[{"id":7913,"date":"2025-03-04T15:24:22","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T20:24:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/?page_id=7913"},"modified":"2026-03-31T10:22:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T14:22:24","slug":"newsletter","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/newsletter\/","title":{"rendered":"Newsletter"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>March 2026<\/h3>\n<div class=\"box box-mail box-align-\"><h4><i class=\"fa fa-envelope\"><\/i><span>Chair's Greetings<\/span><\/h4>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-7916 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2025\/03\/Lauren-Paulsen-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Head-shot of Lauren Paulsen\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2025\/03\/Lauren-Paulsen-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2025\/03\/Lauren-Paulsen.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Dear Psychology Alumni and Friends,<\/p>\n<p>As we enter the second year of our alumni newsletter, I am pleased to share the continued momentum within the Psychology Department. Over the past year, our faculty and students have remained deeply engaged in teaching, research, and applied learning, and we are excited about the department\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n<p>In this issue, we highlight accomplishments across our alumni, faculty, and students, from career milestones and scholarly achievements to student research and hands-on learning. Together, these stories reflect the strength and vitality of Allegheny Psychology.<\/p>\n<p>This year, we launched our departmental self-study, an important reflective process that is already generating thoughtful conversations about how we can ensure our curriculum and student experiences remain rigorous, relevant, and forward-looking.<\/p>\n<p>We are also pleased to welcome a new faculty colleague whose expertise is already expanding opportunities for students, be sure to read more in this issue.<\/p>\n<p>Our students continue to impress us with their curiosity, professionalism, and commitment to applying psychological science in real-world settings through research, internships, and community-engaged learning. They carry forward the strong tradition you helped build as Allegheny psychology alumni.<\/p>\n<h3>Stay Connected and Get Involved<\/h3>\n<p>Strengthening our alumni community is a priority. You might consider:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Serving as an alumni mentor<\/li>\n<li>Speaking with a class about your career pathway<\/li>\n<li>Sharing internship or job opportunities<\/li>\n<li>Submitting an alumni update<\/li>\n<li>Supporting student conference travel through the Alec Dale Fund (see details for Gator Give Day on April 16)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Your continued involvement makes a meaningful difference. We are proud of our alumni network and excited about the future we are building together.<\/p>\n<p>Warm regards,<br \/>\nLauren Paulson, Ph.D., LPC<br \/>\nEndowed Chair, Henry B. Tippie and Patricia Bush Tippie Professorship in Psychology<br \/>\nChair, Department of Psychology<br \/>\n<a href=\"mailto:lpaulson@allegheny.edu\">lpaulson@allegheny.edu<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"box box-yellow box-align-\"><h3>Faculty Focus \u2014 Introductions<\/h3><\/div>\n<h4>Nate Powell, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience<\/h4>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8030\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8030\" style=\"width: 265px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Nate-Powell.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-8030\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Nate-Powell-265x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"265\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Nate-Powell-265x300.jpg 265w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Nate-Powell-905x1024.jpg 905w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Nate-Powell-768x869.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Nate-Powell-1357x1536.jpg 1357w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Nate-Powell-1810x2048.jpg 1810w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 265px) 100vw, 265px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8030\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nate Powell ready for a chilly commute on his self-built bicycle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We are excited to introduce our newest faculty member, Dr. Nate Powell who is teaching a variety of courses, including Sensation and Perception, Systems Neuroscience, Foundations of Neuroscience, and Experimental Techniques of Neuroscience (Practical Neuroscience). In the future, he hopes to add courses on Computational Neuroscience and possibly Neuroeconomics<\/p>\n<p>Powell earned his BA in physics and philosophy from Amherst College and his Ph.D. in neuroscience from University of Minnesota. His research focuses on how the brain works as a \u201ccomputational machine,\u201d focusing on the prefrontal cortex and cognition.<\/p>\n<p>Powell\u2019s interests include NFL football, Tai Chi, and bikes \u2013 riding bikes, fixing bikes, building bikes (he built the bike he rides to Carnegie most days, even when the temperature dips below freezing!). He also is an avid tea drinker and welcomes anyone to stop by his office in Carnegie 208 to share a cup!<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI&#8217;m very happy to have found a home here at Allegheny College! My colleagues in Psychology and Neuroscience are wildly talented, supportive, and caring people, and the research facilities are impressive for a small college. And the students are earnest, inquisitive, and very invested in their education (along with about 7 extracurriculars each).\u201d<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"box box-green box-align-\"><h3>Reflections \u2014 Retired faculty member Alec Dale<\/h3><\/div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8032\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8032\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Dale-Klions-Heuchert-scaled.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-8032\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Dale-Klions-Heuchert-300x225.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Dale-Klions-Heuchert-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Dale-Klions-Heuchert-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Dale-Klions-Heuchert-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Dale-Klions-Heuchert-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Dale-Klions-Heuchert-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8032\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Retired psychology faculty: Alec Dale, Herb Klions, Juvia Heuchert<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Professor Alec Dale taught in the Psychology Department for 38 years and in that time, mentored and advised hundreds of students while teaching favorite classes such as Health and Psychophysiology, and Abnormal Psychology.<\/p>\n<p>Dale coauthored multiple professional publications with students and together they presented their research at nearly 100 national and international conferences, including venues in Europe. He notes that he was the first or second reader on several hundred comps and that \u201ceach was a favorite at the time.\u201d But he is able to name a few memorable projects: \u201cAndy Alden\u2018s on relaxation imagery and Amy Overman\u2018s and Jessica Hoge\u2019s comps on music in the brain.\u201d These last two were also with colleagues Jeff Cross in the Psychology department and the pianist Alec Chien, who was in the Music department. \u201cHerb Klions, the chairman of our department, and I worked with several students on humor and facial expressions in the treatment of anxiety, depression and discomfort: Barb Yovetich, Amy Danzer, Doug Klions\u2026and many more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dale notes that \u201cAllegheny was a wonderful place to work. I was able to do teaching, research and clinical work and went on great sabbatical leaves in Italy, Australia, Virginia, and UCLA. I have fond memories of wonderful colleagues both in and out of the department at Allegheny. There were so many great students to work with!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since retiring in 2007, Dale has done a lot of sailing with his charter captain\u2019s license, including to France, Italy, Croatia, Greece and Turkey, as well as the Caribbean. He and wife Sharon sailed their boat across the Atlantic for a year-long stay in Rome after retirement. When not traveling the world, they continue to reside in Meadville, taking advantage of the changing seasons, including many opportunities to ski at Robertson Field this winter and ballroom dancing (which came about after collaborating with Jan Hyatt on the neuroscience of dance).<\/p>\n<p>Dale can be contacted through email at: <a href=\"mailto:adale80@gmail.com\">adale80@gmail.com<\/a> or on Facebook.<\/p>\n<div class=\"box box-green box-align-\"><h3>Reflections \u2014 Retired faculty member Herb Klions<\/h3><\/div>\n<p>Professor Herb Klions retired in 1993 after almost 40 years of serving the psychology department as a teacher, researcher, academic advisor, mentor, chairperson, and friend.\u00a0 In that time he also had an active clinical psychology practice, working with the Meadville Medical Center, and, even after retirement, he continued to consult with Allegheny\u2019s Counseling Center.<\/p>\n<p>Klions recalls that when he started at Allegheny, the psychology department consisted of three faculty members and was housed in Reuter Hall.\u00a0 There was no dedicated lab space so any empirical research had to be conducted in faculty offices.\u00a0 As department chair, he committed to expanding and strengthening the program, advocating for the department\u2019s relocation to Carnegie where proper lab facilities were available and overseeing the hiring of new faculty members interested in active research (including Alec Dale and Jeff Cross). Klions\u2019s legacy continues to shape the department, reflected not only in the vibrant research culture he helped establish but also in the Herb Klions Student Research Fund, which provides support for students to travel and present their work at professional conferences nationwide.<\/p>\n<p>As he looks forward to his 100th birthday, Klions stays very active physically and mentally, as part of a ukulele band, a wii bowling league, and a poker group, and coordinating a book club.\u00a0 While his classes in abnormal psychology, statistics, and clinical psychology live on in the memory of many alumni, Klions notes that what he most remembers is that he \u201chired people who were better than me in their fields.\u00a0 They were great people and I am really proud of that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Help celebrate Herb Klions\u2019s 100th birthday! Cards and messages can be sent to<br \/>\n4041 Heritage Center Drive, Apt. 1033,<br \/>\nCopley OH 44321<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:hklions@allegheny.edu\">hklions@allegheny.edu<\/a><\/p>\n<p>You may also honor Klions through donations to his fund supporting student research, the Herb Klions student research fund.<\/p>\n<div class=\"box box-yellow box-align-\"><h3>Alumni spotlight: Neuroscience alum, Jessica Schindelar &#8217;02<\/h3><\/div>\n<p>Neuroscience alum, Jessica Schindelar \u201802, recently returned to Allegheny as Associate Vice President for Marketing and Communications, the culmination of almost 20 years in marketing and communicating, including work in crisis communications at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/p>\n<p>Schindelar notes that \u201cmy neuroscience degree, especially my coursework in behavioral sciences while here (and as part of my graduate studies post-college), really helped me to think about people&#8217;s underlying behaviors that we are trying to influence via communications. I approach communications from this lens of my neuroscience and psychology background. Allegheny taught me to think critically and ask the tough questions, and it armed me with the problem-solving skills I use every day as a leader.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While a student at Allegheny, Schindelar spent many hours in the basement of Carnegie, working with Jeff Cross to study the effectiveness of beta-estradiol tissue grafts in an animal model of Parkinson\u2019s disease. She was also active with Gator Activities Programming (GAP), working on promotions and special events. This work allowed her to tap into her creativity while also working with deadlines and managing projects. \u201cThese experiences at Allegheny all shaped who I am as a communicator, a leader, and a human,\u201d Schindelar writes.<\/p>\n<div class=\"box box-green box-align-\"><h3>Highlights<\/h3><\/div>\n<p><strong>Ryan Pickering, Associate Professor<\/strong>, was awarded the 2025 Thoburn Award for Excellence in Teaching. The Thoburn is awarded to a junior faculty member who demonstrates \u201coutstanding teaching as evidenced by innovative pedagogy, creative course development, sustained commitment to student learning, and support from faculty, alumni, and students.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kristen Warren, Assistant Professor<\/strong> of psychology and neuroscience,received a grant through the Orris C. &amp; Beatrice Dewey Hirtzel Memorial Foundation to purchase a Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) system\u2014comprising a stimulator, coils, navigation tools, software, installation, training, and Electroencephalogram (EEG) interface\u2014for our Learning, Memory and Sleep Lab<\/p>\n<p>Shout out to <strong>Courteney Bender \u201818<\/strong> who returned to the psychology department as an adjunct faculty member for fall 2025, teaching Human Social Behavior. Bender is a Licensed Professional Counselor who is board-certified in art therapy and practices in Erie PA<\/p>\n<p><strong>Zongqi (Zoe) Li, Assistant Professor<\/strong>, recently passed her Examination for Professional Practice of Psychology (EPPP), on her way to being licensed as a Clinical Psychologist in Pennsylvania. Li teaches Adult Psychopathology and Clinical Psychology in the department.<\/p>\n<p><b>Megan Bertholomey, Assistant Professor<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, presented the September 2025 Karl W. Weiss \u201887 Faculty Lecture Series: \u201cThe role of gonadal hormones in the development of alcohol drinking in male and female rats\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Members of <strong>Psi Chi<\/strong> (the International Honor Society for Psychology) challenged psychology faculty to a \u201cHot Ones Trivia Contest\u201d in spring 2025. The faculty were triumphant in answering questions on psychology, generational trivia, and Allegheny history. We hope to continue this as an annual event.<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-7913 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-gallery-thumb'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Ryan-Thoburn-scaled.jpeg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"299\" height=\"299\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Ryan-Thoburn-299x299.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-gallery-thumb size-gallery-thumb\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-8037\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Ryan-Thoburn-299x299.jpeg 299w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Ryan-Thoburn-150x150.jpeg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 299px) 100vw, 299px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-8037'>\n\t\t\t\tRyan Pickering is awarded the Thoburn Excellence in Teaching Award at the 2025 Spring Honors Convocation\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Hot-ones-students.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"299\" height=\"299\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Hot-ones-students-299x299.jpg\" class=\"attachment-gallery-thumb size-gallery-thumb\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-8038\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Hot-ones-students-299x299.jpg 299w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Hot-ones-students-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Hot-ones-students-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Hot-ones-students-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Hot-ones-students-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Hot-ones-students.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 299px) 100vw, 299px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-8038'>\n\t\t\t\t Members of Psi Chi work together to answer trivia questions: Madison Kermis \u201825, Olivia Durden \u201825, and Charlotte Allen \u201825\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/hot-ones-chris-triumphant.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"299\" height=\"299\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/hot-ones-chris-triumphant-299x299.jpg\" class=\"attachment-gallery-thumb size-gallery-thumb\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-8039\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/hot-ones-chris-triumphant-299x299.jpg 299w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/hot-ones-chris-triumphant-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 299px) 100vw, 299px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-8039'>\n\t\t\t\tTriumphant faculty member, Chris Normile\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"box box-yellow box-align-\"><h3>Happenings<\/h3><\/div>\n<p>During<strong> Blue and Gold Weekend 2025<\/strong>, current students had the chance to explore the diverse career journeys of psychology <strong>alumni Victoria Pless \u201914<\/strong> (Psychology \/ Dance &amp; Global Health Studies), <strong>Ashlee Sydlik \u201909<\/strong> (Neuroscience &amp; Psychology \/ Religious Studies), and <strong>Kate Flickinger \u201912<\/strong> (Biology \/ Dance &amp; Psychology). Moderated by department chair Lauren Paulson, the panel highlighted how their Allegheny education shaped their professional paths. Although each alumna\u2019s journey unfolded differently over time, they unanimously reflected on the senior project as a challenging yet transformative experience that proved invaluable in their careers.<\/p>\n<p>More than $1500 was raised for the <strong>Alec Dale Fund<\/strong> during <strong>Gator Give Day 2025<\/strong>.\u00a0 This fund helps recent graduates share their senior projects and other Allegheny-based research at professional conferences after graduation, when college funding may no longer be available. Thanks in part to the Dale Fund, and to the continued generosity of our alumni, Andrea Boccia \u201925 was able to present his senior project at the Research Society on Alcoholism annual meeting in June 2025.<\/p>\n<p>The Psychology Department\u2019s <strong>Lunch and Learn<\/strong> series continues with recent talks by Prof. Courteney Bender on art therapy techniques, as well as Prof. Chris Normile and his JUSTICE Lab students sharing insights from their research on jury decision-making, interrogations, and wrongful convictions.<\/p>\n<p>Allegheny\u2019s chapter of<strong> Psi Chi<\/strong>, the International Honor Society in Psychology, has hundreds of alumni members.\u00a0 With typically about 24 current student members at any given\u00a0 time, new member induction occurs each year.<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-2' class='gallery galleryid-7913 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-gallery-thumb'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/panel-good-scaled.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"299\" height=\"299\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/panel-good-299x299.jpg\" class=\"attachment-gallery-thumb size-gallery-thumb\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-2-8041\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/panel-good-299x299.jpg 299w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/panel-good-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 299px) 100vw, 299px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-2-8041'>\n\t\t\t\t Department chair Lauren Paulson, Victoria Pless \u201814, Ashlee Sydlik \u201c09, and Kate Flickinger \u201812 at Blue Gold Weekend Psychology Alumni Panel\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/art-therapy-results-scaled.jpeg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"299\" height=\"299\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/art-therapy-results-299x299.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-gallery-thumb size-gallery-thumb\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-2-8042\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/art-therapy-results-299x299.jpeg 299w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/art-therapy-results-150x150.jpeg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 299px) 100vw, 299px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-2-8042'>\n\t\t\t\tAttendees\u2019 group project from Courteney Bender\u2019s Art Therapy Lunch and Learn session\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/psi-chi-induction-scaled.jpeg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"299\" height=\"299\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/psi-chi-induction-299x299.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-gallery-thumb size-gallery-thumb\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-2-8043\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/psi-chi-induction-299x299.jpeg 299w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/psi-chi-induction-150x150.jpeg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 299px) 100vw, 299px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-2-8043'>\n\t\t\t\tPsi Chi induction, spring 2025; new members: Naydean Massie \u201827, Maggie Dineen \u201827, Tai Dean \u201827, Eliana Brown \u201c27.\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/commencement-25-scaled.jpeg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"299\" height=\"299\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/commencement-25-299x299.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-gallery-thumb size-gallery-thumb\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-2-8044\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/commencement-25-299x299.jpeg 299w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/commencement-25-150x150.jpeg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 299px) 100vw, 299px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-2-8044'>\n\t\t\t\t2025 Commencement (Clockwise from bottom right): Lauren Paulson, Monali Chowdhury, Shelby Blair, Megan Bertholomey, Juvia Heuchert, Nancy Frambes, Kristen Warren\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Halloween-25.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"299\" height=\"299\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Halloween-25-299x299.jpg\" class=\"attachment-gallery-thumb size-gallery-thumb\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-2-8045\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Halloween-25-299x299.jpg 299w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Halloween-25-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 299px) 100vw, 299px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-2-8045'>\n\t\t\t\tThe Psychology department teams up with Psi Chi to hand out candy at Halloween.  Faculty make the day more fun by dressing up (from left): Lauren Paulson, Courteney Bender, Juvia Heuchert, Megan Bertholemey, Shelby Blair, Kristen Warren (with her \u201cLittle Bug\u201d), and Chris Normile.\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Holiday-Psychology-Dept-.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"299\" height=\"299\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Holiday-Psychology-Dept--299x299.jpg\" class=\"attachment-gallery-thumb size-gallery-thumb\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-2-8046\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Holiday-Psychology-Dept--299x299.jpg 299w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Holiday-Psychology-Dept--150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 299px) 100vw, 299px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-2-8046'>\n\t\t\t\t Members of the psychology department looking contemplative\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"box box-yellow box-align-\"><h3>The Alec Dale Student Research Fund<\/h3><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;We always had difficulty getting travel funding because the conferences occurred after graduation so I set up a travel fund to help out. It would be great if others could contribute to carry on this tradition of spreading Allegheny\u2018s fame and supporting our students.&#8221; &#8211; <strong>Alec Dale, Ph.D. Retired Professor of Psychology<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Please consider adding to this important fund during <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givecampus.com\/campaigns\/75857\/donations\/new?designation=professoralexanderdalealleghenygraduatetravelfund&amp;\">Gator Give Day<\/a>, April 16, 2026.<\/p>\n<div class=\"box box-green box-align-\"><h3>Research Presentations<\/h3><\/div>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">More than 20 students and their faculty mentors attended and presented at a number of national conferences in the past year, including: American Psychology \u2013 Law Society, Alcohol and the Nervous System Gordon Research Conference, the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Research Society on Alcoholism Meeting, Eastern Psychological Association, WPUPC, and the Council on Undergraduate Research<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4>WPUPC 2025 (Western Pennsylvania Undergraduate Psychology Conference)<\/h4>\n<p>Students from the class of 2025 presented research talks or posters at the 52nd annual WPUPC, hosted by PennWest University-California.<\/p>\n<p>(left to right) Joshua Salisbury, Lily Kons, Julia Williams, Hannan Hamed, Sarah Willison, Braislee Byrne, Charlote Allen, Aria Zong, Rachel Oberst, Maley Gleason, NealyClare Wheat. Faculty mentors were Monali Chowdhury,\u00a0 Lauren Paulson, Ryan Pickering, and Kristen Warren.<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-3' class='gallery galleryid-7913 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-medium'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/WPUPC-presenters.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/WPUPC-presenters-300x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/WPUPC-presenters-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/WPUPC-presenters-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/WPUPC-presenters-299x299.jpg 299w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/WPUPC-presenters.jpg 608w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<h4>URCSA 2025 (Undergraduate Research Scholarship and Creative Activities)<\/h4>\n<p>Mentorship for students continue in the summer.\u00a0 Faculty guide the students&#8217; summer projects and presentation.\u00a0 This presentation is to the campus community at large providing valuable public engagement and Community Based Research experience.\u00a0 (left to right) Cole Jooste&#8217;27 with mentor Lauren Paulson, Karley Johnson &#8217;28 (faculty mentor Megan Bertholomey), and Ian Oliver &#8217;26 (faculty mentor Megan Bertholomey).<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-4' class='gallery galleryid-7913 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-medium'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/URSCA-CJooste-with-Lauren-scaled.jpeg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/URSCA-CJooste-with-Lauren-300x225.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/URSCA-CJooste-with-Lauren-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/URSCA-CJooste-with-Lauren-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/URSCA-CJooste-with-Lauren-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/URSCA-CJooste-with-Lauren-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/URSCA-CJooste-with-Lauren-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/URSCA-KJohnson.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/URSCA-KJohnson-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/URSCA-KJohnson-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/URSCA-KJohnson-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/URSCA-KJohnson-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/URSCA-KJohnson.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/ursca_ioliver_1.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/ursca_ioliver_1-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/ursca_ioliver_1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/ursca_ioliver_1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/ursca_ioliver_1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/ursca_ioliver_1.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<h4>Cook-Lahti Symposium 2025<\/h4>\n<p>At the end of each spring semester, all Allegheny Community members are invited to gather to celebrate student research, scholarship and creative activities on campus.\u00a0 These psychology students presented last spring. (left to right) Hallie Johnson &#8217;25 (faculty mentor Megan Bertholomey), Hanan Hamed &#8217;25 (faculty mentor Kristen Warren) and Charlotte Allen &#8217;25 (faculty mentor Christopher Normile).<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-5' class='gallery galleryid-7913 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-medium'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/C-L-symposium-Hallie-Johnson-N-1.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/C-L-symposium-Hallie-Johnson-N-1-225x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/C-L-symposium-Hallie-Johnson-N-1-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/C-L-symposium-Hallie-Johnson-N-1-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/C-L-symposium-Hallie-Johnson-N-1.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/C-L-symposium-Hanan-Hamed-N-1.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/C-L-symposium-Hanan-Hamed-N-1-225x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/C-L-symposium-Hanan-Hamed-N-1-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/C-L-symposium-Hanan-Hamed-N-1-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/C-L-symposium-Hanan-Hamed-N-1.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/C-L-symposium-Charlotte-Allen-1.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/C-L-symposium-Charlotte-Allen-1-225x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/C-L-symposium-Charlotte-Allen-1-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/C-L-symposium-Charlotte-Allen-1-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/C-L-symposium-Charlotte-Allen-1.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p><\/p>\n<h4>National Conference Presentations<\/h4>\n<p><b>Christopher Normile<\/b>, Assistant Professor of Psychology, and four students from the JUSTICE lab presented their studies at the annual meeting of the <i>American Psychology-Law (AP-LS) Society <\/i>in San Juan, Puerto Rico in March 2025.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Meghan Boudreau&#8217;s &#8217;25<\/b> poster was entitled, &#8220;It&#8217;s All for the Kids, Right?: Psychological Impacts of the Lawful Removal of Children From Their Home.&#8221; Based on her Senior Comp, Boudreau made recommendations for more quantitative research into the effectiveness of trauma-informed courts to reduce psychological harm to children removed from their homes.<\/li>\n<li><b>Mycah Quevillon &#8217;25<\/b> presented the lab poster entitled, &#8220;Examining the Influence of Entirely Opposing Confession &amp; DNA Evidence on Mock-Jurors&#8217; Perceptions.&#8221; She found that, when evidence was diametrically opposed, participants were more likely to blame the suspect implicated by DNA evidence than confession evidence.<\/li>\n<li><b>Hannah Hinterleiter &#8217;24<\/b> presented a data blitz on her Senior Comp project titled, &#8220;Perceptions of School and Custodial Interrogations.&#8221; Hannah found that participants were more likely to find an interrogation done by a school resource officer to be more coercive and severe than one done by a principal (even when the interrogation is exactly the same), but that people were more likely to believe the student was guilty when interrogated by a principal.\u00a0 Her findings are particularly alarming, because students are not afforded the same legal rights when interrogated by a school administrator compared to a police officer. Hinterleiter\u2019s project was one of the highest rated during review, earning her $500 in funds from AP-LS to present her project. The data were collected thanks to an $850 grant provided last spring by Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology.<\/li>\n<li><b>Emily Eshleman &#8217;24<\/b> presented a data blitz on her Senior Comp titled, &#8220;Verdicts and Victim Blame: The Impact of Victim Race and Sexuality.&#8221; Eshleman found that jurors were more likely to give a harsher sentence when the victim of a crime was homosexual compared to a heterosexual victim, a result that differs from most previous research.\u00a0 In addition, she found an increase in victim blaming for the heterosexual victim compared to the homosexual victim. The data were collected thanks to an $850 grant provided last spring by Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id='gallery-6' class='gallery galleryid-7913 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-medium'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Justice-Hannah-H-Perceptions-of-School-Interrogations-Study.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Justice-Hannah-H-Perceptions-of-School-Interrogations-Study-300x169.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-6-8061\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Justice-Hannah-H-Perceptions-of-School-Interrogations-Study-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Justice-Hannah-H-Perceptions-of-School-Interrogations-Study-1024x575.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Justice-Hannah-H-Perceptions-of-School-Interrogations-Study-768x431.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Justice-Hannah-H-Perceptions-of-School-Interrogations-Study.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-6-8061'>\n\t\t\t\tHannah Hinterleiter &#8217;24\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Justice-Lab-Group.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Justice-Lab-Group-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-6-8064\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Justice-Lab-Group-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Justice-Lab-Group.jpg 533w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-6-8064'>\n\t\t\t\tProf. Normile, Mycah Quevillon&#8217; 25, Hannah Hinterlier&#8217; 24, Emily Eshelman &#8217;24 \n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p><\/p>\n<p><b>Ryan Pickering, Associate Professor<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, presented two papers at the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues in June 2025: \u201cOvercoming and reinterpreting faculty activism failure\u201d and \u201cNavigating federal threats to academic freedom in the classroom\u201d.\u00a0 After serving on American Psychological Association\u2019s Council of Representatives, Ryan Pickering, Associate Professor, presented a poster titled \u201cEmpowering students as change agents through classroom activities\u201d for Division 2 (Society for the Teaching of Psychology) and gave a talk titled \u201cIronic exclusion: Reconsidering simulation activities to promote inclusion\u201d for Division 9 (Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues) at the 2025 American Psychological Association convention.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Lauren R. Paulson, Associate Professor<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, (third from left) presented \u201cFrom Courses to Collaboratives: Building Lasting Community Engagement in Liberal Arts Settings\u201d with colleagues from Bates College, Macalester College, and Project Pericles, as part of the 2025 Bonner Summer Leadership Institute and Project Pericles Conference at University of Richmond.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Pericles-conference-Lauren-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-8062 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Pericles-conference-Lauren-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"330\" height=\"186\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Pericles-conference-Lauren-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Pericles-conference-Lauren-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Pericles-conference-Lauren-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Pericles-conference-Lauren-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/Pericles-conference-Lauren-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 330px) 100vw, 330px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Megan Bertholomey, Assistant Professor<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, and students from the BEER Lab (<\/span>Behavioral Endocrinology and Ethanol Research)\u00a0<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> presented at various conferences.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Andrea Boccia \u201825<\/b><strong> (below) <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">presented two papers at the Research Society on Alcoholism Meeting in June 20: \u201cExploring The Role of Gonadal Hormones Across Development in Alcohol Self Administration in Male and Female Rats\u201d and \u201cExploring the Effect of Binge Drinking Using Drinking-In-The-Dark During Early Vs. Late Adolescence in Female Rats.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Hallie Johnson \u201825<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">presented research at the Alcohol and the Nervous System Gordon Research Conference in February, entitled \u201cInteractions between risk choice behavior and ethanol drinking patterns in adult male rats.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Joshua Salisbury \u201825<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">presented research at the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics conference in April 2025.\u00a0 Their project was entitled: \u201cEffect Of Mifepristone on Voluntary Ethanol Consumption in Traumatic-Stress Exposed Female Sprague-Dawley Rats.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/C-L-symposium-Andrea-Boccia-N.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-8063 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/C-L-symposium-Andrea-Boccia-N-276x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"229\" height=\"249\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/C-L-symposium-Andrea-Boccia-N-276x300.jpg 276w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/C-L-symposium-Andrea-Boccia-N-941x1024.jpg 941w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/C-L-symposium-Andrea-Boccia-N-768x836.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/C-L-symposium-Andrea-Boccia-N.jpg 1075w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 229px) 100vw, 229px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Shelby Blair<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, <strong>Assistant Professor<\/strong> and students from the FEAR lab (Fear, Anxiety and Endocrine Research) presented their research at the Eastern Psychological Association in February 2026.\u00a0 <\/span><b>Caleb Freeman \u201826<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> presented \u201cEffects of Acute Progesterone on State-Dependent Pavlovian Fear Conditioning\u201d and <\/span><b>Angeline Laufer \u201826<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> presented \u201cHousing Conditions Impact Pavlovian Fear Conditioning in Female Sprague-Dawley Rats.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div id='gallery-7' class='gallery galleryid-7913 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-medium'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/EPA26-ALaufer-scaled.jpeg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/EPA26-ALaufer-300x225.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-7-8094\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/EPA26-ALaufer-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/EPA26-ALaufer-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/EPA26-ALaufer-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/EPA26-ALaufer-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/EPA26-ALaufer-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-7-8094'>\n\t\t\t\tAngeline Laufer &#8217;26\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/EPA-26-CFreeman-scaled.jpeg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/EPA-26-CFreeman-300x225.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-7-8090\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/EPA-26-CFreeman-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/EPA-26-CFreeman-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/EPA-26-CFreeman-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/EPA-26-CFreeman-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2026\/03\/EPA-26-CFreeman-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-7-8090'>\n\t\t\t\tCaleb Freeman &#8217;26\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p><b>Christopher Normile, Assistant Professor<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, mentored <b>Nathan Jyachosky \u201825<\/b> and presented their research at the Council for Undergraduate Research in April 2025 entitled \u201cBiases in Jury Decision-Making: Autism versus Down Syndrome.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\">\n<div class=\"box box-green box-align-\"><h4>Publications<\/h4><\/div>\n<p>Recent publications by faculty have been in journals such as: <em>Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement; Emerging Adulthood; Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience; Psychology, Crime &amp; Law; Journal of First-Generation Student Success<\/em>; and books including <em>Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science<\/em> and <em>Teaching Social Psychology<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Select Publications:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Catlin, M., Scherr, K. C., Clow, K. A., Normile, C. J., &amp; Ben Ralph, D. Adverse inferences: The impact of suspect silence on lay perceptions. Law and human behavior (Dec 2025)<\/li>\n<li>Pickering, R.M. Persisting and pivoting in the face of failure: Learning from what did not work. In Case, K.A. &amp; Warner, L.R. (Eds): Creating a Faculty Activism for Commons for Social Justice: Finding Hope in the Messy Truth. (2025)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"box box-blue box-align-\"><p>\nOur goal is to celebrate the successes of our alumni, highlight the exciting work happening in the department, and create opportunities for mentorship, collaboration, and lifelong learning. We\u2019d love to hear from you \u2014stay in touch and let us know what you\u2019re up to! <a href=\"mailto:lpaulson@allegheny.edu\">lpaulson@allegheny.edu<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>March 2026 Nate Powell, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience We are excited to introduce our newest faculty member, Dr. Nate Powell who is teaching a variety of courses, including Sensation and Perception, Systems Neuroscience, Foundations of Neuroscience, and Experimental Techniques of Neuroscience (Practical Neuroscience). In the future, he hopes to add courses on [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"mt-5\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/newsletter\/\">Continue Reading &#8220;Newsletter&#8221;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":546,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-7913","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/546"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7913"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7913\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8130,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7913\/revisions\/8130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":7893,"date":"2025-02-03T13:38:17","date_gmt":"2025-02-03T18:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/?page_id=7893"},"modified":"2025-02-03T14:50:44","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T19:50:44","slug":"2023-2024-senior-comp-abstracts","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/past-comps\/2023-2024-senior-comp-abstracts\/","title":{"rendered":"2023-2024 Senior Comp Abstracts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><a id=\"Bianchin\">Branygan Bianchin<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Neuroscience||Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Rodney Clark<\/p>\n<p>The Effects of Pain on Wheel Running as Reinforcement<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57566\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>There is a phenomenon among athletes where they will continue to participate in their sport despite experiencing pain (Mayer et al., 2018). Exercise is known to be reinforcing, as wheel running functions as positive reinforcement in rats (Iverson, 1993; Pierce et al., 1986). Following a period of habituation, rats were exposed to a progressive ratio (PR) schedule with 60 seconds of wheel running as reinforcement. The ratio began at three and was incremented by three. The rats were then placed on a fixed ratio (FR) schedule reinforced with 60 seconds of wheel running and an overlapping variable interval (VI) 30-second schedule for each shock intensity: zero milliamperes (mA) and 0.2 mA. The ratio requirement for the FR schedule was dependent on the individual\u2019s average breakpoint from the PR schedules. Response rates and running rates were recorded for each procedure. It was hypothesized that wheel running would function as a positive reinforcer in male Sprauge-Dawley rats and exposure to mild footshocks would lower the animal\u2019s response rate and running rate. Statistical analyses revealed no significant differences in response rate or running rate with shock exposure; although there was a significant correlation between the rat\u2019s average breakpoint from the PR tests and their change in response rate with shock exposure (p < .05). These results contradict findings from previous studies investigating other forms of overlapping reinforcement and punishment and further support the notion of a complex interaction between exercise and pain (Bouzas, 1978; Church &#038; Raymond, 1967; Lima et al., 2017). The present study was designed to determine to what extent exercise may function as a reinforcing event and how acute pain affects the value of reinforcement. Future studies should address the mechanism behind this phenomenon.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Brundige\">Jenny Brundige<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Neuroscience<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Megan Bertholomey<\/p>\n<p>Mechanisms Underlying Depersonalization-Derealization Disorder (DDD) in Multiple Psychiatric Conditions<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57724\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Depersonalization-derealization disorder (DDD) is a mental health condition where a person may experience a sense of disconnection from their body, environment, and emotions. It can be upsetting and anxious and tends to come and go over extended periods of time (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). My research backs up my theory that DDD is a common secondary symptom of mental illnesses like BPD, PTSD, and DID. This is due to the fact that DDD typically results from a reaction to a potentially fatal or dangerous situation, whereas all of these conditions are caused by stress and severe trauma. But as a condition, DDD is frequently misdiagnosed and underdiagnosed. This is due to the fact that one of the difficulties with DDD is that some patients find it difficult to articulate the feelings or emotions they experience during an episode. The patients frequently have trouble recalling specific memories and feel cut off from them. Additionally, patients may experience disorientation, dreaminess, or a glass wall separating them from their environment (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Therefore, diagnosing a person with DDD can be challenging for qualified medical professionals.<br \/>\nTo learn more about the brain processes underlying depersonalization and derealization, as well as the effects of the disorder, additional research is required on the pertinent neural networks and neurotransmitters. In order to support people with depersonalization-derealization disorder, it is imperative that we focus on developing more targeted and effective interventions as research into the relationship between brain function and DDD continues. Better mental health outcomes and a greater understanding of this complex disorder can result from recognizing and resolving the unique challenges that individuals with DDD face.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Dolan\">Ashleigh Dolan<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Lydia Eckstein<\/p>\n<p>The Prot\u00e9g\u00e9 Effect in Action: Can Teaching Promote Empathy and Compassion for Prisoners?<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57691\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>There are almost 2 million people held within the criminal justice system in the United States and so thinking about how we are treating and interacting with this population is very important (Wagner et al., 2023). Empathy is a big part of this and is known as being the experience of feeling what you think others are feeling while (Batson 2009). The overall purpose of this study was to take a deeper look into empathy and compassion, and specifically the methods of increasing someone\u2019s empathy and compassion towards people who have gone to prison. It was hypothesized that if someone taught a small lesson about empathy and compassion they would have higher levels of empathy and compassion, higher levels of negative emotions, and would be more willing to donate their time. The results of the study were not in line with these predictions, finding that there was no statistical difference between these two groups for any of the different measures.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Eshleman\">Emily Eshleman<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Christopher Normile<\/p>\n<p>Verdicts and Victim Blame: The Impact of Victim Race and Sexuality<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57675\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Much of the current literature on the impact of victim identity characteristics on jury decision-making has observed that when victims are Black, sentences are more lenient for defendants in comparison to cases with White victims. Additionally, studies have shown that victim blaming decreases in hate crimes and sentence severity increases. However, there are contrasting results on the impact of victim sexuality on jury decisions, and few studies examine the combined impact of race and sexuality. The current study aimed to bridge this gap using an intersectional approach. Approximately 73 undergraduate students acted as mock-jurors and were presented with a one-page case summary describing a murder in which the race and sexuality of the victim varied across conditions. They were asked to read the transcript, evaluate the culpability of the victim, determine if the crime was hate-based, give a verdict, and rate their confidence in that verdict. No significant impact of race or sexuality of victims on sentence was observed, and victim blaming did not moderate the relationship between victim race or sexuality and sentence. Further, there was no significant difference in sentence severity between those who perceived hate-motivation and those who did not. Future research should investigate the impact of race and sexuality saliency, expand on current variables, and further study the impact of crime severity.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Faust\">Caitlyn Faust<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Neuroscience||Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Jeff Hollerman<\/p>\n<p>The Effects of Prenatal Acetaminophen Exposure on Social and Sensorimotor Behaviors in Sprague Dawley Rats<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57607\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The rising prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder in recent years has made it relevant to learn more about the factors that increase the risk for the development of the disorder. In recent years, prenatal exposure to acetaminophen has been associated with the occurrence of ASD. The effects of prenatal exposure on offspring need to be studied to understand the existing relationship between ASD and the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy. The goal of the present study was to observe the effects of prenatal acetaminophen on the social and sensorimotor behaviors of Sprague-Dawley rats. After being prenatally exposed to acetaminophen, rats completed a three-chamber social interaction task and an open-field test. The behaviors of rats that were prenatally exposed to acetaminophen, were compared to a control group and a VPA group. A VPA group was included because it is the model commonly used to study ASD in rodents. Results indicated that prenatal acetaminophen exposure did not have an effect on sensorimotor behaviors and that exposure had minimal effects on social behaviors. After prenatal exposure to acetaminophen, rats displayed decreased social exploration, and no other significant effects on social behavior were observed.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Fontan\">Erica Fontan<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Monali Chowdhury<\/p>\n<p>The Perception Of Healthcare Provider Bias By White Students and Students of Color<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57763\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Medical racism and discrimination are one of the many disparities people of color have to go through on a day to day basis (Horowitz et al. 2019). There have been many reports pertaining to the different types of racial discrimination specifically against people of color in medical environments by healthcare providers, one being healthcare provider bias (Heath et al. 2022). This study examines perception of healthcare bias by White students and students of color through qualitative thematic analysis. Twenty-two undergraduate students from Allegheny College were recruited on the SONA platform and reported their experiences within healthcare. One questionnaire was a Demographic Questionnaire, which recorded the participants&#8217; identities. The open ended questionnaire labeled Healthcare Provider Bias questionnaire (HPBQ), which was created and inspired by research on medical racism by Health et. al (2021), Obsorne, (2007), Tanne et. al (2002) and Abdou et al.(2010); Giscomb\u00e9 &#038; Lobel, (2005). The study aimed to measure participants&#8217; experiences in the medical field with their provider and health disparities they may have experienced. There were two participant groups, White participants and participants of color with responses being coded by question and racial identity. Several overarching themes, using thematic analysis coding (Braun &#038; Clarke, 2006), emerged including that in the importance of familiarity, trust and comfort being important factors when having a healthcare provider. Results from each data set provided partial support of the hypothesis by some questions from the HPBQ directly supporting the hypothesis and some questions indirectly supporting the hypothesis.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Gerhart\">Sybilla Gerhart<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Monali Chowdhury<\/p>\n<p>The Relationship Between Parental Stress and Maladaptive Behaviors in Neurotypical Children and Children with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57656\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>This study examined levels of  maladaptive behaviors in children with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (NDDs) and those who are Neurotypical (NT) along with the parental stress experienced by primary live-in caregivers of those children. The study aimed to achieve three main objectives: (1) determine if children with NDDs exhibit more maladaptive behaviors compared to their NT peers, (2) assess whether parental stress is higher in caregivers of children with NDDs compared to those with NT children, and (3) examine if higher parental stress is correlated with increased maladaptive behaviors. For this study, forty-two primary live-in caregivers residing in the United States were recruited through Amazon MTurk Services. Two identical surveys were posted on the platform, with one exclusively available to caregivers of children aged 5-10 diagnosed with an NDD as per DSM-5 criteria, and the other available to caregivers of NT children in the same age range. &#8220;Neurotypical&#8221; was defined as children exhibiting cognitive processing and developmental milestones consistent with cultural norms and without a developmental disability diagnosis. Both surveys included the Parental Stress Scale (PSS) (CORC, n.d.), to measure parental stress and Section 3 of the Nisonger Child Behavior Rating Form (NCBRF) (The Nisonger Child Behavior Rating Form, 1995), to assess maladaptive behaviors in children. After running Welch t-tests, the study did not find significant differences in maladaptive behaviors between children with NDDs and NT children t(15.66)= -0.25, p= .40, nor did it find significant differences between parental stress in primary live-in caregivers of NDD children and children who are NT t(17.80)= -0.61, p = .27. However, in support of the third hypothesis, a Pearson correlation indicated a significant association between higher parental stress and maladaptive behaviors r(41)= 0.707 (p=.001).<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Grant\">Benjamin Grant<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Ryan Pickering<\/p>\n<p>Digesting Media: Food Marketing and its Influences on Adolescent Eating Habits<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57626\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>No abstract is available.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Gross\">Leah Gross<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Ryan Pickering<\/p>\n<p>Perceived Stigma and Sense of Belonging in Students with ADHD Symptoms<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57738\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurobiological disorder classified by symptoms of inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity. Individuals who have ADHD are at high  risk of being stigmatized because their behaviors fall outside of the social norm (Mueller, 2012). While there is ample evidence for the presence of ADHD in adulthood, research on adult populations with ADHD and the stigma they face is scarce (Masuch et al., 2019). This study  examined perceived stigma and sense of belonging in students with and without ADHD symptoms. A sample of 30 students were asked to fill out part 1 of the Adult ADHD Symptom (ASRS-v1.1) in order to be sorted into the High ADHD Symptoms group (14 participants) and Low ADHD Symptoms group (16 participants). Next, they answered questions adapted from the Discrimination and Stigma Scale (DISC-12) and the Sense of Social Fit Scale (SSF), and had their responses compared. Results demonstrated that the High ADHD Symptoms group had higher scores of perceived stigma than the Low ADHD Symptoms group, and lower scores of belongingness than the Low ADHD Symptoms group. Higher scores of perceived stigma were correlated with lower scores of belonging for both groups. Findings revealed that Higher ADHD symptoms are associated with higher rates of stigma, and showed a trend that ADHD symptoms could negatively impact sense of belonging. Higher rates of stigma also decreased likelihood of belonging.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Guyton\">Garrett Guyton<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Rodney Clark<\/p>\n<p>Benefits of Involvement in Extraciricular Activities in College Athletics<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57757\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Musicians are ones who aim for perfectionism to be the best in their craft or the best as they could be but not much research is on how that affects them or how to help deal with the behaviors they pick up over the years of learning their instrument and push themselves to their limit similar to athletes. In this paper a reanalysis of data from the NCAA during the 2005-2006 academic year with 19,786 athletes participating in the survey to look at the effects of high involvement on students in athletics during the college experience along with how the student&#8217;s mental and physical health while also proposing future research to be done based on this 2006 study in how comparing between involved groups could help to find a difference between the extracurricular activities effect on students academic performance.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Harmon\">Blake Harmon<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Monali Chowdhury<\/p>\n<p>The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Anxiety and Depression Across Different Age Groups<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57657\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The readings and findings in the comp were supposed to focus on the impact the pandemic had on anxiety and depression among different age groups across the entire world. The readings and findings that were found and used in the comp are focused on North America. All of the readings and findings except one are focused in America, with the one focused in Canada. There are six chapters in the comp. The first chapter introduces the comp by talking about the importance of what is being researched and studied, and also lays out the format of the comp. The second chapter talks about depression and the different types of anxiety, and ends with discussing the effects it has on people. Chapter three discusses how children are affected by depression and anxiety by discussing the literature found on this topic. Chapter four looks at how adolescents and young adults are affected by anxiety and depression by discussing different literature on the topic. The fifth chapter discusses how anxiety and depression affects older adults based on the literature that is found regarding the topic. The final chapter provides a synthesis and conclusion of the comp. There are four highlights that have been found based on the findings in the literature and writing done in the comp. These four highlights are prevalence rates, calls to action, risk factors, and signs of increase. To elaborate on the calls to action, there are three of these based on the information that has been gathered in the comp. These are allocating more resources to help those affected by mental health, restructuring the current mental health system, and continuing to promote the importance of mental health. The four highlights and elaboration on the calls to action will be discussed more later on in the comp.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Held\">Mae Lee Held<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Ryan Pickering<\/p>\n<p>How Sports Affect Female Athletes\u2019 Self-esteem and Body Image<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57556\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>This study\u2019s aim was to identify if there was a correlation between self-esteem and body image among female athletes surveyed at Allegheny College. The original hypothesis sought after by the researcher was to see if there was a relationship between self-esteem and body image compared between female athletes and non-athletes on campus. The study switched to a correlation focus after insufficient participation numbers were collected from the non-athlete category. The sample size consisted of 17 female student-athletes at Allegheny College. Descriptive statistics compared the means to the national and global averages of the questionnaire broken down and separated into the original three surveys used. The surveys consisted of the Rosenberg Self-esteem Questionnaire, the Body Image-Acceptance and Action Questionnaire, and the Appearance Anxiety Inventory. A Pearson\u2019s correlation test was run to test for any significance between the variables. A strong correlation was found between all three variables and found that self-esteem is strongly tied to body image. The current findings are important to help understand the relationship between self-esteem and body image and how it affects athletes&#8217; overall well-being on Allegheny College campus. Limitations of the current study include a small sample size and the misleading title to possible non-athlete participants.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Hinterleiter\">Hannah Hinterleiter<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Christopher Normile<\/p>\n<p>Perceptions of School and Custodial Interrogations<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57605\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Juveniles are more susceptible to coercive interrogation techniques than adults. Most of the tactics, procedures, and methods used on adults in interrogations are implemented within schools in various ways. For example, schools use school resource officers and administrators in questioning of juveniles similar to police. Recent developments have found that these techniques lead to school criminalization and the school-to-prison pipeline. The main goal of this study was to examine general perceptions of custodial and school interrogations. This study also examined participants&#8217; perceptions regarding parents as an essential safeguard within interrogations. The current study recruited 91 students from Allegheny College a small liberal arts institution, who participated in an online survey. The current study had three hypotheses in total. The first hypothesis was participants are more familiar with custodial interrogations than school interrogations and will view them as more coercive. The second hypothesis was participants will view juvenile protections such as parent\u2019s presence as necessary in the custodial condition and not the school condition. The final hypothesis is, that participants generally viewed juveniles as more guilty within a school versus a custodial setting. Overall, there were no significant findings throughout four analyses. The results showed that participants viewed the interrogations as coercive and severe. Participants also answered that the juvenile was mainly guilty and that safeguards are important. Future research could benefit from examining this topic further. The current study aimed to aid in the lack of knowledge of school interrogations and people&#8217;s perceptions and judgments of these interrogations.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"James\">Isabella James<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Neuroscience<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Megan Bertholomey<\/p>\n<p>Effects of Sleep Deprivation in Adolescent Rats on Anxiety-Like Behavior and Alcohol Consumption into Adulthood<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57780\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Alcohol use disorder (AUD) remains a significant global health concern, contributing to millions of preventable deaths annually. Despite extensive research on AUD, the interplay between sleep disturbances during critical developmental periods, such as adolescence, and subsequent alcohol consumption and anxiety-like behaviors in adulthood remains inadequately understood. Chronic sleep deprivation in adolescence is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for heightened susceptibility to substance use disorders, as this period is crucial for neurodevelopment, marked by significant changes in brain function related to decision-making, emotional regulation, and reward processing. Disruptions in sleep during adolescence can disturb neurotransmitter balance and neurocircuitry, leading to lasting alterations in behavior and mental health. Thus, the intricate relationship between chronic sleep deprivation, alcohol use, and subsequent anxiety-like behaviors is crucial to study given the enduring impact of early-life experiences on long-term health outcomes. The present study explores the potential link between chronic sleep deprivation during adolescence and subsequent alcohol consumption and anxiety-like behavior in female rats during adulthood. Adolescent female Sprague Dawley rats underwent sleep deprivation or served as controls, followed by anxiety assessment using the elevated plus maze (EPM). In adulthood, rats were provided access to alcohol, and anxiety-like behaviors were retested post-alcohol exposure. Sleep deprived rats showed heightened anxiety-like behaviors during adolescence but did not exhibit exacerbated anxiety in adulthood. However, they displayed increased alcohol intake and preference, indicating an impact on reward-seeking behaviors. These findings underscore adolescents\u2019 vulnerability to early-life stressors like sleep deprivation and highlight the importance of addressing sleep health and stress management to prevent the onset of substance use disorders later on in life.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Keyser\">Caitlynn Keyser<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Neuroscience||Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Megan Bertholomey<\/p>\n<p>Sex Differences in the Treatment of Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome with Buprenorphine<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57793\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) is a growing crisis in the United States that affects the most vulnerable population; newborn babies. Due to the only \u201ccure\u201d being maternal drug use prevention, and because opioid use is on the rise, it is greatly important to find a drug that works to not only decrease the severity of the withdrawal symptoms but limit the length of treatment and hospital stay. The purpose of this study is to identify buprenorphine as a potential treatment option for NOWS due to its long half-life, antagonistic effects on the mu receptor, and its success in adults with opioid use disorder (OUD). The other goal is to study whether there are sex differences in the morphine withdrawal period and in the buprenorphine withdrawal period. In order to induce NOWS in a rodent model, 1 mg\/kg of morphine was injected into \u2154 of the litter while the other \u2153 was injected with saline in p3 old pups for 7 days to develop a dependence. Their withdrawal behaviors are then observed with a modified Finnegan scale on p10 and p11 and then on p12 \u00bd of the morphine group is injected with  buprenorphine and the rest with saline is injected for 8 days. On p20 and p21 there is another observation period to identify if the withdrawal behaviors have increased or decreased from the initial observation period and their sex is determined on p22. Statistical analysis supports that there is a significant difference between the morphine and saline group, and also significant between the morphine+buprenorphine group and the morphine+saline group and no significance in relation to sex. What this means is that the initial morphine injection induced NOWS behaviors, buprenorphine decreased withdrawal score, and treatment and withdrawal is not dependent on the sex of the pup. Based on these results it is important for future studies to take into consideration if buprenorphine impacts cognitive development in adolescents, an issue that other NOWS drugs cause.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Kraus\">Olivia Kraus<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Neuroscience||Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Rodney Clark<\/p>\n<p>MPD and E2 Effects on ADHD-Like Behaviors in Female Wild-Type and Spontaneously-Hypertensive Rats<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57728\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a condition characterized by the presentation of various developmentally-inappropriate behavioral and cognitive symptoms that result in impaired academic, social, or emotional functioning and is commonly diagnosed in children and adolescents. Several brain regions are implicated in the pathology of ADHD, but deficiencies in the striatum, its dopamine receptors, and transport proteins are implicated strongly in the production of ADHD-like behavior. Generally, children assigned male at birth are more likely to receive a diagnosis compared to children assigned female at birth; however, the difference in diagnostic rate is not explained by individual genetic variations, genetic-environmental interactions, or sex differences in the condition\u2019s heritability. Estradiol, a form of estrogen, fluctuates naturally in the menstrual cycle and has a high density of receptors in the striatum, providing a mechanism by which it may modulate striatal functioning. The present study examines the effects of methylphenidate, a common ADHD medication that targets striatal dopamine transporters, and estradiol on behaviors relating to ADHD symptomatology of female wild-type and spontaneously hypertensive rats as ovarian hormones fluctuate naturally. Locomotion and working memory were assessed using locomotor tracking apparatus and radial arm maze tasks. Subjects\u2019 estrous phase was monitored via analysis of vaginal cells, and an ELISA is used to determine blood concentrations of estradiol. Emphasis was placed on whether certain blood concentrations of estradiol alters subject response to the drug. The results obtained from the study prevents exact conclusions from being drawn, but evidence suggests that further research is necessary to determine whether a drug-hormone interaction affects the way a menstruating individual responds to medications, which has implications for treatment practices for individuals with fluctuating ovarian hormones and an ADHD diagnosis.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Lee\">Thi\u00f3n Lee<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Lydia Eckstein<\/p>\n<p>Mortality Salience Influence on Individuals\u2019 View of Interracial Attractiveness<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57752\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Similarity appears to be the strongest motivating factor for why individuals want to interact (friendly or romantically) with other individuals. However, little is known about how  our medialized world where violence is projected on every social media outlet affects the strength that similarity will still play on individuals\u2019 view on others\u2019 attractiveness. Therefore, the present study investigated whether the presence of a media form (film in this case) showcasing violent scenes would still propel individuals to find more attraction to those with more similarities with or those that they are dissimilar to. In this study, White-identifying female subjects (n=16) were recruited through Sona Systems to complete surveys on SurveyMonkey with self-report measures of mortality salience and attractiveness for various, ethnic faces. A two-way mixed model ANOVA showed that attractiveness with the similarity face was rated lower than the dissimilar faces, disproving the study\u2019s hypotheses. No significant difference between the experimental and control group\u2019s response to their respective film clips were found with the exception of subjects in the control group rating the similar face higher than the dissimilar face. Limitations, implications, and future directions are discussed.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"McAndrews\">Carolyn McAndrews<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: English Major\u2013Emphasis in Creative Writing||Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Matthew Ferrence and Christopher Normile<\/p>\n<p>The Truth Behind the Monster: An Accurate Psychological Portrayal of Serial Killers in the Mystery Genre<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57687\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>I had written two short stories about an accurate psychological portrayal of serial killers within the mystery genre. One short story is written from the detective&#8217;s point of view and the other is written from the killer&#8217;s point of view. Each of these stories shows the different perspectives of how the killer came to be and how he acts. My project also starts off with a preface detailing the works that inspiried my writing and psychological background on serial killers to help the stories with authenticity.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Miller\">Kyrie Miller<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Christopher Normile<\/p>\n<p>Authoritarian and Authoritative Parenting Styles on Aggressive and Violent Tendencies in Children<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57654\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>This paper will cover several topics. The topics range from the parenting styles themselves in chapter 2 to the implications I have for future research or readers and how I did so. Chapter 1 will mostly discuss what aggression is when referring to it in paper, how children react to authority figures, their ability to control or regulate this aggression, and lastly the parenting strategy and how it affects academic achievement and how that can affect the child\u2019s aggression. In our implications the article will cover limitations of research, recommendations for future researchers, as well as some direction for parents to look into.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Mullen\">Emily Mullen<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Global Health Studies||Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Lydia Eckstein and Vesta Silva<\/p>\n<p>Toxic Beauty: A Discourse Analysis of Toxic Beauty (2019) and Associated Consumer Survey On Concerns of Environmental Exposures in Health and Beauty Products<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57613\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Extant research has examined factors that may influence green consumption including demographic factors, personal values, behavioral factors, product factors, personal capabilities, and factors within the retail environment (Testa et al., 2021). The purpose of the present study was to expand understanding of \u201cgreen\u201d products and their users to the trend of \u201cclean\u201d health and beauty products and their users through both conducting a discourse analysis of the film Toxic Beauty as well as conducting a consumer survey. The discourse analysis found that the film Toxic Beauty challenges the consumer to consider larger cultural expectations on health and beauty and how that correlates with the products women, especially in the United States are expected to utilize. At the same time, however, the film perpetuates neoliberal ideas of personal accountability and perfect consumption by endorsing the idea that consuming the right, \u201cclean\u201d products will prevent illness from chemical exposure, even if in other parts of the documentary, they find prevention to be impossible on an individual basis. Additionally, a survey was conducted to assess attitudes towards clean cosmetics, as well as measuring Big 5 personality traits, self-efficacy scores, and demographic traits. Thirty one female-identifying participants completed the survey through the online platform Prolific. The findings indicated no significant associations between CCAS scores and any of the Big Five Personality Traits, CCAS scores and Self-Efficacy, nor any associations between demographic factors of age, income, or educational attainment and CCAS scores. <\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Ornt\">Haley Ornt<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology||Neuroscience<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Jeff Hollerman<\/p>\n<p>The Efficacy of Amoxapine as an Atypical Antipsychotic in an Acute Ketamine-Induced Rat Schizophrenia Model<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57678\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Poverty is a common issue amongst the schizophrenic population, which can make access to antipsychotic medications difficult. As a result, finding a cost-effective solution via medication, even without insurance, is imperative for the benefit of schizophrenic individuals who would not be able to obtain medications otherwise. Amoxapine is one such option in need of investigation. Amoxapine is typically utilized as a tricyclic antidepressant, however, literature has suggested the possibility of its effectiveness as an antipsychotic. The present study utilized acute ketamine administration as a pharmacological rodent model of schizophrenia. To establish efficacy as an atypical antipsychotic in a rodent model, a medication must treat positive, negative, and cognitive deficits without any extrapyramidal symptoms. Amoxapine would need to mitigate the effects of ketamine on locomotion, working memory, and social activity without causing extrapyramidal symptoms, such as akinesia or catalepsy, in order to be considered an effective atypical antipsychotic. Results found that amoxapine did not mitigate the deficits caused by ketamine administration. The only hypotheses supported were: amoxapine administration did not result in extrapyramidal symptoms and, for a select number of tests, acute ketamine administration was able to produce the proper deficits to suffice as a rodent schizophrenia model<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Osborne\">Baraka Osborne<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Monali Chowdhury<\/p>\n<p>One World: Two Species, Human &#038; Animal Connection Through Psychology<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57634\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>This comprehensive paper explores the uniqueness of animal psychology through cognition and its relevance in our modern world, including benefits and future endeavors. Every day, we face situations constantly that require memory, problem-solving, and decision-making. Uncovering these traits in animals allows readers to acknowledge animal sentience and compare it to our own. The purpose of this review is to educate audiences on animal psychology. Through reading and examining ProQuest studies, I will answer the research question, \u201cIs the study of animal psychology beneficial in our modern world\u201d? By the end of this paper, the reader will be able to answer this question. With that answer, this paper will encourage readers to remember their place in the world and how it affects the complexities of the natural world.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Passarelli\">Lauren Passarelli<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Lauren Paulson<\/p>\n<p>Relationship Between Coaching Behaviors and College Student-Athletes\u2019 Self-Esteem<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57762\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Self-esteem is key when it comes to an individual\u2019s growth and well-being. In general, possessing a high sense of self-esteem has numerous benefits, which can be influenced by internal and external sources. When it comes to student-athletes, self-esteem is incredibly important to their athletic performance. An athlete\u2019s level of self-esteem can either help or hinder them. For athletes, an external factor that can bolster a student-athletes\u2019 self-esteem are the behaviors shown by their coach. There is a lack of research when it comes to coaching behaviors and how it affects student-athletes\u2019 self-esteem, especially at the Division III level. Participants recruited for the study were division III student-athletes at Allegheny College. Firstly, participants filled out a demographic questionnaire. This demographic questionnaire asked participants their gender and sport they play. Following this, participants then completed two surveys, the Rosenberg Scale and the Leadership Scale for Sports (LSS). The goal of this study was investigating the potential relationship between coaches&#8217; leadership behavior (specifically autocratic and democratic) and student-athletes\u2019 self-esteem. Firstly, it was hypothesized that student-athletes&#8217; that report coaches who demonstrate more democratic coaching behaviors will also report possessing higher self-esteem. Secondly, it was also hypothesized that student-athletes\u2019 who report coaches demonstrating autocratic coaching behaviors will report lower self-esteem. Results were not statistically significant for either hypothesis. Further research should be done to investigate and analyze the possible effects coaching behavior may have on student-athletes\u2019 self-esteem.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Robinson\">Lyndsey Robinson<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Christopher Normile<\/p>\n<p>Why there needs to be better and clearer communication between forensic and clinical psychology<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57627\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>No abstract is available.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Romain\">Isaiah Romain<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Rodney Clark<\/p>\n<p>Exploring the Correlation between Black Family Structures, Parenting Styles, and Recreational Drug Abuse: A Senior Project<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57786\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>This senior project investigates the intricate relationship between family structures, parenting styles, and the prevalence of recreational drug abuse among adolescents and young adults. Drawing upon a comprehensive review of existing literature in psychology, sociology, history, and public health. The study explores how various family structures (single-parent household, blended households and nuclear family households) among historically underrepresented families relate to adoption of specific parenting styles and their potential impact on the likelihood of teens and young adults engaging in recreational drug use. Furthermore, I aim to delve into the underlying mechanisms and mediating factors that contribute to or mitigate the risk of substance abuse within specific family environments. It explores how factors such as family cohesion, Parental monitoring, communication patterns, socioeconomic status, and parental attitudes towards drug use shape adolescents attitudes and behaviors towards substance experimentation and misuse. The findings of this research endeavor are expected to yield valuable insights for policymakers, healthcare professionals, educators, and parents in developing targeted interventions and preventive strategies to address the multifaceted challenges associated with recreational drug abuse among young populations. By understanding the complex interplay between family structures, parenting styles, and substance abuse, stakeholders can work towards fostering supportive familial environments conducive to healthy development and resilience against the allure of drugs.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Romanowski\">Zoe Romanowski<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Ryan Pickering<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s Not Just Physical: Exploring Identity Threat in Sports<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57667\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>No abstract is available.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Rutledge\">James Rutledge<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Monali Chowdhury<\/p>\n<p>The association between perceived stress and caffeine consumption in college students<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57644\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Caffeine has been commonly used throughout today\u2019s society. It has become a health concern for many people. In college students, perceived stress has also risen to higher levels than ever before (Meredith, 2013). The present study aimed to examine if there is a correlational relationship between caffeine consumption and perceived stress among college students. 50 college students were surveyed using a demographic questionnaire, a revised version of the Caffeine Consumption Questionnaire (Landrum &#038; Shohet, 2001), and the College Student Stress Scale (Feldt, 2008). It was hypothesized that there will be a correlation between caffeine consumption and perceived stress experienced by college students. The current sample was comprised of N = 47 college students where 43 identified as cisgender, 3 identified as non-binary, and 1 declined to answer. 3 participants were removed from the original correlation due to the answers on the Caffeine Consumption Questionnaire being outliers. Outliers were calculated using the (1.5 x IQR) + Q3 method. Therefore 2 separate correlations were conducted: 1 without outliers and 1 with. Results for the correlation without outliers suggest, supporting the hypothesis, that participants who experienced higher levels of stress also consumed more caffeine in a moderate correlation (r= 0.32, p=0.03). Results for the correlation with outliers also suggested, supporting the hypothesis, that participants who experienced higher levels of stress also consumed more caffeine in a moderate correlation (r= 0.36, p=0.01). These preliminary findings warrant the need for further research with a larger, more diverse sample.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Schworm\">Julieta Schworm<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Lauren Paulson<\/p>\n<p>Breaking Barriers &#038; Building Resilience: Exploring Imposter Syndrome &#038; Gender in Division III Athletics<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57600\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Imposter syndrome is a phenomenon that can affect anyone of any age, gender, race, or ethnicity. The feelings of imposter syndrome can relate to, but are not limited to, feelings of being a fraud, feeling unworthy of success, and blaming accomplishments on luck (Bothello, &#038; Roulet, 2019). The purpose of this study is to examine whether Division III athletes at a small liberal arts college experience higher or lower levels of imposter syndrome compared to non-student athletes. The problem with imposter syndrome and why it is important is because it can lead to an increase in anxiety, depression, and burnout as the symptoms persist (APA, 2021). Furthermore, the researcher was looking to fill the gap in the literature that has been done about athletes. As most research is about athletes at the Division I level, the researcher has examined athletes who compete at the Division III level. The research hypothesized that imposter syndrome will be more prevalent in females than males and more prevalent in athletes versus non-athletes. 44 participants have completed this study using a personal mobile device and completed the 20 question Clance Imposter Phenomenon Scale. Two hypotheses were investigated, The researchers first hypothesis was that levels of imposter syndrome will be more prevalent in women versus men  based on the prior research of high-achieving women experiencing higher levels of imposter syndrome (Clance &#038; Imes, 1978). The second hypothesis was that imposter syndrome will be more prevalent in women and male athletes versus women and male non-athletes. The first  hypothesis was supported and significant by the study&#8217;s result.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Thorman\">Sarah Thorman<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Christopher Normile<\/p>\n<p>How Pretrial Publicity and Gender Affect Perceptions of Sexual Assault Cases<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57582\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Imagine if you were to read a post about a sexual assault case online. Later, you are asked to be a juror for that same case. You would have learned opinion about that case through the publicity, then learned facts through evidence, and could possibly confuse what is fact and what is opinion. Publicity of sexual assault cases is problematic due to the lack of witnesses and other evidence outside of individual testimony. There are publicized myths surrounding sexual assault that have the potential to change opinions on cases of sexual assault. This study seeks to counter the myths surrounding sexual assault cases and analyze the effects of these myths through pretrial publicity on individuals judgements. 94 students from Allegheny College were recruited to participate. Participants read their assigned social media posts, then read through a trial summary. Participants encountered a survey which measured for their perceptions of the plaintiff and defendant, guilt judgements, and rape myth acceptance. This study found counterintuitive significant effects of pretrial publicity, yet no effect of gender. Further research should look into the effect of legal actors\u2019 gender on these factors, and recruit a diverse sample of age ranges and beliefs.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Ungashick\">Leah Ungashick<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Lauren Paulson<\/p>\n<p>The Perceived Effect of Coaching Behaviors on Division III Athletes in Relation to Drinking Behaviors<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10456\/57749\">DSPACE Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>College-aged students are prone to consuming alcohol more than any other age. In student-athletes, other factors may have an impact on alcohol consumption that other college students do not have. Different coaching styles have different effects on athletes, on and off the court and field. The different styles include; democratic behavior, autocratic behavior, positive feedback, instruction, and social support. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between perceived coaching behaviors and alcohol behaviors among Division III student-athletes, by having n = 38 participants complete the Leadership Scale for Sport (LSS) and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). The LSS asks questions regarding different coaching styles and the AUDIT asks questions about alcohol consumption and behaviors. There are not many prior studies that investigate this relationship but there is prior research on student-athletes recording greater risk of harmful alcohol-related behaviors. The findings of the LSS and the AUDIT questionnaire suggest there is no correlation in the relationship between perceived coaching behaviors and alcohol behaviors in Division III athletes, denying the initial hypothesis of this study, which was the more an athlete perceived their coach to portray an autocratic coaching behavior, the more harmful their alcoholic behaviors would be. Due to the results of the present study, there is reason to further research into the effect of gender-related and age-related differences between coaching behaviors and alcohol-related behaviors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Branygan Bianchin Major: Neuroscience||Psychology Comp Advisor: Rodney Clark The Effects of Pain on Wheel Running as Reinforcement DSPACE Source There is a phenomenon among athletes where they will continue to participate in their sport despite experiencing pain (Mayer et al., 2018). Exercise is known to be reinforcing, as wheel running functions as positive reinforcement in [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"mt-5\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/past-comps\/2023-2024-senior-comp-abstracts\/\">Continue Reading &#8220;2023-2024 Senior Comp Abstracts&#8221;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":546,"featured_media":0,"parent":3069,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-7893","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/546"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7893\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":7873,"date":"2024-12-05T09:24:31","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T14:24:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/comp-print-shop-order-form\/"},"modified":"2024-12-05T09:24:31","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T14:24:31","slug":"comp-print-shop-order-form","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/allegheny.edu\/student-life\/campus-center-and-store\/gator-post-and-print\/","title":{"rendered":"Comp Print Shop Order Form"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":585,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"https:\/\/allegheny.edu\/student-life\/campus-center-and-store\/gator-post-and-print\/","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-7873","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/585"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7873\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":7742,"date":"2024-06-13T15:35:07","date_gmt":"2024-06-13T19:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/?page_id=7742"},"modified":"2024-08-29T09:37:16","modified_gmt":"2024-08-29T13:37:16","slug":"shelby-blair","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/shelby-blair\/","title":{"rendered":"Shelby Blair"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4>About<\/h4>\n<p><strong>Title<\/strong>: Assistant Professor<br \/>\n<strong>Department<\/strong>: Psychology, Neuroscience<br \/>\n<strong>Degrees<\/strong>: B.A., Miami University; Ph.D, Texas A&amp;M University<\/p>\n<h4>Contact Info<\/h4>\n<p><strong>Email<\/strong>: rblair@allegheny.edu<br \/>\n<strong>Phone<\/strong>:814-332-5326<br \/>\n<strong>Office<\/strong>: 202 Carnegie<br \/>\n<strong>Campus Box<\/strong>: 39<\/p>\n<p><strong>Student Hours: Fall 24<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Monday: 10:00-11:00 am<br \/>\nTuesday: noon-1:00 pm<br \/>\nWednesday: 10:00 am -11:00 am<br \/>\nFriday: noon-1:00 pm<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>About Title: Assistant Professor Department: Psychology, Neuroscience Degrees: B.A., Miami University; Ph.D, Texas A&amp;M University Contact Info Email: rblair@allegheny.edu Phone:814-332-5326 Office: 202 Carnegie Campus Box: 39 Student Hours: Fall 24 Monday: 10:00-11:00 am Tuesday: noon-1:00 pm Wednesday: 10:00 am -11:00 am Friday: noon-1:00 pm<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":546,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-7742","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/546"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7742\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":7609,"date":"2023-08-16T08:45:19","date_gmt":"2023-08-16T12:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psych\/?page_id=7609"},"modified":"2023-09-29T11:32:39","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T15:32:39","slug":"2022-2023-senior-comp-abstracts","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/2022-2023-senior-comp-abstracts\/","title":{"rendered":"2022-2023 Senior Comp Abstracts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><a id=\"Aaron\"><\/a>Megan E. Aaron<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Lauren Paulson<\/p>\n<p>The Relationship Between Athlete Attachment Style with Coaches and Disordered Eating and Body Image in Division III Collegiate Athletes<\/p>\n<p>This study examined the relationship between the attachment style of the coach-athlete relationship on disordered eating and body image in NCAA Division III collegiate athletes at Allegheny College. The current study aimed to determine an association between the coach-athlete relationship attachment style and disordered eating behaviors and body image dissatisfaction. The researcher hypothesized that those with secure attachment to their coaches will have less disordered eating habits and lower body image dissatisfaction than those with insecure attachment. Participants were student-athletes enrolled at Allegheny College participating in an NCAA sport. The sample size consisted of 16 male and 53 female Division III Allegheny College student athletes. Descriptive Statistics comparing the means and standard deviations of the measures across gender were calculated. Independent sample t-tests were run to compare the mean difference between secure and insecure attachment groups across the disordered eating and body image scores. Bivariate Pearson correlations were run to observe the relationship between the variables at hand. A statistically significant difference between disordered eating behaviors and body image dissatisfaction and secure attachment and disordered eating behaviors and body image dissatisfaction and insecure attachment was found. Athletes with insecure attachment reported more disordered eating and body image dissatisfaction than those with secure attachment. The current findings are important in establishing prevention and treatment measures for Division III collegiate athletes. Limitations of the present study were the small sample size being drawn from and the lack of research surrounding disordered eating behaviors and body image dissatisfaction in males.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Anderson\"><\/a>Emma V. Anderson<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Monali Chowdhury<\/p>\n<p>Testing social comparison theory: Impact of ethnicity on body esteem in relation to Instagram fitspiration images<\/p>\n<p>Contemporary research has explored Leon Festinger\u2019s social comparison theory (1954) in the context of social media, but has not yet taken into consideration Festinger\u2019s specific claim that people who perceive certain people to be similar to them are more likely to engage in social comparison with these individuals. Research has suggested that exposure to \u201cfitspiration\u201d images from platforms such as Instagram leads to higher social comparison and lower body esteem in women (Sherlock &amp; Wagstaff, 2019; Rounds &amp; Stutts, 2021; Tiggeman et al., 2018). This study sought to examine how ethnicity may impact social comparison, a variable which could be a perceivable similarity, in a sample of college-aged women. It was hypothesized that White participants exposed to fitspiration images of White women would experience greater social comparison and lower body esteem than after exposure to fitspiration images of Black women. Social comparison was assessed through the Physical Appearance Scale-Revised (Schaefer &amp; Thompson, 2014) and body esteem was measured by the Body Esteem Scale (Franzoi &amp; Shields, 1984). The current sample was comprised of N = 24 college students who all identified as cisgender, White women that use social media. Results suggested, supporting the hypothesis, that participants experienced greater social comparison after exposure to the White women image set. There was a significant difference between body esteem scores post-exposure to both image sets (p=.048). Additionally, a large effect size was found post-exposure to the White women image set (Cohen\u2019s d = .76) in comparison to a moderate effect size post-exposure to the Black women image set (Cohen\u2019s d = .44). Interestingly, there was an increase in pre-exposure and post-exposure social comparison scores but this increase was not significant. These preliminary findings warrant the need for further research with a larger, more ethnically diverse sample.<\/p>\n<p>Keywords: social comparison theory, body esteem, ethnicity, fitspiration.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Baginski\"><\/a>Grace E. Baginski<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology\/Neuroscience<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Megan Bertholomey<\/p>\n<p>Mind Over Matter: A Systematic Review of the Role of Pain Neuroscience Education in the Treatment of Chronic Pain<\/p>\n<p>Mind over matter is a common cliche, referring to the idea of having control over a physical condition by way of the mind. The power of the human brain and the complexities of stimuli perception are common themes across the field of neuroscience. With that, there exists a growing body of research pointing to the use of educational strategies, and ultimately the brain\u2019s impressive neural plasticity, as a tool to combat chronic pain. Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE) is an approach that aims to provide patients with a deeper understanding of the neurobiological and neurophysiological components of pain perception (Louw, 2016). Shifting the way an individual conceptualizes pain from strictly being interpreted as harmful to a biological process meant to protect the body has been shown to reduce pain intensity, pain behaviors, and disability (Wood &amp; Hendrick, 2018).<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Brammell\"><\/a>Sarah M. Brammell<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Sarah Stanger<\/p>\n<p>Parent Physical Illness During Childhood and Young Adult Mental Health Outcomes<\/p>\n<p>Many American adults (N = 25,417) live with some kind of chronic, physical health condition (Boersma et al., 2020). There have been many retrospective studies on the lasting effects of parent substance abuse or mental health disorders on children, but there have been few on how parent physical illness may also have a lasting impact. A few previous studies have pointed towards parent physical illness having an impact on children and young adults\u2019 mental health (Barkmann et al., 2007; Stoeckel &amp; Weissbrod, 2015), with some other studies positing that a disruption in parenting may cause more symptomology in children (Armistead et al. 1995; Kallander et al., 2018). The present study explores the correlation between experiences with parent illness during childhood and depression, suicidality, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) in young adults. No prior studies have explored OCS in connection to parent physical illness. Symptomologies were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977), Adapted Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation Inventory (PANSI; Osman et al., 1998), and the Florida Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (FOCI; Storch, 2007). The Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (Brief IPQ; Broadbent et al., 2006) was adapted to be retrospective and reflective of perceptions of parent illness to assess the comprehensibility of the illness, emotions tied to the illness, and the cognitive perceptions of the illness. It was hypothesized that more negative experiences with parent illness would correlate with more mental illness symptomologies. The findings of the study were sparse, but indicate a need for more exploration of these variables with more stringent recruitment procedures.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Brumfield\"><\/a>Brock L. Brumfield<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Monali Chowdhury<\/p>\n<p>The Impact of Compliance and Internalization on False Confessions<\/p>\n<p>This paper will cover a lot of information in regards to false confessions. False confessions are a topic that is not very well known, and more people need to be made aware of and educated about this. This paper is split into five different chapters with the first and the last being the introduction and the conclusion. The second chapter of this paper covers different compliance\u2019s effect on false confessions, and the variable of age and how that factors in as well. The third chapter covers internalization and why it can lead to being the result of someone falsely confessing. The variable of age is also looked at in that chapter as well. The fourth chapter covers public policies revolving around false confessions and what the next steps need to be in order to improve the rates and awareness of this topic. A strong methodological approach was taken to gather the different credible sources that were used in this paper.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Cullinan\"><\/a>Stephen J. Cullinan<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology\/Neuroscience<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Rodney Clark<\/p>\n<p>Classically Conditioning Morphine Response Profile to Reduce Behavioral Dependence Withdrawal in Male Sprague-Dawley Rats<\/p>\n<p>The opioid epidemic continues to worsen across the United States. As more individuals<br \/>\ncontinue to fall victim to substance use disorders, it is becoming even more paramount that we identify possible therapies to help those struggling towards rehabilitation. This study aimed to determine whether utilizing both contextual and discrete cues through classical conditioning could be a viable method to reduce withdrawal symptoms both during and after rehabilitation. Twice daily 10 mg\/kg subcutaneous morphine administration were given to male Sprague-Dawley rats until behavioral tolerance thresholds were met as measured by responding for water in operant chambers. Withdrawal symptoms were measured based on changes in completed lever response sets, grooming behaviors, defecation amount, and weight \u2014 compared to baseline measures prior to drug exposure. Three groups were maintained for this study: a no-cue control which received no exposure to the conditioned stimuli (CS) during withdrawal, a context-cue-only experimental group which was only exposed to the contextual CS of the injection room, and an all-cue experimental group which was exposed to both the contextual CS and received a saline injection functioning as the discrete CS. Statistical analysis indicated a significant difference in grooming behaviors between the three cue groups (p &lt; 0.001), across the five days of withdrawal (p = 0.008), as well as an interaction between them (p = 0.014). Significant differences were also found across the days of the withdrawal phase in completed response sets, defecation, and weight; with weight also having a significant difference between the three cue groups. These three measures, by the end of the 5 days, returned close to their baseline values. These changes across the days indicated a reduction of withdrawal across the five days, suggesting a longer tolerance phase was necessary. These results indicate separate levels of success in conditioning procedures reducing symptoms between the forms of withdrawal being measured. Such conclusions call for more withdrawal symptoms to be explored in future studies.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Curbelo\"><\/a>Paul A. Curbelo<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Neuroscience<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Jeff Hollerman<\/p>\n<p>The effects of music on short-term recall and state anxiety<\/p>\n<p>Background music has become a common thing to hear for many people. Whether someone goes to a restaurant, a store, or even while studying at home, it is normal for there to be background music present as well. There is a large sum of research that suggests that background music can negatively affect performance during different types of cognitive tasks. Contrary to this, there is also evidence that music listening during the encoding process will improve retrieval when the same music is played, which can be explained by the potential effects someone&#8217;s mood has on their ability to perform, as mood has been seen in a multitude of studies to affect cognitive performance and anxiety levels. Music has also been shown to lower symptoms of anxiety during cognitive tasks, so there is reason to believe a particular type of music could be used to lower anxiety symptoms while having no effect or even the possibility of a positive effect on cognitive performance. In this experiment, participants took memory tests with and without music, and were split into a group that listened to happy music, and a group that listened to neutral music. Results illustrated that music had no significant effect on overall test scores or heart rates. While there was no significant effect of music, trends were seen that could be explained by competition for resources on the brain, so further research to test intrahemispheric competition would help us understand the relationship between music, short term recall, and state anxiety.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Dudek\"><\/a>Zoey C. Dudek<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Sarah Stanger<\/p>\n<p>The Mediating Role of Adult Attachment in the Relationship Between Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms and Romantic Relational Aggression and Victimization<\/p>\n<p>This study aimed to expand the literature on the role that attachment played in the relationship between borderline symptoms and relational aggression and victimization in romantic relationships. The study was conducted online at a small liberal arts college in the northeastern U.S.. Participants consisted of college students (N = 32, M student age = 19.4, 87.5% female, 9.4% male, 3.1% other) who were recruited through SONA and the Psychology department at Allegheny College. Participants were asked to complete three different questionnaires on SurveyMonkey assessing (1) borderline personality disorder symptoms, (2) adult attachment, and (3) romantic relational aggression\/victimization. Three hypotheses were made: Hypothesis 1was that participants who reported more BPD symptoms would also report more anxious adult attachment styles. To test Hypothesis 1, a Pearson\u2019s correlation was conducted. The correlation between BPD symptoms and anxious adult attachment style was significant (r = .77, p &lt;.001); participants who reported higher levels of BPD symptoms also reported higher levels of anxious adult attachment. Hypothesis 2 was that participants who reported more BPD symptoms would also report more romantic relational aggression and romantic relational victimization. To test Hypothesis 2, two Pearson\u2019s correlations were performed in JASP to measure the degree of association between BPD symptoms and (a) romantic relational aggression and (b) romantic relational victimization. The correlation between BPD symptoms and relational aggression was significant (r = .45, p = .01); greater BPD symptoms were correlated with higher levels of romantic relational aggression. There was a positive correlation between BPD symptoms and romantic relational victimization, however the p-value was not significant (r = .26, p = .15); people reporting higher BPD symptoms did not show a consistent pattern in their level of romantic relational victimization. Finally, Hypothesis 3 was that the relationship between BPD symptoms and romantic relational aggression and victimization would be explained by participant anxious adult attachment styles and would be tested through a mediation analysis. Hypothesis 3 was not tested. The planned analysis involving romantic relational aggression was not completed because the reliability for this measure was low (\u03b1 = 0.41). For the planned analysis involving romantic relational victimization, although the reliability was high (\u03b1 = 0.84), the p-value was not significant for the correlation between BPD symptoms and relational victimization (p = .15), meaning there is no association for attachment to mediate.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Fisk\"><\/a>Alexus M. Fisk<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Ryan Pickering<\/p>\n<p>Examining the Relationship Between Stigmatized Identities and the College Experience<\/p>\n<p>Researchers discuss how people belong to different groups based on various aspects of their identity (e.g., race, class, gender) (Hogg et al., 1995). Some of the groups that individuals belong to may be stigmatized &#8211; or oppressed &#8211; which often comes with negative experiences and impacts on a person\u2019s life (Brown et al., 2010). This contradicts the belief that belonging to a greater number of groups is more of a good thing with positive outcomes (Chang et al., 2016). For this reason, the purpose of this study was to see if a relationship exists between the number of stigmatized identity groups an Allegheny College student reports being a part of and factors related to their college experience (e.g., social support, belongingness, health, and GPA). For this online study, Allegheny College students (n=53) completed a survey consisting of four scales related to the college experience and a questionnaire regarding identity. Correlations were conducted to see if there is a relationship between the number of stigmatized identity groups and the sums of the scales. Both the participants and the researcher identified whether or not identities included are marginalized. The results showed that there is statistical significance regarding the number of stigmatized groups an individual belongs to &#8211; in this case, the number generated by the experimenter &#8211; and 1) perceived social support from family (PSS-Fa), 2) belongingness (GBS), and 3) mental health (GHQ-12), but not regarding 4) GPA or 5) perceived social support from friends (PSS-Fr). However, when considering whether or not participants believe aspects of their identity are stigmatized, the participant-generated number of stigmatized identity groups, there was no statistical significance for perceived social support, GPA, belongingness, or mental health. Implications for this pattern of results are discussed.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Gonzalez\"><\/a>Avantae S. Gonzalez<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Sarah Stanger<\/p>\n<p>Psychopathologies and the Methods of Creative Art Therapy<\/p>\n<p>With the increase of documented and even undocumented psychopathologies within our modern society we must be able to have methods to properly cope with them. Allowing us to use methods we typically wouldn\u2019t think about being creative art therapy. I have researched several psychopathologies from eating disorders, depression, anti-social personality disorder, trichotillomania, and anxiety. In conjunction with this research on psychopathologies, I also did research on creative art therapy and how each form of creative art therapy can act as a form of treatment. I went into the specifics of each form of therapy from drawing, poem, music, and dance therapy, and how they can affect us in positive ways. I then wrote a play to combine these components in a college setting with characters who just so happen to have psychopathologies.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Henderson\"><\/a>Claire E. Henderson<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Sarah Stanger<\/p>\n<p>The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on First-Time Parents<\/p>\n<p>The COVID-19 pandemic affected a particular population of first-time parents who had their first child either right before the pandemic or during it. Postpartum depression (PPD) and anxiety (PPA) can affect both the mother and father of the infant suggesting 1 in 7 parents may experience PPD and 35% may experience PPA (Statistics on Postpartum Depression &#8211; Postpartum Depression Resources, n.d.; MBA, 2022). It is also thought that PPD and PPA share a comorbidity together and that up to 50% of cases have both PPD and PPA present (Postpartum Anxiety &#8211; How Postpartum Depression Can Cause Anxiety, 2016). PPD and PPA can also affect the parents ability to bond with their child, and research shows that being bonded with at least one parent is beneficial for the child in the future (Lewis, 2012). While parental mental health and the parent-infant bond may already be a struggle for some parents under non-pandemic circumstances, the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected both (Hyland et al., 2020; Ustun, 2021; \u00d6ng\u00f6ren, 2021; Gambin et al., 2020). In this study, a correlational and mediation analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between parental mental health (PPD\/PPA) and parent-infant bonding, and with parent coping as a mediator of those associations. I conceptualized coping through the Responses to Stress framework, which categorizes coping as primary control, secondary control, and disengagement (Conner-Smith et al., 2000). A cross-sectional sample of parents (N = 52, M parent age = 33.6, 75% female, 76.9% White) of 1-3-year-old children (M child age = 1.9, 51.9% male, 67.3% White) living in the US were recruited online through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS; Cox et al., 1987) was used to examine PPD symptoms. The Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale (PSAS; Adapted; Fallon et al., 2016) was adapted to examine any PPA symptoms. The Responses to Stress -COVID-19 Questionnaire (RSQ; Conner-Smith et al., 2000) was used to examine parent coping strategies in response to COVID-19 pandemic stress. The Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ; Brockington et al., 2006) was adapted to examine any bonding difficulties. It was hypothesized that parents who endorsed more anxious and depressive symptoms would also report more difficulty with parent-child bonding. It was also hypothesized that parents who experienced less anxious and depressive symptoms would be more likely to use primary and secondary control engagement coping strategies, and would experience better parent-child bonding. Both PPD symptoms and PPA symptoms were both significantly associated with greater difficulties with parent-infant bonding. None of the mediation analyses were significant. In sum, greater parent-reported PPD and PPA symptoms were associated with greater difficulties with parent-child bonding, but those relationships were not mediated by parent coping strategies. Implications include the importance of mental health support accessibility, involving parent-infant bonding interventions in the treatment of PPD or PPA, and assessing PPD and PPA symptoms well beyond the immediate postpartum period.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Kabazie\"><\/a>William D. Kabazie<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Christopher Normile<\/p>\n<p>A Review of the Current Practices of Interviewing and Deception Detection<\/p>\n<p>No abstract available as I created a Law Review for my senior comp.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Kathman\"><\/a>Fenn M. Kathman<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Lydia Eckstein<\/p>\n<p>How Victim Gender and Religious Identity Affects Perceptions of Intimate Partner Violence<\/p>\n<p>On average of 22.3% of women and 14% of men in the US are victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) a year (The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2015 Data Brief \u2014 Updated Release, n.d.), yet many victims do not receive the support they need due to stereotypes and beliefs about what IPV or IPV victimhood looks like. Based on previous research, this is more pronounced for those in communities of faith, where divorce is typically frowned upon or there may be stereotypes about the particular faith. Therefore, this study examined how religious identity and gender identity played potential roles in how individuals judged victims of IPV by having participants read vignettes about instances of IPV and rate the severity based on the gender and religion of the victim on a series of scales determined to rate IPV beliefs and victim-blaming beliefs in the participant. It was hypothesized that men would be viewed more negatively than women, Jewish victims would be viewed more negatively than Christian victims, and Jewish male victims would be viewed more nagatively than Christian male victims. Results were not consistent with these hypotheses. Limitations and implications are discussed.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Klingberg\"><\/a>Lindsey E. Klingberg<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Lydia Eckstein<\/p>\n<p>Statistics Anxiety as an Impediment to Statistics Literacy: Causes, Consequences, Remedies, and Implications<\/p>\n<p>N\/A<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Kochik\"><\/a>Jessica Kochik<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Ryan Pickering<\/p>\n<p>An Examination of Stigma on Opioid-Related Harm Reduction Strategies<\/p>\n<p>In the past few decades, the opioid epidemic revealed a new side to the dangers of drug usage, one that stems from both legal and illegal sources. Opioids are widely viewed in a highly stigmatized way; however, usage has been on the rise, and along with it, the rate of accidental overdoses. There are preventative measures known as harm reduction tools and strategies, which help to minimize the potential risks that come with opioid usage, such as overdose and spread of infectious disease. Students from Allegheny College participated in a researcher-made 4-part survey, in which they responded to statements regarding their feelings about opioid usage, harm reduction, and a true or false knowledge measure. Multiple Pearson\u2019s correlations were used to assess the data for any associations between knowledge and feelings towards opioid usage and harm reduction. No statistically significant results were found from these correlations, however the knowledge measure\u2019s results indicated that participants had a considerably low knowledge base regarding opioid usage and harm reduction, resulting in an average score of 67%. Furthermore, students exemplified an overall uncertainty regarding their feelings towards opioid usage and harm reduction practices. The results signify a need for further education on the topics of opioid usage and harm reduction practices, as well as a willingness from 88% of participants to learn more about these subjects. Future directions here at Allegheny College could mean incorporating more harm reduction education into the curriculum or through information sessions that could educate students on how to utilize harm reduction techniques in a crisis, such as Naloxone training.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Lenahan\"><\/a>Julia Lenahan<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology\/Neuroscience<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Rodney Clark<\/p>\n<p>Conditioned Food Preference of Unfamiliar Food in Female Rats<\/p>\n<p>In past food aversion studies, with rodent models, a novel food, indicated as a conditioned stimulus (CS) was paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US) like lithium chloride (LiCl). The pairing of a CS and US are utilized to elicit an aversive response. The introduction of the aversive US with the CS, was utilized for rodent models to consume less of the CS in further trials. This research, although pertinent to learning about food aversion, does not look into aversions with familiar foods. Rats exhibit neophobia, the fear of new things, in particular, food. Neophobia is a confounding variable in food aversion research due to the general aversion to novel foods. What happens when a familiar food is paired with an aversive agent like LiCl? Through pairing a familiar food as a CS with an US like LiCl, this experiment investigates if an aversive response to eating familiar food in rodent models can be replicated. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were utilized in this experiment due to lack of using female rats to indicate potential sex differences in past research. Each rat was injected once intraperitoneally (ip) with LiCl, mg\/kg was relative to each rodent\u2019s body weight. This injection was administered prior to introduction of the novel food in experimentation. Rats were then monitored in trials with a Y-maze and CPP. Rats&#8217; intake of the familiar and novel food were recorded as well as entries into each chamber in the CPP and Y-maze. These trials were conducted several times within a week with only one ip injection in the first trial and following trials were monitored for lasting effects of aversion without US. Results indicate there was reduction in food intake and less entries in the familiar food arms of the Y-maze due to illness from LiCl paired with familiar food.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Moon\"><\/a>Sungwoo Moon<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology\/Neuroscience<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Megan Bertholomey<\/p>\n<p>A Systematic Review of Alzheimer\u2019s Disease and Caregivers: Identification of The Burdens and Technical Assistive Tools<\/p>\n<p>Recent studies introduce the increasing number of Alzheimer\u2019s Disease(AD) patients and their caregivers without abundant resources including a rehabilitation environment, professional medical assistance, and active communication among the AD community. As the Alzheimer\u2019s Disease community is increasing with the significantly increased number of caregivers, thus, the impact of the growing AD population is not only implicated those with the disease themselves but also on their families that often take on the caregiver burden, which magnifies the number of people ultimately affected by the disease. However, there are fewer assistive tools for caregivers to take care of their mental health than for patients themselves. This study will examine the pathology of AD, impact of the disease towards the caregivers, current techology-based assistive tools and future studies.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Patton-Johnson\"><\/a>Sydnie T. Patton-Johnson<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology\/Neuroscience<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Megan Bertholomey<\/p>\n<p>The Effects of Chronic Stress, DHED, and Sex on Spatial Memory and Oxidative Stress<\/p>\n<p>Sex differences are important when looking at certain diseases because some have a higher prevalence in a certain sex and others, which can make treatment complicated. Alzheimer\u2019s Disease is a neurological disease that is more commonly seen in postmenopausal women. The theory behind that is because after women experience menopause they have extremely low levels of estrogen. Estrogens have been shown to improve memory and decrease the likelihood of neurons being damaged by oxidative stress because of its antioxidant properties. Due to oxidative stress being a marker of AD on top of amyloid beta and tau proteins, and estrogen&#8217;s neuroprotective characteristics to decrease these markers, estrogen replacement therapy has been considered for being a treatment. However, it has been found that males and females respond to stress and estrogen differently. Plus, estrogen replacement therapy has its drawbacks. DHED is a drug that increases estradiol without the peripheral effects, but it has not been tested for sex differences. The goal of this experiment was to see what effects sex, stress, and DHED had on spatial memory and oxidative stress. Female rats were ovariectomized while males were given a sham surgery. Rats received two weeks of chronic mild stress then two weeks of DHED treatment. Afterwards spatial memory was tested by the radial arm maze. It was found that there is an interaction between test day, sex, and DHED. These findings can be used to further understand estradiol\u2019s effects on memory and how it affects males and females differently.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Perelman\"><\/a>Senna A. Perelman<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Lydia Eckstein<\/p>\n<p>The Role of Pets in Buffering Loneliness in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic<\/p>\n<p>No abstract available<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Pleskovitch\"><\/a>Alexis R. Pleskovitch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Sarah Stanger<\/p>\n<p>Modification of &#8220;Scientist&#8221;: The Intersection Between Physics Education and Sense of Belonging<\/p>\n<p>Women and minorities have been historically underrepresented in physics. This is true in every branch of physics from teachers to students, to the figures spoken about in classes. To combat stereotypes that are currently impacting women and minorities, previous studies have worked to design lessons and interventions centered around sense of belonging, identity, and interest in physics. The present study used a set of interactive lessons centered around diverse voices in physics to teach students in introductory astronomy-based classes about physics concepts as well as women and their discoveries in astrophysics. These lessons were hypothesized to increase sense of belonging, identity with the terms \u201cphysicist\u201d and \u201cscientist\u201d, and interest in physics. Paired-sample t-tests were used to look at changes in students\u2019 identity and their sense of belonging. Qualitative analysis was used to find gaps in the quantitative measures and was coded with four major themes in mind: physics content, classroom components, difficulties, and dedication while looking at students\u2019 beliefs about their sense of belonging, identity, and interest in physics. The hypotheses were largely unsupported due to logistical issues with the duration and implementation of the lessons. However, students were able to learn from these lessons and had significant learning gains. This project can be used to better understand how interactive lessons affect students and how the implementation of those lessons can affect student learning. Future directions for this include helping students belong in the scientific community, identify as scientists, and continue to progress in science.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Prentice\"><\/a>John D. Prentice<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Rodney Clark<\/p>\n<p>A Review of Current Studies on Psilocybin to Treat Mental Disorders<\/p>\n<p>No abstract available<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Stephany\"><\/a>Rachel L. Stephany<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Monali Chowdhury<\/p>\n<p>The Relationship Between Instagram Usage, Self-Esteem, And Well-Being<\/p>\n<p>There has been plenty of contemporary research (Sherlock &amp; Wagstaff, 2019) done on social media and its effects on humans, but little is known about this using Rosenberg\u2019s Self-Esteem scale and the Satisfaction with Life Scale including college student participants. Sherlock and Wagstaff (2019) found that Instagram use is correlated with depressive symptoms, self-esteem, general and physical appearance anxiety, and body dissatisfaction. Research has suggested a variety of different results regarding how self-esteem and well-being are affected by social media, but this study focuses on the possible correlational relationship between Instagram and people\u2019s well-being and self-esteem. Based on Vogel et al. (2014), it was hypothesized that participants with a high number of active hours on Instagram will be more likely to have lower self-esteem and lower well-being levels. Based on Diefenbach and Anders (2022), it was hypothesized that participants with less active hours on instagram will have higher self-esteem and higher well-being levels. This study involved 50 Allegheny College students who all used Instagram as a form of social media. The participants all took an online study through SONA where they were asked questions on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale questionnaire and the Satisfaction with Life Scale questionnaire. They also self reported active and passive Instagram usage. Results suggested that there was no correlation between self-esteem or well-being levels and passive or active Instagram usage.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Sunseri\"><\/a>Sophia I. Sunseri<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Christopher Normile<\/p>\n<p>Statistical Understanding of Undergraduate Students<\/p>\n<p>Statistical cognition is the processes, representations, and activities involved in acquiring and using statistical knowledge by looking at: (1) how people acquire\/use statistical knowledge, (2) how they should think about statistical concepts, as well as (3) closing the gap between the previous two ideas (Cumming et al., 2008). This paper looked at the connections between statistical cognition, prior knowledge, statistical self-efficacy, major discipline, and gender. Participants were provided with a statistical self-efficacy questionnaire designed to measure their belief in their ability to complete statistical tasks. Participants then completed a statistical cognition survey designed to measure how much knowledge the students have about key statistical concepts. Results revealed no significant difference in statistical cognition across disciplines. Furthermore, their prior knowledge in statistics did not significantly affect statistical cognition scores. However, the gender of the participant did have a statistically significant effect on self-efficacy, in that women had lower self-efficacy scores than men. This information tells us that statistical education across disciplines may be fairly consistent, prior experience does not limit someone\u2019s knowledge, and women are suffering from the stereotype threat which leads them to believe they cannot excel in math as well as men can even if their scores reveal otherwise.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Todd\"><\/a>Patricia J. Todd<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Neuroscience<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Jeff Hollerman<\/p>\n<p>The Effects of Dextroamphetamine on Conditioned Place Preference and Locomotion in a Valproic Acid Rat Model of Autism<\/p>\n<p>Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a disorder that is prevalent in today\u2019s society, yet the exact etiology is unknown. It is thought to be a matter of genetic and environmental factors that are involved in ASD. Valproic Acid (VPA) intake by humans has been found to be a significant risk factor for ASD, and a model in rats was created and validated using this knowledge. It is theorized that a malfunction or dysfunction in the dopamine system may be a part of the etiology of autism. The dopamine system is strongly associated with reward, and can be stimulated using amphetamines. The dopamine system has also been closely associated with locomotion, with higher levels of dopamine function causing hyperlocomotion. The present study aimed to analyze whether d-amphetamine had a reduced effect in the VPA model in relation to the control, in terms of conditioning and locomotion. In the present study, two groups of male rats were used consisting of a group of VPA model rats and a control group (n=6\/group, n=12 total). The rats were conditioned with d-amphetamine using a conditioned place preference paradigm. Additionally, rats\u2019 locomotion was tested based on beam breaks along an X,Y infrared beam axis, with Z axis motion counted manually. The conditioned place preference test did not yield significant results between groups with controls showing similar levels of conditioned preference. The locomotion test yielded the result of a significant difference between groups in Z-axis motion, with VPA rats showing a smaller increase to amphetamine than controls; however, no significant difference in amphetamine effects between groups for X,Y axis movement was found.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Todd\"><\/a>Margaret L. Todd<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Neuroscience<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Jeff Hollerman<\/p>\n<p>Evidence for Olfactory Discrimination Deficits for Sexual Stimuli in a Valproic Acid Model of Autism: A Study on Sexual Behavior Deficits<\/p>\n<p>Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder, which affects a portion of the population and is commonly studied using a model created with rats that have been prenatally exposed to valproic acid (VPA). In humans with the disorder, possible sexual behavior and olfactory discrimination deficits exist, with the rat model also representing these olfactory discrimination deficits. The present study is aimed at determining if the sexual behavior deficits correlate to the model, as well as if there is a link between the two deficits described previously. Experimentation was performed using two different three-chamber preference tests, with lateral chambers containing either a neutral or sexual stimuli based on olfactory cues. No significant differences in preference were found using a bedding preference test, however a marginal significance was found in the rat preference test when looking at interaction time with the sexual stimuli, with a decrease for the VPA-exposed group compared to the control group. This marginally significant difference shows that a sexual behavior deficit could exist within the model due to olfactory discrimination deficits. Further research should be performed in order to confirm this hypothesis.<br \/>\nKey Words: Autism, Valproic Acid, Rat, Sexual Behavior, Olfactory Discrimination, Preference, Three-Chamber Test<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Vasilko\"><\/a>Amelia J. Vasilko<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology\/Neuroscience<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Megan Bertholomey<\/p>\n<p>The Effects of Maternal Separation on Anxiety-Like Behaviors in Female Rats<\/p>\n<p>Stress is something that anyone can experience at any time in their life. However, stress exposure during critical periods of development can have long-lasting effects on affect. With an increase in child neglect and children experiencing stressful situations at younger ages, it is important to determine the long term consequences of early life stress (ELS). In addition, females are more vulnerable to the effects of stress, and women have a greater prevalence of anxiety disorders compared to men; however, females are grossly understudied. To determine the effects of ELS and a subsequent stressor in adolescence on anxiety-like behavior in adulthood, female rats were exposed to maternal separation (MS for 3 hours a day over postnatal day 1-14, and were then exposed to the immunological stressor, lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 1 mg\/kg, i.p.) or vehicle, in adolescence (postnatal day 45), to stimulate a two-hit model for stress. Rats were then tested for anxiety-like behaviors in adulthood using the novelty suppressed feeding (NSF) test. The results of this study showed an increase in anxiety-like behaviors as evidenced by increased latency to approach and eat the food, for those who underwent MS compared to non-separated controls, but no effects of LPS exposure in adolescence. Although the effects of MS were expected, future research should explore how the quantity and timing of secondary stressors, like LPS, would have an effect on anxiety-like behaviors in adulthood.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Vitiello\"><\/a>Ashley P. Vitiello<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Neuroscience<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Jeff Hollerman<\/p>\n<p>Effects of Glyphosate on Learned Behavior\/Recognition Memory &amp; Potential Sex Differences in Sprague Dawley Rats<\/p>\n<p>Since their introduction in the early 1940s, organophosphates have posed a significant risk to both organisms and their environments (Than, 2013). Studies have shown that exposure can be deadly to humans, causing impacts in the central nervous system (Baglan et. al., 2018). Limited research has been done on the influence these toxins pose on learning behaviors and memory. A study was conducted with Sprague Dawley rats (n=20) to determine if glyphosate, a commonly known herbicide, has any acute or chronic effects on spatial learning and working memory. A repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant differences between subject groups of the amount of re-entries in the Radial Arm Maze (RAM) with Treatment (F(3,28)=4.670, p= 0.046) and Sex (F(3,28)=18.275, p= &lt;0.001). Statistical significance was found in the amount of successes in at least two groups (F(3,28)=5.146, p= 0.037 during RAM. Tukey\u2019s post hoc test indicated that there was significance in RAM reentries (p tukey=0.046;&lt;0.001) and successes (p tukey=0.037). Novel Object Recognition expressed significance, but was not applicable to predicted hypotheses. Further studies should be conducted by implementing more administrations and testing other areas such as sensory memory and unmotivated learning techniques. Increasing the number of subjects within both male and female cohorts as well as eliminating extraneous variables could also lead to a more precise effect.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"Williams\"><\/a>Ela M. Williams<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Major: Psychology\/Other<\/p>\n<p>Comp Advisor: Christopher Normile<\/p>\n<p>Impact of Literature on Allegheny College Students Perceptions of Undocumented Immigrants<\/p>\n<p>The United States general population&#8217;s opinions towards undocumented immigrants as well as the politization of feelings regarding undocumented immigration is concerning considering the influx of undocumented Latinx\/e immigrants crossing the border into the United States. My study filled a gap in the literature surrounding the impact of narration style and paratextual information on participants&#8217; feelings towards undocumented immigrants. Participants in this study filled out a questionnaire that asked them to rate on a 5-point Likert scale the extent to which they agreed with statements intended to measure their feelings towards undocumented immigrants. Participants were then primed with the information that the text they were about to read was fiction or nonfiction before they read a short paragraph about a single Latinx\/e adult who is crossing the border without documentation. Following completion of the questionnaire, participants were given a filler task which included questions regarding qualitative information on the participants reading habits and emotions. Finally, participants were asked to answer the questionnaire again and answer demographic questions. This study measured the impacts of different narration styles (first person vs third person vs journalism) and paratextual information (fiction vs nonfiction) on participants\u2019 feelings towards undocumented immigrants. The results of this study showed no statistical significance; however, the trend in the influence of narrative style indicated a potential for statistically significant results if there would have been more participants.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Megan E. Aaron Major: Psychology Comp Advisor: Lauren Paulson The Relationship Between Athlete Attachment Style with Coaches and Disordered Eating and Body Image in Division III Collegiate Athletes This study examined the relationship between the attachment style of the coach-athlete relationship on disordered eating and body image in NCAA Division III collegiate athletes at Allegheny [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"mt-5\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/2022-2023-senior-comp-abstracts\/\">Continue Reading &#8220;2022-2023 Senior Comp Abstracts&#8221;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":546,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-7609","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/546"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7609"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7609\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":7291,"date":"2022-11-14T09:50:38","date_gmt":"2022-11-14T14:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psych\/?page_id=7291"},"modified":"2025-10-07T15:24:46","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T19:24:46","slug":"psychology-labs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/psychology-labs\/","title":{"rendered":"Psychology Labs"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Current Psychology Labs<\/h3>\n<h4>Behavioral Endocrinology and Ethanol Research (B.E.E.R.) Lab<\/h4>\n<p><em>Professor Megan Bertholomey<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Research in the B.E.E.R. lab takes a behavioral pharmacology approach to understanding the mechanisms underlying pathological behaviors using preclinical models. Our research is aimed at examining stress- and gonadal hormone-related changes in rat models of psychopathology, with a particular emphasis on substance use (especially alcohol), anxiety, PTSD, and depression. As it is increasingly understood that sex as a biological variable (#SABV for short) is an important consideration in research, projects our lab use both female and male rats. B.E.E.R. lab members read the primary literature in this field to familiarize themselves with prior research and in techniques related to future studies in the lab. Ongoing experiments examine the effects of gonadectomy (surgical removel of ovaries or testes) in adolescence or adulthood on sex differences in alcohol drinking, with the hypothesis that adolescent (prepubertal) gonadectomy will eliminate the typical sex difference in alcohol drinking observed. Students will receive hands-on training in the surgical and behavioral techniques, data management and analysis, and have the opportunity to present the results of these studies at local and national conferences. Interested students can contact the Professor Bartholomey to discuss current projects and space in the B.E.E.R. lab.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fear, Anxiety, and Endocrine Research (F.E.A.R) Lab<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Professor Shelby Blair<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Research in the F.E.A.R. lab explores the various factors that contribute to Pavlovian Fear conditioning, used as a model of PTSD and anxiety disorders, with an emphasis on gonadal hormones and neuroanatomical\/neurochemical differences between males and females. Ongoing research focuses the role of progesterone in fear learning and sex differences in the activation of the \u201cfear network.\u201d Students in the F.E.A.R. lab will receive hands-on training in surgical and behavioral techniques and data analysis and presentation. Additionally, interested students will have the opportunity to present research findings at local and national conferences. The F.E.A.R. lab typically attends the annual Pavlovian Society Conference and the Eastern Psychological Association (EPA) conference. Students interested in working in the F.E.A.R. lab are leaving encourage to take PSYCH 152: Learning and Behavior and contact Professor Blair to discuss joining the lab.<\/p>\n<h4>Just Undergraduate Students Thoroughly Investigating Crime Ethically (JUSTICE) Lab<\/h4>\n<p><em>Professor Chris Normile<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The JUSTICE Lab consists of several undergraduate students who are interested in conducting research investigating psychology and law related issues. Topics that we investigate include perceptions of exonerees, jury decision-making, secondary confessions, and more. As a member of the JUSTICE Lab, students learn how to design research studies at all parts of the research process. This includes reading journal articles, generating new ideas, developing materials, collecting data, and analyzing data. Students also have the opportunity to present research at national and regional conferences. Professor Normile always recruits students to join the lab during registration period each semester. If you are an undergraduate student at Allegheny College interested in joining the JUSTICE Lab, please reach out to Professor Normile and schedule an appointment to discuss the opportunity.<\/p>\n<h4 data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\">Memory and EEG With Sleep (MEWS) Lab<\/h4>\n<p><em>Professor Kristen Warren<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Examining the human neural activity and connectivity that supports episodic memory using cognitive testing, EEG, eye-tracking, and open-source MRI datasets, with particular emphasis on differences across distinct memory processes, its interactions with other cognitive systems, and ways to improve memory noninvasively.<\/p>\n<h4>Physiology and Applied Social Sciences (PASS) Lab<\/h4>\n<p><em>Professor Ryan Pickering<\/em><\/p>\n<p>My lab uses physiological approaches to study social stress, particularly stress related to being a part of a marginalized community. This can and has included research on stereotype threat, identity and performance, disclosure of concealable identity, and perceptions and anticipatory stress related to diversity training. We also apply interdisciplinary and multi-modal research approaches to learn about and try to solve real-world problems, like sustainability, behavioral intention related to health, workplace issues, behavioral economics, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belongingness for students from marginalized groups. I generally recruit students from my social psychology (PSYCH162) course, though I am always open to recruiting interested students, particularly near the end of the spring semester to prepare students for at least a full year of lab involvement.<\/p>\n<h4>Statistical Cognition Lab<\/h4>\n<p><em>Professor Chris Normile<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The Statistical Cognition Lab consists of students who are interested in studying the learning and understanding of statistics. Topics we investigate include understanding how different disciplines approach statistical pedagogy, NHST versus new and Bayesian statistics, and understanding what statistical software works best for student learning. As a member of the Statistical Cognition Lab, students learn how to design research studies at all parts of the research process. This includes reading journal articles, generating new ideas, developing materials, collecting data, and analyzing data. Students also have the opportunity to present research at national and regional conferences. Professor Normile always recruits students to join the lab during registration period each semester. If you are an undergraduate student at Allegheny College interested in joining the Statistical Cognition Lab, please reach out to Professor Normile and schedule an appointment to discuss the opportunity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Current Psychology Labs Behavioral Endocrinology and Ethanol Research (B.E.E.R.) Lab Professor Megan Bertholomey Research in the B.E.E.R. lab takes a behavioral pharmacology approach to understanding the mechanisms underlying pathological behaviors using preclinical models. Our research is aimed at examining stress- and gonadal hormone-related changes in rat models of psychopathology, with a particular emphasis on substance [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"mt-5\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/psychology-labs\/\">Continue Reading &#8220;Psychology Labs&#8221;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":348,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-7291","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/348"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7291"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8089,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7291\/revisions\/8089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":7280,"date":"2022-11-07T14:37:12","date_gmt":"2022-11-07T19:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psych\/?page_id=7280"},"modified":"2025-02-12T11:03:17","modified_gmt":"2025-02-12T16:03:17","slug":"purchasing-procedure-for-comp-related-expenses","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/purchasing-procedure-for-comp-related-expenses\/","title":{"rendered":"Purchasing Procedure for Comp-Related Expenses"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Psychology department underwrites the cost of several aspects of the senior project. At present, the Department pays for all or part of the cost for the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>incentive participation<\/li>\n<li>animals, chemicals, drugs, etc.<\/li>\n<li>purchase of published tests<\/li>\n<li>reproduction of experimental materials<\/li>\n<li>travel<\/li>\n<li>long distance charges<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Prior to purchasing ANY supplies for your senior project, you must first speak with your advisor for permission to purchase the items.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Once your advisor grants permission:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>You can purchase the items yourself (<strong>up to $75 maximum<\/strong>), but when doing so, be sure to keep the <strong>original receipt(s)<\/strong> for the purchase as these are required for reimbursement.<\/li>\n<li>Next, complete the <strong>Reimbursement Form for Comp-Related Expenses<\/strong>, and submit the form with the original receipt(s) attached to the Psychology department chair (mailbox is in Carnegie 103)<\/li>\n<li>Once the form is signed by the department chair and submitted to Financial Services, you will receive a reimbursement check to your campus mailbox.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>A few notes regarding incentive participation (gift cards for a survey raffle):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Amazon and Visa\/Mastercard gift cards are not allowed.<\/li>\n<li>Gift cards should be in $20 increments; therefore you may purchase up to three cards.<\/li>\n<li>Suggestions for gift card purchases to local businesses:<br \/>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse; width: 97.0956%; height: 96px;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 24px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 33.4847%; height: 24px;\">Allegheny Bookstore<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 28.7947%; height: 24px;\">Julian&#8217;s<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 35.0396%; height: 24px;\">Tattered Corners Bookstore<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 24px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 33.4847%; height: 24px;\">Kettle Lake Kitchen<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 28.7947%; height: 24px;\">Mannino&#8217;s Italian Garden<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 35.0396%; height: 24px;\">Diamond&#8217;s All Star Grille<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 24px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 33.4847%; height: 24px;\">The Whole Darn Thing<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 28.7947%; height: 24px;\">Smokey Martins BBQ<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 35.0396%; height: 24px;\">McLure&#8217;s Fish House<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 24px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 33.4847%; height: 24px;\">Vocelli Pizza<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 28.7947%; height: 24px;\">PA Sandwich &amp; Pizza Co<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 35.0396%; height: 24px;\">Cup n Spoon Coffee Frozen Yogurt<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/li>\n<li>On the reimbursement form, include the reason for purchases as something similar to: <em>&#8220;The gift certificates purchased were used as incentive participation in human research associated with this senior project&#8221;.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>On the reimbursement form, you must include the raffle (gift card) winners (name and ID#), or at the very least, the campus box # of the student winners. <em>Gift card winners could be selected using their SONA ID numbers for the drawing if the survey is to remain anonymous.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Secure the senior project advisor&#8217;s signature on the reimbursement form as well<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2022\/11\/Reimbursement-Form-for-Comp-Related-Expenses.pdf\">Reimbursement Form for Comp-Related Expenses<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Depending upon the total cost of the supplies for your senior project, if the cost is excessive for you, please discuss alternative methods of payment with your advisor.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, if the total cost of the senior project supplies exceeds the $75 available from the Psychology department, you can apply for additional funding through <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2025\/02\/The-Class-of-1939-Senior-Research-Fund-Funding-Application-9-12-24.pdf\">The Class of 1939 Senior Research Fund Application Form<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Psychology department underwrites the cost of several aspects of the senior project. At present, the Department pays for all or part of the cost for the following: incentive participation animals, chemicals, drugs, etc. purchase of published tests reproduction of experimental materials travel long distance charges Prior to purchasing ANY supplies for your senior project, [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"mt-5\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/purchasing-procedure-for-comp-related-expenses\/\">Continue Reading &#8220;Purchasing Procedure for Comp-Related Expenses&#8221;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":348,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-7280","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/348"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7280\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":7385,"date":"2022-10-28T14:18:29","date_gmt":"2022-10-28T18:18:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psych\/?page_id=7385"},"modified":"2025-08-26T16:21:04","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T20:21:04","slug":"senior-project","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/senior-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Senior Project"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a target=\"_self\" class=\"button button-medium normal yellow \" href=\"#start\">Getting Started<\/a> <a target=\"_self\" class=\"button button-medium normal yellow \" href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/faculty-research-interests\/\">Faculty Research Interests<\/a> <a target=\"_self\" class=\"button button-medium normal yellow \" href=\"#due\">Due Dates<\/a><br \/>\n<a target=\"_self\" class=\"button button-medium normal yellow \" href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2022\/11\/One-Semester-Comp-General-Syllabus-Fa22.pdf\">One Semester Senior Project Syllabus<\/a> <a target=\"_self\" class=\"button button-medium normal yellow \" href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2022\/11\/Two-Semester-Comp-General-Syllabus-Fa22.pdf\">Two Semester Senior Project Syllabus<\/a><br \/>\n<a target=\"_self\" class=\"button button-medium normal yellow \" href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/forms\/\">Forms<\/a> <a target=\"_self\" class=\"button button-medium normal yellow \" href=\"#guidelines\">Guidelines<\/a> <a target=\"_self\" class=\"button button-medium normal yellow \" href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/statistics-resources\/\">Statistics Resources<\/a>\u00a0 <a target=\"_self\" class=\"button button-medium normal blue \" href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/submission-checklist\/\">Submission Checklist<\/a> <a target=\"_self\" class=\"button button-medium normal yellow \" href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/alumni\/honors-prizes-and-awards\/\">Prizes<\/a><br \/>\n<a target=\"_self\" class=\"button button-medium normal yellow \" href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/srcomp\/past-comps\/\">Senior Projects Archive<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"large\">The culmination of our major is the<a href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/academics\/senior-project\/\">\u00a0College-wide requirement of the Senior Project<\/a>. Every Alleghenian completes a Senior Comprehensive Project (known as the \u201cComp\u201d), a significant piece of original work, designed by the individual student in consultation with a faculty advisor, that demonstrates to employers and\/or graduate schools the ability to complete a major assignment, to work independently, to analyze and synthesize information, and to write and speak persuasively.<\/p>\n<p>In psychology, the Junior Seminar is used to explore potential project areas. The project itself is completed during the senior year. Small groups of students work with a faculty member in a senior seminar, exploring ethical research standards and literature related to their topics. Under faculty supervision, students critique one another\u2019s work and present their results orally to the group.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"start\">Getting Started<\/h3>\n<p>The first, and for many students, the most difficult part of a senior project is choosing the topic. The prime criterion for selecting a topic is that it must be interesting to you. There are a number of questions which you can ask yourself which may assist you in selecting a comp topic. First, if you have an idea of what you would like to do when you graduate, you can select a topic which is relevant to your future role. For example, if you think that you might be interested in some form of social service work, then find a topic which would be relevant to social service. Second, was there an issue or topic raised in a class or in your seminar which could be developed into a comp topic? Finally, is there some issue or topic in which you are sincerely interested which you would like to develop?<\/p>\n<p>Keep in mind that ideas rarely occur spontaneously or \u201cdivinely.\u201d Allow sufficient time before the deadline for the proposal to develop an interesting and sustaining topic. You should have a number of possible ideas for a comp by the beginning of the second semester in your Junior year. During the first half of the second semester, spend some time thinking about these ideas and what interests you most. Also, talk to your academic advisor as well as other faculty to get their opinions of your ideas. These conversations can be an invaluable source of feedback, ideas, and clarification.<\/p>\n<p>Along with the topic, you will need to select a first and second reader for your comp. The main criterion for selecting a comp advisor (first reader) is expertise in the area. Second, you should select someone with whom you can work for a full semester. The second reader is frequently not as involved in the project as the first reader. However, this person can be very helpful in formulating the thesis. Finally, check the list of <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/?page_id=7189&amp;preview=true\">Faculty Interests<\/a> to read what faculty member(s) might be interested in working with you.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"due\">Due Dates<\/h3>\n<p><strong>For the 2025-2026 school year:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Fall 2025 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">one-semester project: Monday, Nov. 24 at 4 pm (two weeks before end of classes)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Fall 2025 two-semester project: Monday, Nov. 10 at 4 pm (four weeks before end of classes)\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Spring 2026 one-semester project: Monday, April 13 at 4 pm (two weeks before end of classes)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Spring 2026 two-semester project: Monday, March 30 at 4 pm (four weeks before end of classes)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The final orals for each student will be done during the remaining weeks of the semester on a schedule arranged by the student.<\/p>\n<p>Final orals will begin with a presentation by the student of the highlights of the project just completed, usually limited to 10 minutes. Members of the board will then have an opportunity to ask questions and raise issues prompted by either the written work or the oral presentation.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Late Papers<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>The only acceptable circumstances that can lead to an extension beyond that deadline are those which are well beyond the control of the student. These include illness, death of animals, failure of some external agency to provide testing material on time, etc. Permission to give an extension for the completion of a senior project is a joint decision made by the first and second readers <strong>in consultation with the Psychology Department faculty.<\/strong> Discussions about providing an extension of the deadline should begin as soon as it becomes obvious that the project will not be completed on time.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Penalties for late papers<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Failure to submit a project by the due date will result in a grade penalty of one-third of a letter grade for each day the paper is late.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"guidelines\">Guidelines<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/owl.purdue.edu\/owl\/research_and_citation\/apa_style\/apa_style_introduction.html\">Purdue OWL APA Publication Manual<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Consult <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2022\/11\/Writing-in-APA-Fa2022.pdf\">this document for the basics of APA style<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2020\/04\/Title-and-Signature-Pages.docx\">Title and Signature Page<\/a> for all Senior Projects (Word Doc)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0 The culmination of our major is the\u00a0College-wide requirement of the Senior Project. Every Alleghenian completes a Senior Comprehensive Project (known as the \u201cComp\u201d), a significant piece of original work, designed by the individual student in consultation with a faculty advisor, that demonstrates to employers and\/or graduate schools the ability to complete a major assignment, [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"mt-5\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/senior-project\/\">Continue Reading &#8220;Senior Project&#8221;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":348,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-7385","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/348"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7385\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":7332,"date":"2022-10-28T13:50:03","date_gmt":"2022-10-28T17:50:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psych\/?page_id=7332"},"modified":"2026-04-01T08:56:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T12:56:25","slug":"submission-checklist","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/submission-checklist\/","title":{"rendered":"Submission Checklist"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"column-short\">\n<h3 id=\"FERPA\" class=\"alt mb0\">Steps for submission of the Senior Project are listed below.\u00a0 Final grades will not be submitted until ALL steps have been completed to the satisfaction of the Psychology Department.<\/h3>\n<div class=\"box box-default box-align-\"><p>\n<div class=\"box box-blue box-align-\">1. On your due date by 4 pm, email a PDF of your final project to your First and Second Readers, the department chair (Prof. Paulson), and the Academic Building Coordinator (schowdhury@allegheny.edu) . Additionally and at the same time, <em>if required by your First Reader<\/em>, place a printed copy of your project in your First Reader&#8217;s mailbox in Carnegie 103, the main office.<\/div>\n<div class=\"box box-blue box-align-\">2. Email your First and Second Readers with available days and times to schedule your post-comp oral defense meeting.<\/div>\n<div class=\"box box-blue box-align-\">\n<p>3. Complete the Ethics\/Institutional Review Board (IRB) Process <em>(for empirical projects only)<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If you received approval for your project from the Institutional Review Board or Ethics Committee, please consult with your First Reader to determine if you need to complete an <em>IRB Incident Report Form,<\/em> which is found on the <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/committees\/institutional-review-board\/\">IRB web page<\/a>. If you do, after clicking the form link, select <em>Make a copy, <\/em>complete the form, then choose <em>File, Download, Microsoft Word (.docx). <\/em>Email the completed form to your First Reader, who will send it on to the committee.<\/li>\n<li>If your senior project participants completed hard copy consent forms, these must be placed in a sealed envelope and labeled &#8220;<em>Informed Consent, Your Name, and the Current Semester and Year<\/em>&#8221; then turn in to the main office, Carnegie 103 unless otherwise instructed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"box box-blue box-align-\">4. Make your study <em>INACTIVE<\/em> on the <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/sona-experiment-management-system\/\">SONA system<\/a>.\u00a0<em>(for empirical projects only)<\/em><\/div>\n<div class=\"box box-blue box-align-\">5. Complete the Senior Comp Survey: <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/163K7-6gw5f0u2j-6FgOOjlaG921NOH6_fgz6WaGjigI\/edit\">PART 1<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/163K7-6gw5f0u2j-6FgOOjlaG921NOH6_fgz6WaGjigI\/edit\">PART 2<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"box box-blue box-align-\">\n<p>6. Review the <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/lits\/library\/seniorprojectsubmissions\/\">Library\u2019s Senior Project Submissions page<\/a>\u00a0for instructions on:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>submitting the Library&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLScUzVhvldX4USze2A_ZhUoi1vOG6NhcoYVM79pZ6AdQbb8ksA\/viewform\">Senior Project Online Permission Form<\/a>\u00a0 Be sure to speak with your project advisor about which permissions are right for you before submitting your form.<\/li>\n<li>The DSpace login page is <a href=\"https:\/\/dspace.allegheny.edu\/\">HERE<\/a> if you wish to check it.<\/li>\n<li>Please direct questions or concerns to <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/directory\/employees\/kern-brian\/\">Brian Kern<\/a>, the Director of Resource Management, at bkern@allegheny.edu or 814-332-3792.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"box box-blue box-align-\">\n<p>7. For <em>up to three<\/em> printed and bound copies of your Project (no charge; billed to the Provost&#8217;s office): <em>(optional)<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>COMP <a href=\"https:\/\/allegheny.edu\/student-life\/campus-center-and-store\/gator-post-and-print\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">printing<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Students will be notified by email when their copies are ready to be picked up at the Print\/Post window.\u00a0 If a student needs someone else to pick up their comp for them, they <em>must<\/em> request so by email before coming in person to pick up the project.<\/li>\n<li>Bring the printed copies to the main office, Carnegie 103. Place them in your First Reader&#8217;s mailbox so that faculty signatures can be secured.<\/li>\n<li>Stop back to Carnegie 103 prior to leaving campus to pick up your signed project.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Steps for submission of the Senior Project are listed below.\u00a0 Final grades will not be submitted until ALL steps have been completed to the satisfaction of the Psychology Department.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":348,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-7332","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/348"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7332"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7332\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8134,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7332\/revisions\/8134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":7116,"date":"2022-10-28T13:33:23","date_gmt":"2022-10-28T17:33:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psych\/?page_id=7116"},"modified":"2023-02-15T14:35:21","modified_gmt":"2023-02-15T19:35:21","slug":"student-resources","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/student-resources\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Resources"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a target=\"_self\" class=\"button button-medium normal yellow \" href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/careers-in-psychology\/\">Careers in Psychology<\/a> <a target=\"_self\" class=\"button button-medium normal yellow \" href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/registrar\/academic-programs\/study-at-partner-institutions\/psychology-coooperative-programs\/\">Cooperative Programs<\/a> <a target=\"_self\" class=\"button button-medium normal yellow \" href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/ethics\/\">Ethics<\/a> <a target=\"_self\" class=\"button button-medium normal yellow \" href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2022\/10\/Figures-and-Tables.pdf\">Figures and Tables<\/a> <a target=\"_self\" class=\"button button-medium normal yellow \" href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/forms\/\">Forms<\/a>\u00a0 <a target=\"_self\" class=\"button button-medium normal yellow \" href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/internet-resources\/\">Internet Resources<\/a> <a target=\"_self\" class=\"button button-medium normal yellow \" href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/statistics-resources\/\">Statistics Resources<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0<a target=\"_self\" class=\"button button-medium normal yellow \" href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/posters\/\">Poster Presentations<\/a> <a target=\"_self\" class=\"button button-medium normal yellow \" href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/sona-experiment-management-system\/\">SONA<\/a>\u00a0 <a target=\"_self\" class=\"button button-medium normal yellow \" href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/conference\/scheduler-reserve-a-room-instructions\/\">Reserving a Campus Space using Scheduler<\/a> <a target=\"_self\" class=\"button button-medium normal blue \" href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/education\/products\/office\">Microsoft Office 365 Education &#8211; Create a FREE Account<\/a> <a target=\"_self\" class=\"button button-medium normal blue \" href=\"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/files\/2022\/10\/Office-Download.pdf\">Microsoft Office 365 Download Instructions<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":348,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-7116","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/348"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7116\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.allegheny.edu\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}]