The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Presents

 

 

The 3rd Annual Regional Undergraduate Psychology Conference

April 29th, 2006

 

The UMass Dartmouth 3rd Annual Regional Undergraduate Psychology Conference Sponsorship

 

The support of our sponsors is immensely appreciated.  Their generous contributions and support of the 3rd Annual Regional Undergraduate Psychology Conference has made this conference possible.  A sincere thank you is extended to:

 

Dean William Hogan

Steven Weisfeldt

UMass Dartmouth Department of Psychology

UMass Dartmouth Psi Chi Chapter

 

Acknowledgements

 

The Conference Organizational Committee wishes to acknowledge the contributions and support of Dr. Donald Corriveau, Dr. Marie Sauro, Dr. Judith Sims-Knight, Dr. Dennis Roderick, and Dave Macedo. Their assistance has been central to the success of this conference.

 

Conference Organizational Committees

 

Jess Sparling, Main Coordinator

Megan Rockett, Assistant Coordinator

Kristin Akins, Poster Presentations and Outreach Committee

Lindsey Smith, Outreach Committees

Sonya Stomski, Sponsorship and Promotional Committees

 

 

Psi Chi Membership Volunteers

Sponsorship Committee          Poster Presentations          Other Acknowledgements

Natasha Medieros                  Jess Gilmartin                     Josh VanSwearingten,

Josh Van Swearingten             Denise Harvey                                              movie 

                                                     Lori Ryan

 

 

 

The UMass Dartmouth Psi Chi Chapter Leadership

 

 

 

Current Psi Chi Officers 2005-2006

President:  Jess Sparling

Vice President:  Kristin Akins

Secretary:  Lindsey Smith

Treasurer:  Megan Rockett

Public Relations:  Sonya Stomski

 

 

 

Advisors:

Dr. Donald Corriveau

Dr. Marie Sauro

 

 

 

Psi Chi Officers Elect for 2006-2007

President:  Natasha Medieros

Vice President:  Sarah Fitta

Secretary:  Joy Occhuito

Treasurer:  Katherine E. Squillante

 

 

 Psi Chi Mission Statement:

 

"Psi Chi is a national honor society whose purpose shall be to encourage, stimulate, and maintain excellence in scholarship of the individual members in all fields, particularly in psychology, and to advance the science of psychology.”

 

Registration

9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Library Entrance

 

Registration will continue throughout the day and is free of cost for all students.  Upon registration, individuals will have the opportunity to collect a schedule of events, as well as packets including all necessary items for the conference.

 

  Welcoming Address

9:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m., Library Browsing Area (1st Floor)

 

Welcoming remarks from Advisor, Dr. Donald Corriveau and President, Jess Sparling, will open the conference at 9:30 a.m. with an overview of the upcoming conference events as well as address any questions raised.

 

 

Poster Sessions

Session I:  9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Library Viewing Area

Session II:  3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., Library Viewing Area

 

Join professional psychologists, professors, and fellow students in reviewing undergraduate research being conducted throughout New England.

 

 

 

 

Poster #1

A Preliminary Investigation of the Relationship between Religious Fundamentalism and Aggression/Hostility

Luther Gregory Kalb

University of Baltimore

            In recent years, religious fundamentalism has gained a great deal of attention due to the recent rise of religiously inspired violence.  Given the paucity of information on religious fundamentalism and aggression/hostility, the purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between these variables.  Eighty female and 19 male students from the University of Baltimore, whose ages ranged from 20 to 58 years (M=29.7), completed a demographic questionnaire, the Religious Fundamentalism Scale and the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory.  Results from the analyses did not support the principle hypotheses; however, religious fundamentalists reported elevated levels of guilt.  Moreover, participants who scored significantly on "vigorously fighting opposed forces" items, which presents the conviction that Satan (i.e. evil) is omnipresent and fighting against forces of religion (i.e. good), reported higher levels of suspicion.  Methodological issues and reasonable adjustments warrant the necessity for reanalysis between religious fundamentalism and aggression/hostility.

 

Poster #2

The Effects of Motherhood and Childbearing with Adolescent Daughters

Susan Desmarais
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

            This research is on a comparison of the effects of motherhood and daughterhood based on age at first childbirth. Previous research has shown that older mothers have more of a dependency on their daughters due to their lack of emotion stability, physical and mental health. Studies also have shown that younger mothers have a better perception of what their
daughter needs due to the fact that there is not much of an age gap, their relationship is better due to the fact that they have more things in common and see things on the same level and they tend to get along better with each other. I propose that younger mothers will a have better
relationship with their daughter(s) because the age gap is not as large compared to mothers who give birth later in life.

 

Poster #3

'Does he mean to be mean?:
Age-related differences in children's understanding of behavioral conditions.

Nicholas Ricardi, Heather Day

Under the guidance of Jannette McMenamy PhD

            While numerous studies within psychology have documented age-related differences in pre-school and school-aged children's understanding of physical illness (e.g. Au & Romo, 1996; Sigelman et al, 2000), few have examined how children make sense of mental illness and psychological conditions. The present study extends the literature by investigating age-related differences in children's causal reasoning about two behavioral conditions, namely Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Conduct Disorder (CD). Forty-four children in three age groups (sixteen 7-8 year olds, sixteen 11-12 year olds, and twelve 15-16 year olds) who did not have a diagnosis of the aforementioned conditions participated in this study. Participants responded to open-ended questions about the etiology and treatment of ADHD and CD. A standardized system was used to categorize the qualitative data according to the following types of causal explanations: a) biological; b) psychological; and c) combined biological and psychological. Inter-rater reliability for the two coders was 94% agreement.
            Results indicated that a) age-related differences exist in the nature of the casual principles used to explain the etiology and treatment of ADHD and CD; b) children's reasoning about the causes of both conditions is illness specific; and c) children of all ages tend to provide consistent explanations of the etiology and treatment of each condition. For ADHD, 7-8 year-old children tended to explain the etiology and treatment of the condition in psychological terms. In comparison, the 11-12 and 15-16 year-olds more frequently provided biological responses than did the younger children (÷² = 19.6, p<.001; ÷² = 20.4, p<.000). For CD, 7-8 and 11-12 year-olds provided psychological explanations of an intentional nature to explain the etiology of the conditions. Adolescents tended to provide psychological explanations or to combine biology and psychology in their responses to questions about etiology (÷² = 6.4, p<.041). Furthermore, when adolescents use psychology to explain etiology, they provided non-intentional explanations (÷² = 13.4, p<.001). Children of all ages use psychology to explain the treatment of CD (p=.141). Again, adolescents but not 7-8 and 11-12 year-olds provided non-intentional explanations of treatment (learning behavioral techniques vs. trying harder). Regarding consistency, 89% (n=34) of children of all ages provided consistent explanations of the causes and treatment of ADHD. Eighty-three percent (n=31) provided consistent explanations for CD. Implications for current theories of cognitive development and for the development of age-appropriate educational material for children are discussed

 

Poster #4

Effects of First Impressions of Clothing Style on Attractiveness

Jessica Piexoto and Sarah Fitta

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

            The way an individual dresses may affect how others view them. If good impressions and what others think of individuals are lasting, people who think that clothes form first impressions should be more concentrated on what they’re wearing to get the results of good first impressions. In the present study two targets were asked to dress in three different clothing styles; professional, sporty, and casual to see if what they wore would indeed affect first impressions of attractiveness. Participants viewed a picture of a target in the three different clothing styles with a vignette describing the targets humor, either “funny” or “serious” and describing their IQ level, either “high” or “low”. Participants then filled out a survey that assessed attractiveness. Those who viewed a target in professional or casual attire were rated as more attractive as compared to
a sporty clothing style. Targets that had funny personalities were also viewed to be more attractive as compared to a target with a serious personality.

  

 

Poster #5

The Effects of College Stressors on Academic Performance

Regina Chan, Caroline Fernandes

Kimberlee Green, Fitz Saint Cloud

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth 

            College students experience a number of daily stressors. The present study examined the impact of this stress on GPA in 95 UMass Dartmouth students who completed a brief survey on 5 potential stressors (family conflicts, living situations, significant other, work and career planning). Overall stress levels were high (11.45 ± 4.26, range 3 - 25), with work being the most common stressor reported. Contrary to our hypothesis, there was no relationship between stress level and GPA, r = -.192, p = .06.

 

Poster #6

Close and Casual Friendships and the Forgiveness of Lies

Kimberlee Green

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

            This study explored factors that impact the forgiveness of lies (both self-centered and other-oriented) in close and casual same-sex friendships.  A 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design and a correlation analysis were used to analyze the data.  One hundred sixteen participants completed a survey with eight different lie scenarios regarding one of two relationship conditions, close (57 participants) and casual (59 participants) same-sex friendships.  The findings indicated that there was an interaction between gender, relationship condition, and forgetting the lie (commonly referred to as "forgive and forget").  Findings also indicated correlations between several factors and forgiveness of both types of lies.

Poster #7

Recipient Designs of Open-Ended Comments in Course Evaluation Forms

Samantha Trickey, Jaime Hickey, Larissa Christensen & Michael Bamberg

Clark University

               It is widely assumed that course evaluation forms (CEF’s) are serving three general purposes: (a) formative - to assist instructors 

with instructional improvement; (b) summative - to assist administrators  (such as chairs, deans, and personnel committees) with assessment 

of teaching effectiveness of instructors for personnel decisions; and (iii) peer-informative - to assist other students in selecting courses 

(cf. Feldman, 1988; Marsh, 1987; Schmelkin, Spencer, & Gellman, 1997). It is further assumed that numerical values are more objective 

and useful for all three purposes, though instructors principally take students comments (in contrast to their numerical ratings) as serving

 more formative purposes (cf. Schmelkin et al., 1997). Consequently, open ended comments on CEFs require designing these three 

different readerships – or choosing a format that speaks to different readerships simultaneously. Our study addresses two questions: 

Study I: What are students’ and instructors’ orientations toward numerical ratings versus open-ended comments in terms of their

 overall helpfulness? Study II: Which readership do students believe they address with their open-ended comments, and which 

readership do they actually address? Answering these questions, we end up with clear recommendations to disentangle and clarify t

he different functions that current CEFs are supposed to serve.

Poster #8

Values and evaluations: A comparison of ratings on ratemyprofessor.com

and evaluation forms taken in class

Jaime Hickey, Larissa Christensen, Samantha Trickey, Michael Bamberg

Clark University

               Ratemyprofessor.com (henceforth rmp.c) has become hotly debated. The

founder of rmp.c, John Swapceinski, has argued that public web-based evaluations assist students in making informed decisions (peer  

informative purpose) regarding future course selections. Others have pointed to the selectiveness of ratings and correlations between good

 ratings, and instructors’ attractiveness and easiness of the courses. In a previous study, we were able to show that course evaluations 

taken in class (henceforth cef’s) differed considerably in terms of their recipient orientations (summative purpose vs. formative purpose). 

In this study, we wanted to find out whether students’ comments on cef’s differ from  those posted on rmp.c, and if so, how. We hope with

 our answers, to shed light into the ongoing debates of whether course evaluations should be performed on the web rather than in classes, 

and whether students’ comments should be publicized. To compare students’ comments on cef’s that were taken in class with those on a 

public website, we chose the instructor with the highest number of ratings on rmp.c (n=46) of a small research university in the North East 

and compared these comments with those on his cef’s, thus keeping the courses and instructor being evaluated constant. The comparison 

was done along four dimensions: (i) the addressee of the comment; (ii) ‘intertextuality’ (i.e., did comments refer to each other?); (iii) the use 

of hedges or distancing devices; (iv) relative length of comments. 

               Results: While postings on rmp.c clearly orient toward other students, (i) only 28% are explicit advice-giving (peer informative 

purpose); comments on cef’s address predominantly administrators (summative purpose-78%) and to a much lesser degree instructors 

(formative purpose - 19 %).(ii) students at times (12%) refer to each others’ comments on rmp.c and engage in dialogues over their 

evaluations, while there is no such intertextuality at all on cef’s.(iii) postings on rmp.c are more “straightforward”, while comments on 

cef’s are very often make use of hedges and distancing devices.  (iv) postings on rmp.c are considerably shorter (average: 30 words) 

 than their cef counterparts (average: 50 words).

               We discuss these findings along the following three dimensions: First, evaluating for formative and summative purposes has 

very different results than instances with peer informing purposes. Consequently, administrators and instructors are unable to use rmp.c 

postings in as straight forward a way as cef’s, just as students cannot use comments from cef’s to aid in course selection decisions. Second, 

being called upon by institutional representatives in class to evaluate the performance of those usually in the position of assessor, calls up 

for students a different ‘identity’ than sitting at a computer engaging in “doing ‘being student’”.  These two identities result in different evaluation

 strategies. Third, and overall, the recipient orientation and assumed function of the evaluations is important for their designs. Whether

 evaluations are serving formative, summative, or peer informative purposes is reflected  in how the evaluations are designed. Thus, evaluations

 are not simply" expressions of values”. 

Poster #9

Understanding of the Mind and Self-Determination Theory: Is Autonomy

Support Beneficial for All Children?

Shannon West '06

Sponsor: Professor Penelope G. Vinden

Clark University

               This poster explores the relationship between the development of a child’s understanding of mind (i.e. when and how children come to

 understand that our thoughts affect our behavior) and the parenting practices of the child’s mother. Specifically, we examine whether or not a 

particular theory of child motivation, self-determination theory, is applicable to a Hispanic sample.

               Self-determination theory has grown out of work on autonomy-supportive versus controlling parenting. According to this theory, 

individuals engage in intrinsically motivated activities (activities to master environment) and extrinsically motivated activities (goal directed 

activities) only if the environment supports the need for autonomy (Deci & Ryan, 1985;Grolnick et al. 2002).  Autonomy support is linked with a 

variety of beneficial outcomes such as academic success and better social skills. 

               A previous study has explored the link between autonomy-supportive parenting and children’s understanding of mind. Vinden (2001) 

found that Anglo-American children of highly controlling mothers performed poorly on theory-of-mind tasks. This finding supported the view 

that autonomy support has a positive impact on child development, in this case on a particular area of social cognition. In contrast, however, 

a positive relationship between controlling (i.e. not autonomy-supportive) mothers and their children’s understanding of the mind was found in a

Korean-American sample.  Vinden concluded that the different parenting styles of different cultures may allow for the same “developmental 

endpoint” to emerge in young children.

               If self-determination theory applies equally to children of all cultures, children of Hispanic parents who are autonomy-supportive 

should perform better at theory-of-mind tasks than children of controlling parents. Hispanic parents, however, are widely acknowledged to

 be very controlling, compared to Anglo parents (e.g. Jambunathan et al. 2000, Vinden 2004). 

If Hispanic parents are highly controlling, then they are violating the basic tenet of self-determination theory; namely, that children have an 

innate need for autonomy.  Hispanic children therefore should perform more poorly on a variety of tasks.

               To test how well self-determination theory fits a Hispanic population, we first videotaped mothers making and eating some food with 

their children. A total of 72 mothers and their children between ages 3 and 6 have been videotaped and the tapes transcribed. A coding system 

was devised to rate each mother’s instructions to their children.  Codes ranged from very

controlling (e.g. direct prohibitions, direct unsolicited instructions) to highly autonomy-supportive (e.g. hints, involving the child, asking

 open-ended questions). A series of theory-of-mind (ToM) tasks was given to each child and a total score calculated. Preliminary results (9 

videotapes have been coded to date, all of children aged 4) indicate that these Hispanic mothers are indeed quite controlling, with almost 

half of the instructions being direct and unsolicited (e.g. “get the fork”).  To determine whether or not the type of instruction received is

 related to performance on theory-of-mind tasks, children were divided low and high ToM scorers. While the sample size is too small to 

conduct statistical analysis, large mean differences were seen for some kinds of  instructions.

                Contrary to what self-determination theory would predict, children who did well on ToM tasks had mothers who more often directly

 prohibited their behavior without giving any reason (mean of mothers of high scoring children = 7.05, mean of mothers of low scoring 

children = 3.08) and gave more direct unsolicited instructions (mean of mothers of high scoring

children = 51.75, mean of mothers of low scoring children = 35.56).  In other words, children who did well on ToM tasks had mothers who were

 more controlling.  In contrast, children who did poorly on ToM tasks had mothers who were more autonomy-supportive.   Children who did not

 display a well-developed understanding of mind had mothers who gave children options as to what they might do (mean of mothers of low 

scoring children= 30.66, mean of mothers of high scoring children = 13.13) and asked for the child’s opinion more often (mean of mothers of 

low scoring children=16.6, mean of mothers of high scoring children = 11.32).

               While only preliminary, these results raise questions as to the applicability of self-determination theory to children of all cultures. 

Results will be discussed in terms of what are viewed as culturally proper parent-child interactions in Hispanic families.

Poster #10

Does Gender play a role in the preferred characteristics in a mate?

Katherine Squillante, Marjorie Martell, Jennifer Sinewick

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

               Males and Females have always had conflicting ideas of how a relationship should be maintained. Males look for different things than 

females when considering a mate.  This comparison is interesting because males and females seem to be internally driven by basic instincts

 for survival.

               The evolutionary theory states that males are biologically motivated to be promiscuous. Hypothetically males are driven to impregnate 

females in order to promote the human species. Females, on the other hand, are motivated to find a male that will provide for them and their 

offspring on a long-term basis. They have fewer reproductive chances than males and take effort 

in selecting a provider.  Males looked for attractive healthy looking women who would be best able to carry a child, while females wanted a 

strong male who would be dependable. Perhaps these are traits that are still looked for in partners. (Myers, 195)

               According to one study (Fletcher, Tither, O’Laughlin, Friesen, Overall, 2004), people seem to intuitively understand that they are 

unlikely to be able to attract a mate who exceeds their own mate value. By mate value we mean someone who is similar in traits like physical 

attractiveness or social status. They found that in long-term relationships both men and women 

gave the same level of importance of overall warmth and trustworthiness in their mates.  However they found that males put more importance

 on attractiveness/vitality and less on status/resources than women did. When considering a long-term relationship both male and female

 participants preferred a warm, unattractive person to a cold, attractive person.  

The opposite was found when considering a short-term relationship. The participants of the study opted for the cold but attractive person rather

 than a warm, unattractive person.  Males and females tend to look for different things when searching for a mate. What characteristics does

 a person look for, and which ones are considered more important? The goal of our study is to find out if gender affects the type of characteristics

 that a person looks for in a mate.

               We will be taking a survey of college students at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth to find out the differences of males and 

females when selecting a long-term partner. Some of the traits that we will be looking at are: social status, intelligence, physical attractiveness,

 conscientiousness, and sense of humor. We have chosen these traits because 

we feel they are popular traits people consider for their partners. How important are these traits when selecting a partner for males versus 

females? For instance, do males care more about physical attractiveness than females? Or do females care more about social status than 

males do? In our survey we will ask our participants to rate how important each trait is to them when selecting a long-term partner.  

We believe that we will find a significant difference between males and females. Males should put more emphasis on physical attractiveness 

and less on social status than females. However, males and females will probably rate kindness and conscientiousness on the same level.

Poster #11

Alex Kelly

Advisor: Micheal Bamberg 

               Have you ever listened to call-in in advice or therapy shows on the radio and wondered how such personal issues can be discussed and 

enjoyed by such a huge audience time and time again?  Extensive research has been conducted in the fields of tabloid talk-shows and advice 

call-in shows that identify existence of a public-private tension existing between the overhearing audience and the individual advice-seeker

 (DeCapua & Findlay,1993; Gregori-Signes, 2000; Hutchby, 1995; Hutchby, 1996; Levy, 1989;Fitzgerald & Housley, 2002; Vandenbergen [????]).

Dr. Laura Schlessinger is one of the most widely loved, hated and, more importantly, listened to call-in talk-radio show hosts on the air today 

and has become a master of this public-private juggling act.  The following research has ventured to answer the question of how Dr. Laura 

manages to maintain the balance between the private nature of the discourse of advice and public interests of her audience and all the while 

still hold the floor and the solution in the minds of one caller and eightmillion listeners.

               In talk radio an interaction exists between the invisible overhearing audience, the individual caller, and the expert advice giver 

(Hutchby, 1995; Hutchby, 1996; Levy, 1989). This relationship creates a public-private tension that needs to be handled appropriately by 

the host in order for the show to adhere to the personal nature of the discourse of advice giving while satisfying the invisible overhearing 

audience.  In our research we have looked into the recurring conversational devices employed by advice-giving expert Dr. Laura Schlessinger: 

Do they work to support her in resolving this public-private tension between caller and audience? 

 

Poster # 12

Tianna D. Jarzylo

Morris Phippen

Northeastern University

               This study investigated the role of visual cues’ impact on the personality ratings.  The premise was that the addition of certain object of symbolic value will cause 

participants to perceive people differently, and if given only a short time to judge the person, most people will rely on stereotypes. The researchers chose four symbolic 

objects, which were predicted to have influence on ratings: a beer bottle, a cell phone, a cigarette and a book.  In this study the investigators gave participants one picture of 

either a man or a woman which were computer-edited to depict the man/woman with one of the four different objects or nothing (control).  The participants were asked to rate

 the person in the picture based on healthiness, kindness, extraversion, trustworthiness, rule breaking, and intelligence.  An ANOVA was conducted, which demonstrated

 both confirmations and rejections of the hypotheses, and a generally negative influence of all of the objects on the ratings of the pictures.  In addition, there were many

 unforeseen differences in ratings for the male and female pictures.  These results indicate that in the absence of cues, people have higher opinions of others, but when a cue 

becomes available, people will rely on that information to make personality inferences.

 

Poster #13

Smoking and Inconsiderateness

By Andrea Sparko and Tara Di Domenico

 Under the guidance of Judith Hall

Northeastern University

               The study sought to investigate inconsiderateness and smoking behavior, based on a previous class study that found smokers to break the rules significantly more

 than nonsmokers. It was hypothesized that smokers would be more inconsiderate than nonsmokers. Males were hypothesized to be more inconsiderate than females. 

Questionnaires were administered to students on Northeastern's campus. The questionnaire asked for participants’ age and gender, followed by a considerateness measure

 and three health-related questions which included smoking behavior. Results supported the hypotheses, with smokers scoring lower on the considerateness measure than 

nonsmokers and males scoring lower on the considerateness measure than females.

 

Graduate Program Session

9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Library Viewing Area

 

Representatives from graduate programs in psychology and related fields will be present throughout the day to provide materials and information on their respective programs, as well as meet one on one with students to answer any questions they may have. 

 

Video Presentation: The Titicut Follies

10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Group 2 room 114

 

"The Titicut Follies," once banned in Massachusetts, will be presented to give students a glimpse into the realities of a former Massachusetts prison for the mentally ill.  From IMDB.com:

          [The] Highly controversial documentary chronicling life inside a Massachusetts institution for mentally ill convicts. This film was kept for years from the public eye due to its portrayal of abuses of the mentally ill at the hands of the guards and doctors.

 

 

Invited Address

 

Bonita Cade: Forensic Psychology...more varied than the media shows! 

11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Group 2 room 113

            This presentation will serve as an overview of the subject matter that is subsumed in the term "Forensic Psychology" as it is currently researched, taught and practiced. Dr. Cade is as Assistant Professor at Roger Williams University who has been a forensic psychologist in civil and criminal areas for over 20 years. Dr. Cade is licensed as both an attorney and a psychologist and will speak about the wide variety of areas of practice and expertise that have defined this area. Students considering this area as a possible focus of study and research will find this presentation informative as will those who are just curious about the area known as Forensic Psychology.

 

Keynote Speaker

 

Wendy Rogers: Supporting Aging-in-Place in an Aware Home Environment through Engineering Psychology

1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m., Group 2 room 113

 

            Imagine if your home were "aware" of your activities so that it might help you remember what it was you went into the kitchen for or whether the visitor at the front door is someone you know or even what the proper procedure is for performing a recently learned home medical procedure.  An aware home is not from the world of science fiction-indeed, it is within the realm of science.  Such technological developments have the potential to enable older adults to maintain their functional independence and to "age-in-place."

            An aware home can provide support in numerous ways including: alerting the person to an emergency or hazardous situation (e.g. the stove left on); providing information about daily activities and long-term trends, and changes therein (e.g., reduced movements); providing support for daily activities such as medication monitoring or use of medical technologies; and also supporting social communication with family and friends.  For these efforts to be successful, engineering psychologists must be involved.  An innovative research program at Georgia Institute of Technology is focused on developing psychological and computer science to support home activities, especially for older adults.

            In my presentation I will provide a general overview of the field of engineering psychology.  I will then describe the research I am involved in at the Georgia Tech Aware Home.

 

 

Psi Chi Forum and Luncheon

12:30 p.m. to 1:15 p.m., Group 2 room 115

 

Free luncheon provided for Psi Chi members and faculty.  Join us for a forum on current activities at UMass Dartmouth, regional Psi Chi activities, and discussions for the future. 

 

Poster Award Ceremony

3:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m., Library Browsing Area

 

The conference judging committee will award a certificate and prize to the best presented research presentation.

 

Closing Address

3:45 p.m. to 4 p.m., Library Browsing Area

 

Join the entire conference staff in gathering together to discuss the day as well as provide valuable feedback about the conference and exchange ideas for next year.

 Last Updated On: 4/28/06