The conference is hosted by the Hawaii Pacific University is a great opportunity for students and faculty from all of the universities across Oahu to come and share their current research. The atmosphere is one of mutual respect and interest and many of the projects were enhanced by the input and insights of other students and professors. BYUH psychology students are invited to participate and share any of their current research. This past Fall Semester, Alex Kubena and Nathan Haws shared their PSYC 490 projects from Winter 2011, as well as other research they are conducting.
Alexa
"Social Influence as a Function of Genetic Relatedness and Ethnicity."
Hamilton (1964) stated that an altruistic act is favored if the receiver has a high enough genetic relatedness to offset the cost of the act committed. This study examines the role of a genetic relatedness and ethnicity on the level of social influence. It is hypothesized that individuals will be influenced more by those more genetically related rather than by distant relatives or acquaintances. Participants (N=241) responded to items designed to measure degree of social influence. Items were grouped according to Hamilton’s genetic relatedness values, such as .5 for parents, .25 for grandparent, .125 for cousins, and 0 for non relatives.
Results show that there was a significant difference among levels for genetic relatedness, F (3, 241) = 47.92, p <.0001, η² = .17. There was no main effect for ethnicity. In conclusion, genetic relatedness has a greater effect on one’s decisions rather than that of cultural and environmental influences.
Nathan
"Differences in Rumination among Pacific Islanders, Asians, and European Americans."
Since only minimal previous research has suggested ethnic differences in rumination between groups, this study compared Pacific Islanders with both European Americans and Asians to investigate significant differences in rumination tendencies. Rumination was measured using the Ruminative Response Scale. After comparing means scores for each ethnicity, it was found that Asians scored significantly higher 
than European Americans, as found in the literature. Although Pacific Islanders were not found to be statistically different from either European Americans or Asians, their mean scores were found to be greater than European Americans and less than Asians, an interesting finding given that these two groups were so different. When marital status was controlled for, it was specifically single Asians and single Pacific Islanders that differed from married European Americans. Further studies should investigate the role of marital status as a factor of rumination between ethnic groups, using a larger sample size. 
