Dr. Powell’s Interpersonal Relationships course discusses family, peer, and romantic relationships. Delving into the science of relationships, students read an empirical article related to the day’s topic and then discuss the article, as well as other research, on the day’s topic in class. Throughout the semester, students are assisted in the development of an infographic on a topic of their choosing. A sampling of the infographics completed by the students this past fall semester are shared below!
Christopher Resendiz’ Infographic, “Online Dating: Deception and Modality Switching”
Sydney Wagner’s Infographic, “Debunking the Myth that ‘Opposites Attract'”
Jenna Santos’ Infographic, “FOMO In Social Media & Relationships”
Are you feeling the pressure of midterms week on the Roanoke College campus? Don’t worry, you are not alone! In this blog post, we will look at some of the resources available on campus to help manage stress and make midterms week a bit more bearable. Midterm week can be a stressful time for college students, but it doesn’t have to be. With the help of Roanoke College’s campus resources, students can practice self-care and find strategies to manage their stress levels during this hectic time. So, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, read on to find out how you can make midterms week a little less stressful.
Make your best efforts to adhere to the following reminders:
Manage your time! Whether this be in consideration of course work, exercise, sleep, mental health needs, etc., make a plan of when you’re going to set aside time for each of these to-dos and stick to your schedule!
Learn to say no! Manage your expectations for yourself and learn to prioritize certain needs/responsibilities over others.
Get quality sleep! We know that sleep is beneficial for our mental and physical wellbeing. Make it a priority this week in order to be a better version of yourself. You, and others, will be happier if you do this!
Take breaks! Studying for hours on end can become ineffective at a certain rate. Take 5-15-minute breaks when you start to catch yourself dozing off or not entirely focused on the material. Get some fresh air, go on a short walk, grab a healthy snack, chat with a friend and take a deep breath… it’s almost fall break!
Below is a schedule of events/activities being hosted on campus within the next week. While you’re creating a schedule for yourself, block out some time to attend at least 1 of the following events. Your brain and body will be glad that you did!
TOMORROW, OCTOBER 7th
Out of the Darkness Walk – A community walk to raise awareness and funding for suicide prevention and mental health awareness. Check-in is at 9:00am and the opening ceremony begins at 10:00am.
On Tuesday April 11th, three students from Dr. Kennedy-Metz’s psychophysiology research seminar went head-to-head in The Nutshell Games. Students had 90 second to communicate their current research project “in a nutshell” to a diverse audience of students and faculty from a variety of disciplines.
Morgan Micallef ’23
Undergraduate research is a key part of the Psychology Department’s mission. Every psychology major will conduct research in their senior seminar and more than 1 in 3 students are involved in a research lab each year.
Dr. Kennedy-Metz had a mission to teach her seminar students the importance of science communication through a fun and challenging lesson. I spoke with her about how the nutshell games came to be.
“I’ve always felt that the more high-profile (and potentially impactful) someone’s research becomes, the worse they are at communicating why it’s so important to the world. Science communication is an essential skill that often doesn’t come naturally to us, and, to make matters worse, is chronically under-trained. So, I felt a responsibility to emphasize the importance of science communication to students at an early stage in their career. ”
“I invited Dr. Patty Raun, Director of Virginia Tech’s Center for Communicating Science, to lead an improv day in my Research Seminar class, encouraging students to step outside of their comfort zone, embrace vulnerability, and communicate freely and meaningfully.”
Devin Brown ’23
“The goal of the subsequent Nutshell Games competition was for students to put this training to the test, and see how well they could communicate their semester-long projects in succinct, accessible terms to a non-specialist audience. They had 90 seconds to share their research and convey its importance to the larger community, all while being judged by staff and faculty from 5+ departments across campus (including Chemistry, Psychology, Fine Arts, Music, Public Health, and Health and Human Performance).”
Winning speaker AJ Palmer ’23 (center) is joined by team members Zoë Dunlap ’23 (left) and Allyson Herriges ’23 (right)
Dr. Kennedy-Metz invited students, faculty, and staff from a variety of backgrounds to simulate the real-world challenge of communicating science to people from a variety of backgrounds.
“One of my goals in gathering such a diverse group of staff and faculty was to showcase how difficult it is to distill a body of work and still communicate it effectively to audience members with such diverse backgrounds, along with the relevance and importance of doing so. In the future, I hope to expand the scope of the Nutshell Games at Roanoke College to include competitors from across departments.”
We can’t wait to see how this competition grows in future years!
Looking for something to do with your summer? You can get paid while conducting research and building a competitive CV for grad school applications! The University of Missouri is hosting a Paid Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) this summer. Read on for details about the program and how to apply!
Scientific Study of Interpersonal Relationships Across the Lifespan
The scientific study of interpersonal relationships over the lifespan is important to our broader understanding of the human experience. These relationships begin with our earliest interactions and continue well into later life, and through them we learn how to communicate with, trust, and support others, as well as handle conflicts and negative interactions. These relationships are also studied through a variety of different social and behavioral science disciplines, including psychology, human development, family sciences, and interpersonal communication. Increasing interdisciplinary insights into how close relationships and human social networks function and impact well-being across the lifespan is important to consider in training the next generation of scholars.
The University of Missouri (MU) is hosting a new National Science Foundation REU Site* centered on the scientific theme of Close Relationships. This nine-week on-campus summer program (8 students per summer) is centered on the interdisciplinary, lifespan developmental, and diverse nature of the scientific study of close relationships. This REU site will take advantage of the collaborative and interactive research environment fostered by the Family and Relationships Research Network of Missouri (FARR-net) at MU. Each undergraduate will be mentored by a primary FARR-net-affiliated faculty member from the departments of Communication, Human Development & Family Sciences, or Psychological Sciences, to design a project related to one or more primary close relationships (i.e., parent-child, sibling, friends, romantic/marital partners) from a developmentally-informed perspective.
Who should apply?
Rising sophomore, junior, or senior undergraduates with interests in close relationships research and graduate study in any relevant social and behavioral science degree program from across the U.S. are eligible for the program. We are particularly interested in reviewing applications from students who may not have strong research opportunities at their current institutions, as well as students who are either first-generation college students or students with minoritized identities.
How should students apply?
Applicants must complete an online application at the link below by Friday, March 31, 2023, as well as submit a CV or resume, an unofficial transcript, a one-page (250 words) description of the student’s educational and career goals, and one letter of recommendation (ideally from a faculty member at their current institution).
The REU program site will cover admitted students’ travel to and from the University of Missouri, as well as campus lodging and meals for the entire 9 week program (Tue 5/30 – Fri 7/28, 2023). Students will also earn a stipend of $600 per week ($5400 over the course of the summer) while participating approximately 40 hours per week in: 1) research with an individual faculty member in their area of expertise, 2) participating in weekly seminars on close relationships, as well as other areas of professional development (e.g., graduate school application preparation, competitive fellowship funding), 3) opportunities to present the research conducted, and 4) social programs sponsored by the MU Office of Undergraduate Research along with students from other on-campus summer research experiences.
This year, Roanoke College has expanded their academic catalog by launching a new concentration in Disability Studies.
“the concentration was designed with an interdisciplinary approach that reflects the truth that disabilities are woven into every aspect of society.” –Roanoke College
The interdisciplinary team of faculty directing the concentration include Dr. Teresa Milbrodt, Assistant Professor of English & Communication Studies; Mrs. Frances McCutcheon, Lecturer in Biology; and Dr. Andréa Burchfield, Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology.
Required courses for the concentration focus on disability theory, the lived experience of people with disabilities, elective units, and a capstone consisting of an internship or independent study.
Dr. Burchfield shares that Disability Studies “prepares students for careers in the human services where they are likely to encounter people with disabilities.” Students who aim to attend graduate programs for special education, occupational therapy, speech and language pathology, and applied behavior analysis will especially benefit from completing the concentration.
Dr. Andréa Burchfield, Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology, Coordinator for Disability Studies
The concentration is also aimed at providing students with disabilities at Roanoke College a means to “better understand themselves, their disability communities, and what to expect from the world at large, while also deepening their support network here on campus.”
Prior to teaching at Roanoke College, Dr. Burchfield worked in the field by providing behavior therapy, disability education and consultation, and disability accommodation training. Her past research focused on children with autism.
She says,
“I’m motivated to educate students about disabilities after years of witnessing the systemic isolation, negative stigmas, and obstacles to accessing services that people with disabilities face. People without disabilities lack a general awareness about the challenges the disability community faces; I’d like to reduce that gap in awareness.”
Through disability studies, Dr. Burchfield hopes that students will create “positive changes for people with disabilities on campus and in their communities” and that current and prospective Roanoke students with disabilities will benefit from a stronger sense of community and belonging on campus.
The Psychology Department is excited that this valuable field of study is now represented on campus.
Roanoke College offers so many amazing psychology courses for their students. Anyone can find a topic that peaks their interest; from Intro to Psychology to Principles of Neuroscience we have it all!
Want to learn all about memory, attention, language, and how we solve problems? If so, you should consider taking Cognitive Psychology. If you want to go further with these topics consider enrolling in Human Memory, 342 Learning, Creative Thinking and Problem- Solving, or Topics in Cognitive Psychology.
Developmental Psychology goes in depth about each life period- discussing cognitive abilities, social setting, work/school situations, health, common obstacles faced, etc . If one specific age range of this class interests you, you can dive deeper by enrolling in Child Development, Adolescent development, or Adult Development and Aging.
Social psychology focuses on relationships and interactions between people. Biological Psychology teaches us that the brain has an impact on our behavior, decision making, etc. This class discusses the research that has explained how different parts of the brain are responsible for different tasks.
Research Methods in Psychology gives students an understanding of how research is conducted, different types of studies, safety of participants, and examining the reliability and validity of a study.
Similar to a statistics class, Quantitative Methods in Psychology interprets data that measures behavior and uses computer programs to discover trends, standard error, median, mean, etc.
Clinical Psychology discusses the history of clinical psychology and the diagnosis of psychological disorders and how to treat them.
APA recently uploaded an article about “The superpowers of the psychology major” (read more at:https://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/psychology-teacher-network/introductory-psychology/superpowers-psychology-major ). Author, Dr. Stephen Chew, writes that there are 6 “superpowers” that are learned in a psychology degree. Psychology students are taught: how to learn effectively, manage stress and anxiety, become efficient with completing complex tasks, understand personality traits and differences in people, scientific literacy, and knowledge on biases and prejudices. All of these skills can be effectively applied to almost every aspect of life. Whether that be one’s professional life, family life, home life, social life, etc.
Now it’s time to focus on how YOU can get involved in psychology and achieve these superpowers. This upcoming Spring semester (2022), there will be a total of 11 psychology courses being offered! If you are new to the discipline and need an INQ260, consider taking INQ 260PY – Psyc of Agression. Or enroll in Psyc 101-Intro Psych, which will have multiple time slots. Intro Psyc will teach you the basics of psychology, and help you explore all of the different areas of study. If you have already taken the intro course, the department offers several courses on specific areas of the discipline including: developmental psychology, social psychology, cognitive psychology, adolescent psychology, research methods, quantitative methods, history of psychology, psychology and the law, and research seminars in social development and neuroscience. There are also opportunities to get involved in research with professors!
If any of these opportunities sound interesting to you, reach out to one of the Psychology Department faculty and/or add one or more of the classes to your Spring schedule. You, too, can achieve the special superpowers of a psychology student!
What you need to know about the department: Majors, minors, and concentrations
Hey new (or not-so-new) students! Have you been debating joining the Psychology Department at Roanoke College? Or maybe just wanting to know more about our programs? You’re in the right spot! Below are the basics about the department and different programs we offer. More information can always be found online or acquired through professors and student assistant staff. Let us know your questions!
Major in Psychology
Note: The requirements listed below are for students declaring the Psychology Major anytime after 8-11-2021. To see OLD requirements for those declaring the major prior to this date, please refer to our website.
The psychology major is a bachelor of science and requires the completion of 12 units. These units include core (general and methods) classes, one class from each of the 4 domains of psychology, and three elective classes.
Minor in Psychology
Psychology intersects with many other areas of study in a variety of ways because of its focus on people. A minor in psychology can be a useful addition to any major with the selection of courses tailored to fit what is most relevant to the student. The minor in psychology requires the completion of 6 units.
Human Development Concentration
The Concentration in Human Development exposes students to the broader life-span perspective and allows them to focus on the stages (e.g., childhood, adolescence, adulthood) and the topics most applicable to their personal or professional goals. The concentration requires six units and the faculty coordinator is Dr. Powell.
Neuroscience Concentration
A concentration in neuroscience will offer students an opportunity to learn about theory and research on the brain and nervous system from a number of perspectives. Students will come to understand how developments in biology, psychology, chemistry and related fields alter knowledge and research techniques in the other fields. The faculty coordinator is Dr. Nichols.
Ready to declare? You can do so online here… or you can find a list of our amazing faculty members on this page. Contact one of them to find out more information on whichever program you may be interested in. And make sure to check out the spreadsheets with course information – you may be surprised by how diverse and interesting the Psychology Department’s curriculum can be. We can’t wait to have you!
Claire McDonald and Ben Campbell, both psychology seniors at Roanoke College, were recently featured on Roanoke’s website for their research experience. You can check out the full page here.
Claire McDonald, Class of 2022
Claire wasn’t sure what degree she wanted to pursue when she first came to Roanoke College. But during the fall semester of her sophomore year, she enrolled in a developmental psychology class, taught by Dr. Danielle Findley-Van Nostrand, assistant professor of psychology. She loved the class and, consequently, found her major.
In the spring of her sophomore year, McDonald joined a lab managed by Dr. Findley-Van Nostrand, which focused on adolescent and young adult peer relationships. This sparked her interest in research within psychology. This fall, Claire plans to work as a research intern at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salem. She hopes to apply to graduate school to pursue a doctorate in clinical psychology with a specific interest in research related to dementia and cognitive impairment in older adults — experience Claire said she hopes to gain at the VA Medical Center. But she’s not the only psychology student that has recently made big steps in their research experience…
“Research has played a huge role in my college career and in my development as a student. It has been the most crucial and beneficial part of my college experience.”
Ben Campbell, Class of 2022
Ben Campbell has used his interest in relational aggression, peer social dynamics and gender to formulate a study. He used the study to apply for the College’s Summer Scholars Program and received the prestigious award, enabling him to carry a project titled “Effects of elicited jealousy on masculinity and relational aggression in men.” You can check out more info on his research journey in our previous blog post, found here.
In recent years, approximately 30 students each semester have been involved in research. The experiences are important not just for information discovery, but also for deepened learning, enhanced training on specific topics or methods, and the development of skills that graduate training programs and employers in careers utilizing psychology look for and highly value. As a research assistant, students also develop professional and mentoring relationships with their faculty mentor, and refine critical thinking and statistical reasoning skills.
“The experience to contribute to a discipline in a larger way is a special opportunity,” Dr. Findley-Van Nostrand said. “Apart from the professional skills developed, the research experiences students at Roanoke are involved in also contribute to the sense of community we have in the department.”
Research is the bedrock of the student experience in Roanoke College’s psychology department, which brought the College its seventh consecutive “Great Schools for Psychology Majors” recognition in The Princeton Review’s annual “Best Colleges” guidebook, released on Aug. 31.
If you are a freshman or sophomore wrapping up this semester thinking, “What am I going to do after I graduate in a few years?” or are wondering, “What should I be doing these next few years to reach my career goals?” then make a note to add PSYC 110 to your Spring 2022 schedule!
PSYC 110 is a P/F course taught each spring that helps students consider their post-graduation pursuits, as well as clarifies for students the resources available to them within the department and across the college. In a typical (i.e., face-to-face) semester, students also shadow a professional in a career of interest to them. In this semester’s remote format, students complete two informational interviews with professionals in careers of interest to them. After completing the interviews, the students created posters summarizing what they learned.
Continue reading for some examples of the posters from this semester’s students.
Want to get ahead or catch up? Just want to take an interesting course? You might be interested in taking summer courses.
This summer the psychology department is offering five summer classes in 2021, three in the first term and two in the second term. All courses still have seats available. See below for which classes are being taught in which term, who they are being taught by, and their times. This information can also be found on self-service which is also where you can sign up for these courses.
See our class registration 101 blog post found here to refresh on how to do so.
It’s almost that time of year again: registration time! Advisors might be reaching out to you either this week or the next to set up meetings since registration will begin on Monday, April 19th. Students should be notified about their registration time in the next few weeks through email and it should be visible on self-service as well. Thus, this post will provide a simple step-by-step guide on how to register for classes as well as some helpful reminders!
How to Register
Self Service helps to organize and visualize your class schedule. The following link should bring you to the self-service login page. Your username and password is the same for self-service as it is for inquire.
After you log in, you should see the student home page seen below. Click on Student Planning near the bottom left, above Grades.
This should bring you to the student planning page where you can either check your academic progress or register for classes. Click on Plan for your Degree & Register for Classes on the right side of the screen (seen below).
Finally, you’ve reached the page where you can schedule your courses. Here is where register for You can use the arrows near the top left to change between terms. To add courses to your schedule, you can search for courses at the top right search bar.
Let’s say you wanted to add psychology 251 to your schedule. You would type it into the search bar and you should be brought the course catalog seen below. Clicking on “Add Course to Plan” and selecting a term won’t put the available class sections on your schedule, it will only show the class on the left sidebar in the planned classes. You’ll have to manually add a section by clicking view other sections.
If you click on “View Available Sections for PSYC-251” you’ll see all sections available for both the current and next term as shown below. Make sure you scroll down and click on “Add Section to Schedule” on a section under Fall Term, 2021.
You can also follow this post for instructions on how to register on the Ellucian Go app.
On the day of your registration time, a button should appear that says “Register Now” on the right that if pushed should register you for all classes currently on your course schedule. A confirmation email should be sent that notifies you of what classes you have registered for.
If you would like to see these steps in action, Roanoke College provides two videos on using Self-Service to plan schedules.
Meet with your advisor. Some advisors should be reaching out to you this week if they haven’t already for a pre-registration advising meeting. If not, it might be a good idea to reach out to them first. It’s always a great idea to meet with your advisor just to check in with them to make sure you’re taking the right classes and that you’re on the right track to graduate on time.
Your advisor can help you indicate what classes are available next semester but you can (and should) look at what is being offered through self-service by typing in the class name or number in the search bar in self-service. You can also look for general types of classes. For example, if you wanted to see all psychology classes, you would type in psychology in the search bar. You can also search courses through the course catalog on self-service or the directory.
Before you meet with your advisor, pick classes that are required and/or that you want to take and make a draft of your schedule using self-service. Class registration goes in order with those who have the most credits prior to the current term picking their classes first so it is possible that you may not get your first choices. That’s okay! Having a plan B and sometimes even a plan C helps reduce disappointment and worry about not taking classes that are interesting to you but also meet requirements. Here you can check the requirements for majors and concentrations in the psychology department.
Remember being early is being on time. Opening self-service a few minutes before your designated time and making sure you’re ready to push that register button may be the difference in you getting your first choice or second choice or not.
Each student at Roanoke College is required to take the Intensive Learning (IL) or May Term which provides the opportunity to learn in an immersive environment. For 2021, several psychology professors are offering classes to meet this requirement. Currently, there are four seats for Dr. Findley-Van Nostrand’s and Dr. Carter’s INQ 177 course Psychology of Teams. This course will last for 3 weeks (June 1st to June 18th) and will be in-person on the Main Campus.
The goal of this course is to examine what makes teams effective, drawing upon classic and modern research in psychology. What changes when individuals must function as part of a team? How do effective teams solve problems and make decisions? What group dynamics lead to challenges in effectively solving problems? What kinds of team environments foster cooperation and allow for successful communication? What makes for a good team leader? What kinds of personality traits make for the most (and least) effective team members? We will attempt to answer these questions through a combination of readings and daily activities, including a number of cooperative and competitive team-based games and local field trips.
Other ways to satisfy the IL requirement are through an IL Independent Study or an IL Internship. Students must apply for these 400-level projects to satisfy the IL requirement. These projects are usually within the student’s major and must meet the requirements of the department in addition to those specific to IL. The project must be undertaken when the student is not enrolled in other classes meaning that many projects may start in May but will continue through part of or all of the summer. Students will work closely with a faculty mentor who supervises the project to provide one or more final products (ex. paper, portfolio, oral presentation, artistic works, etc.).
The deadline for the application for using an independent study, research project, or internship to fulfill the IL requirement is May 6th for May Term/Summer projects in 2021. Completed applications (cover sheet, description of internship/project, and signatures of a faculty mentor and department chair) must be submitted to Dr. Dave Taylor, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs by the deadline.
Follow this link to find more information about the IL requirements and for the applications to use either an independent study or an internship to satisfy the IL requirement.
Dr. Dickens’ social psychology research lab at Spelman College is looking to hire an undergraduate research assistant to help with research focused on the experiences of Black women in STEM education.
During a 6-week summer program (June 7th – July 16th, 2021), students will have the opportunity for one-on-one mentorship and research experience with a faculty member. This opportunity will be virtual but working full time for the full 6-week commitment is required for the program. A stipend will be provided.
Responsibilities of the research assistant include:
Recruiting study participants
Data collection and analyses
Attend weekly lab meetings
It is preferred that interested students have the following qualifications:
Strong academic performance in psychology with a GPA requirement of 3.25 (overall and major)
Dependability and initiative
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
Rising juniors and seniors preferred
Selection into the program is rolling and will last until March 19th, 2021.
If you are interested in applying, please complete the online application using this link and email your curriculum vitae/resume, and your most recent unofficial academic transcript to the lab director Dr. Danielle Dickens, at ddickens@spelman.edu.
Image from https://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/summer-psychology-session
Are you still debating what to do over the summer but are interested in research? Roanoke College offers several opportunities to get involved with research this upcoming summer.
Roanoke College Summer Scholars
As the March 15th deadline quickly approaches, we will highlight Roanoke College’s Summer Scholars program. Summer scholars work one-on-one with faculty on a project that will be presented during Family Weekend (late September/early October). On-campus housing is provided and summer scholars will be paid $3000 and earn a summer course credit.
To apply students must have a 3.0 or higher GPA, have completed 8 units by the start of the grant period, and plan to return the following fall. The application consists of a cover sheet, a student application for summer scholars, and a faculty nomination to mentor a summer scholar. These forms and more information about the process can be found on the summer scholars page, here.
Below are some past psychology majors and their summer scholars projects:
2018
Aislinn Foutz. Parental and Peer Factors in Children’s Theory of Mind Development. Major: Psychology. (Faculty Mentor: Danielle Findley-Van Nostrand, Psychology)
Yipeng Wang. Gender Difference of Domestic Abuse and How Honor Culture Would Affect those Differences. Major: Psychology. (Faculty Mentor: Lindsey L. Osterman, Psychology)
2017
Sabrina McAllister. Time Perspective as a State-Based Measure. Major: Psychology. (Faculty mentor: David Nichols, Psychology)
Megan Miller. Self-driving cars as a test of the potentially harmful effects of empathy on moral decision making. Major: Psychology. (Faculty mentor: Chris Buchholz, Psychology).
Summer Research Incentive Program
As part of the Summer Experience Incentive Program, students are provided reduced summer tuition for one unit of internship, research, or independent study credit. To qualify for reduced summer tuition, approval for their project must be received no later than May 15th.
Students have the responsibility of finding a faculty member who is willing to supervise the project. It is recommended that students start working on proposals by Spring Break to give faculty members time to review the plan and give the students time to make revisions and acquire needed signatures.
Projects, required reflections, final paper, and final reflection (3-page minimum) must all be completed and submitted to their faculty supervisor by September 30th. Students in the program are also required to participate in a showcasing event.
A more in-depth description of the program, as well as the applications for the program, can be found on the Summer Research Incentive Program page, here.
Salem VA Medical Center and Roanoke College Undergraduate Research Experience
Please note that the program is currently on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic but those interested should email the director of undergrad research at research@roanoke.edu to get on the mailing list for when applications become open.
This collaboration with the Salem VA Medical center allows Roanoke College undergraduates to work in research with a Principal Investigator (PI) on current medical research and present it. Research has included topics such as “Predictors of Treatment Response Among Veterans with PTSD”, “Mental Health in Rural Veterans with and without Traumatic Brain Injury”, and “Effect of Exercise Training on Inflammation and Function in HIV Infected Veterans”.
It is recommended interested students meet with the Director of Undergraduate in the fall semester or early in the spring semester to discuss the program. To apply, students must submit a cover letter (with research interests), a curriculum vitae, an unofficial transcript, and two letters of recommendation to the Director of Undergraduate Research by the deadline.
More information about expectations and other important information can be found here.
If you are anything like the majority of psychology students across the country, you are probably trying to find a meaningful experience to fill your time over the 2021 summer. For some, this could mean going home and spending time with family, while others may have a job lined up and waiting for them. Whether you have an idea of what to do or not, we encourage everyone to take a look at summer internship and research opportunities for psychology!
Internships offer real-world learning experiences that allow students to apply what they are learning in the classroom in a professional setting and broaden their education from abstract to applied contexts. Internships also give you valuable information to add to your resume, allow you to develop a professional network, and there are opportunities for you to earn academic credit or pay for the work you are performing.
Research in psychology is a broad field that has endless topics to conduct research on. Psychology research occurs every day and providing support to research does not require extensive degrees, or prior experience. Research experience is a very valuable component to any graduate school or job application. Just like with internships, research experience provides a wealth of knowledge about the research process that your classes may not even begin to cover. It also opens a window of academic networking opportunities, is an outstanding experience to list on your resume, and often earns you course credit.
All Roanoke College students should remember that internship credits can be earned for research-based internships, and/or paid opportunities as well! This year specifically, credit can be earned locally, through a virtual opportunity, or wherever home is.
Not sure where to start looking for an internship? Check out this list of paid internship positions in developmental and general psychology. OR take a look at this site, which offers both psychology job listings and opportunities for internships for undergraduate students.
Additional information about internships and research can be found here, as well as contact information for Dr. Danielle Findley-Van Nostrand, the Internship Director for Psychology.
This Spring we will be having 3 May terms offered by the Psychology department! All of these classes are very unique and dive deeper into niche areas. For more information, take a look down below!
Psychology of Teams
Dr. Findley-Van Nostrand and Dr. Carter
In Person
The goal of this course is to examine what makes teams effective, drawing upon classic and modern research in psychology. What changes when individuals must function as part of a team? How do effective teams solve problems and make decisions? What group dynamics lead to challenges in effectively solving problems? What kinds of team environments foster cooperation and allow for successful communication? What makes for a good team leader? What kinds of personality traits make for the most (and least) effective team members? We will attempt to answer these questions through a combination of readings and daily activities, including a number of cooperative and competitive team-based games and local field trips.
This class will focus on teamwork in a broad spectrum of situations including games, scavenger hunts, and sports!
If you have any questions, email findley@roanoke.com or tjcarter@roanoke.edu!
Making Fear Your Friend
Dr. Hilton
In Person
Fear is a construct that is inextricably linked to our biology, psychology, history, and cultural context. When we think of fear, we often imagine terrible things but what if that didn’t have to be the case? What if instead of paralyzing or harming us, fear was actually a friend meant to instruct us, guide us, and help us grow? In this course, students will be asked to step outside of their comfort zone and learn to befriend their fear through experiential exercises, field trips, and assignments.
*This class will have a fee of about $80 , assuming some limited travel is possible*
If you have any questions, email hilton@roanoke.edu!
Photography and Vision Perception
Dr. Nichols
Online Synchronous
This class will utilize the digital camera as both a metaphor for the human eye and as a tool to create photographic representations of perceptions of human vision. Cameras and the human eye will be compared and contrasted in order to better understand both. Mechanisms of human visual perception, such as color vision, depth perception, and motion perception will first be discussed in lecture format and then assignments will be carried out wherein students take purposeful photographs to illuminate the discussion topics. The idea is that application through photography of principles discussed in relation to human vision, i.e. how we sense and perceive the world, will give you a better understanding of how and why the human vision system works the way it does.
*For this class students may use their phones, but if they would like training in a digital SLR, Dr. Nichols is happy to train them!*
If you have any questions, email dnichols@roanoke.edu!
PSYC 110 – Pursuing your Purpose is a 1/2 credit course that assists students in considering career paths and informs them of the opportunities available to them within the Psychology Department and across the College. The course is particularly well-suited for sophomores or others who have recently declared the major, but all are certainly welcome and have benefited from the course. The course will meet virtually one time a week on Tuesday evenings with part of the class being synchronous and the rest of the work being asynchronous.
Three students that recently took this course, Kristianna Jenner, Emily Gabrielian, and Kristi Rolf took some time to answer questions regarding this course:
Why did you decide to take PSYC 110?
Kristianna Jenner: I decided to take PSYC-110 because I needed a little more direction and guidance. Psychology is just so broad and I felt like I needed a different perspective on the field as well as to gain more practical information for my future.
Emily Gabrielian: After the fall semester of my sophomore year, I decided to switch my major from biochemistry to psychology. I really enjoyed the psychology courses that I had taken before, but I had no idea what I wanted to do with a psychology major. Right after I declared my major in psychology, Dr. Allen recommended this class to me. Dr. Allen emphasized that this class would help me find my path in psychology and would allow me to learn more about the amazing opportunities that Roanoke College and the psychology department has to offer. I decided to take PSYC 110 because I really wanted some guidance on what I wanted to do with my psychology major.
Kristi Rolf: I decided to take PSYC 110 on a friend’s recommendation because I had just declared it as my major and was totally in love with psychology, but had no idea what discipline or career path I wanted to pursue.
What did you and other students do in the class?
Kristianna Jenner: So in the class, we get to learn more about the practicality of the science of psychology. We do our own research to find out what things we are interested in and to find the degree requirements, location of the prevalence of jobs, and also the salaries. All of these are super important for making decisions on where you want to go to school, where you may end up living, and what things you’re genuinely interested in. There is also a community-Based learning aspect of the course, where we go out into the real world here in Salem and the surrounding towns to shadow people who are working in the fields (or are adjacent) you are interested in.
Emily Gabrielian: One of the reasons why I loved this class so much was because of the other students in the class. During this class, the students really get to know one another and become more comfortable with sharing their goals and dreams. Everyone in the class was motivated to learn more about the opportunities that Roanoke has to offer. Also, everyone in the class wanted to discover the potential paths they could go after graduating from Roanoke. It was clear that everyone in the class wanted to grow and develop. I am thankful for this class because it gave me the opportunity to connect with my peers and create new friendships.
Kristi Rolf: Each week Dr. Powell assigned readings and/or activities on a certain topic that we discussed in class that ranged from potential career choices to resources at Roanoke College. Everything we discussed was backed up by empirical articles and Dr. Powell brought guest speakers in for many classes which really enriched our learning. In the second half of the semester, Dr. Powell and Jesse Griffin from the office of civic engagement helped match each of us to a location for job shadowing where we would complete 20 hours before the end of the semester (sadly last semester we had to cut the job shadowing short due to COVID-19).
How has PSYC 110 helped you and what did you get out of it?
Kristianna Jenner: I learned about aerospace psychology, which might just be the coolest thing ever. I never would have found this entire subfield had I not been in this class. Aerospace psychologists work with airline personnel, airplane manufacturers, engineers, and airlines themselves. They work to help make the skies safer for everyone and the interfaces easier for those working in the airline industry. I found this to feel like it was something I could see myself doing with my life and I found the guidance I wanted out of the class.
Emily Gabrielian: Although our time was cut short due to the Coronavirus, I still got so much out of this class. This class helped me figure out that after Roanoke, I want to go to graduate school in order to further my learning and work towards becoming a counselor. After every class, I was so giddy about all of the opportunities that Roanoke has to offer. I was so excited about the opportunity to study abroad, complete an internship, and conduct research. Also, from my volunteer experience at the West End Center, I realized that in the future I want to work with children. Overall, I got so much more out of this class than what I was expecting. This class truly made me more motivated with my studies and more excited about what the future holds.
Kristi Rolf: PSYC 110 helped me the most by providing clarity on my degree path at Roanoke and all the resources that are available for me in the department and throughout the College.
Why would you recommend PSYC 110?
Kristianna Jenner: I definitely think that if you’re struggling while considering the future or even if you’re like me, where all you want is just a little more guidance on life, this is the class to take. Overall, I think that this class will only help, never hurt.
Emily Gabrielian: I would recommend PSYC 110 because this class gives you the opportunity to learn more about yourself, but also learn more about what Roanoke has to offer. When I would talk with my friends about this class, they all emphasized how they wished their majors offered a class like this. Even if you know what you are going to do after Roanoke, I still encourage you to take this class because you may discover that there is another path that is more interesting. Also, this class gives you the opportunity to give back to the community and meet new people. I fully recommend taking this class because it will be so beneficial for you and your future.
Kristi Rolf: I would recommend PSYC 110 because it is a fantastic tool for getting more involved in the department and absorbing lots of wisdom from Dr. Powell which has been invaluable for me!
If you are interested in taking this course or would like to know some more information, please reach out to Dr. Darcey Powell at dpowell@roanoke.edu.
It’s almost that time of year again: registration time! Pre-registration advising will begin next week on Monday, October 26 and registration will begin on Monday, November 9. Students should be notified about their registration time in the next few weeks through email and it should be visible on self-service as well. Thus, this post will provide a simple step-by-step guide on how to register for classes as well as some helpful reminders!
How to Register
Self Service helps to organize and visualize your class schedule. Typing in this link https://selfservice.roanoke.edu/Student/ should bring you to the self-service login page. Your username and password is the same for self-service as it is for inquire.
After you log in, you should see the student home page seen below. Click on Student Planning near the bottom left, above Grades.
This should bring you to the student planning page where you can either check your academic progress or register for classes. Click on Plan for your Degree & Register for Classes on the right side of the screen.
Finally, you’ve reached the page where you can schedule your courses. You can use the arrows near the top left to change between terms. To add courses to your schedule, you can search for courses at the top right search bar.
Let’s say you wanted to add psychology 251 to your schedule. You would type it into the search bar and you should be brought the course catalog seen below. Clicking on “Add Course to Plan” and selecting a term won’t put an available class section on your schedule, it will only show the class on the left side bar in the planned classes. You’ll have to manual add a section by clicking view other sections.
If you click on “View Available Sections for PSYC-251” you’ll see all sections available for both the current and next term as shown below. Make sure you scroll down and click on “Add Section to Schedule” on a section under Spring Term, 2021.
You can also follow this post for instructions on how to register on Ellucian Go app.
On the day of your registration time, a button should appear that says “Register Now” near the top right that if pushed should register you for all classes currently on your course schedule. A confirmation email should be sent that notifies you what classes you have registered for.
If you would like to see these steps in action, Roanoke College provides two videos found here and here on using Self-Service to plan schedules.
Other Tips
Advising Meetings
Meet with your advisor. Some advisors should be reaching out to you this week if they haven’t already for a pre-registration advising meeting. If not, it might be a good idea to reach out to them first. It’s always a great idea to meet with your advisor just to check in with them to make sure you’re taking the right classes and that you’re on the right track to graduate on time.
Your advisor can help you indicate what classes are available next semester but you can (and should) look what is being offered through self-service by typing in the class name or number in the search bar in self-service. You can also search courses through the course catalog on self-service or in the directory.
Plan Ahead
Before you meet with your advisor, pick classes that are required and/or that you want to take and make a draft of your schedule using self-service. Class registration goes in order with those who have the most credits prior to the current term picking their classes first so it is possible that you may not get your first choices. That’s okay! Having a plan B and sometimes even a plan C helps reduce disappointment and worry about not taking classes that are interesting to you but also meet requirements. Here you can check the requirements for majors and concentrations in the psychology department.
Be Early
Remember being early is being on time. Opening self-service a few minutes before your designated time and making sure you’re ready to push that register button may be the difference in you getting your first choice or second choices or not.
Registration can be stressful but your advisors are a great resource and are willing to help. In addition, it gets easier the more times you do it and in no time you’ll be a pro. Good luck Maroons!
Dr. Anthony Cate, Psychology Professor at Roanoke College
The Psychology Department would like to welcome Dr. Anthony Cate to our faculty as our newest professor. The following is an interview with Dr. Cate where he answers some questions about himself, his interests in psychology, and what he’s looking forward to in terms of teaching at Roanoke College.
Where are you from?
I was born in New Jersey, and I moved a lot when I was young. I have lived in every state between Washington, D.C. and Boston, except for Delaware. After I got my Ph.D. I also lived in Canada (Ontario) and northern California.
Where did you receive your undergraduate degree from and what did you study in undergraduate? What was that experience like?
I got my undergraduate degree from Yale University. I began as a religious studies major, but I thought that those classes involved too much memorization of names and dates, so I switched to psychology. Actually, I switched to being a triple major, at least on paper: psychology, linguistics, and East Asian studies. I shed majors when I figured out that psychology interested me the most.
I was lucky that I was able to help out in three research labs that had different missions and lab cultures. I learned that I was bad at doing brain surgery in a rat lab. I lost some patients. Everyone there seemed anxious all the time too, which was poignant because anxiety was part of what they studied. I conducted my first research project in a lab that studied human fear conditioning. My advisor was a very kind scientist who helped me feel like an important part of the lab, but I disliked having to give participants electric shocks. I also frequented the lab of my favorite professor, who had taught my perception course. That lab was very welcoming. People could just walk in to say hi and check out the experiments, there was a dog, and the students were very productive. All of those experiences taught me to consider the social environment when I was choosing a graduate program.
Have you received any other additional degrees? Where did you receive them from?
I went to Carnegie Mellon University to get my Ph.D. in psychology, which was part of a joint neuroscience program with the University of Pittsburgh.
Have you taught anywhere else besides Roanoke College?
I first taught when I was a postdoctoral researcher at Western University in Canada. My advisor talked me and two other postdocs into teaching one third of a course each, which seemed like a lot at the time. Later I taught at Virginia Tech, where I worked for nine years before moving here to Roanoke.
What are you most excited about teaching at Roanoke College?
I am very excited to teach at Roanoke for many reasons! It has been hard for me not to talk a mile a minute while teaching during these first few weeks. It is exciting when students ask me questions, including when I don’t know the answer, because then I get to track the answers down later. I was very eager to start teaching smaller class sizes. I think personal interactions form the most effective ways to learn, and instructors get to learn from their students this way, too. It is also a privilege to join an excellent psychology department where the faculty and staff are so engaged in their mission.
Dr. Cate in front of MRI machine at Veterans Affairs Northern California Health Care System in Martinez, CA (2007)
What are your research interests? Why are you interested in this/these field(s)?
My research investigates how visual perception works, and how it influences other cognitive skills like memory and reasoning about numbers. I am particularly interested in understanding how different parts of the brain work together. I have studied techniques for visualizing computer models of brains in order to make maps of which cognitive skills are associated with different brain regions.
Can you tell us about any research you have already completed in these areas?
I have published some research about how we perceive the 3D structure of objects, and about how brain damage can alter these perceptions. I enjoyed learning how to make 3D images using computer graphics, and I especially liked getting to learn what people living with brain damage had to teach me about perception.
What course or courses are you currently teaching?
I am teaching Introduction to Psychology and Cognitive Psychology this semester, which is a great combination. I have been teaching Cognitive Psychology for over nine years, and it is so familiar to me that I get excited when my favorite topics are about to come up in class. I have never taught Intro Psych before. It feels like a big responsibility to introduce the entire field.
Are you interested in taking on students as research assistants?
Yes! Students make research better. I realized a few years ago that when undergraduates helped me with a project, we considered the problems less narrowly. The projects were much more enjoyable because of all the conversations we got to have.
What qualities are you looking for in any students who are interested in joining your lab?
Mainly curiosity, and an appreciation of research for its own sake. My research questions are usually less about “how can we apply this science?” and more about “how does this work?” I have had wonderful contributions from students with backgrounds in art and design, but that’s because we had similar interests, and not because students need any particular artistic abilities. The same has been true for students who are interested in neuroanatomy and computer science. A passion for those topics makes for a good fit, but students definitely don’t need to have expertise already.
Welcome to Roanoke College Dr. Cate! Thank you again for taking the time to answer our questions. We are excited to have you here and look forward to learning more about you in the semesters to come!
As a part of Dr. Powell’s HNRS 260 – Psychology in the Media course, students read Van Bavel and colleagues’ (2020) article, Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response, and created flyers that they thought would grab RC students’ attention to reduce the spread of COVID-19 on campus.
See what some students came up with below!
Do the Right Thing
Graphic designed by Madi Nuckles
Uncle Sam
Graphic designed by Hunter Haskins and Snigdha Somani
Combatting the Pandemic
Graphic designed by Ben Nelson
COVID Practices
Graphic designed by HNRS 260 student
Great job to all the students who completed this project and created new graphics to share on campus!
Continue to stay safe, and remember, keep wearing a mask, wash your hands, and social distance to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and keep all of the Roanoke College community safe!
April 19 to April 25 is APA and GSA’s careers in aging week! Psychology of aging focuses on applying knowledge and methods of psychology to understanding and helping older adults and their families to achieve well-being in later life. If you are interested in working with older adults and want to learn more then follow this link! Likewise, if this is a topic that interests you then check out Adult Development and Aging (PSYC-323), a course that is being offered this fall and likely will not be offered again until Fall 2022.
Furthermore, if you are interested overall in human development then check out the human development concentration that is offered at Roanoke College! The human development concentration exposes students to the broader life-span perspective and allows students to focus on the stages (e.g., childhood, adolescence, adulthood) and the topics most applicable to their personal or professional goals.
For more information on the human development concentration, reach out to Dr. Powell or Dr. FVN!
With spring break being only one week away the thought of summer may still seem distant in some mind’s, but it is quickly approaching. Summer break is a great time to explore opportunities in psychology and get experiences that go beyond the classroom. With the multitude number of research or internship opportunities available to students it can sometimes be challenging to figure out where to begin. Likewise, with summer comes graduation and the rush to find jobs begins. However,this websitehas got your back!
Whether it be a summer opportunity or a long-term job, this website is regularly updated with information on psychology opportunities. Not only does this website offer a numerous amount of resources but it is also easy to navigate. By providing filtering options such as the type of position you are looking for and what state you are looking to be in, there are options that would align with each student’s needs and interests. Moreover, this website also filters the positions on areas of psychology and includes opportunities in clinical, cognitive, cultural, developmental, educational, health, neuroscience, positive, and social psychology.
While you may not know quite yet what you want to do this summer or after graduation, this website is a great place to start searching and a great starting point to familiarize oneself with the endless opportunities that those studying psychology have! This website is updated frequently so if you don’t find a position that suits your needs or interests now, check back later!
Beginning this semester, Roanoke College’s Psychology Department began offering a class on Clinical Psychology taught by Dr. Hilton for those interested in learning more about the field.
Goals for the class include:
Clearly delineate the field of clinical psychology from all related professions
Help students understand the unique skills and abilities of clinical psychologists and how these things can be used across the many settings we work in
Give students the basic tools to think like clinical psychologists and learn how to approach things systematically and scientifically to be informed consumers and ethical providers in the future
When asked about his hopes and expectations for the class, Dr. Hilton responded:
I think the class is beneficial for anyone with an interest in the field of mental health broadly. Even if you don’t pursue a clinical doctorate, the clinical psychologist’s approach to studying and treating mental health problems can (and should) be applied to any other field.
As part of the course, students will regularly be asked to apply their knowledge in the form of reaction papers, discussion, and research. Students will have the opportunity to speak with a licensed psychologist regarding their education, training and work life and will learn the basic skills of the assessment and therapy process, later applying these in a role play with the instructor.
In recognition of this new course offering, a series of blog posts focusing on exploring what clinical psychology is, the process of becoming a clinical psychologist, and what other, similar career options will be posted over the new few weeks.
We look forward to and are excited about this new opportunity for students at Roanoke College to learn more about what clinical psychology as, as well as hope that our future blog posts will also help aid students in learning more about what careers are available post-graduation.
If you have any questions about the field of clinical psychology, or about the class at Roanoke, you are encouraged to contact Dr. Dane Hilton at hilton@roanoke.edu.
Looking for research opportunities and/or internships this summer, but not sure where to start?
Never fear! I bring you good news.
The American Psychological Association provides a list of opportunities at major institutions for undergraduates. Such programs are available across the United States, from New York City to California.
Take a look at a few of those offered below, you may be surprised at what’s out there.
Students interested in research on language and/or cognitive development, have experience with research methods (especially psychology or linguistics), comfortable interacting with families in a professional setting, and have excellent problem-solving and teamwork abilities
Available to high school, undergraduate, graduate, and medical school students
Receive first-rate training in neuroscience, have opportunities to network, and obtain impressive credentials when competing for graduate school, medical school, predoc or postdoc fellowships, and tenure-track positions
Applications open from mid-December through March 1st
Requires: CV or resume, a list of coursework and grades (do not need a transcript at this time), a cover letter describing research interests and career goals, and the names and contact information for two references
Program is dedicated to research and education of substance use and co-occurring disorders, prepares students for graduate school and/or Senior thesis
Up to 12 students chosen, courses in statistics and research methodology are required to be eligible
11-week program from May 27th through August 7th
And there are plenty more opportunities as well. If you are interested in learning more, follow this link to the American Psychological Association’s website where all their recommended research/internships are listed.
The Gender Race and Cultural Empowerment (G.R.A.C.E.) lab is hosting a 6-week summer program offering students the opportunity for one-on-one mentorship and research experience. The G.R.A.C.E. Lab’s emphasis is on social psychology with a focus on the experiences of Black women in STEM education.
Responsibilities include:
Recruiting study participants
Data collection and analyses
Attending weekly lab meetings
Qualifications for this position:
Strong academic performance in psychology,
with a GPA requirement of 3.25 (overall and
major)
Dependability and takes initiative
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
Rising juniors and seniors preferred
This program will run from June 8 – July 17, 2020, and will be hosted at Spelman College. You are expected to be committed for all 6 weeks. While attending this program, a stipend, housing for 6 weeks, and a campus meal plan will be included.
They will begin selecting applicants into the program on a rolling basis until February 14, 2020.
If you are interested in applying to this program follow this link and email your cover letter, curriculum vitae, and your most
recent unofficial academic transcript to Dr. Maria Jones, Postdoctoral Research Associate, at mjones35@spelman.edu!
Applications are now open for the National Institute on Aging’s Summer Training in Aging Research (STAR) Program, based in Baltimore, Maryland. The deadline for college, graduate, and medical students is March 1, 2020.
Part of the broader NIH Summer Internship Program in Biomedical Research, the STAR Program participants (ranging from high school students to graduate or medical students) work with NIH Scientific Staff mentors regarding age-related research, culminating in presenting their research findings at the NIA Summer Student Poster Day.
While also there, participants learn about the scientific method, attend seminars, and may have the opportunity to co-author a journal article.
The aim is to provide students with the opportunity to developresearchskills through hands-on practice and seminars.
The program also provides aid regarding professionaldevelopment, through both the internship itself and assistance regarding applications to graduate or professional schools.
NIA Summer Internships range from eight to ten weeks, beginning in late May and ending mid-to-late August.
Participants will receive a stipend, with the amount depending on the level of education completed at the beginning of the internship.
If the NIA is not of interest, there are a number of other research opportunities through different NIH institutions. If interested in the other NIH research opportunities, follow this link to the NIH OITE Training Website where everything is broken down regarding overall opportunities through NIH and more.
For those interested in the NIA: applications will automatically be sent to the NIA if participants indicate such interest in the study of aging or designate the NIA as their NIH institute of choice on their application. To confirm that said application has been received by the NIA, please contact Recruitment Specialist, Ms. Arlene Jackson at jacksona@nia.nih.gov.
For advice in terms of writing a successful application, follow this link to a PDF provided by the NIH Office of Intramural Training & Education.
Potential participants are also encouraged to contact either Ms. Jackson, as mentioned above, or Ms. Taya Dunn Johnson, Assistant to the NIA Deputy Scientific Director, at dunnt@mail.nih.gov, for further information.
This past summer Rachel Harmon was selected as a recipient of the 2018-2019 Summer Mamie Phipps Clark Diversity Undergraduate Research Grant from Psi Chi, the international psychology honorary, where she spent several weeks in Mexico working on her project titled, “Cross-Cultural Comparison of Caregiver Concerns and Resources for Children with Disabilities.”
Rachel Harmon was in the list of top 11 applications and so Dr. Powell was awarded a faculty stipend as well.
A brief interview was done with Harmon to learn more about this project and process:
Thank you for taking time to answer some questions, to start off, can you describe what the grant process was like and how you discovered it?
I began the grant application process in December of last year but ended up not submitting the grant until the May due date. I heard about the grant through Dr. Powell, who recommended applying, and advised me throughout the process. The grant required me to provide a concise version of my Literature Review and a brief Methodology section, and all the scales that I would use. I found that the grant helped me to determine the specific methodology I would use for my project and helped me to determine the specific scales that I would use.
Can you tell me more about your project?
The title of my project is “Cross-Cultural Comparison of Caregiver Concerns and Resources for Children with Disabilities”. I have collected both observational and quantitative data in both Mexico and the United States to compare the resources that are available for children with disabilities in each country and how this impacts caregiver stress levels and the emotions they feel, regarding caring for their child with a disability. I originally got the idea for my project when I traveled to Nicaragua the summer before my freshman year. While I was walking through a market in Managua, I saw a woman who was working and had her daughter who had a disability in what we would consider a baby stroller. I have worked a lot with individuals, specifically with children with disabilities and developmental delays, and I was naturally compelled to investigate the topic further.
What drew you to Mexico for this project?
I was originally supposed to return to Nicaragua for my project, but due to the current political environment, it was not ideal for travel. Jesse Griffin, who serves on the committee of my project knew of several connections that our college has with research facilities and other institutions in the Yucatán. One of the facilities was conveniently across the street from a Centro de AtenciónMúltiple, which is a government funded special education school, which was a great resource for collecting observational data and distributing surveys.
What did a normal day look like for you in Mexico as you worked on this project?
For the first month I spent in Mexico I was in Oxkutzcab, which was a small, rural town. This was where the C.A.M. school was. Each weekday I would go to the school at 7:30, and I would rotate which classroom I was in each day. The school has seven classes serving student from ages 2-28. Depending on which classroom I was in, I would either observe the class, and participate in class activities, or work one on one with students who needed more individualized attention. The school days in Mexico only last from 7:30 to 12:30, so in the afternoons I would explore or relax, and work on other research tasks.
I spent the second month in the capital of the Yucatán, Mérida. Here, I was working with an internationally run non-profit called SOLYLUNA. The organization provides special education opportunities and access to physical therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy for children who have a diagnosis of multiple disabilities and their caregivers. The dynamic of the organization was very different than the C.A.M. school, so it was an adjustment. The organization requires that a caregiver accompanies the child for the full day from 7:30-1:30. My job as a volunteer was to assist the parents when needed, and to observe the teachers and therapists. I also worked with the volunteer coordinator and director of the organization to create a document about potential resources to provide for caregivers, and I took pictures for them to use for promotion purposes. Since I was now in a larger city there was a lot more to explore in the afternoons, and I enjoyed travelling on the weekends.
You mentioned that you had opportunities to explore while in Mexico, what was the coolest place you visited/most favorite?
I did have a lot of time to explore while I was in Mexico, especially on the weekends. I enjoyed exploring nearby townsand venturing further to other landmarks. I think my favorite place I traveled to while in Mexico was Isla las Mujeres. This was an island off the coast of Cancún, where we were able to hear lots of live music, enjoy the beach, and go snorkeling. I met a group of other students from Millsaps College, in Mississippi while I was there, and I enjoyed traveling with them and meeting them at different places on some weekends.
If given the opportunity would you go back and work, there again?
Absolutely! While I was there, I formed a lot of connections with the kids, caregivers, teachers and therapists that I was working with and I would love to see them again (I miss them a lot)! It was hard to leave such amazing people, and such an amazing place.
Is there anything else you would like us to know?
Overall, my experiences in Mexico taught me more than I could have ever imagined. I especially learned a lot about collecting data in another culture, which is an experience I consider myself lucky to have had at this point in my academic career. Whether it is through research, or a different study abroad program, I highly recommend spending time in another country to everyone, because it allows you to learn so much about yourself and the world.
Congratulations again to Rachel Harmon and Dr. Powell and thank you for taking time to answer some questions!
Are you interested in taking a class in another part of the world? If so, come out to the Ballroom this Thursday, September 5 between 12 – 1 pm to hear about the awesome May Term Travel courses being offered this coming spring! Dr. Powell will be there sharing information on the course she is teaching, IL 377: Emerging Adults in Thailand – A Cross-Cultural Society, which counts as an elective for those in the Human Development concentration but is also a wonderful opportunity for all those interested in human development. Other faculty will be sharing about their courses that are also being offered as well!
Dr. Osterman’s social psychology class was tasked with creating “Buzzfeed-Style” research articles on a social psychological topic. Throughout the semester students worked in groups to build empirical evidence through peer reviewed sources to bust myths and increase knowledge of social psychology concepts on a colloquial level.
Please enjoy the first in a series of social psychology articles, written by Alice Chandler, Casey Jo Gough, Kayla Hogan, Tesa Ingram, and Mattie Joseph.
10 Healthy Ways to Manage Stress: College Edition is a helpful read as we approach finals week, enjoy!
Written by Casey Jo Gough ’20 and contributed to by Brittney Rowe ’20
College is stressful, like, REALLY stressful. Getting zero hours of sleep and chugging 5 mugs of black coffee aren’t going to help. You won’t have time to research how to minimize stress through effective coping especially since you still have to write that paper due at midnight, so we did it for you.
Want to get ahead or catch-up? Just want to take an interesting course? You might be interested in taking a summer course.
The psychology department is offering five different summer classes in 2019. The prospective courses are: Abnormal Psychology, Drugs & Behavior, Positive Psychology, Industrial-Organizational Psychology and Personality Psychology.
I am a junior and psychology major. I am in Chi Omega and do research with Dr. Osterman. I volunteer with Best Buddies and the Salem Food Pantry.
Where did you study abroad? Why did you choose to study there and what was it like? Was it different from what you were expecting?
I went to Perugia, Italy. I chose this place to study Amanda Knox but it didn’t end up happening. It was a smaller city, so I was very immersed in the culture. The people were super friendly. The Umbra Institute gave a much heavier work load [than I was expecting], but it kept me prepared for returning to Roanoke.
What were some of your favorite moments while abroad?
Being able to travel all around Italy and see every part. When you travel to different parts of Italy it is almost like you entered a different country. I also loved visiting Amsterdam.
What were you most worried about in terms of studying abroad?
Being able to go all the places I wanted while still handling the work load.
Did anything happen that you weren’t expecting? Were there any moments that particularly struck you while abroad? Tell me about them.
The public transport could be a little iffy, so sometimes a bus or train would be missed. The difference in culture struck me because Italians are much more laid back and collectivist than America.
What did you learn while abroad? This is not limited to just coursework (though certainly talk about the types of courses you were able to take) but also about the culture or cultures you interacted with and, cheesy as it is, yourself as well.
I learned a lot about organizational behavior psychology, which I never thought I would. I learned I like laid back culture, but it is annoying when I am in a rush and no one else is.
The courses I took were: Criminal Behavior, Human Development in Culture, Organizational Behavior, Italian Immigration, and Italian.
What do you miss the most?
The food and the welcoming people I saw all the time. Just the atmosphere in general.
Tell me about your plans for the future. How will you apply what you learned while abroad to help you?
I think I can use the way that I adapt to any culture extremely well as a tool for applying to different jobs and higher education. I may even continue my higher education in another country.
Do you have any advice for other students interested in studying abroad?
Emily Townley is one of the three psychology students who studied in Perugia, Italy last semester. During her study abroad experience, she was able to travel to Switzerland and Venice, engage Italian school children in English language learning through fun games during her class’s field trip, go paragliding, eat some truly delicious food, meet some incredible people, and all around have a fantastic experience abroad (except for that one trip to the hospital in the beginning). Read on to learn more about her experience abroad. Enjoy!
To start off, can you tell me a little about you?
I am a Psychology major with an Art History minor. I’m in the Honors Program and part of Psi Chi. I’m originally from Richmond, Virginia.
Where did you study abroad? Why did you choose to study there and what was it like? Was it different from what you were expecting?
I studied abroad in Perugia, Italy. If the name sounds familiar to you, it might be because the Amanda Knox trial happened there. Luckily no drama like that occurred while I was there.
I never planned on studying abroad in Italy. In fact, I was looking more at Northern European countries like the Netherlands or Denmark since I had already been to Italy. However, when I saw that the Umbra Institute (the school I studied at) offered a multicultural psychology program, I began considering it more seriously. After looking up pictures of the gorgeous town, I decided that this was where I was meant to be.
Overall, Perugia met my expectations of being a charming, Italian hilltop town. If I had to pick a way that it was different from what I was expecting, it was much livelier than I expected it to be. When I had gone to Italy before, my favorite places were the smaller towns like Siena, rather than the hustle and bustle of cities like Rome. However, I did fear that Perugia would get to be too quiet and I would begin to get stir crazy. That never happened though! The hardest part of the small-town life was that if I ever wanted to fly somewhere, it was a three-hour train ride to the airport, but I got used to that.
What were some of your favorite moments while abroad?
One of my favorite moments while abroad was when my friends and I went to lunch in Cortona, Italy. Cortona was only an hour train ride away from Perugia, so it was a great opportunity to see some of Tuscany (also one of my friends loves the movie Under the Tuscan Sun which takes place there).
It was about 2:00 pm when we arrived which was a bit late for lunch in Italy and we were very hungry, so we just went to the first place that was still open. And what a place it was! When we first sat down, we were given fresh prosecco which immediately clued us in that this was no ordinary restaurant. After ordering, we were then brought fresh, warm bread rolls and then a small, artfully plated bowl of pea soup. Our entrees were then brought out and none of us could talk because we were just so amazed at how good the food was. Finally, we ordered dessert which was the grand finale of our fabulous meal. I ordered an apple pastry which was presented inside of a chocolate dome which then had melted chocolate poured on top of it to reveal the pasty in the shape of a rose. At this point, our friends and I were almost screaming in delight. The rest of our day we couldn’t stop talking about how surprising the meal was and how it was the best dining experience we had ever had.
Paragliding in Switzerland
Another one of my favorite moments happened during my solo trip to Switzerland. I had wanted to go see the Alps for a very long time but had tried to keep a realistic mindset that I might not make it out there while abroad. Flights were expensive and my schedule was already busy; I figured it was a lost cause. However, the planets aligned in the end, and though I had to go alone, I managed to find some train tickets that would take me to a town right in the heart of the Swiss Alps: Interlaken. While there were many magical moments that happened while I was there, like watching the sunset from the Harderkulm and paragliding, probably the most striking moment was when I was in the mountain top town, Mürren. It’s only accessible by cable car which made it feel like it was almost out of a fairy tale because of the lack of cars. It’s hard to describe exactly how it felt to be so high up in the mountains and to see the snow-capped summits of the Alps in person. In some ways, it was the most peaceful I’ve ever felt.
What were you most worried about in terms of studying abroad?
Honestly, I was very scared about not making friends. I went to camp for three weeks every summer when I was younger and never really connected with anyone despite going for five years. I was very nervous the same thing would happen again, except this time I would be stranded in a different country for four months with no one to hang out with. Luckily, those fears were unfounded! I formed some great friendships while I was abroad with some wonderful people that I hope I get to travel with again in the future.
Did anything happen that you weren’t expecting? Were there any moments that particularly struck you while abroad? Tell me about them.
There was certainly one thing that happened that I was not expecting. That would have to be my five-day stint in the hospital my first week there. I arrived on Friday and by Wednesday I found myself in an Italian ER with a stabbing pain in my side. That pain turned out to be a kidney stone! Once I was in the hospital and on pain medicine it wasn’t as scary anymore but [everything] leading up to that point was quite stressful. My mom was ready to drop a few thousand dollars to fly over to be with me (and thank God she didn’t). The care I received in the hospital was phenomenal and I was lucky enough to have another girl in my study abroad program there with me for some of the time so I wasn’t alone (she had a seizure on the bus ride from the airport :O).
What did you learn while abroad? This is not limited to just coursework (though certainly talk about the types of courses you were able to take) but also about the culture or cultures you interacted with and, cheesy as it is, yourself as well.
Something that makes the Umbra Institute different from some other study abroad programs was their emphasis on the “study” portion of the phrase. For many people, they would find this annoying, and I definitely did at times too when I just wanted to travel, but I couldn’t because I had an Italian exam or another field trip to Assisi. However, I’d say it was definitely beneficial in the end. It has made the transition back into Roanoke a little smoother because it’s not like I took a whole semester off. Also, all the classes I took were really interesting and taught me a lot! I took two art history courses to go towards my minor and two psychology courses to go towards my major. While the art history courses were interesting in their own right, I’ll just talk about the psych courses considering this is a psychology blog post.
Left-to-right: friend, Dr. Kessenich, and Emily Townley
The two courses were Human Development in Culture and Criminal Behavior. They were both taught by a wonderful professor, Doris Kessenich, who was a joy to learn from given her experience in the fields she was teaching. Our class sizes were very small (maybe eight people) so they would be extremely discussion based, which normally would worry me, but I just felt so comfortable in her classes that I participated a lot. We even took a surprisingly fun field trip to an Italian middle school as part of the Human Development class where we got to help the kids with their English skills by playing games like Heads Up.
On a more personal level, I learned to be a lot more independent. Before studying abroad, I had concluded there was no way I would ever travel by myself. My friend, Becca, had studied abroad the semester before in Spain and had sworn by traveling by herself, but the prospect scared me. I was worried I would get lost or miss a connecting train or flight or a multitude of other world ending catastrophes. But, when push came to shove, my desire to travel to Switzerland outweighed any of my previous fears. And when everything went smoothly in Switzerland, I found myself doing it again to go to Venice on my own. While there were definitely some aspects of traveling alone that annoyed me (mainly not having anyone to take pictures of me at sites so having to rely on strangers/selfie sticks/self-timers), there were also some huge upsides! I got to make my own schedule, got to decide exactly what I wanted to do and when I wanted to do it, and I was able to make more spontaneous decisions that I could never make when traveling with other people.
What do you miss the most?
The ease of travel is definitely something I miss a lot. Things are a lot cheaper in Europe, more efficient, and closer together. For just $50 and about five hours of your time, you could find yourself in a completely different country and culture. Back home, you could drive for five hours and still be in Virginia.
I also miss the friends I made abroad. Luckily, my program was for American students, so all my friends live in the U.S., but we’re still pretty far out. Just in my friend group there was someone from California and another from Minnesota, so it will be hard to see them in person in the future. Thank God for technology though!
One last thing I definitely miss is this pasta I would get all the time in Perugia. It was called Pasta alla Norcina and I always got it at this one restaurant called Ferrari. While there were many other delicious foods I had while abroad, this will definitely be what I miss the most, especially because it was a specialty to the area.
Tell me about your plans for the future. How will you apply what you learned while abroad to help you?
In my Human Culture in Development class we learned about the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity. My final paper for the class, I wrote about how I believed I developed along this model. By the end of my study abroad experience I believe I had reached the Adaption stage, which is when one is able to behave and think in ways that are in line with the new culture. In other words, I think I learned how to be more culturally sensitive and how to adapt better when in other cultures. In the future I hope to find my opportunities to travel and I hope that I can be able to adapt more easily to new cultures because of my time abroad.
Do you have any advice for other students interested in studying abroad?
Don’t be afraid to travel on your own. Making friends isn’t as scary as you think because everyone is nervous about making friends, just be yourself and you’ll find your crew. It might depend on the program, but remember it is called study abroad so be prepared to actually do some schoolwork. Savor every moment, it goes by faster than you think.
As a follow-up to the previous article “A Quick Look: Alina Marino in Perugia, Italy” , Marino ’20 expands on her experiences studying in Italy in the fall of 2018. In addition to describing some of her favorite experiences, she also provides advice for those looking to study abroad in the future. In particular, Marino discusses the importance of finding a country that most closely aligns with your personality, lifestyle, and habits; she also discusses her experiences with culture shock.
To start off, can you tell me a little about you?
I am a junior with a double major in psychology and criminal justice. I am from Long Island, NY. I am a member of Psi Chi, Alpha Phi Sigma, and Xi Theta Chi. I am also a sister of Alpha Sigma Alpha.
Where did you study abroad? Why did you choose to study there and what was it like? Was it different from what you were expecting?
I studied abroad in Perugia, Italy. I chose the country of Italy for my studies because I had previously taken Italian for six years and wanted to be able to improve my speaking skills. I specifically chose Perugia because out of the places in Italy to study abroad that Roanoke works with, the Umbra Institute (in Perugia) had the best options for psychology classes.
Italy is a beautiful country. It is one of those places you can feel how old everything is. The culture and way of life there is extremely laid-back. It was a little different than I expected, since I did not realize how regional everything is. For example, in Umbria (the region I was in), you can basically only find traditional Umbrian food. Pride in your specific region is a huge part of Italian culture.
What were some of your favorite moments while abroad?
As someone with a deep appreciation for food and cooking, most of my favorite memories revolve around food. My favorite memory is when my best friend Hayley and I took a weekend trip to Bologna. Bologna is known in Italy as one of the best places to eat, so I was very excited. Compared to other cities in Italy, like Rome or Venice,
Bologna is less of a tourist destination. It was less crowded than some of the other places I visited so I felt like I was really able to get more of a “true” Italian experience. We spent the weekend eating regional food, drinking the local wine, and exploring the city.
What were you most worried about in terms of studying abroad?
I was mainly worried about how much I would miss my friends and family.
Did anything happen that you weren’t expecting? Were there any moments that particularly struck you while abroad? Tell me about them.
I did not expect to have culture shock as bad as I did. I had looked into Italian culture, but it still did not prepare me as much as I would have liked. Before going away, I didn’t really think culture shock was that big of a deal, but it is. I am a very type “A” person and that does not really work in a place where you live life day-to-day and carefree.
What did you learn while abroad? This is not limited to just coursework (though certainly talk about the types of courses you were able to take) but also about the culture or cultures you interacted with and, cheesy as it is, yourself as well.
While abroad, I took three psychology courses; organizational behavior, human development in culture, and criminal behavior. My OB class was taught by an American that had been living in Italy for over ten years. It was interesting to see his perception of OB from a multicultural lens. My other two courses were taught by a German that had been living in Italy for over twenty-five years. Her view of development in culture was intriguing because she had multiple cultural backgrounds that were blended into one.
The biggest thing I learned about myself is that I will not step out of my comfort zone if I do not need to. I already had somewhat of an idea that I was like this but being in a completely new country helped to reinforce this.
What do you miss the most?
The food! Hands down.
Tell me about your plans for the future. How will you apply what you learned while abroad to help you?
My plans for the future are to go to graduate school for forensic psychology. Studying abroad did not change or impact this decision. However, studying abroad did solidify that I will be living in America. Being in Italy made me realize how grateful I am to live in America.
Do you have any advice for other students interested in studying abroad?
My advice to students studying abroad is to know yourself – look into various countries and see what you think would work best with your personality. Don’t just study abroad in a place because everyone says it is beautiful (that’s where you go vacation!!). By picking a country that values the same things you do, I think it would help alleviate some of the culture shock you may experience. Do not feel guilty that you aren’t having the “most amazing time” like everyone claims to have. Everyone is different and your feelings about the experience – good, bad, somewhere in between – are still valid and acceptable.
Something I personally did when I was feeling down is remind myself of the amazing opportunity I had. Living in a different country is something not a lot of people can say they have done. Even if in the moment you are miserable, you will be able to look back fondly on your time and how much you have grown as an individual.
Student Alina Marino, a Psychology and Criminal Justice major, briefly discusses the highlights of her experiences studying abroad in Perugia, Italy below.
Name: Alina Marino
Where I studied: Perugia, Italy
Courses: Human Development in Culture, Organizational Behavior, Criminal Behavior [to name a few].
Favorite memory: My best friend and I studied abroad together so there are a lot of memories to choose from! However, I would have to say the best time I had is when we took a girls trip to Bologna, Italy. We spent the weekend tasting the local delicacies and touring the beautiful city.
Application: One of my professors abroad is a Forensic Psychologist, which is the field I would like to get into. She was able to tell me personally some of the daily tasks forensic psychologists do which was helpful to me.
This is the final blog post created by students in Dr. Carter’s Fall 2018 Social Psychology course. It was written by Jackie Hernandez, Shannon Snyder, Autumn Kempf, and Saul Pineda-Torres.
There have been plenty of studies showing the negative impact of phone use in situations like driving and learning, but until now, no studies have actually manipulated smartphone usage in social interactions. Past studies have proven that smartphones cause people to be distracted which, theoretically, could mean the use of smartphones decreases enjoyability in social experiences.
The experimenters invited groups of 3 to 5 friends or family members to a local restaurant to participate in a study about “dining out experiences.” The groups were then randomly assigned to be either “phone” or “phoneless” groups. They were implicitly manipulated by being asked, after placing their order, to either answer a text survey (phone group) or a paper survey (phoneless group). The participants in phoneless groups were asked to put their phones on silent in a container on the table. Both groups obviously had the option to use their phone since no one was told they couldn’t. The significant difference was that the participants in the phone groups were explicitly asked to use their phone early on to respond to the survey.
The participants were deceived about the true nature of the experiment to ensure the most naturalistic results possible. When the meal was finished, participants were then questioned via iPad (for privacy) about social connectedness, interest, enjoyment, distraction, and boredom. The researchers also measured how much the participants actually used their phones. The whole meal was recorded, so the researchers could break down total phone usage into percentages. Participants in the phone groups used their phones for an average of 11% of the meal, while participants in the phoneless groups used their phones for an average of only 1% of the meal. So, while the phoneless group wasn’t completely phoneless, these participants used their phones significantly less than that in the phone group. Participants in the phone group reported being more distracted, having less interest and enjoyment, and being more bored than the participants in the phoneless group. This data allows the researchers to conclude that distraction caused by phone use does hinder enjoyment. In other words, using phones while eating out with friends could ruin our chances of fun.
The results indicated that participants under the phone condition were more distracted and in response reported lower interest and enjoyment levels, and higher levels of boredom. Since whether phone use led to distractions or distractions led to phone use cannot be proven through the first study, the researchers set up Study 2. Study 2 was an extensive survey asking people about situations other than just eating out with friends or family, which allowed more general conclusions to be drawn. People reported that using phones overall cause distractions which lead to less interest in their daily interactions.
The irony of this research is that we think our phones keep us linked to the world, when actually phone usage undermines the social connectedness we feel when spending time with other people. The experiment was relatively small and further research should be done, but it does seem to indicate that this amazing piece of technology lessens the enjoyment we get out of spending time with friends and family. The researchers did fail to examine whether the personality or mood of the participants could have played a role in the results. In the future, researchers should ask the participants before the meal if they are looking forward to it. If they are not, they are likely to be more bored and could possibly resort to their phones to fill in the entertainment gap.
To summarize the relevance of this experiment, enjoy your life! Put your phones away and soak up the face-to-face conversations with those you love. Because we are so used to communicating through technology, we have to distinguish when we are doing something “irl”. Social media can wait; work can wait. Put away the technology and engage in the world around you. You’ll enjoy it more—trust us, the research says so!
The fourth post from Dr. Carter’s Fall 2018 Social Psychology course, this post was written by Samantha Luby, Grace Page, Vanessa Pearson, and Amy Smith. ___________________________________________________________________________
When talking about stereotypes and placing someone in a specific group, we do not tend to think about gender differences in children when it comes to performance in different school subjects. We do not necessarily think that gender may affect final scores, specifically in reading, but it does. In this experiment, the authors set out to find data that shows there is implicit reasoning for why girls outperform boys in reading. Overall, the authors are focused on the stereotype that girls perform better in reading than boys and how that affects the boys reading scores.
Within this experiment, students were chosen from four classes among a group of public schools. The kids took a reading test designed to measure their recognition and comprehension of written words in a normal classroom setting. Experimental conditions were implemented in the classrooms, and all of the students were assigned to either the stereotype threat (ST) condition or the reduced-threat condition. In the ST condition, the experimenter, posing as a reading teacher, told the students that their task was to take a reading test that was designed to evaluate their “ability in reading”. In the reduced-threat condition, the experimenter, posing as a game designer, told them that their task was to play a game in which they had to underline as many animal names they could from a list in three minutes. After the test, the kids had to answer questions about the test, as well as how important reading was to them.
The ultimate findings of this experiment showed that stereotype does, in fact, play a part in boys’ reading performance in school. When looking at the results from the stereotype threat condition, girls performed much higher than boys in reading due to the boys’ perceptions of the stereotype that they tend to do more poorly. Under the reduced-threat condition, however, there was no strong evidence that boys and girls performed differently in the reading assessments. This demonstrates that within a traditional setting, boys are strongly affected by the reading gender stereotype, particularly when in a stereotype threat condition, such as taking a reading assessment. The presence of this stereotype therefore does produce poorer reading results in boys.
Although some may argue that the boys’ underperformance on reading tasks are due to the lack of motivation, the findings of this study suggest otherwise. Highly motivated boys still underperformed in reading in the threat condition. This led the researchers to believe this reading difference between genders is because boys are fearful of confirming the stereotype regarding their gender group and reading. These perceptions the boys had because of the stereotype influenced their psychological processing, ultimately affecting how they performed on the reading task. In the threat condition, simply being aware of the stereotype resulted in poorer performance. On the other hand, in the non-threat condition, the boys were not thinking about the stereotype, allowing them to perform better on reading tasks.
The main issues present within this experiment are components the researchers failed to consider when making general statements about the effects of stereotype threat in children’s reading performances. For example, the researchers claim that from this experiment, it is evident that stereotype threat largely affects learning and performance in most, if not all, classrooms. This is problematic because they are basing this assumption off their study examining only four different classes, all of which were third grade classrooms from three different public schools in France. Before they make blanket statements such as this, the researchers need to consider who their experiment truly applies to and who it does not. The results of the experiment could vary based on: public versus private schooling, the language children are reading, the country/location the schools are in, the grade level that is being tested, and the number of classrooms that are tested.
Citation: Pansu, P., Regner, I., Max, S., Cole, P., Nezlek, J. B., & Huguet, P. (2016). A burden for the boys: Evidence of stereotype threat in boys’ reading performance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 65 (26).
The third blog post from Dr. Carter’s Fall 2018 Social Psychology class is titled The Gift That Gives Back: How Being Kind Makes You Happier and was written by Kira Hunt, Yuri Chikada, Holly Garrett, and Jacob Plaster. Enjoy!
Aesop once said, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” Even the smallest acts of kindness (e.g. holding the door open for someone) don’t go unnoticed by the receiver of the action. It is also a reason that those who ask for help say that even the smallest bit helps. However, those it helps doesn’t just stop at the receiver of the act. One might even say that it makes people feel good to do good, specifically when performing acts that help either a family member, friend, or even a stranger.
Recent studies have examined the causal relationship between acts of kindness and well-being or happiness. In a systematic review and meta-analysis titled “Happy to help?” social psychology researchers Oliver Scott Curry, Lee A. Rowland, Caspar J. Van Lissa, Sally Zlotowitzd, John McAlaney, and Harvey Whitehouse analyzed twenty-seven experimental studies that tested the hypothesis that kindness causes wellbeing.
Common methods of the studies included asking participants to perform either a set number of acts of kindness or spend a given amount of money on others. For example, in one study, participants were asked in the following week to perform at least five acts of kindness per day and report not only the act but the responses of the recipient. They were then asked to self-report measures like happiness on scales. Some studies had control participants do nothing, others had the participants act kindly in a non-social activity, while some participants were asked to help themselves. For example, for prosocial purchases (i.e. spending money on others), the control was spending money on themselves.
The researchers found evidence proving their hypothesis of acts of kindness improving the wellbeing of the actor (i.e. the person performing the act of kindness). Humans are social beings, and it means that we have psychological mechanisms that motivate us to help others. These motivations include biological and sociological benefits.
Kindness towards genetic relatives is favored by natural selection as seen by parental care. Kindness towards members of the same group allows us to form and maintain groups which enhance belonging. Kindness is also seen to potentially improve individual status as it can impress others and potentially attract mates. We also see kindness towards people we may see again as being beneficial to cooperation and the rules of reciprocity.
We tend to see people who need help as some reflection of ourselves and it makes it difficult to ignore those people who need help. For example, if you dropped your papers in the middle of the road and those papers spread out, you need some help to collect them all. When we see others in similar situations, we visualize ourselves in that position and potentially the same feelings as those in the situation. After helping those people, we get satisfaction from doing so.
This satisfaction otherwise known as happiness is a psychological reward that proves that a problem was solved successfully. If someone acted in a kind way, they can get a good reaction from the person who needed help because the person who needed help had their problem solved. The person who helped made the situation better. It can improve their self-esteem. After that, they can understand how they should help in those situations.
There are some limitations of this research, however. Most of the studies had very small samples and many used non-clinical samples. Due to this, it’s not possible to say that those with specific mental problems are affected in the same way by performing acts of kindness. Several of the studies did not account for the motivation behind the acts, so motivation could possibly be another variable that leads to the results. It is possible that intention to help oneself rather than others could eliminate the effects of improved well-being. The studies also didn’t account for the variety of recipients (e.g. family members, strangers, friends, etc.) nor did they investigate any long-lasting effects. Most studies only investigated immediate effects. In align with the motivations previously mentioned, it is possible that certain people had improved wellbeing giving to the groups they belonged to, rather than groups they didn’t. Also, it is possible that this happiness is only a short-term effect and is not important in the long term.
Though there does seem to be an outcome of happiness from performing acts of kindness, the effect seems small in the grand scheme of things. Even still, kindness appears to be the best gift to give as it eventually gives back to you.
The second student blog post from Dr. Carter’s Social Psychology course from this past semester, the authors of this article are Elizabeth Harris, Molly Kasemeyer, Sam Buczek and Kelsey Lee.
The holiday season is finally here! Families gather to share a large meal and exchange colorfully wrapped gifts. Individuals most likely find themselves out-and-about at stores during this time of year, not only to buy gifts, but to buy groceries for that delicious meal. Every shopper has different preferences on brands, products, prices, and even different values when it comes to buying foods, but do people with similar values and lifestyles also share similar purchasing styles? The experiments conducted and discussed in the journal article, Religious shoppers spend less money, aimed to answer a similar question; do religious beliefs affect grocery shoppers spending and purchasing habits? The study that will be discussed here specifically measures the effect of religious priming on grocery shoppers’ willingness to pay for unexpected purchases.
The first part of the study simulated an unplanned shopping trip where the participants would be able to spend about $25.00. They chose one common grocery item from seven different food categories in which each categories food choices were priced the same to ensure a total of about $25.00. The second part of the study presents each participant with an item at checkout that is, hypothetically, of interest to them, in this case their favorite magazine. They are then asked how much they would be willing to pay for it. After completing the simulation, participants answered a set of demographic questions and questions regarding their religious beliefs and other social concepts.
Prior to completing the simulated shopping trip and post-experimental questions, the researchers utilized the technique of priming to create the experimental and control groups. Participants were randomly assigned to either watch a short video with a religious focus, the religious prime, or a short video on oil painting tips, the control prime. After viewing the assigned video, the experimenters administered a prime check where participants answered questions about their feelings toward God after watching the religious prime video. The independent variable in this experiment was the religious prime while the dependent variable was the participants willingness to pay for the magazine.
The findings of the study were simple. The more religious a person is, the less likely one is to spend money on “novel purchases”. Many religions emphasize being prudent with money, meaning that many would not spend money, or at least a lot of money, on unexpected items they may come across during a grocery shopping trip. This study proved that “participants in the religiosity condition” would spent an average of 9.6% less on groceries than customers in the control condition. The study also proved that a “religious prime” lowers money spent by grocery shoppers whether they were a believer in God or not. Lastly, the conclusion stated that “the effect of religion on grocery spending arises from people’s tendency to associate religion and religious cues with frugality rather than the documented effect is simply being a manifestation of religious people’s values”, which means that individuals justify the experiment’s results with the belief that religious shoppers are “frugal” in nature.
The main psychological process utilized in this experimental study was attention. The participant’s attention during priming in the experimental condition is focused on the religious aspect and leads people to make the common associate between religion and religion cues to frugality. This is evident because people who were not religious still exhibited the same response to the religious priming as those who already had a religious set of beliefs showing that the universal psychological process of attention is at work. Attention leads people to focus on a specific idea and act according to commonly associate behaviors. After watching the priming videos, participants were asked their feelings specifically relating to God. Participants that were in the religious prime condition reported that they felt closer to God or had stronger feelings towards God than those in the control group. Overall, the attention process enabled the participants to be more conservative with their spending compared to the control group.
It is evident that the experimenters thought about various factor of the experiment that could elicit bias or lead to skewed data based on their description in the “Measure” section of the article. Even though their method was sound, they did not choose a representative sample. Instead, they chose individuals who worked for a specific company. This could lead to bias because of possible shared qualities among this group of workers that could influence behaviors in the posed situation. Also, the topic of the control video, oil painting, may not be considered completely neutral. Participants could be either bored by this video or rather intrigued which could lead to more positive or negative feelings in the moment. These feelings could possibly affect their willingness to pay for an unexpected item.
Bibliography
Kurt, et al. “Religious shoppers spend less money.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, vol. 78, 2018, pp. 116–124.
As part of Dr. Carter’s Fall 2018 Social Psychology class, students worked in groups to analyze a study related to their coursework. They then wrote a blog post demonstrating their ability to summarize and analyze the study, describing any possible improvements that could be made along with ideas for future studies.
Five of these posts were randomly selected to be posted to the Psychology Department’s official blog. This blog post, titled The False Paradox of Selflessness was written by Lynsey Wyatt (’21), Emily Deeds (’20), and Ciprianna Azar (’19) and is the first of the five to be posted.
We hope you enjoy reading it! ___________________________________________________________________________
If acting altruistically makes us happier, isn’t it a selfish act?
Day to day, we observe acts that we may consider altruistic. Whether it be a small gesture of kindness or a heroic act of self-sacrifice, simply observing these behaviors influences our opinion of the actor. This leads us to question: how do we begin to judge someone’s true moral character? Prosociality refers to any behavior that intentionally benefits another, while altruism refers to more “selfless” actions. In contrast, egoistic forms of prosocial behavior tend to be motivated by attaining some benefit such as social or capital gain. A group of researchers sought to understand what truly makes us believe an act is altruistic. Carlson and Zaki (2018) conducted two studies examining the benefits of prosocial acts and the differences in perceptions of altruism by motive or consequence of benefit.
In both studies, participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions and tasked with reading through eight different scenarios and answering an online survey. In the control condition, the scenario only described a prosocial action such as “Jane gave blood at a local clinic”. In the other two experimental conditions, they were given more information about how Jane felt after giving blood, how much money she was given for donating, how many followers she gained on Instagram from her blood drive selfie or how she helped someone in need of blood. These scenarios highlighted four potential benefits including material, social, emotional, or other-oriented benefits. Participants were randomly assigned to read the actions as motivating or consequence. After reading the scenarios, the participants’ judgements were examined using multiple items: how altruistic they thought the prosocial agent was, how altruistic they thought the agent’s action was, and how altruistic they thought the agent’s motive for their action was.
They first found that for participants who were shown that others performed the behavior and received benefits as a consequence or result, they believed that behaviors that resulted in material benefits or social benefits were of a less altruistic nature. We then infer that the person was motivated in the first place to engage in the act because they wanted a benefit such as monetary (material) or wanted praise (social). These same participants saw emotional benefits, such as feeling good about oneself, and other-oriented or directed towards others, as altruistic. This means that a sense of doing a good deed does not take away from the selfless act that was done.
Participants who were led to believe the person had a motive or reason to engage in an altruistic behavior for benefits, material or social, were seen as significantly less altruistic. These participants saw motives for behavior that was other-oriented as more altruistic, and surprisingly, even saw emotional benefit as less altruistic. This suggests that people who are motivated to engage for selfish reasons are seen as less altruistic than those who do not have this motive but are unexpectedly rewarded.
In the control group to which the participants had no information on the motive or consequential benefit to the actor, they rated the actor as altruistic no matter the benefit. This can be explained by the lack of information, as we tend to want to believe that people help others for selfless reasons.
Through the psychological process of disambiguation, Carlson and Zaki were able to manipulate the participant’s judgements of the actors. This allowed them to examine whether or not perceptions of altruistic acts change when paired with different types of benefits, and if motive versus consequence conditions differentially affect this perception. Carlson and Zaki demonstrate a nuanced mechanism behind perceptions of “true altruism” that allow for an act to benefit both oneself and others, so long as one’s motive is other-oriented. More specifically, their findings suggest that when an observer is judging an actor that benefits themselves emotionally (as opposed to materially or socially) from a prosocial interaction, it differentially affects judgement of the actor’s motives. This suggests, according to the researchers, it is a better predictor of future generosity than extrinsic motivators.
In ambiguous situations, what factors influence baseline assumptions? Zaki and Carlson’s study of lay theories of altruism and selfishness effectively highlights some of the nuances of social behavior and judgements. However, the studies lack the interpersonal dynamic facilitated by in-person interactions. Social interactions are based upon emotional exchanges. As social beings, we rely upon our ability to interpret others’ emotional states to understand their intentions and our relationship to others. In future work, it would be interesting to utilize confederates to simulate situations closer to real-world circumstances. Overall, Carlson and Zaki’s findings are consistent with what we may expect from the effects of altruism, despite a seemingly contradictory paradigm where a “selfless” act benefits the actor’s sense of self.
A student assistant recently interviewed Vanessa Pearson ’21, a Gilman Scholarship recipient, on her plans for studying abroad this upcoming Spring semester and what the application process for the Gilman was like.
To start off, can you tell me a little about yourself?
I am a sophomore here at Roanoke. I am majoring in Psychology and Education with a concentration in Human Development. I am originally from Franklin County, VA, about forty minutes away from Salem. On campus, I am a part of Colleges Against Cancer and Habitat for Humanity. Off campus, I work a part time job as a waitress/cook/manager at a restaurant in my hometown. I also play rec volleyball in my free time.
Congratulations on receiving the Gilman Scholarship! Can you tell me a little about program, what the application process was like, and where you are going to be studying?
I am going through an international student exchange program to Australia. I will be studying at James Cook University in Queensland. The application process for James Cook University was surprisingly easy. I did not have to write any admission papers on anything like that. I think the hardest part about that application was trying to figure out what classes I wanted to take since they had to go on the application so that they could get approved.
The application for the Gilman Scholarship was a little more complex. There were a bunch of different parts to it. The biggest part of the Gilman was the essay section. You needed to have two essays explaining why you are a good candidate for it and what will you do to promote the Gilman and study abroad if you receive it.
What drew you to studying abroad in Australia?
I am not one hundred percent sure what drew me to studying in Australia. I was at a study abroad meeting and Dr. Boggs-Parker was going over all of the different places you could study [and] when she said Australia it clicked. [I felt like] that was it, that was where I needed to go.
Also, the warmer weather doesn’t hurt.
Another part of me going to Australia is that I want to work in the education system. I thought it would be really interesting to see how education works on a different side of the globe. I also needed to go somewhere that I would be able to understand what others are saying since I would not be studying a language while abroad.
What are you the most excited about in terms of studying abroad (both in general and specific to Australia)?
I am excited to experience something new. I am a commuter at Roanoke, so I [want] to [know] what it feels like to live on campus. I am also excited to travel around the world.
In terms of sightseeing, I really want to go to the Great Barrier Reef and also hike around several places. I am excited to make new friendships and I really want to pet a kangaroo and hold a koala bear.
What courses are you most interested in taking while there?
I am really excited about taking Modern Australian History. I think that it is cool that I will be learning about history through the eyes of a different country. I am also excited to take my education class because I want to see and learn from different education systems.
What advice would you have for those interested in applying to competitive scholarships/grants like Gilman?
I would say do not wait until the last minute. Start the application process as soon as possible; have someone read over your draft and, for lack of better words, tear it apart. I wrote four drafts before making small corrections to the final one. I would also go through the application and make sure you are not going to have any last-minute questions [to complete] before the deadline, that way you can ensure they are answered.
Is there anything else you would like add?
The only thing that I would add is that there is always hope for getting a scholarship you want. Write your application with purpose and meaning. Also, get Dr. Rosti to read over your application, that woman is a saint.
Thank you, Vanessa, for taking time to answer our questions! We know you will have a fantastic time studying abroad and hope you will share some of your favorite memories upon returning to campus next school year (including petting kangaroos and holding koalas)!
For those interested in learning more about the Gilman Scholarship, click on the logo below to go to their official website.
What is your name, class year, and your majors/minors/concentrations?
My name is Becca Thompson and I am a senior. I will be graduating with a major in Psychology and concentration in Human Development. I also have minors in Spanish and Sociology.
Where did you study abroad?
I studied abroad in Palmerston North, New Zealand.
What was your favorite moment while abroad?
My favorite moments while abroad (because they are tied!!) would be going to an All Blacks Rugby game, skydiving from 17,000 feet over the gorgeous Lake Taupo, and exploring the only active marine volcano in New Zealand on an island named White Island or Whakaari.
What were you most worried about in terms of studying abroad?
I was worried about being literally on the other side of the world from my family (Maryland to NZ, couldn’t have gone any further away!) I was also worried about missing my pets, let’s be honest.
What did you learn while abroad? (Not just in terms of coursework, but about the culture and, cheesy as it is, yourself?)
I learned about different mental healthcare practices through my abnormal psychology class, which I found very interesting. I also learned about the indigenous people to New Zealand, the Māori. About myself, I learned how strong I am and I furthered my passion of traveling!
Palmerston North
Did anything happen that you weren’t expecting? Similarly, were there any moments that particularly struck you while abroad?
I definitely did not expect to meet some of my best friends while abroad. Although we are located all over the place, we still talk often and cannot wait to plan a reunion. There were many twists and turns during my time abroad, but each adventure had its own purpose and lessons.
What are your plans for the future and how will you use what you learned while studying abroad to help you?
Studying abroad helped me to realize my interest in social work through the introduction class I took with one of the best professors I’ve ever had. This class helped me to realize that I would like to pursue child advocacy/family law in order to create change here in America. I would love to go to school in NZ to gain a better and more in-depth understanding of their social work practices, which strive to include all cultures and all people in a respectful manner.
Any advice for other students interested in studying abroad?
Just GO! Studying abroad changed my life and opened up so many doors for me. My time in New Zealand helped me to realize what I would like to pursue after college. I met so many incredible people and I now have an incredible core group of friends spread throughout the United States, as well as an extended family in Palmerston North.
The Salem VA Medical Center offers the chance for Roanoke College undergraduates to gain experience working in research with a seasoned Principal Investigator (PI) on current medical research. Available research projects have included topics such as “Predictors of Treatment Response Among Veterans with PTSD”, “Mental Health in Rural Veterans with and without Traumatic Brain Injury”, and “Effect of Exercise Training on Inflammation and Function in HIV Infected Veterans”.
If you are interested in completing research with the Salem VA Medical Center, please meet with the Director of Undergraduate Research (Dr. Chris Lassiter, Associate Professor of Biology) in the fall semester or early in spring semester to discuss the program.
Application and Requirements:
An overall GPA of 3.4 or higher is preferred (though an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher will be considered).
Materials to submit include:
cover letter (with research interests),
CV,
unofficial transcript and
two letters of recommendation
Please submit the above materials to the Director of Undergraduate Research by February 15 for research in the summer or the next academic year (fall and spring semester).
Alumni Lauren Ratcliffe, Sabrina McAllister, Jacob Johnson, and Paige Dzindolet published their research seminar in neuroscience project from fall of 2016 in IMPULSE, an undergraduate neuroscience journal.
Their project, titled ‘During Ascending and Descending Limbs of the Blood Alcohol Concentration Curve’ uses a computerized trail making test in place of driving performance tests in order to better ascertain neurocognitive impairments associated with varying blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels. Follow this link to go to the original article.
Students in Dr. Nichols’ research seminar in neuroscience have published their projects at a rate of one student publication per year.
Congratulations to our alumni on their recent publication!
Graduating Magna Cum Laude with Honors in Psychology from Roanoke College in 2017, Ratcliffe obtained a B.S. in Psychology and a concentration in Neuroscience. Ratcliffe is currently pursuing a Psy.D. at Mercer University in Clinical Medical Psychology with an emphasis on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Ratcliffe also works as a research assistant at Mercer.
A Phi Beta Kappa member, McAllister obtained a B.S. in Psychology, a minor in Biology, and a concentration in Neuroscience from Roanoke College. McAllister graduated with ten semesters of psychology research experience in 2018. She is currently working as a psychometrist at Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, VA, with a goal of pursuing her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.
Graduated in 2017 from Roanoke College with Honors in Psychology, a minor in Biology, and a concentration Neuroscience. He studied in Germany in the summer of 2016 and was recruited to Phi Beta Kappa as a junior. Johnson intends on pursuing a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology to teach college-level courses and perform therapy.
Dzindolet graduated in 2017 with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor Biology. In 2016, Dzindolet interned at Virginia Museum of Natural History where she worked with dinosaur bones and fossils, among other things. She is currently interested in obtaining a position involving Forensic Psychology and Criminology.
During the spring of 2018, I had the incredible opportunity to study abroad in Palmerston North, New Zealand. While abroad I had the chance to take ‘Abnormal and Therapeutic Psychology,’ which gave an interesting overview to how different countries treat different psychological conditions. My favorite part of the class came through the literature review project we had at the end of the semester. I chose to complete my literature review on eating disorders. My future career plans are veering more towards social work and a law degree, but my background in psychology will help me to understand some of the situations my future clients may be going through. My favorite memory while abroad is skydiving from 17,000 feet over Lake Taupo!
Thanks to Rebecca Thompson for providing this cool description of her study abroad experience in Palmerston North, New Zealand! It sounds like an incredible and worthwhile adventure, though we are glad to have you back on campus.
The fifth and final article written for Dr. Carter’s Social Psychology course, Bailey Ratfliff and Erin Kosmowski discuss an article dealing with how much are people willing to pay depending on the situation.
When you go to buy something, like a t-shirt of your favorite band, wouldn’t it be nice if you could just pay what you want? Then, you could go through the drive-thru at Chick-Fil-A and be told the car in front of you paid for your meal! These methods are called, respectively, pay what you want and pay it forward, two forms of consumer elective pricing. How much would you pay for that t-shirt if you got to choose the price? What if you decided to pay for the next car’s lunch, how much would you be willing to pay? These studies by Nelson, A. Gneezy, and U. Gneezy, seek to find the relationship between pay what you want and pay it forward amounts. In which method are people willing to pay more?
In study one, which was conducted at Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco, participants were told either they could pay their entrance fee forward for another museum goer instead of paying for their own admission, in one condition, or pay what you want in another condition. It was found, in accordance to the experimenters’ prediction, that the pay it forward condition paid more money than the pay what you want condition. In study two, the conditions were the same at the same museum, but the wording of what the people in the pay it forward condition were told was changed. People paid more in both conditions for this study, but still paid more for the pay it forward condition than the pay what you want condition. In study three, study two was replicated but participants were given a colored sticker, blindly labeling them as pay it forward or pay what you want group. The cashier in the gift store then recorded their purchases and their colored stickers to see if either condition spent more in the gift shop. The conditions were found to have spent around the same amount of money. For the final study, conditions were set as in study two but at a coffee shop instead of a museum. Again, those in the pay it forward condition paid more than those in the pay what you want condition.
The researchers believed that descriptive norms were playing a role in the participants’ actions. In the first two studies, people fell subject to the norm of reciprocity. Since another person paid for them, the participants’ felt that they had to do the same for a future attendee. Subjects experienced kindness and generosity and felt as if they must pass it on to reciprocate. There was also some pluralistic ignorance occurring, leading the participants to believe the norm was to pay more and followed suit. People may have privately believed they should pay less but decided to pay more because they believed that’s what others did.
The study does a good job supporting its hypothesis and eliminating any confounding variables that may have also explained the results, though it does not go into further details. They do not discuss if witnessing an act of generosity will impact the participant’s amount paid. Another thing that would have added to the study was to see how the amount paid could be manipulated through a third party’s actions, such as having the earlier guest pay more for the participants’ ticket or witnessing someone pay more for the pay what you want than average. They also focus on for profit organizations so adding a nonprofit organization to the study could show very different results.
The fourth article written for Dr. Carter’s Social Psychology course, this post discusses the power of the “like” system. Written by Julian Edwards, Emily Jones, and Brice Hinkle, the original source can be found here.
Have you ever felt inadequate after seeing only one like on your selfie? If you are an avid Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or some other social media user, the culmination of likes on a picture or video is crucial. The incorporation of the “like” system in social media has changed the way in which people view themselves. You expect people such as your family or close friends to like your posts, but what if that is only 10 to 20 people? What does this say about you
as a person? It is common to believe that the more likes one receives the better they believe others see them, thus determining how they see themselves. The presence of active and/or immediate feedback on a picture you are proud of can make or break how you view yourself. Because of this, social media has become a large factor in the level of self-esteem a user may have. The more likes someone receives the greater self-esteem they will have. Also in contrast, if a person were to receive little to no likes on a selfie or family picture they may begin to suffer through low self-esteem. To help support this claim a study was conducted by researchers Anthony L. Burrow and Nicolette Rainone titled “How many likes did I get?:
Purpose moderates links between positive social media feedback and self-esteem” (Burrow & Rainone, 2016).
In this study, participants first had to complete several forms and surveys – demographics form, a survey measuring their purpose in life, and a personality inventory (which was not used in the experiment). After this was completed, the experimenters told the
participants they were there to test a new social media site a lot like Facebook and to get started, they had to set up a profile and take a picture of themselves for the experimenter to upload (Burrow & Rainone, 2016). The experimenter told the participants that their picture would be shown on the test site for five minutes and that other users could see and like it. Five minutes later, the experimenter came in the room and told them how many likes their picture got. The amount of likes the experimenter told the participants that they got were a randomized average number of likes, more than average number of likes, or below average number of likes. Afterwards, participants completed another survey, which measured their self-esteem. The results found that the groups that showed a low purpose and low self-esteem were affected more by their number of likes more than the groups with high purpose and high self-esteem, who were not as affected by the likes (Burrow & Rainone, 2016).
The researchers established two groups: high purpose and low purpose. In each group, the self-esteem manipulator was introduced to affect self-esteem positively, negatively, or not at all (high, low, and average likes). The participants in each group then reported their post-experiential self-esteem (Burrow & Rainone, 2016). Because the experiment showed no correlation between high purpose and a high number of likes, it can be assumed that the
participants with high purpose also have self-esteem high enough that it is unaffected by an otherwise effective self-esteem booster: a high number of likes that they receive. Those with low purpose can be said to have a lower baseline self-esteem and so are more affected by a high number of likes (Burrow & Rainone, 2016).
One critique would be that the researchers should have included an “average purpose” group apart from the “high purpose” group to be manipulated to see more precise results.
Additionally, it would have been nice to have reported any findings on a decrease in self-esteem for a fuller picture of the effects.
The lesson that can learned from this article is that self-esteem is that although there are a countless number of things that go into a person’s self-esteem and sense of purpose in life, social media affects them much more than someone thinks.
In another post written by students of Dr. Carter’s Social Psychology course, Corey Woodford, Hannah Lester, Michaela Hicks discuss an article on leadership titled “Two ways to the top: Evidence that dominance and prestige are distinct yet viable avenues to social rank and influence.” The original article can be found here.
How do people reach leadership positions? Is it because they are generally likable and compassionate about the group? Or is it because they are ruthless and their followers are too scared to do anything but listen to them? Maybe it is a combination of both. Researchers Cheng, Tracy, Foulsham, Kingstone and Henrich formed an experiment that tests these theories. They wanted to know if dominance and prestige work together to get people to the top. In the case of this study, dominance is a force and intimidation and prestige is being able to share your experiences and knowing how to gain respect. Cheng et al. performed two studies that tested the roles in which dominance and prestige play in the selection of a leader. They used students from the University of British Columbia, who had no prior knowledge of each other before the study, as participants for both of the studies.
The first study’s goal was to distinguish whether or not dominance and prestige are acceptable ways of predicting social influence. It was set up as a round robin setting where groups of 4 to 6 of the same gender, not already acquainted with each other, completed an assignment, then interacted with each other, and then were asked to fill out a questionnaire at the end. Each side of the table was recorded by a video camera looking exclusively at one side of the table. The questionnaire provided peer ratings on who seemed to have more influence, who had more “dominance and prestige” in their group, and the likeability of the group members. The results of the study concluded that, in fact, both dominance and prestige predict greater social influence, but that they are different paths to attaining social rank, with prestige seen as more likeable than dominance.
Going off the first study, the second study’s goal was to “determine whether gaze allocation patterns corresponded to perceived Dominance and Prestige”. In other words, do dominant or more prestigious individuals receive more visual attention? The participants watched a series of video clips used from the first study, and were asked to think of who they would want to work with on the same task if they were in the room doing the same thing. The participants were wearing eye trackers so the researchers were able to see who they looked at the most while watching these video clips. The results showed that people do tend to notice who the dominant or more prestigious person in the room is, and they subconsciously do visually fixate on them, meaning they receive more visual attention.
Study 1: with 191 participants, this study compensated them with a chance of extra compensation during the study. The participants first completed an individual activity and then a group activity. The group activity was recorded for 20 minutes.
Study 2: 59 participants were involved and were instructed to watch 6 twenty-second videos. This study was used to determine a relationship between gaze allocation patterns and perceived Dominance and Prestige.
While the study was something always relevant and very interesting, it did have some aspects that it did not take into consideration. First, the study did not use co-ed groups. Especially in today’s time, gender norms are a hot topic and are of interest to many people. A future study could use co-ed groups to help distinguish between gender norms that influence leadership positions. Second, the participants of the study were of all different ages. Age is indicative of knowledge and when you are older you can be seen as more superior of those who are younger than you. Keeping age brackets for each group would have been a beneficial addition to the parameters of the study. With these critiques in mind, a future study would be beneficial to really dive into the psychology of leadership positions from a non-age or non-gender biased study.
In society, men are expected to conform to gender-stereotypic attributes in order to prove their masculinity. Some of these attributes include; being tall, athletic, having an active sex life,
and being assertive or dominant. Studies have shown if a
man is in a sense “less masculine” they will compensate for this by presenting themselves in a more stereotypical
masculine manner. In the study, Manning Up, researchers, Sapna Cheryan, Jessica Schwartz Cameron, Zach Katagiri, and Benoît Monin conducted two experiments, in which they examined three techniques that men may use when they perceive a threat to their
masculinity: avoid feminine preferences, embrace masculine preferences, and claim masculine attributes. The question the researchers were asking is whether or not men are more likely to distance themselves from feminine preferences when their masculinity is threatened versus the responses of those men who are not threatened.
In the first study some of the male participants were randomly assigned to receive false feedback that they had failed a test of masculinity (a score of 26 out of 100) while the other
participants received a non-threatening score (73 out of 100). The participants were then asked to rate how much they would like to receive three very masculine products and three very feminine products. Results from study one suggest that men who have their masculinity threatened are more likely to distance themselves from stereotypically feminine preferences, but do not embrace stereotypically masculine preferences more than non-threatened men.
In the second study, researchers tried to instill a different type of threat to masculinity (telling participants they were
physically weaker than other males) to see if threatening
one specific aspect of masculinity causes men to embrace
another aspect in order to compensate. Participants were
asked to take a test of handgrip strength. Having a strong
hand grip is associated with being more masculine.
Some of the participants received false feedback that their score fell along the female distribution while the other participants were told their score fell into the male distribution. Afterwards they were asked to complete a questionnaire which included masculine and feminine attributes such as: height, handiness with tools, number of previous relationships (all masculine attributes), and personality traits (both masculine and feminine attributes). Participants then
repeated the grip test which reinforced their false feedback and were asked to rate their interest in receiving five masculine, three feminine, and seven neutral products. Results from this study
found that men who did not have their masculinity threatened showed no difference in their preference for masculine and feminine products while men who were threatened showed less interest in feminine products. Researchers also found that men who had their masculinity threatened were more likely to exaggerate their other masculine attributes; they claimed to be taller, have more past relationship partners, and higher levels of athleticism and aggressiveness than men in the non-threatened condition
Researchers examined the strategies used when there is a perceived threat to masculinity. They threatened masculinity as a whole as well as physical masculinity and then examined the ways the participants compensated for the blow. Researchers also said that men who are threatened are more likely to embrace masculine attributes over preferences. An example being, if a man feels his masculinity is being attacked it weighs more for him to defend his physical traits (strength, height and build), compared to him trying to declare his masculinity through his masculine preferences (liking trucks and hunting). Researchers discovered that rejecting
feminine preferences was more reassuring to their self image rather than restating their masculine preferences.
In this study, researchers provided insight into the strategies men employ when they feel their masculinity has been
threatened. However, there are three limitations that can be
observed in this study. The first limitation of this study is the
fact that they only focused on how masculine attributes were
affected when men were under masculinity threat. If they
wanted to get a more well-rounded perspective, they should
have also examined how feminine attributes were affected by
masculine threats. In addition, in two of the studies, they used a
subset of product preferences making it difficult to decipher the
results of masculine versus feminine preferences. Finally, when
concluding this study, it wasn’t clear from the results whether or not distancing oneself from a stigmatized outgroup versus a
related identity would be sufficient in responding to masculinity
threats.
Your family members have designated you as the ‘chooser’ of the group. The responsibility weighs on your shoulders. You try to remain calm.
‘Focus,’ you tell yourself. ‘Should I purchase the double chocolate ice-cream from x-brand, or the devil’s chocolate ice-cream from y-brand?’
Even Boromir agrees
The choices are the same in terms of the contents and price, but they have different names and are from different brands. You cannot decide between the two as you feel equally about both of them, so you ask for the advice of your family; they reply negatively towards the y-brand and you feel relieved, finding yourself agreeing with them, and choose the ice-cream from the x-brand instead.
While a silly example, this dilemma helps illustrate an interesting observation about humans, at least of European descent (or influenced by Western culture): when we are highly ambivalent towards two choices, we are more easily influenced in our decision. According to psychology researchers, Mr. Andy Ng, Dr. Michaela Hyne and Dr. Tara MacDonald, those of European descent are more likely to be influenced either positively or negatively when unsure of what to think about two objects or subjects. Yet, they also point out that East Asians exhibit greater levels of tolerance towards conflicting views or when possessing high levels of ambivalence towards objects/subjects. In other words, those of East Asian descent or region are more likely to hold two conflicting ideas in their minds without the need to pick one as superior to the other.
In their study published in 2011, titled “Culture Moderates the Pliability of Ambivalent Attitudes,” Ng, Hyne, and MacDonald were interested in researching the degree to which culture influences the willingness to shift attitudes in those of Western and Eastern cultures after a persuasive attempt.
The Psychology Department would like to welcome Dr. Dane Hilton as our newest tenure-track professor starting this upcoming fall semester. Dr. Hilton obtained his Masters in Clinical Health Psychology from Appalachian State University and his PhD in Clinical Child Psychology from the University of Alabama.
At Roanoke, Dr. Hilton will be teaching courses such as Abnormal, Personality, and Clinical Psychology. His research interests focus specifically on social encoding, executive functioning, and mindfulness. Dr. Hilton has conducted research on social skills in youth and emerging adults, especially those with ADHD, and on psycho-social interventions for those with executive functioning deficits.
Dr. Hilton is currently looking for student research assistants to start next semester. If you’re interested, follow this link to learn more.
Welcome again to Dr. Hilton! We are excited for him to be joining the department!
Are you looking for internships? Job opportunities? Then consider attending to Alumni Career Fair! The event will be held on Thursday, April 12th, from 5-7 pm on the main level of Colket.
Why should you attend? According to Director McLawhorn of Career Services, alumni from around 30 companies/organizations/career fields of various industries and geographic locations will be there to share about their career fields, as well as provide information about internships and/or job opportunities that may be available at their respective places of employment.
Some company recruiters will be there as well.
Things you should know before you go:
Neat, but casual clothing is fine.
It’s highly suggested that students bring resumes, but they are not required. (Students can contact Career Services for assistance with resumes prior to April 12.)
Do you want to get ahead, catch up, or just want to take an interesting course over the summer?
Then consider signing up for psychology summer courses!
Three 300-level courses will be offered, including History of Psychology, which is a requirement for psychology majors, Abnormal Psychology, IO Psychology, and Drugs & Behavior. In addition to the 300-level courses, the psychology department will also be offering a 260 INQ course taught by Dr. Whitson that will also count towards a major in psychology.
If interested, please talk to your advisor(s) and sign-up through Webadvisor while spots remain!
Stephanie Shields. Courtesy of Roanoke College News
Last semester, students from Dr. Nichols lab published a paper titled “Exploration of Methodological and Participant-Related Influences on the Number of Artifacts in ERP Data.”
Under the direction of Dr. Nichols, Ms. Stephanie M. Shields and Ms. Caitlin E. Morse conducted a study in order to see how the number of trials needed to collect enough data for Event-related Potential (ERP) could be minimized through the reduction of artifacts.
Typically, this type of research requires a number of trials in order to collect enough data. Oftentimes, several of these trials have to be discarded as a result of artifacts, or errors.
Shields, Morse, and Nichols focused specifically on the connections between “the number of trials that have to be eliminated due to artifacts and a set of methodological variables, physical considerations, and individual differences.”
To read more about what they found as a result of their research, follow this link to the original article.
Related: Ms. Shields was awarded a Fulbright grant to return to Germany to study bat vocalizations and vocal learning in Munich, Germany from September 2017-July 2018. Prior to this, she spent a summer in Hamburg, Germany through the German Academic Exchange Service Research Internship in Science and Engineering. While there, she completed a research project with Ph.D. student Signe Luisa Schneider on electroencephalography (EEG), learning, and memory. (To find out more about this latter project, follow this link.) Shields also completed over three years of research in the psychology department and had other articles published as well. She graduated with a major in psychology, a concentration in neuroscience, and a minor in German. She plans on earning a Ph.D. in Neuroscience.
Related: Ms. Morse currently works as a Licensed Nursing Assistant at Portsmouth Regional Hospital in New Hampshire. Graduating from Roanoke College with a degree in Kinesiology and Exercise Science in 2017, she followed this by attending the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences where she completed a Bachelor of Science degree in order to become a registered nurse. While at Roanoke College, she worked as a research assistant in the psychology department for around three and a half years, starting in 2013. She has also participated in two other published articles through Dr. Nichols lab, alongside Ms. Shields and other students. Her Linked In account can be found here.
Interested in conducting research on increasing political tolerance?
Thanks to a grant from the Charles Koch Foundation, the lab of Dr. Kurt Gray is looking for a few motivated undergraduates for a full-time paid 8-week summer internship (June 18th to August 10th). Interns will receive hands-on experience with study development, data collection, and data presentation, in addition to receiving $2,800 each.
To apply, please submit a CV and a letter addressing the following questions: 1) What does political tolerance mean to you? 2) Why do you want to join this summer program? 3) What unique perspectives can you provide this internship program? 4) What are your long-term career goals?
Please e-mail Emily Kubin (ekubin@ad.unc.edu) with the subject title Summer Internship 2018 by February 15th, 2018.
Interested in working with children in Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, or Elementary age groups? Want to be a Counselor, Classroom Aide, or Researcher? Looking for a chance to earn an internship credit?
Then consider applying to the Children’s Summer Treatment Program for children with ADHD or other related impairments at the Florida International University.
The Summer Treatment Program (STP) is a comprehensive program for children with ADHD and related behavioral, emotional and learning challenges. The STP has successfully helped more than 3,000 children and families and is composed of evidence-based intensive treatments incorporated into an eight-week therapeutic summer camp setting. Group and tailored individual treatment plans are focused on improving problem-solving, academic functioning and social skills—while also incorporating recreational, age-appropriate games and group activities.
The STP has been named a Model Program in Child and Family Mental Health by the American Psychological Association, and has been named the program of the year by CHADD, the national parent advocacy group for children with ADHD. Students who have worked with FIU and the STP have said that it is an incredibly rewarding. hands-on experience, with huge contributions to their professional development. The program is also helpful in continuing onto graduate school and careers, such as clinical psychopathology, pharmacology, and psychotherapy.
More information about the Summer Treatment Program and the Center for Children and Families can be found here. Information about applications can be found here.
Applications for all positions are competitive so students are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.
If you are considering applying to this program, please contact Dr. Camac about earning an internship credit.
If you are looking for ways of gaining clinical research experience working with youth over the summer, considering applying to the National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates at Ohio University.
Through this 8-week program, students will gain experience by attending seminars, working with mentors on research projects, and building a set of skills and a portfolio that will stand out to graduate schools including an independent project focused on some aspect of treatment related to youth with SEB.
Accepted students will be given a stipend of $4000, along with housing, meals, conference travel, and research incentives.
Eligible students must have at least a 3.0 GPA in their undergraduate classes and must be a US Citizen or permanent resident. Applicants who have taken research methods will be more competitive, but this is not required. Finally, students from diverse or minority backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.
All applications must be submitted by February 23, 3018 at 5 pm.
To learn more about the program and how to apply, click here or on the above image to go to the official website.
In the midst of winter as the cold seeps into our homes, we often tend to think of what we will be doing in the summer…
For students interested in summer research opportunities (including paid experiences), winter is also a good time to start thinking about applying to these opportunities, as many summer research opportunities have a deadline in January or February.
One notable exception to this is Roanoke College’s Summer Scholars program which has a deadline of March 15th.
Below are some of the opportunities available to students from every major, with the link to the full list of research opportunities here.
Examples from the Social Sciences and Humanities:
Leadership Alliance Mellon Initiative (many humanities and social science majors)
Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research
American Economics Association Summer Training Program
American Political Science Association
Institute for the Recruitment of Teachers
Examples from the Sciences:
Research Experience for Undergraduates (REUs) – Includes the Sciences, Public Health, Psychology, and Anthropology
Pathways to Science
Department of Homeland Security
Commonwealth STEM Industry Internship Program
Student Conservation Association
National Institute on Drug Abuse
National Institute of Health (NIH) Summer Internship Program
In the final blog post written by students from Dr. Osterman’s PSYC 376: Evolutionary Psychology to be featured on the site, students discuss how males have possibly evolved to detect and respond to cues of ovulation.
The authors, including Sarah Raines, Ryan Casey, Tori Blair, and Chasity Ramsey, focus on defining ovulation from an evolutionary standpoint and then describe the subtle cues of an ovulating woman, including how she dresses.
Providing interesting information on something few of us think of, this is the last of the three blog posts to be featured. If you’re interested in learning more about this blog either click on the screenshot above or the link below that. The other two blogs can also be found on the site.
Good job to everyone who worked hard on these blog posts! They turned out well!
The second of three articles written by students in PSYC 376: Evolutionary Psychology to be featured on the blog, this article was written by North Angle, Cristoni Couvrette, and Anne Mette Rasmussen and is titled “Jealousy: Successful Tactic or Harmful Emotion?”
In the post, the authors discuss why we get jealous and the differences of jealousy exhibited between male and females, all from an evolutionary standpoint.
Please click here to read the article, or click on the screenshot above.
As part of Dr. Osterman’s PSYC 376: Evolutionary Psychology class, students submit a term blog instead of a tradition term paper. Focusing on a specific topic, students form groups and explain the topic from an evolutionary perspective with accompanying memes and other relevant videos in true Roanoke College Psychology Department fashion.
Over the next few weeks, there will be three blog posts featuring her students work, beginning with the current post.
This week’s topic is focused on why humans like drinking alcohol according to evolutionary psychology and was written by Luke Harbison, Maddie McCall, Nicole Moughrabi, and Adora Nguyen.
In the article, the authors address the history of alcohol usage and continue on to describe the many reasons why we consume alcohol, including attempting to explain why our taste for alcohol is so widespread.
Sound interesting? Please follow the link to learn more.
Students pose after learning the Muay Thai boxing style.
In Part I, we talked about the more academic side of the trip and some differences noticed between cultures. In Part II of the Thailand May Term, we will discuss the more inherently fun and less academic parts of the trip, because, even though this was a class, it was still an experience of a lifetime.
For Dr. Darcey Powell, in addition to the conversations the group had with locals, her two favorite experiences were the Muay Thai boxing class and their day as mahouts:
[…] In the Muay Thai boxing class, we learned about that style of boxing and practiced the techniques. As mahouts, we learned how to take care of elephants with respect to feeding and bathing, as well as how to ride elephants, and then put what we learned into practice with our own elephant for the day.
Dr. Darcey Powell
Students’ experiences as mahouts at the Patara Elephant Farm in Chiang Mai was definitely one of the most favorite and memorable experiences of the trip, as Peyton Holahan ’19 recounts:
We spent the entire day playing with and learning about elephants. It really does not get much better than that in my opinion. We were greeted in the morning by the director of Patara who explained their mission as an elephant sanctuary focused on educating individuals about the health and well-being of these beautiful animals. Each person got assigned an elephant (or two) to spend the day with and it was pure magic. I was one of the lucky ones to get assigned both a mom elephant and her two-year-old baby. They told us that they assigned the elephants based on our personalities but I am certainly not planning on having kids anytime soon. I learned how to groom, feed, and bathe my elephants. Bathing them was by far the most fun because this involved getting on their backs and scrubbing them with a brush in the river. This was also really refreshing because Thailand’s climate is HOT.
A group picture interrupted by cuteness at Patara Elephant Sanctuary, picture courtesy of Dr. Powell
Along with our elephants we were partnered with mahouts who are the elephants’ caretakers and trainers. Our mahouts assisted us throughout the day in helping us ride the elephants and showing us how to take care of them. Patara is such a unique elephant sanctuary in Thailand in that they do not cage the elephants but rather let them roam freely because their mission is focused on recovery, reproduction, and reintroduction of elephants into the wild. Patara is one of the most humane elephant farms in Thailand for that reason and I am so glad that Dr. Powell chose this once in lifetime opportunity for us all to experience.
Holahan ’19
Sarah Hughes agrees with Holahan, giving her own description of her experience at the elephant farm.
I had been looking forward to going to the elephant farm since I had signed up for the trip, so I was tremendously thrilled when I found out that we each would have our own elephant for the day. We had the opportunity to feed our elephant sugar cane and bananas, inspect them for good health, bathe them, and ride them for their daily walk. I quickly learned that elephants like to eat a lot and eat quickly. This was because every time I would feed my elephant she would get mad at me and start to yell because I was not feeding her enough at a time and not quick[ly] enough. We then had the chance to speak to them in Thai and make sure they had slept properly the night before and were happy and healthy.
The next part was my favorite part of the trip. […] We had the opportunity to scrub them and play in the water with each of our elephants. It was interesting to see that some of the elephants really liked the water and others did not. Afterwards we rode our elephants to lunch. This ride was not what I was expecting, as we rode for thirty minutes straight up a mountain and only had a rope to hold on to.
Dr. Powell and a baby elephant, courtesy of Dr. Powell
Molly Zydel ’19 seconded the opinions of her fellow students, adding that:
The trip as a whole was absolutely amazing. I couldn’t have asked for a better first experience out of the country. As for favorite parts of the trip, I absolutely adored our time in Chaing Mai. The city was gorgeous, and not near[ly] as overwhelming as Bangkok was. It reminded me a lot of home, which is why I think I loved it so much. While we were in that city, we also had an excursion where we got to be elephant care takers for a day. We each had our own elephant and we got to feed them, bathe them, and ride them. That day was phenomenal. It feels so surreal, even though I have pictures to prove it happened.
Zydel ’19
Hughes also mentioned a number of other fun activities that students were able to experience.
Some other things we did during the trip were visiting many temples all over Thailand, including the Grand Palace. We went to an adventure park at our hotel in Phetchabun, which is in the mountains, visited a factory, and went to Koh Samui, which is a gorgeous island in Thailand. We also were able to take a Muay Thai Boxing class, go to a rooftop restaurant, explore local night markets, and speak with monks.
According to Dr. Powell. “On day 14, we met the Imam on Koh Samui and discussed the experiences of emerging adulthood with local young men and women whose families were from the original fishing village.”
“Day 11 was spent in Chiang Mai with the students working in small groups to explore and experience the northern city, before going to one of the night markets,” said Dr. Powell on Facebook.
Students continue their discussion with the Inam in Koh Samui.
Students had fun while exploring Chiang Mai in small groups.
On the 14th day, students were able to take a break at Ang Thong Marine Park by boating, snorkeling, kayaking, and swimming.
I’m sorry.
Molly Zydel described her experience in Thailand as
[…] phenomenal. […] I could say so many things, but they all lead back to the statement of if you get the chance to travel abroad like this, do it. You won’t regret it. Even if it scares you half to death, do it. You find out somewhere in the middle of all of it that the experience is more exhilarating and eye-opening than it is scary. You change so much as a result of spending 3 weeks in another country that has such a different culture. Thailand was amazing. I just want to go back.
Ultimately, as Kiah Coflin ’19 concludes,
There are only so many aspects of a culture you can learn through a classroom […] [as seeing things] first hand teaches lessons better than any textbook ever can.
To see more pictures, go here to the official Facebook for the Thailand May Term. If you haven’t read the first part of the Thailand blog post, click here.
Thank you to everyone who helped with this post and were willing to write and submit pictures.
Twelve students from multiple disciplines, including psychology, went to Thailand this past summer with psychology professor, Dr. Darcey Powell to study emerging adulthood as part of a May Term program at Roanoke College.
Over the course of three weeks, students were able to compare the empirical articles they had read before departure with their own experiences as they traveled across Thailand to cities including Bangkok, Phetchabun, Chiang Mai, and Koh Samui. While there, they discussed cultural similarities and differences with local emerging adults in Thailand. By traveling from city to city, students were able to see how socioeconomic settings and geography affect the lives of different emerging Thai adults.
As Peyton Holahan ’19 recalls,
The readings for our May Term were really interesting and relevant to the cultures and places we encountered. The topics in our readings varied from the collectivist[…] ideals in Thai society, to the importance of education, to the role of the transgender community in Thailand. Almost every day, we would have group discussions about our assigned readings and consider how the readings related to what we experienced or could possibly experience in our daily ventures.
Holahan ’19
When asked to talk about one of the most interesting parts of their trip, multiple students talked about their visit to Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok where they were able to interact with Thai students. Through talking one-on-one with each other and asking questions about their social and academic lives, they came to realize that perhaps they were not so different after all.
Holahan describes how her group quickly learned that social media plays a huge role in Thai student’s everyday lives, just as media does in the United States. In fact, because of the interactions with the Chulalongkorn students, Ms. Holahan came to realize that:
[…]the Thai students in Bangkok had very similar lives to our own in that most of them were working towards getting a degree and were still financially dependent on their parents. Spending the day at Chula and getting to know Thai students on a personal level completely contradicted my initial belief that our cultures were so far apart.
Sarah Hughes ’19 also mentioned her experiences talking with the psychology graduate students at Chulalongkorn University.
[…] It was funny[;] the first question they asked was about our current president and our political systems. They did not understand that our political system creates conflicts because in Thailand everyone worships the Royal Family. […] One conversation that stood out to me was when a student asked if our traffic jams in the U.S. only lasted approximately thirty minutes. I thought this was a strange question, but I shortly learned that it is easier to walk somewhere than drive because traffic jams can last for three hours.
Sarah Hughes ’19
Molly Zydel ’19 noted that for all the similarities, Thai and USA cultures are fundamentally different.
Thai culture is very different from US culture, in so many ways. First off, it is a collectivist[…] culture, meaning they emphasize the collective whole rather than the individual. This was observed in many ways, but especially in the way they treated each other. I never once saw a Thai person yelling. Thai people are also much more conservative. They don’t really like talking about themselves.
Molly Zydel ’19
This was most noticeable during the talk with graduate students from Chulalongkorn University, as Zydel continued on to say.
[…] As Americans, we were much more open to answering questions about ourselves, but when we asked them questions, the Thai students often struggled in speaking up to answer them, especially when we asked questions that were uncomfortable in the first place (e.g. we asked about sex outside of marriage and if it happened, and that question clearly made them uncomfortable).
Through their traveling, students were further exposed to various ways of thinking about life and their own culture. For Sarah Hughes ’19, the first few moments in Thailand were a startling contrast with her home in Maryland.
As soon as we landed in Bangkok I noticed many differences. For starters[,] the airport was half-inside and half-outside. We had been traveling for 23 hours in nice cold air conditioning and the second you stepped into the airport it felt like 100 degrees or more because of the humidity. Before our trip, everyone had told us to prepare for the heat but none of us expected it to be as hot and as humid as it was. I am from Maryland near Washington D.C. and I thought I knew what humidity was, but oh[,] I was wrong. The humidity in Thailand was something I have never experienced before.
Sarah Hughes ’19
Later, Ms. Hughes began to notice something else about the differences between the United States of America and Thailand.
In the United States we tend to separate poor areas from the rich areas, but in Thailand you will have a gorgeous temple that the Rama (king) built next to shacks that people live in. It stood out to me because you would have thousands of tourist[s] admiring these stunning buildings and next door are [the homeless] or people that live in a small shack without running water.
These observations fall in line with the readings, as Peyton Holahan noted…
I remember leading a group discussion on two readings about the importance of social class in society. These readings directly related to our experiences because it was clear that social class in Thai society affected the paths of Thai emerging adults as to whether they got an education or started working at a young age to support themselves. Social class was a key factor in many of the places we visited because we witnessed higher social classes in urban areas like Bangkok.
In cities like Bangkok, education was emphasized for emerging adults because they were in an urban setting with plenty of accessible resources that stressed academic goals for better jobs and opportunities. On the other hand, we also witnessed the extent of lower social classes in more rural areas like Phetchabun. In such areas, emerging adults usually resorted to working at young ages to support their families instead of pursuing higher education because it was rarely an option within their socioeconomic sphere.
In addition to these observations and experiences, students were also able to have some fun as well. Continue to part II to learn about some of the student’s and professor’s favorite parts of the trip, including getting to spend the day with elephants.
To see more pictures of the trip, click here to go to the official RC May Term Facebook Page.
Throughout the semester Dr. Gornick and her Psychology of Genocide class pondered, discussed and evaluated some of the most horrific human rights violations the world has seen. Sifting through tough psychological concepts (conflicting moral values, tyrants, discrimination -dehumanization and scapegoating, individual helping and international aid, guilt-survivors paradox and reconciliation) a larger picture emerged linking personal experiences to national and international concerns.
Midway through the semester, students were anonymously told about a member of our campus community who’s family survived the Armenian Genocide. From this discussion, students wrote amazing, professional, compelling and companionate interview questions. Thanks to Dr. Jennifer Berenson the following video was made to answer those questions.
For the next couple of weeks, we will be featuring Dr. Osterman’s social psychology class assignment where they were tasked with researching and writing a Buzzfeed-style article on a number of topics.
The eighth article focuses on what 10 Things You Never Knew About Manipulation in Cults. Click this link to read more!
For the next couple of weeks, we will be featuring Dr. Osterman’s social psychology class assignment where they were tasked with researching and writing a Buzzfeed-style article on a number of topics.
The seventh article focuses on what the Breakfast Club got right about social psychology. Click this link to learn more!
For the next couple of weeks, we will be featuring Dr. Osterman’s social psychology class assignment where they were tasked with researching and writing a Buzzfeed-style article on a number of topics.
The sixth article focuses on ways to know if your relationship will last. Click this link to learn more!
For the next couple of weeks, we will be featuring Dr. Osterman’s social psychology class assignment where they were tasked with researching and writing a Buzzfeed-style article on a number of topics.
The fifth article focuses on ways to make a good first impression. Click this link to learn more!
For the next couple of weeks, we will be featuring Dr. Osterman’s social psychology class assignment where they were tasked with researching and writing a Buzzfeed-style article on a number of topics.
The fourth article focuses on ways to make friends as a Freshman. Click this link to learn more!
For the next couple of weeks, we will be featuring Dr. Osterman’s social psychology class assignment where they were tasked with researching and writing a Buzzfeed-style article on a number of topics.
The third article focuses on reducing aggressive tendencies. Click this link to learn more!
For the next couple of weeks, we will be featuring Dr. Osterman’s social psychology class assignment where they were tasked with researching and writing a Buzzfeed-style article on a number of topics.
The first article focuses on differences among Eastern and Western cultures. Click this link to learn more!
Three members of the Rhetoric and Social Perception (RASP) Lab, Sean Gilley, Nataly Claros, and Dr. Gornick journeyed to Asheville, NC to present research on politics and integrative complexity. Originally proposed as a poster, their presentation Secretaries of State: A Brief Rhetorical Analysis was offered one of ten data blitz spots. Sean Gilley did an amazing job presenting in this difficult format! Overall the conference was a great success and we hope to repeat the trip next November!
Florida International University Center for Children and Families 2017 Summer Treatment Program — Counselor Positions
by Eduardo Merille
The Center for Children and Families at Florida International University announces Summer Treatment Program Counselor positions for 2017. The Summer Treatment Program (STP) provides services to children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Conduct Disorder, Oppositional-Defiant Disorder, learning problems, and related behavior problems. The program provides treatment tailored to children’s individual behavioral and learning difficulties. Counselors will work in the STP-PreK, for children in preschool or entering Kindergarten, or the STP-E, for children ages 6-12 in elementary school. The Center for Children and Families is directed by William E. Pelham, Jr., Ph.D., who is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at Florida International University. Paulo Graziano, Ph.D., and Katie Hart, Ph.D., are the Program Directors for the STP-PreK, and Erika Coles, Ph.D., is the Program Director for the STP-E.
The dates of employment for the Counselor position are Monday, June 5, 2017 through Saturday, August 12, 2017. Counselor hours of employment are 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, Monday through Friday, and on Saturday, August 12. In addition, Counselors continue to work with the children until 8:30 PM one evening each week while parents participate in weekly parent training groups.
Counselors are paid a salary of $4,000 for the summer. In addition, current students may be able to arrange for academic course credit through their university departments.
Go ahead and please click this link to read Dr. Osterman’s PSYC 376: Evolutionary Psychology class’s fourth and final post on a psychological adaptation. This one is on evolved taste preferences and aversions.
Check out Dr. Osterman’s PSYC 376: Evolutionary Psychology’s blog! The students spent all semester working on their posts; this week’s topic is the biological fear of small animals.
Shannon Yard ’18, a junior Psychology major, is a health and basic needs intern during her time at the Lutheran College Washington Semester Program.
“I am the Health and Basic Needs Intern at Horton’s Kids. HK is an organization devoted to serving the Wellington Park community in DC’s Ward 8. Most recently at work I called over fifty mental health providers to find one that would be a good partner for us to provide counseling and therapy to the children enrolled in our program. My supervisor has set up meetings with a few potential matches, but during the process I learned more about the many differences in counseling and therapy practices and had to evaluate which ones would be the best for our kids. On a day-to-day basis, I distribute diapers to parents in need, help families access the emergency food pantry, and (my personal favorite) work directly with the kids during homework help or tutoring.
LETS GIVE A BIG WELCOME TO THE PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT’S NEWEST MEMBERS!
Dr. Athena Buckthought
Dr. Buckthought received her B.Sc. in Physics, M.Sc. in Psychology (Neuroscience) and a Ph.D. in Psychology (’04) from Carleton University, in Ottawa, Canada. Her current research interests are visual perception, cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience, specifically looking at stereopsis and motion parallax, as well as using psychophysics and functional brain imaging.
She is currently teaching Cognitive Psychology and Psychology in the Media. Dr. Buckthought is looking to recruit students for her research lab. More information on her lab and the type of students she is looking for can be found at: http://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/psychology/research_and_internships/undergraduate_research/dr_buckthoughts_research_lab
Dr. Laura Mills-Smith
Dr. Mills-Smith received B.A.s in Anthropology (’09), English (’09), and Psychology (’10) from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, an M.S. in Psychology (’13) from Virginia Tech, and a Ph.D. in Psychology with a specialization in developmental science (’16) from Virginia Tech. Dr. Mills-Smith’s research focuses on infant language learning and the social context in which it happens, specifically focusing on basic interests in audiovisual perception, face processing, joint attention, and the role and importance of contingency for language acquisition and social development.
She is currently teaching Intro to Psychology and Developmental Psychology. More information on Dr. Mills-Smith’s research lab can be found at: http://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/psychology/research_and_internships/undergraduate_research/dr_mills-smiths_research_lab.
This summer, as a part of the Pathways Summer Internship Program, Consumer Products Safety Commission is offering an internship to any current full-time or part-time student who resides within the D.C. Metro area.
Students should have at least a 3.0 GPA and are required to submit a resume and a college transcript, as well as answering interview questions. The deadline for this internship is MARCH 28.
Please see link for more information and application: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/433063900/
** If you do apply, make sure to select Social Sciences GS-0199.
If you have any questions about the internship, please contact Dr. Powell (dpowell@roanoke.edu), as she has previously participated in this internship opportunity.
On the Thursday before midterm exams began RC Psychology Association and Psi Chi, with support from Zentangle Inc., hosted a Zentangle: De-stress & Refocus event for students at the college. Psychology students could earn research credit and Honors program students could earn class I credit for attendance. More than 35 students came out to Zentangle! During the event, students heard about the technique known as Zentangle (https://www.zentangle.com/) and created their own Zentangle square. Additionally, the students left the session with a Zentangling pen and a couple squares so they could continue Zentangling on their own as they geared up for midterms. Everyone seemed to enjoy the session, so we hope to have Sacil back on campus in the future for another de-stressing and refocusing event!
These photos, taken by Stephanie Buturla, were a part of Dr. Nichols’s INQ 277 May term titled “Exploring Vision Through the Eye of the Lens”.
This class utilized the digital camera as both a metaphor for the human eye and as a tool to create photographic representations of principles of human vision. Cameras and the human eye were compared and contrasted in order to better understand both. Mechanisms of human visual perception, such as color vision, depth perception, and motion perception, were discussed in lecture format and then assignments carried out wherein students take purposeful photographs to illuminate the discussion topics. The idea is that application through photography of principles discussed in relation to human vision, i.e. how we sense and perceive the world, may give us a better understanding of how and why the human vision system works the way it does. Photographic expeditions were done both around campus and as part of full day trips.
These photos, taken by Gaby Ghosn, were a part of Dr. Nichols’s INQ 277 May term titled “Exploring Vision Through the Eye of the Lens”.
This class utilized the digital camera as both a metaphor for the human eye and as a tool to create photographic representations of principles of human vision. Cameras and the human eye were compared and contrasted in order to better understand both. Mechanisms of human visual perception, such as color vision, depth perception, and motion perception, were discussed in lecture format and then assignments carried out wherein students take purposeful photographs to illuminate the discussion topics. The idea is that application through photography of principles discussed in relation to human vision, i.e. how we sense and perceive the world, may give us a better understanding of how and why the human vision system works the way it does. Photographic expeditions were done both around campus and as part of full day trips.
These photos, taken by Kristen Macquire, were a part of Dr. Nichol’s INQ 277 May term titled “Exploring Vision Through the Eye of the Lens”.
This class utilized the digital camera as both a metaphor for the human eye and as a tool to create photographic representations of principles of human vision. Cameras and the human eye were compared and contrasted in order to better understand both. Mechanisms of human visual perception, such as color vision, depth perception, and motion perception, were discussed in lecture format and then assignments carried out wherein students take purposeful photographs to illuminate the discussion topics. The idea is that application through photography of principles discussed in relation to human vision, i.e. how we sense and perceive the world, may give us a better understanding of how and why the human vision system works the way it does. Photographic expeditions were done both around campus and as part of full day trips.
It’s not too late to sign up for classes over the summer!
Summer Term 1 (June 1st to June 26th): Psych 270 A – Drugs & Behavior with Dr. Allen
“An examination of the mechanisms of actions, uses, effects and abuse liability of a range of drugs. Both therapeutic drugs (such as antidepressants and antipsychotics) and recreational drugs (such as alcohol, stimulants and marijuana) will be addressed.”
Summer Term 2 (June 29th to July 24th): Psych 325 A – Social Psychology with Dr. Osterman “Study of the influence of people on each other’s behavior, including social influence and social interaction.
Psych 450 A – History of Psychology with Dr. Buchholz “Examination of the major systems in psychology with an emphasis on its 19th-century origins to the present.”
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Dr. Dickens’ social psychology research lab at Spelman College is looking to hire an undergraduate research assistant to help with research focused on the experiences of Black women in STEM education.
April 19 to April 25 is APA and GSA’s careers in aging week! Psychology of aging focuses on applying knowledge and methods of psychology to understanding and helping older adults and their families to achieve well-being in later life. If you are interested in working with older adults and want to learn more then follow this 
To start off, can you tell me a little about you?
small, artfully plated bowl of pea soup. Our entrees were then brought out and none of us could talk because we were just so amazed at how good the food was. Finally, we ordered dessert which was the grand finale of our fabulous meal. I ordered an apple pastry which was presented inside of a chocolate dome which then had melted chocolate poured on top of it to reveal the pasty in the shape of a rose. At this point, our friends and I were almost screaming in delight. The rest of our day we couldn’t stop talking about how surprising the meal was and how it was the best dining experience we had ever had.
the Swiss Alps: Interlaken. While there were many magical moments that happened while I was there, like watching the sunset from the Harderkulm and paragliding, probably the most striking moment was when I was in the mountain top town, Mürren. It’s only accessible by cable car which made it feel like it was almost out of a fairy tale because of the lack of cars. It’s hard to describe exactly how it felt to be so high up in the mountains and to see the snow-capped summits of the Alps in person. In some ways, it was the most peaceful I’ve ever felt.
hang out with. Luckily, those fears were unfounded! I formed some great friendships while I was abroad with some wonderful people that I hope I get to travel with again in the future.
turned out to be a kidney stone! Once I was in the hospital and on pain medicine it wasn’t as scary anymore but [everything] leading up to that point was quite stressful. My mom was ready to drop a few thousand dollars to fly over to be with me (and thank God she didn’t). The care I received in the hospital was phenomenal and I was lucky enough to have another girl in my study abroad program there with me for some of the time so I wasn’t alone (she had a seizure on the bus ride from the airport :O).
What did you learn while abroad? This is not limited to just coursework (though certainly talk about the types of courses you were able to take) but also about the culture or cultures you interacted with and, cheesy as it is, yourself as well.
I also miss the friends I made abroad. Luckily, my program was for American students, so all my friends live in the U.S., but we’re still pretty far out. Just in my friend group there was someone from California and another from Minnesota, so it will be hard to see them in person in the future. Thank God for technology though!
Perugia. It was called Pasta alla Norcina and I always got it at this one restaurant called Ferrari. While there were many other delicious foods I had while abroad, this will definitely be what I miss the most, especially because it was a specialty to the area.
As a follow-up to the previous article 
I am excited to experience something new. I am a commuter at Roanoke, so I [want] to [know] what it feels like to live on campus. I am also excited to travel around the world.
friendships and I really want to pet a kangaroo and hold a koala bear.
