Emil's Epilogue - May 2009
Gustie Psych News & Events

Department Happenings

Psychology Research Symposium - Friday, May 15

Event Brochure (pdf)

Research Posters 3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
- SSC lower level Hallway
Honors Oral Presentations 4:00 - 5:15 p.m.
SSC 28
- 4:00 Christine Grotjohn
  - Gender Differences in Human Memory Under Stress
- 4:15 Emma Espel
  - Happiness and Related Components in Chilean and American Culture
- 4:30 Rebecca Carlson
  - Attachment and Framing in Mentoring Preferences
- 4:45 Henry Boeh
  - Implicit Emotional Priming Through Words
- 5:00 Kelly Anderson
  - Relationships Between Pro-Social Behavior, Spirituality, Narcissism, and Satisfaction with Life

Department Picnic 5:30 p.m. -- Dr. Martin's home

(rsvp needed) - Please refer to invitation via e-mail.

Graduation - Sunday, May 31 - Congratulations Seniors!

Honors Research

Kelly Anderson - Psychology Honors

My senior honors research project focuses on the relationships Kelly Anderson between prosocial behavior, spirituality, satisfaction with life, and narcissism. The main objective is to partially explain contributing factors of what constitutes prosocial behavior. Another objective of the study was to replicate past correlations that have been found between variables using different measures. Examining the role of narcissism is particularly of interest in this study as narcissism has been the focus of much research in recent years, with findings that younger generations are more narcissistic than older generations. The hypothesis is that spirituality, satisfaction with life, and narcissism will all be contributing factors to prosocial behavior.

Henry Boeh - Psychology Honors

The intention of my study is to determine whether or not words with significantly emotional relevance can impact the emotional affect, or mood, of subjects when not consciously Henry Boeh perceived, but viewed at an implicit level. Lexical priming has been shown to exist on a subconscious level, but to my knowledge, a direct analysis of whether the effects of subconscious priming stop at the analytical, semantic meaning level, or also apply to the emotional relevance of words as well. Theoretically, being continuously exposed to words found to have significant emotional relevance will, at least on the short term, impact your general mood. To detect this difference, very sensitive mood inventories must be administered, and words with particularly high emotional value must be shown to the subjects.

Tribute to Seniors (continued from the April issue) living and learning on campus and off...

Kelly Anderson: I am a Psychology Honors Major and Peace Studies Minor. My involvement on campus includes Hoffmann POG, Movin' and Groovin', Vagina Monologues, Pound Pals, Wellness Program, Intramural Softball. This fall I hope to be participating in the AmeriCorps NCCC or have some other service-related position while I take a year off from school. In five or six years, I hope to be an occupational therapist. My suggestions to first and second year students is to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible! You may never know what might interest you until you try it out. Wander outside of your comfort zone.

Jorge Munoz: I am a Psychology Major and French Minor involved on campus as Big Partner Jorge Little Partner Coordinator, member of Study Buddies, Intramural sports, Men's club volleybal team and Psi Chi. I would like to be working in a neuroscience lab this fall, preferably near a beach or mountain range. Five years from now I would like to be either attaining a doctorate in neuropsychology or owning my own hostel or bar abroad. My advice to students is to narrow down what area of psychology you are interested in early on. Ask professors and demand more information about career options that branch from the field that you are considering.

Stephanie Peterson: I am a Psychology Major, as well as a pre-Occupational Therapy student. Throughout college I have been involved in Big Partner Little Partner, Alpha Phi Omega co-ed service fraternity, Relay for Life, and Psi Chi. I also studied abroad for a semester in Wollongong, Australia. This fall I will be attending graduate school at the University of South Dakota for Occupational Therapy. In five years, I would like to working at a pediatric outpatient clinic as a licensed Occupational Therapist. I would also love to take some time off and travel around the world. My advice to underclassmen would be to enjoy you're time here at Gustavus. It sounds cliche, but it is honestly the best 4 years of your life. Work hard, but don't forget to take the time to enjoy yourself and the amazing friends you have made here, because before you know it, you will be graduating and moving on from life on the hill.

Jessica Gabbert: I am a Pychology Major with a Coaching Minor. I played softball all four years at Gustavus and am on the Relay for Life Committee as well as the Student Athletic Jessica Advisory Board. I am a student leader in the MarketPlace and have also been involved in Gustavus Youth Outreach, Alpha Phi Omega, Study Buddies and Proclaim. My plans for next fall aren't set yet, but I hope to either be going to grad school for a degree in Child Development with a specialization in Child Life, volunteering through AmeriCorps, or working. In five or six years, I hope to be working in a hospital as a Child Life Specialist, or in a career involving helping children. My advice is to trust that even though it may not seem like it sometimes, all your work will get done on time, so work hard and make time to enjoy your Gustavus experience because it really goes by fast! I also highly recommend going abroad for a j-term class; it is worth every dollar you spend!

Henry Boeh: I am a Psychology Honors and Classics double major and Neuroscience Minor. I've been involved in Swing Club, Gustavus Wind Orchestra, Jazz Band, and with Independent Research. I will attend Marquette University's Clinical Psychology PhD graduate program, and after that I hope to become a general practice clinical psychologist, working in the public health system. My advice to first and second year students is to do your online quizzes! If you plan to continue psychology in grad school, you will most likely have to take the GRE Psych subject exam, so memorize psychologist names now! Finally, there's a lot of info in psychology classes, but make sure you try to think of how everything you are learning functions in real life.

Majors in the news...

Congratulations to Emma Iverson, as she has been named a Gerhard T. Alexis Scholar for the 2008-2009 academic year! This award was endowed by a gift from Jane and H. Bradford Thompson and is presented to juniors who have achieved the highest academic record throughout their first two years at Gustavus. Emma's award will be recognized at the Honors Day ceremony.

Congratulations to Christine Grotjohn and Scott Broady for being recognized on Monday, April 27, at the annual Paul Magnuson Student Leadership and Service Awards Program at Gustavus Adolphus College. Established in 1991 and annually supported by the Hon. Paul Magnuson ‘59, chief judge of the U.S. Federal District Court in St. Paul and former trustee of the College, the awards recognize the significant contributions that individual students and student groups make to campus life.

The Diversity Center has announced that the following graduating senior students have been awarded "Diversity stoles" to be worn at commencement in recognition of their leadership in diversity initiatives and community building on campus. Psychology majors honored are Angela Allen, Christine Grotjohn, and Rita Stevermer.

Congratulations to psychology majors Rebecca Carlson, Emma Espel, Emma Iverson, and Rita Stevermer who were recently inducted to Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest and most prestigious academic honor society which recognizes performance in fields of liberal learning.

The Gustavus softball team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Regional. Jenna Johnson hit a two-run home run in the first inning and Emily Wendorff hit a grand slam in the sixth inning to spark the Gustie hit parade. The Gusties got off to a fast start in the game scoring four runs in the top of the first inning. Rachael Click, who was hit by a pitch, scored from first on a throwing error after Emily Wendorff had singled to centerfield. Andrea Brown singled to score Wendorff, and then Jenna Johnson hit a 240-foot blast to left field, which made the score 4-0. Gustavus increased its lead to 6-0 in the third inning with the help of an RBI single by Andrea Brown and an RBI double by Jenna Johnson. The Gusties put the game out of reach with a five-run sixth inning. The big blow was a grand slam by Emily Wendorff, which drove in Kirsten Prunty, Emily Klein, and Rachael Click. Wendorff's home run was estimated at 415 feet. You can listen to a broadcast of the game provided by Luther. Follow this link to listen to the broadcast over the internet.

The Gustavus men's track and field team will compete in the MIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships this Friday and Saturday at Carleton College. Relay members include Colby Citrowski. The 4x100 relay will vie for all-conference honors as the team heads into the meet ranked third with a time of 42.73.

Conferences, Professional Presentations

MidBrains Conference, May 2, 2009, Macalester College:

Cathryn Nelson, Lor Moua, Nathan Heggem - "Effects of simulated hearing loss on vowel discrimination"
Abbe Paulhe, Erin Watt - "Detecting auditory change blindness in sound sequences"

Minnesota Undergraduate Psychology Conference - April 18, College of St. Benedict

Becky Carlson - Attachment and Framing in Mentoring Preferences

Sigma Xi, Friday, May 1 - Gustavus Adolphus College

Emma Espel
Happiness and Related Components in Chilean and American Culture
Advisor: Marie Walker
Susie Kramer
The effects of group synchrony on cooperation, prosocial behavior, and mood.
Advisor: Kyle Chambers

Dr. Kyle Chambers (psychology) and colleagues Melanie Khu, Danit Nitka, and Kris Onishi from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, presented a poster, "The effect of phonotactic regularities on infant word learning," at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development in Denver, Colo. A PDF copy of the poster can be viewed at http://kechambers.com/academics/academic_files/khu_fasTeach_srcd2009.pdf

News from Psi Chi

Psi Chi Induction

The annual spring Psi Chi Induction ceremony took place on Tuesday evening, April 28 in Linner Lounge. New members inducted during the 2008-2009 academic year are:

Henry Boeh, Lauren Clausen, Rebecca Hormann, Lisa Julin, Kathryn Layman, Meredythe Marcotte, Jorge Munoz Pineda, Cathryn Nelson, Abbe Paulhe, Catlin Petersen, Stephanie Peterson, Rita Stevermer, Lindsay Werder, Carrie Gundersen, Alison Hoffman, Paul Huff, Derek Notch, Ashley Ohlsen, Ciara Rodwell, Katherine Schnell, Tiffany VandenBussche

Psi Chi seniors graduating this spring and receiving graduation honor cords at the Induction Psi Chi Seniors at Induction April 09 Ceremony are (pictured left to right): Front row: Christine Grotjohn, Lor Moua, Ashley Ohlson, Lindsay Werder, Carly Ernst, Jennifer Pelowski

Second row: Rita Stevermer, Jorge Munoz Pineda, Megan Taylor, Theo Roth, Katie Nelson, Becky Carlson, Emma Espel, Krista Koenen

Not pictured: Holly Andersen, Kelly Anderson, Henry Boeh, Kelly Chaudoin, Erica Dobson, Jessica Malmquist, Stephanie Peterson, Garrett Rorem, Ashley Martin, Amy Veerkamp