I was born in Brazil but raised mostly in Boston from the age of 8 years old. I graduated from the University of XXXX with a Degree in Psychology and a minor in Chemistry in the Fall of 2006. This year, 2010, I completed my MS Degree in Psychology from XXXX State University.
I now want very much to study towards PHD Degree in Social Psychology at the University of XXXX since I am especially interested in doing research in the areas of persuasion, gender, and stereotypical threats and prejudice. In fact, I am keenly looking forward to a rigorous immersion in the study of the broad gambit of social influence theory and group behavior as well as research methodologies. I am especially looking forward to having Drs. XXXX and XXXX as faculty mentors. 10 years from now I would like to be a university professor myself who is especially adept at publication. In addition to English and Portuguese, I am also proficient in Italian and have basic skills in French. I hope to take advantage of my language skills at some point in my research endeavors.
I am cutting back my professional work load to a minimum so that I will be able to focus full time on my studies. My volunteer work has shown me how gratifying it is to help others in the community and I strive to make a positive impact in society. I am a hard worker who is eager for knowledge. I am endowed with a great ability to understand experimental designs and improve them; I am a sensitive man who is especially adept at the identification of possible confounding variables and design flaws in the studies. I have done extensive work in the design and management of experiment involving stereotypical threats with respect to gender as well as classical conditioning with various reinforcement schedules (FR, FI, VR, VI, etc) and extinction with proxy subjects (i.e. pigeons). I have also conducted conditioning experiments involving the pairing of an unconditioned stimulus with a conditioned stimulus. I very much look forward to continuing to enhance my understanding of the the underlying mechanisms and intricacies of human behavior.
As a member of a family that has been blessed with economic resources, I am highly sensitive to the difficult realities of members of the working social classes for whom life is very much an economic struggle. I have friends from different economical backgrounds and neither side is alien to me. In Brazil, for example, I was long struck by the fact that, due to their low income, police officers are forced to live in the slums with the drug dealers and other criminals. They have to hide their identity in order to preserve their lives. They can't even leave their houses with their uniforms on. And this is just one of the social questions that I look forward to investigating as a social psychologist with a special interest in Brazil.