Roanoke College Psychology Department

Category: Undergraduate News

  • New Publication Alert: Dr. Powell & Stephanie Gaines

    gold dragon statue during daytime

    Congratulations to Dr. Darcey Powell and alumni Stephanie Gaines (class of 2017) on their recent publication by Psi Chi. The publication is based on one of Gaines’s projects that took place in Dr. Powell’s lab during her time at Roanoke College. More information about the information can be found here, but you can read the abstract below:

    Emerging adulthood is a time of great transition, including but not limited to the commencement of “adult roles” and responsibilities. The present study examined emerging adults’ (EAs’) perceptions of transitional (i.e., cohabitating, marriage, parenting) and gradual (i.e., religious beliefs, political beliefs, managing own health) roles. Participants were recruited from a small liberal arts college (N = 88) and from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk platform (N = 181). They were surveyed on the age at which they anticipated or reported achieving the examined roles and their current self-efficacy for the roles. Female EAs reported intending to or achieving the transitional roles at a significantly later age than female EAs of the late 20th century (ps ≤ .001, ds 0.77–0.95). Additionally, female EAs anticipated role achievement for cohabitating, marriage, parenting, and religious beliefs at later ages than male EAs (ps < .05, gs 0.33–1.33). Moreover, male and female EAs differed in a few role-specific self-efficacies if they had not yet achieved the desired adult role (e.g., marriage, parenting; ps < .05, gs 0.62–0.98), but did not differ if they had already achieved the role. Lastly, the difference between EAs’ age and their role achievement largely did not predict their role-specific self-efficacies. The results provide additional insight into EAs’ expectations and current perceptions of themselves and may be useful to individuals who work regularly with EAs who are apprehensive about the extent to which they are “on time” and “ready” to engage in the examined transitional and gradual roles.

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    Get Connected!

    Blog: https://psych.pages.roanoke.edu/
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rcpsychology
    Twitter: @RC_Psychology
    Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/RC-Psychology-8140491/about
    Website: https://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/psychology
    Instagram: rcpsychology

  • Upcoming RC Events!

    Thinking of ways to gain more knowledge on important issues and topics outside of the classroom? Say less. Roanoke College offers many amazing events each week for all students and faculty to attend!

    This week, Oct 4-9, Roanoke is holding several Zoom, and in-person events and talks. On Tuesday, Oct 5, there will be an Elderscholar Program, “What’s in a statue? Notes on the Roanoke Country confederate memorial” led by Dr. Robert Willingham from 12 PM – 1:15 PM. On Wednesday from 12 PM – 1:15 PM, the Eldershcolar Program will be hosting another talk, “Writing Your Story” by Ms. Mary Crockett Hill. Also on Wednesday from 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM, there will be an informative talk on Covid-19 titled “Ask the Epidemiologist.” Alumni Ashley Briggs ‘13 and her colleagues will host a Zoom discussion on the impact and experiences throughout the pandemic. 

    These are just a few examples of upcoming events. For more information, visit https://www.roanoke.edu/events.

    Get out and learn!

  • Thinking about psychology?

    …we know you are…

    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.

    chart of units that must be completed

    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

    chart of units that must be completed

    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

    Table of courses needed for the 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

    chart of units that must be completed

    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!

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    Get Connected!

    Blog: https://psych.pages.roanoke.edu/
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rcpsychology
    Twitter: @RC_Psychology
    Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/RC-Psychology-8140491/about
    Website: https://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/psychology
    Instagram: rcpsychology

  • rc psychology highlight: Research

    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.

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    Get Connected!

    Blog: https://psych.pages.roanoke.edu/
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rcpsychology
    Twitter: @RC_Psychology
    Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/RC-Psychology-8140491/about
    Website: https://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/psychology
    Instagram: rcpsychology

  • CONGRATULATIONS VANESSA PEARSON: HONORS DEFENSE

    Vanessa presenting during her defense on May 17, 2021

    Congratulations to Vanessa Pearson ’21 for the successful defense of her Honors in the Major Project titled, “Influences on Paternity Leave” on May 17th. Her research mentor, Dr. Darcey N. Powell, was joined by committee members, Dr. Danielle Findley Van-Nostrand and Dr. David Nichols to oversee her defense. Her project abstract is pasted below.

    Vanessa with her Honors in Psyc t-shirt!


    Project Abstract:
    The overall purpose of this study was to understand the factors that are involved when a father is deciding whether or not to take paternity leave with the birth/adoption of a child. The research was centered around two groups of participants. Study 1 sampled fathers with a child under the age of five. Study 2 sampled prospective fathers – men who are not yet fathers but may be at some point in the future. Participants completed an online survey that asked about their demographics, desired days off, and willingness to take certain types of leave. Most of the hypotheses were not significant or unable to be tested due to sample limitations. For example, several social-demographic factors were not associated with the number of days or types of leave one would take. Even though the findings were not significant, this could mean that the proportion of men who are taking or plan to take paternity leave are increasing and the factors that are holding them back are decreasing. Additionally, while fathers were more likely to know about FMLA than prospective fathers, a majority in both samples believed the US did not have an acceptable leave policy.

    Congratulations again to Vanessa Pearson ’21 on a successful defense! We look forward to seeing all you accomplish in the future!

  • SENIOR HIGHLIGHT: Maggie lewis, Lauren Powell, Destinee Sinclair, mason wheeler, and Allison tice!

    Over the next few days, we will be highlighting the Psychology Department graduating seniors! This post will highlight 5 seniors: Maggie Lewis, Lauren Powell, Destinee Sinclair, Mason Wheeler, and Allison Tice.

    Maggie Lewis

    Maggie will be working full time as a Recovery Advocate at an inpatient psychiatric facility in my home state. 

    Maggies favorite memory was completing mock clinical assessments in Dr. Hilton’s Clinical Psych course. 

    Lauren Powell

    After graduation, Lauren is continuing her education at the University of Lynchburg where she will obtain her M.Ed. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling! 

    Laurens states: “My favorite memory of the psychology department is doing research with Dr. Buchholz over the course of four years as a part of the research fellows program!”

    Destinee Sinclair

    Destinee will be attending East Carolina University pursuing a Master’s degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. 

    Mason Wheeler

    Mason plans to pursue her PhD at Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, studying Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health.

    Allison Tice

    Allison will be attending Virginia Tech (Roanoke Higher-Ed Center) to receive her Masters of Arts in Counselor Education. She plans to then potentially pursue a PhD and hopefully open her own counseling practice. 

    When asked about her favorite memory she stated “I love pie-a-prof! Always such a fun event!”

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    Get Connected!

    Blog: https://psych.pages.roanoke.edu/
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rcpsychology
    Twitter: @RC_Psychology
    Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/RC-Psychology-8140491/about
    Website: https://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/psychology
    Instagram: rcpsychology

  • SENIOR HIGHLIGHT: Carolynn Bructo, Katherine Caldwell, Alyssa Mattson, grace page, and Vanessa Pearson!

    Over the next few days, we will be highlighting the Psychology Department graduating seniors! This post will highlight 5 seniors: Carolynn Bructo, Katherine Caldwell, Alyssa Mattson, Grace Page, and Vanessa Pearson.

    Carolynn Bructo

    Carolynn plans to go back home to Columbus, Ohio, where she will take a gap year and then apply to Ohio State’s School Psychology program.

    Katherine Caldwell

    Katherine plans on working until going to graduate school to get her masters. She plans to become a marriage and family counselor in the future.

    Alyssa Mattson

    Alyssa will be taking an IL course as she resumes her LSAT studies and completes her research practicum. She plans to apply to law schools and resume her job search following her move to Washington, D.C.

    Grace Page

    Grace will be a part of Liberty University’s Marriage and Family Counseling Master’s program while also working full-time for a local non-profit organization.

    Vanessa Pearson

    After graduation, Vanessa will be teaching elementary school in Franklin County and will soon start a graduate school program on school counseling. 

    Vanessa states: “My favorite psychology related memory is from Dr. FVN’s introduction to psychology class. During the lesson on conformity. We started the class standing up in order to see if anyone would come in late and see if they would sit down or stand up just because everyone else was. It was a fun activity to begin the lesson.”

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    Get Connected!

    Blog: https://psych.pages.roanoke.edu/
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rcpsychology
    Twitter: @RC_Psychology
    Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/RC-Psychology-8140491/about
    Website: https://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/psychology
    Instagram: rcpsychology

  • Congratulations Curt Kingery: Honors defense!

    Kingery ’21 with his family while rocking his H.I.P (honors in psychology) shirt!

    Congratulations to Curt Kingery ’21 for the successful defense of his Honors in the Major Project entitled “Tradeoffs In Designing Ideal Leaders: Does Political Ideology Predict Preferences for Dominant and Prestigious Leaders?” His supervisor, Dr. Lindsey Osterman was joined by committee members, Dr. Danielle Findley Van-Nostrand and Dr. Stacy Wetmore to oversee his defense.

    Kingery ’21 and his committee members on his Zoom defense

    Project Abstract:

    Politicians rise to positions of significant influence through different displays of leadership behavior. Two distinct patterns for climbing social hierarchies, and obtaining leadership roles, have emerged from recent research: dominance-oriented and prestige-oriented strategies. These represent profoundly different navigation tactics that accomplish a singular goal, which is to ascend status hierarchies. Which strategy most effectively gains status depends heavily on contextual factors (such as environmental instability and perceptions of intergroup conflict) and the characteristics and needs of followers. Political candidates’ abilities to display cues consistent with one of these orientations, in the appropriate contexts, will impact perceptions of them by potential supporters who are critical to their political success. Evolutionary and social psychological research suggest followership evolved as a strategy to overcome multifarious cooperation and coordination problems from social group-living. Hence, left-leaning or right-leaning political followers’ preconceptions about the world may predispose them to defer status to qualitatively different leaders. In Study 1, we investigated whether or not political orientation reliably predicted a preference for traits associated with dominance or prestige-oriented leader. Participants designed ideal leaders, purchasing various characteristics with 3 different budgets. The different budgets unveiled trade-offs made under constraints. In Study 2, we replicated findings from the first study, and extended the understanding of circumstantial triggers for different leader orientations by assessing the role of—self-perceived—socioeconomic (in)security and pathogenic vulnerability on revealed preferences for an ideal leader.

    Congratulations again to Curt Kingery ’21 on a successful defense and we look forward to seeing all you accomplish in the future!

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    Get Connected!

    Blog: https://psych.pages.roanoke.edu/
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rcpsychology
    Twitter: @RC_Psychology
    Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/RC-Psychology-8140491/about
    Website: https://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/psychology
    Instagram: rcpsychology

  • Congratulations Kaillee philleo: honors defense!

    Philleo ’21 with her H.I.P (honors in psychology) shirt and bound copy of her final paper!

    Congratulations to Kaillee Philleo ’21 for the successful defense of her Honors in the Major Project entitled “The Effect of Transitions on Parasocial Relationships: An Examination of Surrogate Use in College Freshmen During the COVID-19 Pandemic”. Her supervisor, Dr. Lindsey Osterman was joined by committee members, Dr. Todd Peppers and Dr. Stacy Wetmore to oversee her defense.

    Project Abstract:

    During the COVID-19 pandemic and with the increasing amount of time people spend interacting with media figures through online or broadcast platforms, an interest in examining parasocial relationships has become more popular. Specifically, little research has been conducted on parasocial relationships and their role during a period of transition. For that reason, this study set out to examine the role of surrogates within first-year college students. Specifically, we were interested in examining what interactions existed between engagement in activities (e.g., parasocial, social, and nonsocial), campus connectedness, loneliness, and closeness. While focusing on first-year college students, we also took into consideration the current pandemic and the state of the college during the time of this study. Results echoed previous research findings in that loneliness was found to be correlated with parasocial interactions. Moreover, we found partial support for our hypotheses through the findings that (1) loneliness mediated relationships between campus connectedness and parasocial and social activities, as well as (2) social activities mediated the relationship between campus connectedness and loneliness. Moreover, even though our moderation analyses did not result in significant main interactions, parasocial surrogate use was suggested within our data set. While some clear limitations were present within this study, we offered ways in which future research could continue to examine these variables.

    Congratulations again to Kaillee Philleo ’21 on a successful defense and we look forward to seeing all you accomplish in the future!

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    Get Connected!

    Blog:https://psych.pages.roanoke.edu/
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rcpsychology
    Twitter: @RC_Psychology
    Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/RC-Psychology-8140491/about
    Website: https://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/psychology
    Instagram: rcpsychology

  • Congratulations class of 2021!

    Congratulations to the Class of 2021! With graduation being less than 24 hours away, we want to invite, family, friends, community members, faculty, staff, alum and anyone else to join us in celebrating our 2021 Psychology Department graduates.

    Using this link you may record a video, upload an image, leave a message or select some options for gifts to share with our 2021 graduates.

    As a member of the class of 2021, I speak on behalf of all other 2021 graduates in thanking the entire psychology department for guiding us and being there for us these past four years. We certainly would not have gotten to where we are today without you all and thank each of you for all of your support throughout these last four years.

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    Get Connected!
    Blog: https://psych.pages.roanoke.edu/
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rcpsychology
    Twitter: @RC_Psychology
    Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/RC-Psychology-8140491/about
    Website: https://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/psychology
    Instagram: rcpsychology