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Patricia Coburn is a friend and colleague, who works with me in the Lifespan Cognition Lab. Here we talk about undergraduate education, work prior to psychology, work with Dr. Bernstein, and controversial research topics, part 2.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: If you had sufficient funding, what would you most enjoy researching?
Patricia Coburn: I am notoriously bad for being interested in too many areas. If I had unlimited amount of funds, I would probably, staying in my own area, travel to different countries and observe different legal systems. I would talk to jurors that I am allowed to talk to, and do decision-making research. I would compare the different country’s legal systems, and their different approaches. These are important questions. I consider how we treat people in the legal system from the time they are arrested to the time they are acquitted or convicted says a lot about our society as a whole, and looking even to our most direct neighbours there is a good deal of difference. It is evident in the standard of living and the quality of life for the citizens. I would love to do a kind of thing that’s international – it seems somewhat idealistic, but you have given me unlimited funding – I would like to do an international comparison of different legal procedures and look at which ones seem to have the best outcomes, and the least consequences. I think the treatment in some countries in some areas less than humane and there is a lot of room for improvement, just through the legal system, e.g. through prosecution, conviction, acquittal, wrongful convictions, how people are dealt with in the community, how people are released and rehabilitated in the community.
Jacobsen: For students looking for fame, fortune, and/or utility (personal and/or social), what advice do you have for undergraduate students aiming for jobs/careers in Psychology?
Coburn: For students looking for fame, write a good ‘catchy’ book, because you will not become famous doing the hard-core science: being an experimental psychologist. Some do, but much of your hard work and time will be spent in front of a computer. I do not think it is about being famous. One of the things I have learned over the past couple years is a lot of my time is spent writing…alone- writing for myself and not really for other people. It is something you do because you are simply motivated. You will not have that constant positive reinforcement, especially those looking to become famous. If you are lucky, I think you can become a successful psychologist. Yet, I truly think those who become famous are rare. I suspect for the most part an academic career, in experimental psychology, means spending a number of hours in solitude in your room, office, or lab with your own ideas…But there will always be time for fun……..at conferences.
Jacobsen: Whom do you consider your biggest influences? Could you recommend any seminal or important books by them?
Coburn: I tend not to have famous people as influences. I tend to look up to people who I have contact with on a regular basis. Those are the people that I consider my role models. Obviously, my current supervisor. I think she is a great fit for me. I have a great deal of respect for her. She is a very hard worker. She knows a lot about the area and is very dedicated. She is someone I consider a role model and has a lot of influence in my current life. Of course, Dr. Danny Bernstein is perhaps the most influential in my undergraduate career. He pushed me to work harder than I ever imagined. If it were not for him, I would not even know what I could do. In addition, he helped me become a better writer, which is a difficult skill to improve on once you begin to get A’s on all of your papers. Working with him really improved my skills. I am grateful to the entire Psychology department because it is a good set of instructors. I find, probably across my lifetime and especially in my time at Kwantlen and SFU, teachers have had the greatest influence. So, I can only recommend two books because I do not really read many books, unless they are assigned to me: the Road and the Count of Monte Cristo. Although, if you are like me, and kind of a crier, then you might not want to read the Road. The only famous person that has really influenced me is Camus. I do not even really know why, but I think his viewpoints or writings during World War II are moving. If I was to pick a famous person, it would be Camus, and the book would be the Plague or perhaps the Outsider – not the Outsiders – but the Outsider. I did not read the French version of either, and I will admit to that, but the Plague would probably be my favourite.
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Original publication on www.in-sightjournal.com.
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Image Credit: Getty Images.
