Psychology Students and Professors Present Research at Professional Conferences

Sessions take place in Ohio and Illinois during April, May, and June

WOOSTER, Ohio - Students and faculty from the Department of Psychology at The College of Wooster have been busy this spring sharing the results of their research at a variety of venues, and the presentations will continue into the summer. The topics, which range from stereotyping to handedness in monkeys to emotion regulation, showcased an array of interests represented within the department.

The unofficial tour began last month when four Wooster seniors presented their Senior Independent Study (I.S.) projects at The Ohio Undergraduate Psychology Conference in Cedarville. Jillienne Johnson of Euclid, Ohio, presented "Make the Decision: Do You Promote or Deny Based on a Disease?" Melissa Petkovsek of Chesterland, Ohio, talked about "Aggressive Affect and Racial Stereotyping of Latino Suspects: Video Games as a Mood Modifier to Investigate Perceptions of Criminality." Joe Witkowski of Bloomfield, Mich., addressed "Maintaining Stereotypes within Gender Communication Using Serial Reproduction Chains." Stephen Zumbrun of Pittsburgh, Pa., discussed "Diminishing the Other-Race Effect: An Investigation into Creating Better Cross-Cultural Facial Recognition Using Social Categorization." Amber Garcia, assistant professor of psychology at Wooster, accompanied the students to the conference.

Last week, several students and four faculty members traveled to Chicago for the Midwestern Psychological Association Meeting, where they presented both I.S. projects and research completed under the Sophomore Research Assistant program. Claire Burgess, a sophomore from Louisville, Ky., and Ashita Gurnani, a sophomore from Mumbai, India, joined Virginia Wickline, visiting assistant professor of psychology, in making a presentation on "Students' Perceptions of Marijuana Use as a Possible Trigger for Schizophrenia." Kaylee Daussin, a sophomore from Spring, Texas; and Amy Toolis, a sophomore from Lisbon, Ohio, were also co-authors on the project. In addition, Milena Mauric, a senior from Ashland, Ohio, and Emily Wilson, a senior from Bexley, Ohio, presented posters. Mauric's poster, "The Effects of Gender and Parental Conflict on Evaluations of Married Couples," looked at how parental conflict influences perceptions of marital conflict. Wilson's poster, " You (Don't) Sound Gay!: A Study on the Effects of Homosexual Speech and Expectancy Violation on Target Likeability," examined evaluations of gay-sounding and straight-sounding voices. Also, Eryn McGowan, a senior from Upper Arlington, Ohio, discussed "Socioeconomic Status and Individualism-Collectivism;" Will Leever, a senior from Loveland, Ohio, addressed "The Effects of Mindfulness and Worry on Emotion Regulation;" and Alan Wedd, a senior from Columbus, Ohio, presented on "The Influence of Musical Familiarity on Cognition." Also attending were Garcia, John Neuhoff, associate professor of psychology, and William Scott, associate professor of psychology.

Later this month (May 22-25), several research teams will attend the annual meetings of the Association for Psychological Science in Chicago. Claudia Thompson, associate professor of psychology, and Becca Thomas, a junior from Elyria, Ohio, will present two research projects completed in collaboration with Leah Michelson, a senior from Shaker Heights, Ohio, and Jessica Winchell, a junior from Garrettsville, Ohio: "Self-Control in Cebus apella Monkeys: Test of the Limited Resource Model" and "Bimanual Tasks Requiring Greater Dexterity Produce Stronger Right-Handedness in Cebus Monkeys." Michael Casey, associate professor of psychology, along with Christopher Collen, a junior from Granville, Ohio, and Natalee Noche, a junior from Cambridge, Ohio, will present their research, "Stages of Hatching are Influenced by Prenatal Sensory Experience in Japanese Quail and Domestic Chick Embryos." Burgess will present a poster titled "Differences in Knowledge about Marijuana's Effects by Country of Origin of Undergraduate Students," based on research she did with Wickline.

Finally, in June, Burgess and Garcia will accompany Susan Clayton, professor of psychology, to Chicago for the conference of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, where Burgess will present a poster on "Effects of a Local Park on an Urban Neighborhood." Her project represents the result of work done last summer as well as work she will do next month as a summer research assistant. Clayton will also present this work at a conference in Rome later this summer.

"We're fortunate to have a combination of motivated students, conferences that are well-timed, and funds to support student travel," said Clayton. "The opportunity to present their work to an audience of professionals provides our students with unique feedback about their own accomplishments as well as insight from others working on these topics. They always come away with increased confidence, and frequently with a new perspective on the meaning of their research results and with promising ideas and connections for the future."