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!
With mid-terms fast approaching (sadly with no relief of a fall break), it can be easy for stress to quickly overcome the life of a college student. Here are some simple reminders and helpful tips on how to reduce stress in your life.
College resources
As always, our student health and counseling services are still available to all students through telemedicine services.
Students can drop into counseling for a short duration through Let’s Talk on Tuesdays from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM, Thursdays 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM, and Fridays 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM.
If you’re interested in talking in a group about stress or anxiety, Love Your Selfie is on Mondays via Zoom from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
Click here for the full counseling services schedule where you can also find meeting information.
Using your school email address, you also have access to Therapy Assistance Online (TAO) Self-Help which is a private online library of behavioral health resources. Modules and practice tools can assist in learning how to manage stress and mindfulness skills.
Organizations and the college may also have events that pop up this week or the next so watch out for those!
Manage your time – Placing all required assignments and due dates on a calendar is only half the battle. Setting up a schedule and setting time aside to study and complete assignments reduces stress because it makes procrastination way less likely. Breaking large assignments into smaller, more manageable parts also helps.
Learn to say no – This doesn’t just mean to fun things. In fact, having fun during stressful times can be beneficial if you are accounting for work you do have to complete. Sometimes smaller assignments that aren’t worth as much can be put aside.
Make Time for Yourself- Make sure when you’re building a schedule, you block in breaks throughout the day. Spending thirty minutes studying and taking a one to two-minute break is great for focusing. Outside of studying, make sure you’re doing things you enjoy as well. Even when socially distancing, you can still have fun on campus. Kaelyn Spickler ’21 has written a great resource about some ideas on the Roanoke College’s website.
Get more (and better sleep)- Sleep is a great stress reducer but also helps the brain and body run at full power. It is recommended that we get 7 or more hours of sleep per night. Putting down electronics thirty minutes before bed and allowing the mind to rest from stimulation can help you get a better night’s sleep. If you do use electronics at night, try using a blue light filter as blue light can affect your sleep.
Exercise- Exercise is another great stress reducer as it releases endorphins. Don’t think you have to exercise for too long, thirty minutes is enough to reap these benefits. Regular exercise also has cognitive benefits especially related to memory and learning.
Mindfulness/Deep Breathing- Even taking two minutes to sit with yourself free of distractions and allowing your mind to drift to more calming things will reduce stress. Mindfulness can also be used in tandem with deep breathing where you only focus on your breath.
Remember midterms are just a reminder that you are halfway through the semester and you have come so far! This list of some potential stress reducers is simply a reminder but there are way more. Feel free to share any other ideas of stress relief during midterms week in the comments below!
Congratulations to Dr. Nichols on his recent publishing in the Frontiers in Applied Mathematics and Statistics Journal, titled “Validation of Critical Ages in Regional Adult Brain Maturation.”
In this article, Dr. Nichols identified that there are linear and non-linear maturation rates that impact different biological mechanisms. With this, he simulated data with known maturation patterns and a single critical age characterizing a qualitative change in maturation to establish the validity of a non-parametric fitting method, the smoothing spline, combined with processing steps for determining the form of the pattern and the associated critical age. In this study, both biological data and generated data were examined through multiple models. The findings suggest that smoothing splines were shown to be a valid means of identifying a set of maturation patterns for adult ages and were shown to contain the essential information required to determine a single critical age for the patterns. Moreover, it was found that for a majority of non-linear areas, new critical ages were identified. However, Dr. Nichols suggests that further modifications to the analysis procedure could include a wider set of maturation patterns and the inclusion of multiple critical ages to help determine distinctions between brain areas in the timing of developmental or degenerative events that influence their volume.
For more information on the article, followthis linkand once again congratulations Dr. Nichols for this recent publication!
We are so excited to have so many familiar faces back on campus, and all of the new ones as well! This semester is going to look far different than any before, so some of the professors in the psychology department are here to offer up their best advice from when they were undergraduates!
Dr. Buchholz
-Get organized. Build a schedule but leave plenty of extra time because things often take longer than you may expect.
-Ask for help, even if it is embarrassing.
-Prioritize assignments and other things that you want to accomplish. That way if something comes up and you can’t do it all, you will know what to focus on. Relatedly, pay attention to the syllabus and how much each assignment is worth. If time is short, don’t waste time on things that are not worth that much, focus on doing a good job on the things that count.
-Have fun. Most of you will look back on this time as one of the best times of your life. Get out there, make friends, take risks (safely).
Dr. Allen
-Talk to your professors, and don’t wait until the situation is desperate. We are human.
-Try to set good habits from the beginning. It’s a lot easier to form a good habit than to break a bad one, and I say that as someone who is trying to break a couple of them.
-And something I often find myself telling students who’ve messed up, even in a big way: admit you made a mistake, ask what you have learned from this (I sometimes learn that I need more sleep) and then move forward. Don’t keep beating yourself up about the mistake other than to remind yourself that you don’t want to make it again.
Dr. Hilton
-Say yes to more things that make you nervous/a little scared. I have learned so much from doing things that initially scared me. Sometimes fear is trying to help us learn things about ourselves and the only way to learn it is to lean into that discomfort (within reason obviously)
-Invest more in other people. I was very driven (as I know our psych students are as well) and sometimes I chose to pursue academic/career goals over relational goals. I have come to recognize that relationships provide meaning to everything else we do and I sometimes wish I had said yes more often to late nights, last minute trips, coffee meetups, etc., instead of working.
-Be kind to yourself. Set lofty goals but also be nice to yourself when you fall short. Failing is part of learning and growing…not something to be avoided but a step along the way.
Dr. Nichols
-Go to class! Even if you think you can keep up with the readings and learning on your own, it’s helpful to keep yourself on track and keep up to date on any announcements if you go to class every day. Honestly, sometimes I would sit in class and do homework for other classes, balance my checkbook, or write love letters to my girlfriend (it was easier to get away with such things at a large state school), but I felt better prepared for each of my classes when I attended them regularly.
-Talk to your professors! At first I didn’t speak to my professors, then I pestered them with questions after class that challenged half of the psychology studies presented in the slides, and finally I learned to attend office hours and have a more civil conversation. Your professors are passionate about the topics they teach and would love to help you learn the material better and most likely know some other ways to present the material than what was done in class, so use office hours to chat and/or learn.
-Talk to students in your class! As a student I was a weird mix of quiet/shy/isolated thinker who tended to sit in the back and not talk to anyone combined with class-clown/passing notes/whispering jokes, depending on the topic and whether I had friends in class. However, I learned to enjoy the friendships that developed by talking to students before or after class that I didn’t know going into the semester. Oftentimes we ended up studying together or inviting each other to parties, but it was nice even to just chit-chat with someone to feel more connected to the class.
Dr. Carter
-Seek out professors who do work that’s interesting to you, and find a way to work for/with them. It’s amazing how those experiences help shape and reveal your interests, and how they can translate into opportunities later.
-Learn how to go to bed at a reasonable hour. It turns out a lot of stuff happens before 10am.
-Always get apartments on the top floor of the building. That way the neighbors can never stomp on the floor when you make the slightest bit of noise. That’s the worst
This semester is uncharted, but the advice offered by some of our professors will help us all make it through! Also, remember to have grace for yourself and your professors, because we are all trying to figure this out and no one has all of the right answers. Good luck Maroons!
Why not check out RCPA at the student activities fair this Friday, September 11 that will be taking place from 5 pm to 8 pm on the back quad?
In the past RCPA has hosted exciting events ranging in activities from tie-dying and pieing professors as well as Toy-like-me modification day and psychology-related talks.
Live streaming and individual club clips will also be available on Maroon Tube for those who cannot attend in person.
Extra information about the fair can be found on Roanoke College’s website under events.
Industrial and organizational psychology, or I/O psychology, is an applied discipline within the field of psychology. Typically, I/O psychologists focus on employees in the workplace, applying psychological principals and research methods in order to improve the work environment, specifically thing such as performance, communication and safety.
With I/O psychology becoming a growing discipline, students who may be interested in a program related to I/O psychology or who may want to learn more about what such program would entail, should check out the virtual open house led by the Graduate Center and Baruch College.
Baruch College will be holding virtual open houses for fall 2021 admissions on Tuesday, September 22 from 5:00 pm-6:00 pm EST and on Thursday, October 22 from 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm EST.
During these open houses, prospective students will have the opportunity to learn more about the Ph.D. program and the application process, hear from current students, such as recent alumna Kaitlin Busse ’18, and faculty, as well as attend a question and answer session.
Advanced registration is required, and can be done here.
Please contact Dr. Charles Scherbaum (Charles.Scherbaum@baruch.cuny.edu)
with any questions on the registration or event.
Welcome class of 2024 and welcome back to our returning students! While the start of this semester may look different than other years, the professors and faculty of the psychology department are as excited as ever for the start of classes and for this semester.
We were able to catch up with some members of the psychology department to see what they are looking forward to and how they are handling this semester!
Ellen Dyer
Ellen Dyer wearing a mask and patiently awaiting the return of the psychology students
I am looking forward to having all the students back. It has been too quiet here in Life Science these last few months.
Dr. Wetmore
Dr. Wetmore wearing a mask and showing off her new teaching setup!
Although teaching will look a lot different coming from my home office, I am just as excited to meet RC’s new students and see our returning students, as any other year! Daisy isn’t so sure about everyone interrupting her nap times but I think she’ll get used to it. If you do see me around campus I will be rocking my RC mask!
Dr. Wetmore’s pup daisy being interrupted from her nap for a photo-op with Dr. Wetmore’s desk setup!
Dr. Osterman
Dr. Osterman wearing a Roanoke College mask and showing off her new work setup!
Welcome back, everyone! In preparation for teaching remotely this semester, I’ve turned our basement bar area into my home office/recording studio for PSYC 354: The Podcast (hence the towels and other sound-absorbing barriers) and video demos for PSYC 204. It is cozy and has soft lighting and candles that smell like chocolate, which will put me in a great mood while I’m grading your assignments!
Dr. Buchholz
Dr. Buchholz showing off his new remote teaching setup!
Welcome back, everyone! This is my home office. It is much fancier and more nicely decorated than Dr. O’s (towels, really?), which will make me happy as I work to create a great experience for you all in History of Psychology and Research Seminar.
Dr. Powell
Dr. Powell rocking a mask and goggles!
This summer and the beginning of the academic year certainly hasn’t unfolded as any of us had hoped. So, although remote courses very much change the delivery of our teaching, it doesn’t change the passion we have for working with students and our excitement to share what we know about psychological science!
Temporarily working from my dining room, rather than the 5th floor of Life Science, means that every day has the potential of being “bring your pet to work day”! There’s a very real possibility one or both of the kitties will make unscheduled appearances during my classes as they leap onto my lap. Otherwise, not much else has changed. My computer is here, the books and files I need are here, I’m still responding promptly to emails, and I’m still crossing-off tasks from super long to-do lists to ensure students have a great learning experience!
We don’t go out much in my household (thank goodness for Kroger pick-up and Target delivery!); but, when we do, we wear filtered masks and goggles. They might not be the most comfortable “accessories” or the most fashionable thing I’ve ever worn, but it’s worth adding them to our outfits. These two accessories ensure that I’m protecting myself and protecting others. Habits can take some time to develop, so we keep our masks and our goggles right by the door as visual don’t-forget-me reminders!
Dr. Powell’s remote-teaching setup!
Dr. Nichols
Dr. Nichols wearing a mask by his remote-teaching setup!
Hello Psychology Students!
I hope that you all are doing well and looking forward to the start of the semester! This has been a tough period of time for many of us for many different reasons. Our family endured the loss of my wife’s father, Kelly, and our Goldendoodle, Oakley. We also experienced some positive, exciting times as a family – my eldest child, Kennerly, got her learner’s permit, and we hiked to see wild ponies at Grayson Highlands State Park! Most of my summer has been spent working at my make-shift home office desk since my wife, Professor Nichols, has been working from home for years and gets the better desk.
Your professors and I are very much looking forward to seeing you all again, whether in person or online! Our community is one of the personal relationships more so than physical space and it is joyful and encouraging to join together in a community where ever we are!
Dr. Findley-Van Nostrand
Dr. FVN wearing a mask while awaiting students’ return!
I’m looking forward to making the best of this semester and learning how to deal with it all together!
Dr. Carter
Dr. Carter wearing a mask in his office!
Welcome back! It’s been great to see campus start to come alive with the arrival of freshmen. And as weird as it will be to see everyone on tiny little boxes on my computer screen for a while, I’m really looking forward to seeing my students in one form or another. Although I was working from home most of the summer, I’m doing most of my teaching from my office on campus (pictured), just to spare my wife several unwanted lectures on Social Psychology while she is also working from home. I’ve moved into Dr. Nichols’s old office, and it clearly needs some decoration. (I’m working on that.) Hopefully I’ll see you on campus soon, and just know that I am actually smiling at you from behind the mask.
Not pictured, Dr. Allen, Dr. Cate, Dr. Haegmann, and Dr. Hilton are also all excited to start teaching and meet you all soon!
While remote, the fifth-floor of life science will continue to cheer you on this semester! Good luck to everyone and let’s have an amazing semester!
Kira Hunt, a rising senior in Psychology is recruiting participants for a study as part of her Honors Distinction Project. Please see below for details:
We would like to invite you to be in a research study focused on sharing information in online dating that would take no more than fifteen minutes of your time. We ask participants are between eighteen and twenty-five. Participants who provide contact information are eligible to enter a raffle for a ten dollar gift card. Click on the link below to get started!
On February 27-29, four students and three psychology professors attended the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, to present research through poster sessions and to attend presentations. The students included Hayley Mulford ’20, Naomi Painter ’22, Kaillee Philleo ’21, and Lauren Powell ’21. These students were joined by Dr. Buchholz, Dr. Carter, and Dr. Osterman.
Those in attendance have since given some insight onto what it was like presenting at the conference as well as their reactions to the conference and New Orleans, LA:
Hayley Mulford
While I did not present at the conference, It was so cool to see how many different research projects were being done and how enthusiastic people were! Everyone was really professional and genuinely interested in the research. Moreover, people held such intellectual conversations. I got to talk to some people that go to grad school at FSU, which is where I am going, so I was so excited! New Orleans is one of the coolest places I have ever been to. I loved the culture, the people, the food, and the area. I would go back in a heartbeat!
Naomi Painter
Dr. Buchholz and Naomi Painter standing in front of the poster Naomi Presented on – “Assessing the effects of participant inattentiveness on data quality across the semester”
Presenting at the SPSP 2020 conference was a wonderful experience in communicating our research projects and findings. I had a great time interacting with students and faculty members through discussion of projects and questions. Being able to see the wide variety of ongoing research was quite exciting, as many of the research topics correlated with ongoing issues that one often reads about or experiences each day.
One of the best parts of the New Orleans SPSP conference was being able to walk around and visit Bourbon Street, Jackson Square, and other popular sites while witnessing firsthand the fascinating and entertaining atmosphere of the great city of New Orleans.
Kaillee Philleo
Kaillee Philleo and Dr. Osterman standing in front of the poster Kaillee presented on – “Listener attitudes and social media engagement after offenses by podcast hosts”
Going into SPSP I was quite nervous, as I have never presented at a conference before. However, after attending a few presentations and talking with other poster presenters, when it came time to present on my own research, it was not nearly as nerve-racking. I loved getting to learn about the variety of research topics in the field of psychology and enjoyed getting to meet other psychologists from across the world and discuss their projects and my own. Beyond the conference, we were able to explore New Orleans and I was able to try gumbo, which has since become my newfound favorite meal. I cannot wait to return to New Orleans in the future and hope to return to SPSP one day as well.
Lauren Powell
Lauren Powell and Dr. Buchholz standing in front of the poster Lauren presented on – “Are liberals more empathic than conservatives?”
This was my second conference but it was the first conference that I have attended that I presented my work independently! It’s not as scary as it seems, and you get to meet a lot of cool people who have the same interests as you – I had a lot of great conversations with people from all over the world! Moreover, it was fun to see what other people were there to present. It’s always interesting to see that there are so many unexplored topics within the broad category of psychology. Beyond the conference, New Orleans was so much fun and I definitely plan on going back! I am really glad we were all able to experience New Orleans for just long enough to enjoy it but not long enough to be affected by the COVID-19 outbreak that has been happening.
Dr. Buchholz
I always enjoy going to the Society of Personality and Social Psychology annual conference. This year it was in New Orleans, which was a lot of fun. At the conference, we have a chance to interact with some of the leading scientists in the field and to hear about cutting-edge research. It is also a great opportunity for our students to present research that they have been conducting in our research labs. This year Naomi Painter and Lauren Powell were both able to present as first authors on our research examining empathy.
Dr. Carter
Dr. Carter’s lunch one day!
I had a great time at SPSP! I wasn’t able to attend last year due to the birth of my son, so it was great to catch up with colleagues and friends from graduate school that I hadn’t seen in a while, and of course to soak up some culture in New Orleans (and several really good meals). I saw a number of really excellent talks, learned a lot, and took inspiration for a few new research projects. My favorite part, however, was getting to see one of my graduate advisors (Tom Gilovich) win the society’s prestigious Campbell Award. He’s a giant in the field, and he absolutely deserves the recognition.
Dr. Osterman
SPSP was a blast as always, and I’m so proud of how well our students did with presenting their research! They represented the college and department well. Kaillee even talked to some people from NPR about her podcasting research!
Congratulations to all those who attended the conference and for having successful presentations!
Over the next few days, we will be highlighting the Psychology Department graduating seniors! This post will highlight 4 seniors: Ryen Beach, Sophia Bacon, Athey Crump, and Emily Deeds!
Ryen Beach
My plans after graduation are to take a gap semester and then attend nursing. I want to be an emergency department nurse and become a flight nurse.
Sophia Bacon
This summer I have been accepted to participate in a clinical internship at Southeast Psych based in Charlotte, NC. In the fall, I plan to both nanny part-time and work at Easterseals UCP where I will be providing ABA therapy to children on the spectrum. I also plan to apply to various graduate school programs in clinical psychology for the 2021 academic year.
Athey Crump
My favorite memory is when I was walking down the hall one day and heard each class make a joke and laugh, one after the other. It made me smile and be so happy to be amongst so many good spirited people.
After graduation, I plan to spend some time with my family while I’m home. Then I plan to attend graduate school nearby so I can be a little bit closer to home.
Emily Deeds
My favorite memory was passing out in Dr. Powell’s Developmental Psychology class watching the video on fertilization.
After graduation, I plan to move down south and pursue a career in Human Resources.
Congratulations to you all on the success you have achieved while at Roanoke College and we look forward to seeing all that you do in the future!
We would like to invite you to be in a research study focused on sharing information in online dating that would take no more than fifteen minutes of your time. We ask participants are between eighteen and twenty-five. Participants who provide contact information are eligible to enter a raffle for a ten dollar gift card. Click on the link below to get started!
On February 27-29
Over the next few days, we will be highlighting the Psychology Department graduating seniors! This post will highlight 4 seniors: Ryen Beach, Sophia Bacon, Athey Crump, and Emily Deeds!
