Psychology Faculty-Student Research Collaborations

Fall 2009

Faculty: Adrienne Betz
Students:  Erin  Baier & Melissa  Reilly
At Yale these students helped with the following: We evaluated the impact of stimulant treatment on memory strength in a widely used paradigm that assesses both consolidation and reconsolidation of a fear expression. A fear memory was established in rodents by pairing an environmental stimulus (i.e. tone) with a salient aversive event (i.e. foot shock). The strength of this memory was determined by evaluating the conditioned fear response (i.e freezing). Specifically we determined the effects of amphetamine, nicotine and propranolol treatment on these fear memory processes.

Faculty: Carrie Bulger
Student: Kristin Hebert, QUIP-RS
We are still in the process of testing some theoretical propositions of boundary theory in a multi-wave dataset. Specifically, we are investigating some elements of the strength of the boundary around work (and non-work) and how they impact the frequency with which people make transitions between work and non-work (e.g., interrupt family event to take a work phone call). We also intend to investigate possible outcomes of transition frequency, such as work/non-work conflict.

Student: Crystal Davis
She is designing a study to investigate work/career attitudes and desires in current students. Her contention is that the economic downturn has significantly impacted this cohort of soon-to-be young workers such that they (unlike their recent predecessors into the workforce) value work/life balance less and more "tangible" job outcomes more (e.g., job security).

Faculty:  Michele Hoffnung
Student: Rachel Solomon
We are working on a project about feminist identity.  Is is just at its inception, but we plan to use a scale that distinguishes between belief in the core feminist values (eg equal pay for equal work) and self-identification as a feminist.  We then want to look at the similarity and diff between the groups on other attitudes about social issues relevant to women.

Sudents: Christina Chiarulli and Mekala Falone
We are presenting our research at NEPA in October.  Our project "CONTENT ANALYSIS OF SEX APPEAL AND PHYSICAL ENHANCEMENT PRODUCTS IN MAGAZINE ADVERTISEMENTS: 1965-2005" analyzed advertising images in Vogue and Esquire.  We found that both magazines increased in "sexy" representations of women and men over time, but that physical enhancement ads increased significantly only in Vogue.  Although both genders are pushed to be sexy, women more than men are pressured to enhance their physical appearance.

Faculty: William Jellison
Student: Heather Wynne
BODY PERCEPTIONS: HOW BODY IDEAL EXPOSURE AND OTHER SOCIOCULTURAL VARIABLES INFLUENCE BODY ESTEEM
We explored the connections among media exposure, internalization, social comparison, self-objectification, and body esteem through four meditational models.  Results demonstrated that media exposure was related to internalization and social comparison, and that internalization and social comparison related to all constructs. Internalization mediated the relationship between media exposure and social comparison. Both social comparison and self-objectification mediated the relationship between internalization and body esteem respectively. The complex nature of how media exposure and internalization influence body esteem is examined and discussed.

Students: Cynthia Wu & Katelyn Rasmussen
THE FUNCTIONS OF ATTITUDES TOWARD AFRICAN AMERICANS AND BLACK LEADERSHIP
The current study assessed the influence of attitude functions (utilitarian, value-expressive, knowledge, ego-defensive) on general feelings towards African Americans, modern beliefs about African Americans, and attitudes toward Black leaders using a series of self-report questionnaires. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that ego-defensiveness, measured both directly and indirectly, was consistently the strongest predictor of feelings toward African Americans, modern prejudice, and attitudes toward Black Leaders. The function and maintenance of contemporary attitudes toward African Americans is discussed.

Faculty: Penny Leisring
Student: Marissa Rheiner
Melissa has been assisting me with my research on dating violence. She is the second author on a poster presentation that will be given in New York City in November, 2009.  The presentation is about the location and timing of dating violence among college students.