News and Announcements
Stephanie Churchill, Lauren Meyer, Jenna Kelly, Melissa Cyperski, Emily Anderson
2009-2010
Psychology Senior Fellows
The faculty members of the Psychology department select Senior Fellows based
on overall record of accomplishment within psychology. This includes
academic achievements as well as involvement in departmental activities and
functions.
The Senior Fellow position is both an honor and a responsibility.
Senior Fellows are expected to be active participants in departmental events
such as colloquia, special programs for majors, tutoring, and other projects or
activities that arise from time to time. They serve as role models to other
students with respect to academic performance, intellectual curiosity, and
personal involvement in the life of the department.
September 2009
Six students complete summer research projects in psychology through the Denison University Summer Science Research Program. The program provides students with a stipend, housing, and money to cover research expenses.
Lauren Meyer (Advisor: Dr. Gina Dow)
Anderson Research Scholar
Construct validation of "theory of mind" tests in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A pilot study
Marissa Pfoff (Advisor: Dr. Cody Brooks)
Anderson Research Scholar
Chronic restraint stress in male and female rats: Spontaneous recovery compared with no extinction controls
Stephanie Churchill (Advisor: Dr. Gina Dow)
Bowen Research Scholar
Friendship as a moderator for the effects of bullying on self-concept
Lauren Waters (Advisor: Dr. Cody Brooks)
Denison University Research Foundation Scholar
Stress and alcohol self-administration
Mary Fox (Advisor: Dr. Frank Hassebrock)
Sharfstein Scholar
Metacognitive processes in autobiographical memory
Melissa Cyperski (Advisor: Dr. Robert Weis)
Laurie & David Hodgson Scholar
Learning disabilities as socioeconomic constructs: Evidence from primary, secondary, and postsecondary schools
Kelsey Tolmie, Christian Goans, Jamey Maniscalco, Lindsay Bouffard, & Rachel Bokelman
May 2009
Congratulations to five graduating students who completed senior research projects: Rachel Bokelman, Lindsay Bouffard, Christian Goans, Jamey Maniscalco, and Kelsey Tolmie. Their research topics spanned the fields of developmental, social, cognitive, physiological, and community-environmental psychology. Pictures from the senior research symposium and dinner can be viewed here.
Senior Rachel Bokelman presented the results of a research project at the biennial meeting for the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) in Denver, CO. The title of her project was, Patterns of Shared Book Reading in Children With and Without Hearing Loss and Their Parents: Focus on Implicit Story Structure. The poster was co-authored by Drs. Gina Dow (Psychology) and Lyn Robertson (Education).
Senior Sarah Ash published the results of her summer research project, Recovery Among Youths Referred to Outpatient Psychotherapy: Reliable Change, Clinical Significance, and Predictors of Outcome, in the peer-reviewed journal Child and Adolescent Social Work. Second author on the manuscript is Dr. Robert Weis. The project was supported by grants from the William G. Bowen and Mary Ellen Bowen Endowment and the Ohio Department of Mental Health.
Dr. Kay Deaux
April 2009
Social psychologist Dr. Kay Deaux will present two lectures at Denison University on April 6 & 7, 2009. Dr. Deaux is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Women's Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center. In addition to an active research program involving both predoctoral and postdoctoral students, she teaches seminars on topics such as social identity, gender and the law, and social representations. Her most recent research has been directed toward the social psychological aspects of immigration.
Her research questions cover a broad range, including the definition and negotiation of ethnic identities; motivational processes that impact academic performance; attitudes and stereotypes about immigrants and immigration; and the social representations of immigration in U.S. culture.
Dr. Deaux has served as President of the Psychological Study of Social Issues, the American Psychological Society, and the Society of Personality and Social Psychology. She has received a variety of awards and honors, including the CWP Leadership Award for Women in Psychology, the SPSSI Gordon Allport Intergroup Relations Prize, and the Carolyn Wood Sherif Award from Division 35 of the American Psychological Association. Together with Professors Diane Ruble (New York University) and Jacquelynne Eccles (University of Michigan), Dr. Deaux directs the Social Identity in Context project, a consortial group of investigators who are working on issues of gender, ethnicity, and social identity.
March 2009
The following students will present research papers and posters at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, March 2009:
Sarah Ash; The role of hope in adolescents' psychotherapy outcomes.
Amy Brown; Spontaneous recovery after a chronic stress manipulation in rats.
Carrie Fox; The effects of positive and negative emotional pictures on autobiographical memories of young and older adults.
Christian Goans; Autobiographical memory recall under varying cue modalities.
James Maniscalco; Early social isolation or handling stress alters subsequent play behavior and social interaction in juvenile rats following d-amphetamine.
Michael Nowell; The effects of emotional auditory cues on autobiographical memory retrieval.
Obiageli Uguru; Perceptual learning on melodic palindromes: Evidence that timbre affects pitch memory.
Eastern Psychological Association is the oldest region psychological association in the United States. This year's conference will take place in Pittsburgh, PA.
February 2009
Congratulations to two Denison Psychology students who have co-authored empirical research papers recently accepted for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
Jenna Kelly has co-authored "Bilateral attentional advantage on elementary visual tasks" in Vision Research with Dr. Nestor Matthews.
Sarah Ash has co-authored "Changes in adolescent and parent hopefulness in psychotherapy" in Journal of Positive Psychology with Dr. Robert Weis.
Dr. Mary Kite
January 2009
Dr. Mary Kite, Professor of Psychological Science, Ball State University will present "Stereotypes and prejudice related to gender, age, and sexual orientation" on Wednesday, 11 February 2009.
Dr. Kite is a leading researcher in people's beliefs about gender and how those beliefs intersect with their thoughts and attitudes concerning other groups of people, especially gay men and lesbians and the elderly. A secondary research interest is in women's achievement and the factors that promote and hinder women's academic success.
Dr. Kite's research has been sponsored by grants from several organizations including the American Psychological Association (APA) and the National Institute of Aging. She is a Fellow of the APA's Division 2 (Society for the Teaching of Psychology), Division 35 (Society for the Psychology of Women), and Division 44 (Society for the Psychological Study of Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Issues). She is the author of dozens of articles and book chapters and has recently published a textbook, The Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination.