PSYCHOBABBLE - California Lutheran University

CLU
PSYC HO BA B BL E
FEBRUARY 2015
SPRING HAS SPRUNG!
Inside this issue:
Research Info
2
DA Hours Spring
2
Semester
Meet our new DA!
3
What is a D.A?
3
I’m Attracted & I
4
Can’t Hide It!
Faculty Hours
4
Healthy, Wealthy
5
and Wise!
Psychology Depart-
Welcome back! We hope that you had a rejuvenating winter break and
are ready to tackle the new semester! There is a lot going on this Spring
semester, so keep updated with this Psychobabble and other resources!
We have a new Department Assistant (pg. 3), students and professors
teaming up for research (pg. 2), ways for you to stay healthy and alert
(Pg. 5) and more information about our new system for research participation (pg. 7)!
What to do with a Psych Degree
There are many routes that an undergraduate can take with a degree in Psychology.
There are graduate schools that offer degrees geared towards:
6
ment Information
Research
“Spring is the time of plans and projects”
- Leo Tolstoy,
7
Opportunities
DA CONTACT INFO
Kevlyn Holmes
kholmes@callutheran.edu
Sal Brito
sbrito@callutheran.edu
Rachel Cortina
rcortina@callutheran.edu
Alicia Nunez
avnunez@callutheran.edu






Clinical Psychology
Social Psychology
Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Biological/Neurological Psychology
Forensic Psychology
Developmental Psychology






Educational Psychology
Counseling Psychology
Experimental Psychology
Cognitive Psychology
Personality Psychology
Rehabilitation Psychology
….. And many more!
Not planning on going to grad school right away? You may be interested in making a visit
to Career Services or visiting their website online (http://www.callutheran.edu
/career_services/) for information on
internships, part-time positions, and full
-time positions. Career Services is a
great tool for learning how to create the
best cover letters and resumes. They
have many workshops to learn how to
look for positions, interviews, and even
discuss your salary.
One of the most valuable assets in
discovering the right career path are your professors. Each one can give new information about clubs to join, programs to look into, and even places to apply for jobs
and internships.
PSYCHOBABBLE
Page 2
Research Information
Did you know that you can be part of the ongoing Psychology research being done at Cal Lutheran University? Research
labs are a great way to learn, practice, and conduct psychology experiments. Research experience, and (possibly) conferences, is good for many things—your Curriculum Vitae, grad school applications, and even job applications.
Professors select their research group from a pool of applicants, with each research lab starting at the beginning of every
school year. Therefore, Spring semester is the best time to chat with some professors about their research goals and about
the possibility of getting involved with their studies!
Here is a taste of the work being done now:
Dr. Kocur's group focuses on research on the transition to post-secondary education for adolescents with autism spectrum
disorders (ASD). Her team has helped her analyze data from interviews with parents with students with ASD regarding the
college skills that may be difficult for their students. Based on this research, her team helped her create the College Skills
Program, a two week program for adolescents with ASD that introduces them to various aspects of college life. The team
then ran the program this past summer and interviewed the participants about the program's effectiveness for preparing
them for college. They recently applied to present their findings from this work at the Western Psychological Association
conference this spring.
Dr. Sell’s team is investigating research questions in the general area of Cognitive Psychology. Dr. Sell became interested
in Cognitive Psychology after taking the class in her undergraduate program and found herself curious about how humans
use spatial representations in their abstract thought. This research group has a number of ongoing projects, and Dr. Sell
says that they “have sent poster presentation applications to the Western Psychological Association conference. Cross your
fingers for us!”
Dr. Gerson’s group explores if people vary in what makes them resilient depending on their personality characteristics.
Resilience has been a topic of interest for Dr. Gerson for the past few years. Patricia Fahmy, Emily Glossbrenner, and Sabrina Mullen are still in the midst of collecting data on personality factors and resilience. So far, they have submitted an
application to present one piece of their work to the Western Psychological Association (WPA, Las Vegas in April) and
will be submitting applications to present other pieces to the American Psychological Association (APA, Toronto in August) and to the Association for Psychological Science (APS, New York in May).
DA HOURS: SPRING 2015
9:00-9:30
9:30-10:00
10:00-10:30
10:30-11:00
11:00-11:30
11:30-12:00
12:00-12:30
12:30-1:00
1:00-1:30
1:30-2:00
2:00-2:30
2:30-3:00
3:00-3:30
3:30-4:00
4:00 4:30
4:30-5:00
Monday
Rachael
Rachael
Rachael
Rachael
Alicia
Alicia
Alicia
Alicia
Kevlyn/Sal
Kevlyn/Sal
Kevlyn
Kevlyn
Kevlyn
Tuesday
Sal
Sal
Rachael
Rachael
Rachael
Sal
Sal
Sal
Sal
Alicia
Alicia
Alicia
Sal
Sal
Wednesday
Rachael
Rachael
Rachael
Rachael
Alicia
Alicia
Alicia
Kevlyn
Kevlyn
Kevlyn
Kevlyn
Kevlyn
Kevlyn
Thursday
Sal
Sal
Rachael/Sal
Rachael/Sal
Rachael
Kevlyn
Kevlyn
Kevlyn
Kevlyn
Alicia
Alicia
Alicia
Alicia/Sal
Alicia/Sal
Friday
Rachael
Rachael
Rachael
Rachael
Alicia
Alicia
Alicia
Sal
Sal
Kevlyn
Kevlyn
Kevlyn
FEBRUARY 2014
Page 3
Meet Our New DA– Kevlyn Holmes
Name: Kevlyn Holmes
Hometown: Milwaukee, WI
Year: Junior
Major: Psychology (Clinical/Behavioral Applications Emphasis)
Minor: Biology
Hobby/Interest: Theatre!! Music!! Being a nerd!! Excitement!
Future Plans: Good question… PhD in some sort of Neuroscience and then
off to solving the mysteries of our brain and emotions.
Favorite Foods: Orange Chicken. Steak. All of the Chocolate.
Favorite Psychology Course: Physiological Psychology!!
What is a DA, and do I want to be one?
A DA is a department assistant. As a DA, you
are in charge of a diverse set of responsibilities. Most
commonly, Psychology DAs help professors with copying, grading, and inputting data. We are also here to
help tutor students, usually for their Statistics courses.
Statistics can often times be difficult and it helps to
hear a different perspective when learning a new concept. Sometimes, we run errands to make sure that
classes can run as smoothly and efficiently as possible.
Recently, the Psychology DAs created an Alumni Wall (upstairs in Swenson). The alumni on the wall are there to show how far our previous Psychology students have gone after their time at Cal Lutheran . Another responsibility we have as DAs
is to create the Psychobabble. This is where we get to have the most fun because we get to talk
about current issues and changes in the world of Psychology.
If all of this sounds interesting to you, we are looking for three Juniors or Seniors looking to
start next semester for the 2015-2016 year. You need to have 9 hours a week available between
9:00am-5:00pm, and you will be paid! Please submit an email with your cumulative GPA and your
Psych GPA to jkocur@callutheran.edu. Include any previous experience that you think would be applicable to the job (office work, tutoring, etc.), all psychology courses you have taken, and brief paragraph describing why you would like to be a future department assistant!
Page 4
FEBRUARY, 2015
I’m Attracted and I Just Can’t Hide It!
Every day, we are exposed to different forms of
interpersonal attraction: love, admiration, and even
friendships. However, have you ever wondered how
attraction works? Why is it that your friend is greatly
attracted to someone you do not consider attractive?
With Cupid around the corner, let us consider how
attraction is influenced!
2. The perception of one’s own physical
attractiveness also plays a role in attraction. Studies
show that people pick partners who match their own
perceived physical attractiveness.
3. You’re more likely to be attracted to people
you see more often, a phenomenon called the mere
exposure effect. People tend to pick partners that go to
the same school, live in the same neighborhood, or take
the same classes.
1. The first is obvious: physical attractiveness.
Studies have demonstrated that people are attracted to
those that they consider to be good-looking. People have
4. Finally, the laws of Physics are hardly seen in
different likings, and thus vary in what they perceive is
romantic attractions. Opposites do not attract; instead,
physically attractive. Men tend to value this more than
romantic partners tend to have similar likings, similar
women.
hobbies, and even similar friends.
FACULTY OFFICE HOURS
SPRING 2015
Monday
Dr. Kissinger
Tuesday
Wednesday
10:30-11:30
10:30-11:30
12:50-1:20
12:50-1:20
Dr. Kuehnel
9:30-11:30
Dr. Diriwaechter
11:45-12:45
Dr. Kocur
11:45-2:00
By appointment
11:45-2:00
Dr. Sell
10:30-11:30
9:00-11:00
10:30-11:30
Dr. Gerson
Dr. Young
9:00-9:30
Thursday
Friday
10:30-11:30
2:05-3:05
9:00-9:30
11:45-12:45
1:30-4:00
11:45-12:45
11:45-2:00
9:00-11:00
10:30-11:30
Sign up for times on her door
11:45-1:00p
By appointment
11:45-1:00p
By appointment 11:45-1:00p
Early to bed, early to rise, makes the world
healthy, wealthy, and wise!
Page 5
As college students, we do not have to imagine what a busy week is like; it is practically part of
our job description. A project due Monday, essay
and quiz on Tuesday, club meeting and presentation on Wednesday and let’s not forget the midterm
on Friday. In order to keep up with our academic
lives, many of us have sacrificed sleep at some
point. Whether we like it or not, sleep tends to get
the short end of the stick. Although sacrificing sleep sometimes seems necessary, we
must not take sleep for granted. R. Morgan Griffin, from WebMD, describes why sleep is
a necessity and not a luxury.
1) Better Health: According to Griffin, studies have shown that there is a correlation
between consistent lack of sleep and health problems like heart disease, heart attacks and diabetes.
2) Lower Risk of Injury: Sleep deprivation can also be indirectly hazardous. Whether
it is falling asleep on the road or on the job, lack of sleep may possibly lead to disastrous consequences.
3) Better Mood: People that sleep a few hours tend to have a “cranky” mood the following morning. Sleep well to prevent exhaustion and the possibility of a snappy
mood in the morning.
4) Clearer Thinking and Better Memory: Lack of sleep affects people’s cognition, attention, and decision making. It is hard to complete a simple math problem with only 2 hours of sleep, let alone take Friday’s midterm. Not only that, but sleep deprivation also leads to a “forgetful” memory. Studies have shown that sleeping allows the
brain to “consolidate our memories from the day.” Thus it is better to sleep well before a midterm than to pull an all-nighter.
5) Stronger Immunity: Some research has linked lack of sleep to a higher chance of
getting sick. Although more research is needed, it appears that a good night’s rest
leads to a healthier life style.
Griffin, R. M., “9 Surprising Reasons to Get More Sleep”, WebMD.
GUEST SPEAKER
IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES
Page 6
Lauren Gianino, M.S., BCBA is a Board
Certified Behavior Analyst that will be
here to define the basic principles of Applied Behavior Analysis, describe the
function-based approach to language
Career & Intern Expo
and how Behavior Analysts teach lan-
Tuesday, Mar. 17, 2015
guage and social skills to individuals
10:00 am
with autism and related disorders, and
Quad - Flagpoles - Outdoors
identify various career options and
graduate school programs in the field of
Applied Behavior Analysis
February 24, time and place TBD
OTHER WAYS TO GET INVOLVED WITH PSYCHOLOGY AT CLU
Psychology Club:
PSI CHI: The International Honors Society in Psychology
In the Psychology Club, we have lots of
fun connecting. Connecting with faculty
members, connecting with other students, and connecting psychology to
other disciplines, as well as its practical applications in
everyday life. Whether you know anything about psychology or not, we look forward to connecting with you!
This year, Psi Chi will focus on providing and encouraging students to expand their interest in psychology by
providing information regarding conferences, grants,
and getting involved in research. We want to challenge
and encourage our members to become active participants and to take advantage of the benefits Psi Chi
offers.
LOCATION: Grace Hall Lounge
LOCATION: SWEN 102
TIME: 6:30—7:30pm
Dates: 2/17 and more to be announced; Sign up to
get the most updated info!
Dates: More to be announced!
Questions? Email pfahmy@callutheran.edu
P.S.: We have pizza!
-Patricia Fahmy
Questions? Email rcortina@callutheran.edu
- Rachael Cortina
TIME:3:30pm-4:30pm
Psi Chi President 2014-2015
-
Research
Opportunities
Page 7
You can be involved in research in the Psychology Department at
CLU a few ways!

You can be a participant!
Participation is vitally important to research. Without participants; we wouldn’t be able to conduct our studies. Participation in research is one of the easiest, most helpful ways to get involved with research. See below for more information about how to participate in a study.

You can learn to conduct research in a number of classes, including Research Methods,
Statistics, Cognition, and Human Memory.
Research Methods and Human Memory students actually do their OWN studies, from start to
finish!

You can apply to work on a research team.

Usually, applications are considered at the end of each school year for a spot in the lab in the
following year. Each professor has a different deadline for their team.

Email specific professors for more information about their research team.

To work on a research team, it’s helpful to know the basics of statistics and research methods.
Some professors require students to take these foundational classes before they can work on
a research team.
Check with specific professors to see their requirements before applying.
How to participate in a study
This year we are using an online system to schedule participants for our studies. Faculty and their research teams, along with students in research methods classes, are using this system to organize participants. This system replaces the old “salmon card” system, and in addition to being “green” is also more
efficient.
If you are in a class that requires or encourages research participation, go to this website:
callutheran.sona-systems.com
Click “Request Account” to begin the free registration process.