Emil's Epilogue - October 2012ppp

Gustie Psych News & Current Events (& catching up on last spring's gatherings...)

Department updates from Spring Semester 2012

Spring 2012 PSY 344 presents poster at APS Conference in Chicago

 

Last spring (May, 2012) students from Self and Identity (PSY 344) presented a poster at the Association for Psychological Science Conference in Chicago. The findings were that individuals in a relationship and those high in relational self-construal (having strong relationship self-schemas) appear to benefit emotionally from recalling interactions with others or avoiding thinking about being alone. Unexpectedly, these same two groups appeared to attempt affect repair (or make themselves feel better) by recalling memories high in positive affect in a self-only memory recall condition (when forced to think about themselves alone.

Relationship Schemas, Self-Esteem and Memories for Interactions with Others

Being in a relationship was related to reduced negative affect when recalling being with others. High relational self-construal was related to increased negative affect when recalling being alone. Self-esteem was not affected. Affect repair for those with strong relational schemas may result from expressing positive affect when recalling self-only memories.

[Marie Walker, Angela Ahrendt, Chris Almen-Sjogren, Kaitlyn Andren, Katherine Arndt, Casey Corder, Kierst Finsand, Kesley Fredrick, Molly Gillen, Nicole Green, Michelle Isaacson,Jade Johnson, Courtney Kelzer, Laura Kientzle, Emily Klatt, Victoria Ott, Alisson Schultz, Caitlin Tice, Nick Yang]

Gustavus Psychology hosted a very successful 2012 Minnesota Undergraduate Psychology Conference on Saturday, April 28...

 

mupc

mupc wide angle

 

...and the end-of-year major celebration gathering in Beck last spring was a riot!

cccuuuppdddhhh

Fall 2012 Department Happenings

What’s in a Name?

By Madison Heckel

As some of you may have noticed, our Department has recently changed its name from the Department of Psychology to the Department of Psychological Science.  This change is in line with recent changes in psychology programs across the country.  So, what does this mean for students, whether they are current or future majors?  The name change will not cause change in the curriculum and any future curriculum change will not be related to the name change.  “Department faculty continually discuss the curriculum and possible changes, but this name change is not intended to prompt any specific change in major requirements” explains Dr. Ackil.  “The name change more accurately reflects what we’re already doing, making explicit our belief that research, counseling, and teaching need to be grounded in science.”  The name change does not shift the focus of the Department, nor does it plan to focus on any particular branch more than another.  Research is the foundation of our discipline, regardless of the path of psychology you choose. Most mmmare aware of the misperception that psychology is not a science.  The name change is a step toward addressing this misperception.  Although you may not be going on to do psychology research in the future, the Department believes that an understanding of research and statistics is essential to success in any field of psychology.  Dr. Ackil concludes, “The image of our discipline is changing to more accurately reflect what psychology is, and we want to be a part of that.” 

The Department of Psychological Science is planning to host a kickoff event to answer questions and celebrate the new name.  Please mark your calendars for Friday afternoon, November 2nd at 2:30 in Beck 271 (the student interaction room). Refreshments served!

[Madison '14 is an Honors Psychological Science and Sociology/Anthropology double major with a minor in Biology. She is a student assistant in the Psychological Science Department and the Fall 2012 student editor/coordinator of the Department Newsletter, Emil's Epilogue.]

Are you interested in a Career Exploration Internship this January?

Career Explorations are full-time internships that take place over the four weeks of January. The Interim Career Exploration requires at least sophomore status in order to receive academic credit. You must intern for 35-40 hours per week and you will receive one academic credit for your experience. It is possible to participate in a Career Exploration at more than one site as long as the time requirement will be met between locations and it is approved by Career Development.
If you are a Junior or Senior and already have your 2 J-term credits you can still do this internship but will not get credit.  If you want the internship to appear on your transcript (with no credit) then you still have to register for it; but you do not need to do the same number of hours.  If you are not asking for credit you could do as little as one week or 10 hours (the equivalent of 0.25).
The forms are due in the career office by December 3rd
Have questions? Ask, the Career Exploration Coordinator, Corrie Odland: codland@gustavus.edu (933 7532)

The faculty advisor for January 2013 is Janine Wotton.

What does Psychological Science Honors involve?

 By Emmalynn (Pepper) Ennis        

Being a Psychological Science Honors major is a great opportunity.  Students who declare as Psychology Science Honors majors are provided with opportunities to gain two years of research experience and work closely with the professors in the department. Eligible students are invited to consider Honors near the end of their sophomore year. After visiting with department professors and discussing research interests, students arrange to work as an apprentice with a professor during their junior year.  After gaining a year of research experience, senior Honors majors work to develop and execute an independent research project.  After collecting data and analyzing results, the Honors major writes an Honors thesis and gives an oral presentation of findings at the annual Psychological Science Spring Research Symposium and are also encouraged to share the results of their work at other conferences. Being an Honors student takes a lot of motivation and responsibility but it also allows students to explore their research interests and gain experience in conducting their own research.

Emmalynn (Pepper) '13 is a Psychological Science Honors major and a departmental assistant

Psychological Science 241 Chill Out Project featured in the Gustavian Weekly

Mental Health Wellness Fairartwork

By Brianna Furey Staff Writer | September 28, 2012 | News

The Chill Out: Mental Health Wellness Fair will take place at the St. Peter Community Center on Thursday, Nov. 8 from 6-8pm, providing an opportunity for members of both the Gustavus and St. Peter communities to learn about mental health issues, stress-reduction and general wellness awareness.

Poster artwork: Dillon Hall, Jade Johnson, Sandy Xiong and Kim Clayton

“We are trying to get different programs involved with the event. If you come, there will be dieticians, a masseuse, yoga, stress-relieving activities such as meditation, organic food, information on eating well, plus information on mental health from doctors and clinicians,” Junior Psychological Science major Grace Kjellgren, one of the students involved with planning the fair, said.

The Wellness Fair will include anything from how to deal with mental health issues such as depression, alcoholism, autism and other issues,  to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and suicide prevention. It will address the whole age spectrum from young children to adults.

“The main theme is promoting mental health and reducing mental health stigma. That really needs to be done and that’s why we’re doing it,” Associate Professor of Psychological Science Marie Walker said. “There really was nothing specific in the St. Peter community like this.”

ffThe Chill Out and Wellness Fair has been available on campus for the Gustavus community before, “but we want to move it to include St. Peter and bring something that Gustavus does to the whole community,” Walker said.

As part of a project in an Abnormal Psychology class at Gustavus, students asked themselves: “How can we raise awareness of mental health issues in the community, reduce stigma surrounding mental illness and promote preventive mental health practices in Saint Peter and surrounding communities?”

Using these questions, they came up with the Mental Health Wellness Fair, which has been in the planning stage since last year’s spring class, who got the ball rolling by researching if there was a need for it, going out to the community and creating lists of who to talk with.

This semester’s class is based on what last semester’s class worked on; students have been contacting mental health agencies to see if they will participate, what kind of commitment they can make and what kind of services they can present and talk about, as well as organizing everything relating to the event.

ggg“The goal for students in the classroom is that they learn about applying their knowledge of mental health outside of classroom while reducing stigma and raising awareness in the community,” Walker said.

“They are interacting with the community and getting to know it better. They get the chance to do something that might make a difference and hopefully start something in the community that will continue, something that I can continue with my students in future classes or that the community can take up.”

“We are hoping the wide range of information and resources given will bring in a large crowd,” Kjellgren said. Everyone from both the Gustavus and St. Peter community is welcome to attend. If anyone has ideas for the event or wants to participate, contact Marie Walker (mwalker@gustavus.edu) or Grace Kjellgren (gkjellg2@gustavus.edu). This event is sponsored by the St. Peter Community Center.

[Grace Kjellgren '14 is a psychological science major for pre-occupational therapy and hopes to specialize in autism.  She is the constitution chair for the Delta Phi Omega sorority and growth chair for Colleges Against Cancer.]ggg

Left to right: Grace Kjellgren, Ian Stitt, Sam Fransen, Jane Timmerman (Director of the St. Peter Community Center), (not shown, Jennifer Hendricks), Lauren TeBrake & Sam Olson-Anstett.

[Student "Chill Out" poster artwork: Dillon Hall, Jade Johnson, Sandy Xiong and Kim Clayton]

A message about Psi Chi from the Gustavus Chapter President

By Mandy Feeks

Psi Chi is the National Honor Society in Psychological Science. The Gustavus Chapter specifically strives to find ways to enhance the curriculum, the department, and to promote interaction among Psychological Science majors, faculty, and other psychologists.  Eligibility is based upon a number of qualifications including being enrolled as at least a second-semester Psychological Science major at Gustavus, having a GPA within the top 35% of your class, a Psychological Science GPA of at least 3.0, and having completed at least 9 semester hours at Gustavus.

Members of Psi Chi are expected to attend monthly meetings, are encouraged to participate and assist with department events, and to discuss important issues related to the major. Currently, there are twenty six members in the Gustavus Chapter.  Invitations will be sent to newly eligible majors in the spring.  Dr. Lauren Hecht serves as the faculty advisor and puts in a generous amount of time and effort to assist the presidents and board members in planning and implementing events. Katelyn Warburton and I serve as co-presidents this year and are assisted by officers Emily Lindberg and Suzanna Massaro.  We are excited about initiating some new social events, speakers, and are determined to make Psi Chi into an important resource for Psychological Science majors and to involve as many members as possible. 

The first meeting was held on Thursday, October 11, 2012.  This first gathering allowed members to get to know each other and gave the officers the opportunity to introduce future events and receive input on potential gatherings.  We plan to provide a number of interactive social activities open to members of Psi Chi and/or all psychological science majors.  Already in the planning stage is a guest panel for psychological science majors that will provide post-graduate information.  The first informational event is planned for November 8, 2012 at 8:00 p.m. in Beck Hall 301 for all those who are interested in the clinical field. Later in the year, Psi Chi hopes to introduce other topics of Psychological Science.

Gustie Psych Facebook Page...

Interested in reading interesting articles and timely posts from fellow psych majors? Of course you are!

http://www.facebook.com/groups/162325787137859/441589855878116/?notif_t=group_activity

Click here for previous Alumni Updates

Gwynn Thompson '12

The Oregon Leadership Development Institute (OLDI) is a non-profit organization focused on the development of leadership capacity in post-college “students.” Its Fellows Program is designed to engage young people in a focused, nine-month exploration of each Fellow’s unique purpose and vocational pathway, as informed by the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.

Gwynn writes: The fellowship officially started in September so I am about a month underway and part of me still feels like this is all brand new.  I am making friends at work and in my community, bought a bike and am well on my way to becoming accustomed to this place (downtown Portland). There are four women and five men fellows. The nine of us are a part of a larger community of friends who work to build up young men and women to be 'people of integrity in the work place and community'. In addition to our group efforts, we each are placed in an individual 'vocational' internship in Portland (and surrounding area). I am working at a law office to help create best practices for large business to adhere to a new bill passed in CA that requires them to show how they are eradicating human trafficking from their supply chains. I am basically loving it!!! Honestly, this is such an amazing experience. I am learning new things everyday. I am honored to be out here and I really am 'all in' with these people and this community. I will not be done until I ring every last drop out of this experience!

Professional Opportunities

Letter from Green Corps Recruitment Outreach...

From Hanna Goodrow <hiring@greencorpsfellowship.org>

Subject: Environmental Opportunity for Graduating Seniors- Green Corps

Green Corps runs a full-year paid training program for recent college graduates.  Fellows receive classroom training and work with 3 different environmental non-profits on urgent campaigns throughout the year.

 

Upcoming Events:

  • New Department Name Kickoff Event! Friday, November 2nd at 2:30 p.m. in Beck 271 (the student interaction room). Refreshments served!
  • Fall 2012 Gustavus Psychological Science Research Symposium - Friday, December 7, 2012
  • 27th National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) - April 11-13, 2013
    University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

Meet the Fall 2012 Psychological Science Departmental Assistants - New Name and New Faces!

by Emileah ZumBerge

Along with the department’s new name, Pepper Ennis, Madison Heckel, and Emileah ZumBerge are new to the department office, joining the returners Erica Hett and Mandy Feeks to make up the team of student assistants.

Pepper Ennis is a senior Psychological Science Major, Neuroscience Minor from Faribault, MN. She is working toward getting into a psychology graduate program. She is involved in the Gustavus Symphony Orchestra and plays the violin. This is Pepper’s second year working in the department, but is enjoying her first year working as a student assistant in the office.

Musically inclined like Pepper, Madison Heckel enjoys playing the guitar and singing. Madison is from White Bear Lake, MN and is a junior Honors Psychological Science and Sociology/Anthropology Double Major, Biology Minor. Madison too, would like to attend graduate school for cognitive or experimental psychology, become a professor, and take a year to do research or teach abroad. Madison does research with Dr. Kyle Chambers. She has lived in China and we will miss her smile when she studies abroad in Rome next semester.

My name is Emileah ZumBerge; I am from Little Falls, a Psychological Science Major, Dance Minor and Gustie Greeter. I would like to pursue a graduate degree in Marriage and Family Therapy so that I am able to serve children and families in a private practice. I am currently working with many other students and Dr. Marie Walker to raise awareness, reduce stigma, promote preventive practices for mental illnesses and give back to the community through Chill Out: Mental Health Wellness Fair.

Now, it is time to offer congratulations to Erica Hett, who was recently accepted into the Doctorate Program in Physical Therapy at the University of Minnesota! She is really excited to become a physical therapist and waiting to hear back from other schools, too. From Burnsville, MN - Erica is a Psychological Science and Biology Major with a Neuroscience Minor. She is a member of both the Cross Country team and the Nordic ski team here at Gustavus. Best of luck, Erica!

The Co-President of Psi Chi, Honors Psychological Science Major, and Neuroscience Minor, Mandy Feeks is a senior working on her honors thesis and doing research on portion sizes. She is from Lakeville, MN and loves cooking/baking, assistantscoloring, with interests in soccer, gymnastics, and running. Mandy is working toward a career in the field of Health Psychology, as a nutrition/wellness consultant or health psychologist.

We are all involved in various activities from strenuous running to exciting travels, from the prestigious Gustavus Symphony Orchestra, to the uniqueness of the Gustavus Dance Company. Come meet the team! We are a fun group of hard-working Gusties who love to work with the fabulous professors and all agree that Lee is the BEST!

From left to right: Erica Hett, Pepper Ennis, Mandy Feeks, Emileah ZumBerge and Madison Heckel

 

Don't forget to stop by on Popcorn Friday - every Friday in Beck 271! (Oops - not this Friday as Lee forgot to buy more popcorn and Erica wouldn't go get any.

Why is this newsletter named Emil's Epilogue and who is Carl Emil Seashore anyway?

Emil's Epilogue descriptionIn the entry lobby 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...