Pop Up Labs

Pop Up Labs

Data collection and research moved out of the "ivory tower" and into the spaces where people live, work and play.

In addition to our labs in downtown Chicago, Hyde Park, and online, we also conduct pop up studies in the Chicago Park District, coffee shops, bus stops, and other locations throughout the Chicago area.

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Pop Up Labs Are Back

After a two-year hiatus, the Pop Up Labs are back in operation, conducting in-person research! If you spot Roman Family Center researchers in your neighborhood, come say hi and participate in our latest research projects.


Pop Up Labs Are Back
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Join Our Team

We're looking for curious and hard-working research assistants to join our team. Interested?
Submit an application

Join Our Team

Pop Up Lab Research in the News

  • "The Surprising Benefits of Talking to Strangers" (BBC) - Roman Family Center Faculty Director Nicholas Epley and Professor Juliana Schroeder (UC Berkeley) conducted field studies in Chicago and London to study the benefits of and barriers to striking up conversations on public transit. Their paper "Mistakenly Seeking Solitude" was published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology. 

  • “The Perfect Gift? It’s the One They Asked For” (New York Times) - Data collected from pop up labs at the Museum of Science and Industry informed research on gift-giving by Faculty Director Nicholas Epley and Yan Zhang (National University of Singapore). Their article "Exaggerated, Mispredicted, and Misplaced: When 'It's the Thought That Counts' in Gift Exchanges" was published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

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