch has clearly become more prominent,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e intentionally building a department that is more uniformly engaged in research.鈥�

That shift is being driven in large part by new faculty hires, whose work is expanding both the scope and scale of research opportunities available to students. In the past, demand for research experience often outpaced availability. Now, that dynamic is reversing.

鈥淲e went from having more students than research opportunities to suddenly being in the opposite situation,鈥� she said.

As the department grows, so does its emphasis on preparing students for careers beyond the classroom. Through lab work, students gain practical experience in skills Sherwin says are valuable across industries such as data analysis, problem-solving, and communication.

To support that growth, the department is also introducing a new 鈥淩esearch Experience鈥� course this fall, designed to give students earlier and more accessible entry into lab work. The course allows students to begin developing research skills before moving into more independent, advanced projects.

鈥淧eople don鈥檛 always realize how marketable research skills are,鈥� Sherwin said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 really where our discipline shines at the undergraduate level 鈥� teaching students how to manage and present data, think critically and analytically, and answer questions effectively.鈥�

As psychology continues to intersect with fields like artificial intelligence, neuroscience, and data science, the work happening at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock is positioned at the forefront of that shift.

With new labs, advanced technology, and a growing emphasis on student-driven research, the department is not only keeping pace with the future of the discipline 鈥� it is helping define it.

The post Exploring the Human Mind: Inside 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 Innovative Psychology Labs appeared first on News.

Stewart graduated from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock in May 2013 with a degree in marketing and a minor in psychology.

While at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, one of her marketing projects required students to create a business concept and pitch it to mock investors. It was one of her final projects before graduation. Stewart and her partner developed a mock sports bar concept centered around wings and beer 鈥� an experience that helped shape the way she approaches business today.

鈥淚n hindsight, there were many things that helped me, like having knowledge of the basic fundamentals of finance, marketing, and even pitching ideas,鈥� Stewart said. 鈥淗owever, one thing entrepreneurship will teach you is that you should always be a student.鈥�

That mindset would soon prove essential as Stewart navigated an unexpected turning point in her career.

鈥淥wning a business was actually a pivot from losing one of our primary incomes at the beginning of COVID,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e originally started as a meal prep company and then switched to pizza and wings after evaluating our business goals.鈥�

Since then, Certified Pies has grown into a community favorite with nearly 100,000 followers across its Facebook and TikTok pages.

鈥淏uilding this business through the pandemic shaped how we communicated with the community,鈥� Stewart said. 鈥淲ith everything around us shut down and our customer base operating remotely, we had to use social media to reach them. Truly, Certified Pies became its own personality through Facebook, and people enjoyed being able to interact with a local business.鈥�

Along with its growing social media presence, Certified Pies has also received national recognition. Southern Living recently named the restaurant one of the top 20 places for chicken wings in the South.

鈥淲e have been blessed to be featured in local magazines, but a national magazine is something major,鈥� Stewart said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 truly an honor to put Little Rock, Arkansas, on the map with our wings and to highlight another local business, Truth Sauce.鈥�

Looking back on her time at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, Stewart says one lesson stands out: the importance of time management.

During her time as a student, she balanced a full course load while working a 40-hour-per-week call center job.

鈥淢anaging class schedules, professor expectations, along with the stress of a customer service job took a lot of juggling,鈥� she said.

For Stewart, success as a business owner has taken on a new meaning.

鈥淪uccess is very different as a business owner,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 used to be focused on working a full-time job and taking care of my family. Now it comes with great responsibility 鈥� providing job opportunities, feeding the community, and creating a space for families to gather. I appreciate the small wins just as much as the big ones.鈥�

Her advice for current 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock students interested in starting their own business is simple:

鈥淛umping into entrepreneurship is like riding the longest roller coaster,鈥� she said. 鈥淲here you are right now is not where you will end. You will pivot many times along the way, but the journey is still worth it. Appreciate it.鈥�

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A senior psychology major and standout , Little is entering his fourth season on the mat with an impressive 60-12 record and two All-American honors. But beyond his athletic accolades, he鈥檚 equally proud of what he鈥檚 accomplished in the classroom.

鈥淚 chose to major in psychology because I want to go to physical therapy school after I graduate,鈥� Little said. 鈥淚 spend a lot of time in the training room keeping my body healthy for wrestling, so learning more about how people think, feel, and stay motivated connects really well with understanding recovery and performance.鈥�

For Little, psychology and wrestling go hand in hand. He鈥檚 learned to apply lessons from his coursework directly to his performance on the mat 鈥� from understanding how the brain processes stress to staying composed during high-pressure matches.

鈥淪tudying psychology has taught me a lot about how people handle pressure and emotion,鈥� he said. 鈥淓veryone gets butterflies or nerves because we鈥檙e all human. What matters is finding your own way to deal with them. For me, I just focus on preparation and trust the work I鈥檝e put in.鈥�

Being a Division I athlete while maintaining academic excellence isn鈥檛 easy, but Little credits consistency and discipline for keeping him on track. 

鈥淎fter long practices or lifts, it can be tough to find motivation to study or do assignments,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檝e learned that discipline matters more than motivation. I have goals I want to achieve, so I remind myself that staying consistent in both wrestling and school is what will get me there.鈥�

That steady mindset has paid off. Over four years, he鈥檚 not only earned national recognition but also become a leader for younger teammates 鈥� someone who models what it means to compete and excel with integrity. Reflecting on his time at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, Little said the experience has changed him profoundly. 

鈥淚鈥檝e had a big mindset change since my freshman year,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e grown in my discipline, leadership, and time management. Balancing everything has made me more mature and helped me develop habits that I鈥檒l carry with me long after wrestling.鈥�

After graduation, Little plans to attend physical therapy school while continuing to pursue his dream of making the Olympic or World Team. 

鈥淧sychology will definitely help me in both areas,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hether it鈥檚 understanding athletes I work with as a PT or staying mentally strong through my own training and goals.鈥�

When asked about his most meaningful experience as a Trojan, Little points to a single match that defined his career. 

鈥淥ne of the most meaningful moments for me was the first time I earned All-American honors,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was a close match that went into overtime, and I got the takedown to win. Seeing my coaches, parents, and teammates after that match was amazing 鈥� it made all the hard work and sacrifices feel worth it.鈥�

As commencement approaches, Little said earning his degree is more than just crossing a finish line 鈥� it鈥檚 proof of how far he鈥檚 come. 

鈥淓arning my degree means that all the hard work paid off and I鈥檓 one step closer to my goals,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t represents years of commitment and growth, both on and off the mat, and it鈥檚 something I鈥檒l always be proud of.鈥�

The post Balancing Mind and Muscle: 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Wrestler Stephen Little鈥檚 Journey to Graduation appeared first on News.

Meet Brittney Dudra, who will graduate from the School of Criminal Justice and Criminology in May with bachelor鈥檚 degrees in Criminal Justice and Psychology.

What criminal justice program are you in, and when are you set to graduate?

I am pursuing a B.A. in Criminal Justice and a B.A. in Psychology and am set to graduate this May! I will also be receiving an Associate of Science in Law Enforcement.

What made you decide to pursue criminal justice?

I have always been fascinated in the criminal justice field, but when my mom started to take criminal justice classes, I fell in love. I practically took the classes with her.

What made you choose 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock?

My mom graduated with her B.A. in Criminal Justice in 2018 from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. I was also awarded a position in the Donaghey Scholars Honor Program, and I could not say no to that.

What opportunities have you gotten through 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock that you might not have had otherwise?

I am currently interning and receiving college credit with the Little Rock Police Department鈥檚 Victim Services. Last semester and this semester have provided me with multiple chances to connect with professionals in the field. I am also preparing to present a criminal justice-based research project at a national conference in Washington D.C.

What do you plan to do after graduation?

I plan to take the summer off and then join the workforce as a law enforcement officer. I have not decided where I will be applying, but I am excited.

Do you have any advice for prospective criminal justice students?

Connect with the faculty! I missed out on a year鈥檚 worth of connection opportunities because of COVID-19. Go to all the events and network yourself so that when it comes time to look for a job or summer internship, you have a place to start.

Who have been your mentors in criminal justice?

My mentors would have to be Dr. Molly Smith and my high school resource officer Jaden Whitfield. Dr. Smith has taught me so much about the criminal justice field from an academic perspective and Officer Whitfield taught me a great deal about law enforcement roles.

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Nancy J. Hamlin, a retired social worker from Little Rock, has made two planned gifts to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock that will benefit the School of Social Work as well as 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Public Radio.

Hamlin has made a planned gift of $250,000 to create the Nancy J. Hamlin Endowed Professorship in Social Work in the College of Business, Health, and Human Services.

鈥淭he School of Social Work gave me the start I needed,鈥� Hamlin said. 鈥淭his is my opportunity to pay it forward and give back what they gave me. There were some very fine teachers when I attended the university. My family has always believed in education, and you need good teachers to do that. Creating an endowed professorship was my husband John Althoff鈥檚 idea.鈥�

The endowed professorship will help the university recruit highly qualified professors to work as full-time faculty in social work and help  supplement university support for outstanding social work faculty members.

鈥淭he School of Social Work is beyond thrilled that Nancy’s generosity and passion for social work extends to the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock School of Social Work,鈥� said Dr. Laura Danforth, co-director of the School of Social Work. 鈥淗er gift will guarantee that we will be able to recruit and retain a talented social work academic and practitioner who will benefit our students for years to come. Nancy is a talented social worker who has spent more than 30 years of her career in the mental health sector of our field, and it is an honor to be the recipient of this generous gift. The school can truly say, with conviction, that her investment in our department and our students will be a lasting one, and is beyond appreciated by all of us. She is the epitome of a 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock graduate, and we are so grateful for her service and continued contributions to the field of social work.鈥�

After taking a career quiz in the ninth grade, Hamlin decided to pursue a career in social work because she wanted to help people. She graduated from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock with  bachelor鈥檚 degrees in psychology and sociology.

Hamlin said she got a good foundation from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, and that she “learned a lot about everything” in social work. She gained enough exposure to step right into the role of a social worker upon graduation. Hamlin went on to have a successful career of 35 years as a social worker, with more than 30 years spent in the mental health sector.

Hamlin鈥檚 second donation, a $125,000 planned gift, will go to the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Public Radio Operating Endowment. After listening to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Public Radio since the 1970s, Hamlin wanted to support the power of public radio to help communities across Arkansas.

鈥淎s the years went on, I started listening to more public radio,鈥� Hamlin said. 鈥淓ventually, I found the radio dial on the car was often on NPR stations. I like public radio, and I want it to continue. Probably the biggest impetus for my gift was learning that Joan Kroc (widow of McDonald鈥檚 Corp. founder Ray Kroc) left money to NPR. I remember thinking, 鈥榳hat a kind and thoughtful gift that is,鈥� and I wanted to follow in her footsteps.鈥�

糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock supporters can learn more about helping to enhance program excellence by visiting the Centennial Campaign website.

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