Alumni News, Events, Faculty News, Undergraduate News

Psychology Department Gets a New Chairperson!

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Denise Friedman has become the new chairperson for the Department of Psychology.  

Dr. Friedman joined the department in 2007. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Averett University with a B.S. in Psychology. She earned a M.S. (2004) and Ph.D. (2006) from Virginia Tech where she specialized in Developmental and Biological Psychology. She is a member of Alpha Chi and Phi Kappa Phi. Her research interests include cognitive and frontal lobe development from infancy through early adulthood. Her current research program examines the impact of technology on cognitive and social skills.

Faculty News, Research, Undergraduate News

Dr. Friedman and students interviewed about Facebook jealousy

http://www.livescience.com/37988-facebook-jealousy-gpa.html

This story was picked up by tons of national papers and translated into multiple languages! At one point, you got over 15 pages of Google search hits for this interview. The paper is currently under review with 6 student co-authors – Ben Hudson (applying to grad school for I/O in the Fall), Sylis Nicolas (pursuing MS at Oakland University), Molly Howser (obtained Masters in Speech Language Pathology from Radford University and will be working in Frederick County Public Schools starting in 2014), Kristen Lipsett (works at Perkins School for the Blind), Laura Pope (obtained Masters in I/O psychology from Radford University), and Ian Robinson (pursuing doctorate in dentistry at VCU).

Conferences, Research, Undergraduate News

Seminar Students Present Posters at the Fall 2012 Psychology Poster Session

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Lauren Stinespring, Rita Yoe, Taylor Smiley, and Chava Urecki examined the effects of violent music and gender on aggression.

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Courtney McKern, Lauren Miller, Hunter Gentry, and Ben Gilson examined the effects of text format and notetaking strategy on test scores.

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Tori Long, Eden Caldwell, Amanda Newman, Brandon Turner and Julia Florea examined the effects of personality and performance evaluation on academic performance.

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Emily Gaston, Ginny Keith, Julia Boudrye, and Breanna Wright examined the effects of personality and misattribution of arousal on attraction.

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Carmen Graves, Katy Hurst, Alexis Coyne, and Emily Rinker examined the effects of health behavior, natural stimuli, and optimism on willpower.

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Yuki Yamazaki, Kristen Robinson, Kacy Dillon, and Hazel Smitson examined the effects of encoding strategy and presentation order on memory for foreign language words.

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Cortlandt Halsey, Aldijana Mekic, Noel Weakley, and Jennifer Klenzman examined whether consuming a candy thought to aid or harm recall actually effected recall performance.

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Kiel Van Ness, Colleen Weber, Anne Watson and Caroline Casey examined the effects of music and mood on attraction.

Awards, Events, Undergraduate News

The Karl Beck Memorial Prize Goes To:

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Julia Boudrye. Julia is recognized for her scholarship. She has been a member of Dr. Friedman’s lab and the URAP program for four years. She has presented at a number of conferences, regional and national, has completed research practicums, independent studies, and honors in the major. Additionally, she has served as the lab coordinator for the past year.

AND

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Chava Urecki. Chava has been a member of Dr. Buchholz’s lab and the URAP program for the last four years. She has been lab manager for the past two years, conducting her own independent research and overseeing underclassmen. She has presented at several conferences and recently defended her honors thesis!

The faculty selects a psychology major to receive the Karl W. Beck Memorial Prize, which is given for excellence in psychology. The recipient is awarded a prize of money, which is made possible by gifts of friends in memory of the late Dr. Karl W. Beck, professor and first chairperson of the Roanoke College Psychology Department. The recipient’s name is engraved on a plaque which is located in the department reception room.

Conferences, Events, Undergraduate News

Senior Seminar Students Present at Psychology Poster Session

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Students in the neuroscience seminar course explain their project to Drs. Buchholz and Pranzarone. This is the second year research seminar in neuroscience has been offered. The concentration is growing fast so it will be offered twice next year!

 

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Siera Sims (Biology), Hazel Smitson, Rebecca Ward (Biology), Jennifer Klenzmann, and Julie Whitt pose with their seminar professor, Dr. Nichols.

Conferences, Undergraduate News

Tests and Measurement Students Present at Experential Learning Week

Students in Dr. Filer’s T&M course created their own instruments this semester. The group presenting here features sophomore, junior, and senior psychology majors – Lauren Kennedy, Jessica Gladfelter, Sam Reis, Brianna Griffith, and Sarah Ellison – who constructed a survey on group work. They plan to collect data this summer and next year to establish predictive validity and then pursue publication of their instrument with Dr. Filer.

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Conferences, Undergraduate News

Senior Psychology Major Student Presents at Experiental Learning Week

Julia Boudrye presents her research on the how smartphone use impacts work-life balance for students at the on-campus student-faculty research showcase. This project was conducted with Drs. Friedman (psychology) and Galluch (business) and will be presented at the national conference in Washington DC this May. Julia has worked with Dr. Friedman all four years as a research assistant through the Undergraduate Research Assistant Program (URAP). She has numerous regional and national presentations and is currently preparing this project for publication.

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