Emil's Epilogue -
October 2010
Gustie Psych
News & Events
Psychology Majors - Mark Your Calendars!
Psychology will host Dr. Mahzarin R. Banaji as the Fall 2010 John Kendall Lecture Series Presenter on Thursday evening, October 14.
John Kendall Lecture Series Presentation
"Mind Bugs: The Science of Ordinary Bias"
Thursday evening, October 14, 2010
7:00 p.m., Nobel Hall - Wallenberg Auditorium
Mahzarin R. Banaji is the Richard Clarke Cabot Professor of Social Ethics at Harvard University. Based upon her research, Banaji will speak to the question of how well-intentioned people behave in ways that deviate from their own intentions, and how this state of affairs compromises decision making in educational, legal, medical, financial and political contexts.
The John Kendall Lecture Series was established to honor Dr. John S. Kendall for the contributions he made during his 15-year career in the Gustavus Psychology Department and for his support and influence in the careers of his students. The Kendall Lecture is intended to recognize and commemorate Dr. Kendall’s interest and commitment to the empirical investigation of behavior and psychology as a science. Funding for the public address and classroom visits is provided through the John Kendall Lecture Series Endowment.
News From Psi Chi 
Another year of Psi Chi is off to a great start! Kierst Finsand and Laura Harelstad are the new co-presidents and are very excited for the year ahead! They are both junior psychology majors and are very involved in the Gustavus community.
Psi Chi started off the year with a root beer float meet and greet! Members got a chance to get to know each other and help plan future events. Psi Chi has planned two exciting events for October:
- A discussion opportunity will be offered with the John Kendall Lecture Series Speaker Dr. Mahzarin Banaji, on Thursday, October 14. She will visit about graduate school with interested students.
- Psi Chi has also planned a fun and spooky Halloween event with pumpkin carving and a psychological thriller movie for late October. Watch for details on the date and time. You won’t want to miss this event!
Psychology Research Symposium Fall 2010
The fall psychology research symposium will take place in the lower level hallway of SSC on Friday, December 10. Psychology department research symposiums are held near the conclusion of the fall and spring semesters and provide opportunities for Gustavus students to acquaint themselves with research conducted in the psychology department during the semester. Students will display poster presentations and explain their research from 3:30 - 5:00 p.m. in the lower level hallway outside SSC 26, 27, and 28. The campus community is welcome.
Gustie Psychology ALUMNI (previous) UPDATE LINK click here!
Lisa Swenson Class of 2004
After Gustavus, I became a Supervisor for Chrestomathy, Inc, a company
who services adults with dual diagnosis of developmental disorders,
mental illness and or mental retardation. It was a day-vocational
treatment center. The adults who came to this center also engaged in
severe aggressive-maladaptive behaviors. Needless to say, I learned a
lot about Mandt training and behavioral modification. After that, where
I am currently still employed, I became a behavior therapist / mental
health practitioner with the Minnesota Autism Center. Currently, I am a
Lead Behavior Therapist / Mental 
Health Practitioner within the company
with hopes of moving up the corporate ladder. I write Individual
Treatment Plans and corresponding programming, write Behavior
Intervention Programs, manage client cases, train my therapy teams and
therapist on implementing and use of ABA principles, dynamics of
learning and teaching children with Autism how to learn communication,
socialization, daily living skills, and reduce restrictive and
repetitive behaviors. On the side of education, I am completing my
Master's of Arts in Clinical Psychology at Argosy University. I will
begin my practicum at St. David's Family and Child Development Center in
Minnetonka "officially" in January 2011. As of right now, I am
assisting in the development of their family and child workshops and
support group therapy curriculums. In the next year I plan on beginning
my BCBA--Board Certified Behavioral Analyst Certification at St. Cloud
State University. Eventually, I hope to obtain my Doctorate in Child
Psychology and LP. It is an ambitious career goal, however I am looking
forward to obtaining each of these goals within the next 5-6 years.
Psychology alums Thomas F. Bergquist, Ph.D. and Jorge Munoz Pineda B.A.
Original Research Publication: "Satisfaction Ratings After Receiving Internet-Based Cognitive Rehabilitation in Persons with Memory Impairments After Severe Acquired Brain Injury" - Abstract
Department News
The Psychology Department welcomes Dr. Lauren Hecht
by Laura Kientzle
The Gustavus Psychology Department is excited to welcome our new Assistant Professor Lauren Hecht, who arrived on campus this fall after teaching at Grinnell College. Dr. Hecht was born and raised in Peotone, Illinois, just 40 miles south of Chicago. She graduated from Albion College with departmental honors in Psychology and a second major in Philosophy. She 
attended graduate school at the University of Iowa, and went on to get her PhD in psychology within the Cognition & Perception program. Dr. Hecht is currently in the process of setting up her lab in SSC, and continues her research on perceptual organization and attention. She hopes to someday expand her research to eye movement and to crossmodal studies at Gustavus. Aside from her professional life, Dr. Hecht is an outdoor enthusiast. After being involved in multiple music organizations at Albion College (playing instruments in the clarinet family and as a drum major) she needed something to fill her time while attending graduate school, so she took up scuba diving! Now with over 150 dives under her belt, she hopes to travel to places such as Australia, Fiji, and Belize to expand her knowledge and photographs of life underwater. In addition to her scuba diving adventures, Dr. Hecht also enjoys kayaking in the warm seasons, and snowshoeing during winter. She has ambitions to someday set up a J-term course that would be outdoors, and possibly include diving. Her classroom philosophy emphasizes hands-on experience with a variety of different teaching techniques, which fits perfectly with her “can-do” personality. Dr. Hecht’s office hours are Tuesdays 1:30-3:30 p.m. and Wednesdays from 9:00-10:00 a.m. -- so please stop by the office, grab some candy,and say hi!
{Dr. Hecht also mentioned that she would be pleased to talk with
students about opportunities for assisting with her 
research, or
conducting their own.}
[Laura Kientzle is a junior psychology major who is considering a double major in economics. She is a coordinator for Wednesday Friends and a member of Alpha Phi Omega. Laura is a departmental assistant in the psychology department and a member of the staff of the Emil's Epilogue on-line newsletter.]
PSY 344 and PSY 345 courses to be offered Spring 2011
PSY 344 Remembering our Past: Seminar on Autobiographical Memory
Dr. Jennifer Ackil
- What is the age of our earliest childhood memory? How does autobiographical memory develop? What function do autobiographical memories serve in our lives? Are memories for traumatic experiences special? How does one’s memory for past experiences influence one’s sense of self? Do the characteristics of our autobiographical memories vary with age? Do they vary with gender and mood? Is there a model that can explain autobiographical remembering? These are just a few of the many questions we will consider as we study the existing literature on autobiographical memory.
PSY 344 "PSY 344 Advanced Topic: Psychology of Attention "
Dr. Lauren Hecht
- Can I actually mistake a rubber hand for my own? How do I manage to find my friend at a rock concert? Is it really harmful to text while I drive? Why do I make more mistakes when I think about how my hands are moving to type on a keyboard? How can I not see something that is right in front of me? In this course, we will discuss the theories and experimental techniques used in attention research to answer these and other related questions.
PSY 345 "From Molecules to Mozart"
Dr. Tim Robinson
- Course description to follow in the November issue of the newsletter
Why is this newsletter named Emil's Epilogue? Who is Carl Emil Seashore?
In the office area of the psychology
department there is a bust of Carl Emil Seashore, an 1891 graduate of
Gustavus. Widely recognized as one of the early leaders in psychology in
America, Dr. Seashore spent most of his professional life at the
University of Iowa. He was a member of the faculty at Iowa from 1897
until his retirement in 1937. In addition to his duties as professor and
chairman of his department, he was made Dean of the Graduate School,
University of Iowa, in 1908 and held that position concurrently with his
other duties for 28 years. He retired in 1937 at the age of seventy but
was recalled as Dean Pro Tempore of the Graduate School in 1942 and
finally retired for the second time in 1946 at the age of 80. Most
people who recognize his name today associate it with the Seashore Tests
of Musical Ability which are still widely used. He was a man of wide
ranging abilities and achievements and certainly one of the outstanding
alumni of Gustavus. Click here for additional biographical information on Carl Emil Seashore..
Events and Conferences
John Kendall Lecture
- Dr. Mahzarin Banaji
- Thursday, October 14
- Wallenberg Auditorium - Nobel Hall
- 7:00 p.m.
Psychology Research Symposium
- Friday, December 10
- 3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
- Lower Level Hallway, SSC
Department Holiday Cookies and Cider Day
- Monday, December 13
- Stop by and enjoy frost-your-own cookies, conversation and cider in the department office area in lower level SSC. Prize drawing winner will be from among the names on the senior photo board.
Professional Opportunities
Lab Coordinator Position Florida International University Faculty Research Assistant Opening University of Maryland's Child Development Lab
Miscellaneous Randomness 
Dr. Tim Robinson
Not least among Dr. Robinson's many interests outside the classroom is his affinity for the Scottish deerhound breed of dog.
Pictured here is Dr. Robinson with 20 month old "Bri'" during a recent "socialization" visit to the department. Tim and Sharon Robinson have bred and raised Scottish deerhounds since 1987.
Linked here are comments made by Dr. Robinson, as Director of Nobel Conference XXXVIII, in which he references nature/nurture experience with his Scottish deerhound "Mossy"