Monday, October 28, 2013

APS Convention 2013

APS 2013 Convention
This May, some of the best minds in the field of Psychology got together for the 25th Annual Association for Psychological Science convention. Eleven students from Brigham Young University-Hawaii not only had the opportunity to attend the event, but were able to present some of their research. A large portion of the people who presented at the convention were professors and graduate students, so it was a great opportunity for our undergraduates to present their research in different “Poster Sessions”.

Along with presenting their posters, students were able to attend symposiums, dealing with different matters within the psychological field. Other events at the convention included workshops, plenary sessions, and award addresses. From book signings to presidential addresses, the APS 2013 convention had all of the essentials for any psychological event.


BYUH presentations included:

Religious Factors Contributing to Happiness and Life Satisfaction of University Students
(Ronald M. Miller, Jessica L. Enos, Zacharias P. Dupaix, Jeff H. Choi, Melece V. Meservy, Amy J. Lee, Emika Sawada, Erekson R. Short, Eric G. Orr)

Differences in Cheating Patterns Among Individualistic and Collectivistic Cultures and University Majors
(Meg L. Costantino, Kayla R. Suhrie, Bonnie C. Allred, Zacharias P. Dupaix, Morris A. Graham, Steven C. Wheelwright, Boyd H. Timothy, Ronald M. Miller)

Clothing as an Advertisement of Relationship Status and Satisfaction
(Lisa M. Thompson, Tyler S. Smith [Texas Tech University])

Emotion Regulation as a Mediator Between Acculturation & Psychopathology
(Nathan A. Haws)

Facial Recognition in Mormons vs. Non-Mormons and Sexual Offenders vs. Non-Sexual Offenders
(Allison Lovingier, Adam M. Scalese, Sarah Miller, Laura De La Fuente-Rodriguez, David D. Whippy, Kayla R. Suhrie, Kylie Miles, Boyd Timothy, Ronald Miller)

Differences Between Synthetic and Naturally Occurring Fertility Pheromones
(Kayla R. Suhrie)

Evolutionary Analysis of Jane Austen’s Novel Popularity
(Christina A. Hubner, Carlyn D. Hubner, Woojeong Lee, Adam M. Scalese, Anita R. Uhi, Boyd Timothy, Ronald Miller)

The Effects of Lip Color and Lipstick on Perceptions of Attractiveness in Women
(Bonnie C. Allred, Zacharias P. Dupaix, Lisa M. Thompson, Meg L. Costantino, Boyd H. Timothy, Ronald M. Miller)

Using Likelihood Ratios to Detect Invalid Data in Practical Validity Measures
(Adam M. Scalese, Lisa M. Thompson, Bonnie C. Allred, Amy Junghyun Lee, Zachary W. Rupp, Zacharias P. Dupaix, John E. Meyers, Ronald M. Miller)


The Relationship Between Paranormal Belief and Perceptions of Mental Illness
(Jason L. Murphy-Tafiti, Nathan A. Haws, & Boyd Timothy)

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Empower your Dreams 2013

Empower Your Dreams Contest 2013

This March, Brigham Young University-Hawaii hosted its eighth annual Empower Your Dreams Contest. This contest not only showcased the dreams of students throughout the university, it also showcased many of the student’s academic accomplishments, including nine studies conducted by senior psychology students. Because this was a school-wide contest, contestants were given the opportunity to network with students and staff from numerous programs throughout the university, including the biology and business departments. Patricia S. Coronel, a recent psychology graduate from BYUH commented on the atmosphere of the event, stating, “There was so much passion and knowledge in the event. You can see in different rooms how students present their research with so much energy and desire to make a difference.”
            Patricia’s presentation, “Effects of Film on Self-esteem and Affect among Single Undergraduate Students,” was particularly fascinating. She suggested three main goals for her study:

1.       To determine if single undergraduate students will feel negative after watching a romantic-comedy film.
2.      To determine if in-a-relationship undergraduate students will feel positive after watching a romantic-comedy film.
3.      To determine if female single undergraduate students will experience a larger decrease in their self-esteem compared to male single undergraduate students after watching a romantic-comedy film.

The results indicated, however, that single students felt positive after watching the romantic-comedy, students that were in a relationship felt negative after watching the film, and female students reported a lower self-esteem after watching the film than male students. Patricia explains that these results suggest that other factors such as affect infusion, beliefs about relationships, and media depictions of the ideal woman, together, influence people's feelings and self-image.

All nine studies entered by the psychology department are listed below, along with a brief abstract of the study:

Effects of Film on Self-esteem and Affect among Single Undergraduate Students
Patricia Bernice S. Coronel

Previous studies have found that media produces desired emotional response and impacts self-esteem. The present study examined the differential effects of film on self-esteem and effect of undergraduate students who are single and in a relationship. 80 female and 80 male undergraduate students answered the Rosenberg’s Self-esteem and PANAS Scales before and after watching the romantic-comedy film. Results showed that single undergraduate students felt positive after watching a romantic-comedy film.  On the other hand, in-a-relationship students felt negative after watching a romantic-comedy film. Additionally, female single undergraduate students reported to have lower self-esteem compared to male single undergraduate students. These results suggest that other factors such as affect infusion, beliefs about relationships and media depictions of the ideal woman together influence people’s feelings and self-image.

______________________________________________________________________________

Relationship of Personality Profiles Among Married Couples and Single Dating Styles
Jessica R. Cowan

Previous research has suggested that couples that share the traits of agreeableness, openness, and conscientiousness report higher marital satisfaction. To determine whether or not there is a greater proportion of married couples with shared personality profiles than couples with opposing personality profiles, 60 married couples took The Big Five personality trait inventory. The majority of couples scored similarly on openness and agreeableness, while the majority scored opposite on conscientiousness. There was no statistical significance regarding extraversion and neuroticism. My results may suggest that couples that share the traits of agreeableness and openness choose to get married because they feel a high level of relationship satisfaction.
______________________________________________________________________________

Differences in Self-Esteem and Self-Efficacy
 Between First and Non-first Generation College Students
Laura De La Fuente-Rodriguez

The purpose of this study was to determine whether first-generation college students would rate lower on a self-esteem and self-efficacy scale compared to non-first generation college students.  Data was strictly collected of the two groups to see the difference in the dependent variable which are self-esteem and self-efficacy. In order to evaluate this properly, a self-esteem scale and self-efficacy inventory was administered as a survey along with demographic questions. One hundred and twenty-five undergraduate students were recruited, aging 18 to 30, from Brigham Young University-Hawaii and Carroll County Community College. T-tests were run for first generation and non-first generation from the data collected on their self-esteem and self-efficacy scales showing that there is a difference between first and non-first generation college students. The t-tests showed significance and supported the hypothesis of first generation college students having lower self-esteem and self-efficacy compared to their non-first generation peers. Therefore, it can be discussed that first generation students have different factors, such as their background, that may lead them to have lower self-esteem and academic efficacy. 
______________________________________________________________________________

Effects of Relationship Status on Self-Esteem and Depressive Symptoms
Depending on Gender
Jihye Kim

In an extension of research demonstrating differential psychological benefits of various relationship statuses, the present study examined differences in self-esteem and depressive symptoms among relationship statuses depending on gender. Female (N=180) and male (N=144) undergraduates were categorized into one of three different relationship statuses: single, in a short-term relationship (minimum half of a year), or in a long-term relationship (married). Each participant completed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Results showed that married men and women experience less depressive symptoms than single women (p = .001). In addition, people in a relationship had higher self-esteem than single people, although this difference was not statistically significant. These findings suggest that gender and relationship status together are pertinent factors in the number of depressive symptoms one may experience.
______________________________________________________________________________

Differences in Body Image, Self-Esteem, and Eating Behaviors
Between Asians and Polynesians 
Woojeong Lee

The majority of studies about body image have drawn from adults in America exclusively. The purpose of this research is to better understand body image, self-esteem, and eating behaviors among female Polynesian and Asian undergraduate students. One hundred female Polynesian students and one hundred female Asian students took an online survey. The result showed that female Asian students negatively evaluate their body shape, whereas female Polynesian students have positively body image, t(192) = 2.80, p =0.005, d = 0.40.
However, there were not significant differences in self-esteem and eating behaviors. The finding suggests that people do have different perception when evaluating their body shapes, but negative body shapes does not always lead to low self-esteem and bad eating behaviors.
______________________________________________________________________________ 

Vocabulary Size of Young Adults as a Function of College Enrollment
Emily Murphy

Vocabulary is a key component in reading comprehension which adds to a person’s academic achievement. Vocabulary begins to develop after a child is born and then continues to increase based on social and educational experiences, but gaps in vocabulary size start early on, even before a child enters grade school, the complete implications of those gaps is still unknown. However, in the meantime, millions of dollars are being spent on leveling the playing field so that all students have the same opportunity to achieve academically; to better understand the reach of vocabulary size, the present study experimentally examined the effects of vocabulary size on cumulative college GPA. 89 Brigham Young University Hawaii undergraduates completed the Paul Nations (2007) vocabulary size test and reported their cumulative GPA. Vocabulary size predicted cumulative college GPA, =, t(88) =, p < .05 one-tailed, and explained a significant proportion of variance in GPA, R2 = .023, F(1,88) = 3.05, p <.05. An additional simple linear regression was run, indicating that cumulative high school GPA is a strong predictor of cumulative college GPA. Results from this study have indicated that vocabulary size is a strong component of an individual’s ability to achieve academically and efforts to increase vocabulary should be undertaken at every level of development.
______________________________________________________________________________

Effects of Filler Words on Perceived Speech Quality
David Richardson

When delivering a public speech, filler words seem to have a universally negative reputation. This study examines whether audience members notice filler words and if they affect their overall perception of the speaker. 133 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to view a one minute and thirty second speech with filler words or an identical speech without filler words. Both videos were viewed by participants via video. Each participant rated the speaker on 15 characteristics and then estimated how many filler words the speaker used. In addition, participants compared him to the average speaker by estimating if the speaker used more or less filler words than average. Participants judged the speaker using filler words to be more comfortable and humble than the same speaker without filler words. Participants also recognized that the speaker used filler words, and judged the speaker as using more filler words than the “average speaker”.
______________________________________________________________________________

Differences in Self-effacement Among Asian,
Polynesian and Caucasian Undergraduate Students
Kelsey S. Yu

Previous research has shown a cultural difference in the use of two self-regulations strategies:  self-enhancement and self-effacement. Asians are more interdependent, and use self-effacement more than Caucasians. The current study examined whether this cultural difference applied to school performance, and examined differences in self-effacement among Asian, Caucasian and Polynesian students. 120 participates reported their ethnicity and cumulative GPA. Participants also rated how well they thought their GPA was on a Likert scale from 1-15, and responded to open-ended questions about their academic performance. Responses to the open questions were categorized as self-effacement statements and self-enhancement statements by counting the number of the words which represent both perspectives. Polynesian participants reported the lowest cumulative GPA scores and the lowest self-ratings of their GPA. However, Asian participants used a comparable number of self-effacement words in describing their academic performance as Polynesian participants, with Caucasians self-effacing the least.  These finding suggest that Asian students use the self-effacement strategy when discussing their academic performance even though they perform well.
______________________________________________________________________________

A Cross-Cultural Study on Territorial Behavior of University Students in Residence Rooms
Min Zhang

In past research on territorial behavior, ethnicity has rarely been investigated. In the present study, I examined differences in territorial behavior among Caucasian, Asian and Polynesian students in double occupancy rooms. Two elements of territoriality, firmness of boundaries and personalization/claiming, were compared. Whether differences interacted with ethnic similarity or dissimilarity with ones roommate was also examined. Results showed a difference in firmness of boundaries among ethnic groups, F(2, 113)=5.03, p < 0.008, η² = .08. Polynesian students showed less firmness of boundaries (M = 4.24), than Asian students (M = 5.22), (p = .004).  There were also differences among groups in personalization and claiming, F(2, 114)=3.67, p<0.03, η²= .06.  Polynesian students showed more personalization and claiming (M = 5.33), than Asian students (M = 4.67), (p = .03). No difference was observed in territorial behavior of regarding ethnic similarity or dissimilarity. These results suggest ethnicity is an important variable to consider when conducting research on territorial behavior.


Wednesday, May 22, 2013

7th Hawaii Pacific University Psychology Conference and Awards Dinner Banquet


7th Hawaii Pacific University Psychology Conference and Awards Dinner Banquet
Sponsored By:


Student and faculty attended the 7th Hawaii Pacific University Psychology Conference and Awards Dinner Banquet this April. Psychology students from Brigham Young UniversityHawaii, Hawaii Pacific University, and Chaminade University of Honolulu presented their research, spanning topics from multiple victim public shootings to popular Jane Austen novels. Presenters from Brigham Young UniversityHawaii included Bonnie Allred and Christina Hubner, with students Lisa Thompson and Amy Lee in attendance. Brigham Young UniversityHawaii’s very own Bonnie suggested that the comfortable, sharing atmosphere allowed students to make connections and team up with other schools to enhance personal research.  Both Bonnie Allred and Christina Hubner presented their own personal research from Brigham Young UniversityHawaii’s Personal Research Lab. Both studies are scheduled to be presented at the Association of Psychological Science’s 25th annual convention this month.

Christina Hubner’s “Evolutionary Analysis of Jane Austen’s Novel Popularity” was one of the first presentations.

This study looked to see if participants could predict the mating patterns of characters in Jane Austen novels. Over 100 students were surveyed using a modified version of Kruger’s survey regarding British novels of the Nineteenth Century. The data suggested that participants could predict the mating patterns of the characters in these novels. In particular, it suggested that participants could discern short-term and long-term characters. In addition, a relationship was revealed between the popularity of a book and the ability to predict mating patterns.

Bonnie Allred’s “Effects of Lip Color on Perceptions of Attractiveness in Women.” was the final presentation of the conference.


This particular study had participants rate the attractiveness of pictures of lips with different saturations and with or without different shades of lipstick, taking ethnicity into consideration. The results suggested that lips with lipstick were perceived as the most attractive, followed by saturated lips. Lips with green lipstick were perceived as the least attractive and lips with red lipstick were perceived as the most attractive. Lastly, all ethnicities rated natural and saturated lips higher than unsaturated lips.

Provided is a list of all the presentations for the 7th Hawaii Pacific University Psychology Conference and Awards Dinner Banquet:

Christina Rose (HPU), “Emotional Labor in the Workplace.”  [Faculty advisor: Katherine Aumer]

Christina Hubner (BYU), “Evolutionary Analysis of Jane Austen’s Novel Popularity.” [Faculty advisor: Ronald Miller]

Brendan Ito (HPU), Identity as Social Currency (v2).” [Faculty advisor: Katherine Aumer]

Maria Niho, Jamie Benny, & Katrina Heine (Chaminade), “An Investigation of Undergraduate Sleep: Implications for a Campus-Wide Sleep Promotion Program.” [Faculty advisor: Tracy Trevorrow]

Anne Catherine Krebs Bahn (HPU), “Environmental Factors of American Societies that Experience Multiple Victim Public Shootings: 2007-2012.” [Faculty advisor: Katherine Aumer]

Bonnie Allred (BYU), “Effects of Lip Color on Perceptions of Attractiveness in Women.” [Faculty advisor: Boyd Timothy]

Saturday, April 13, 2013

April 2013 Graduates

Congratulations and Ho'omaika'i 'ana to our April 2013 Psychology  graduates, as well as our Summer 2013 graduates, who participated in commencement today!


Psychology graduates and faculty at their Graduation Luncheon last week
From Left to Right: Wanza Falevai (Psychology Department Secretary), Matthew Roberts, Sarah Miller, Professor Inoke Funaki, Petra Joy Satale, Laura De La Fuente-Rodriguez, Professor Ed Kinghorn, Tiffany Downer, Megan Costantino, David Richardson, Bonnie Allred, Lisa Thompson, Professor Boyd Timothy, Kayla Suhrie, Patricia Coronel, Professor Eric Orr, Jessica Cowan, David Whippy, Shui (Kelsey) Yu, Allison Lovingier, Adam Scalese, Lou Hue, Callen Dickson, Woo Jeong Lee, Professor Ronald Miller, Lap Ki Chan, Ji Hye Kim, Dean Jeff Burroughs    


April Graduates:
Bonnie Allred
Megan Costantino
Patricia Coronel
Zacharias Dupaix
Sarah Miller
David Richardson
Matthew Roberts
Emika Sawada
Adam Scalese
Nguyen Seymour
Kayla Suhrie
Lisa Thompson
David Whippy
Woo Jeong Lee
Shui (Kelsey) Yu


Summer Graduates:
Elke Barkle
Lap Ki Chan
Jeong Geun Choi
Jessica Cowan
Callen Dickson
Tiffany Downer
Lou Hue
Jihye Kim
Allison Lovingier
Melese Meservy
Keryna Monson
Devin Nakama
Petra Joy Satele
Tamara Toilolo

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Student Research Spotlight- Polynesian Compliment Acceptance

Acceptance of Compliments Among Polynesians
 
 
Devin Nakama

 

For his senior project, Devin analyzed participants' responses to different compliment receiving scenarios. His study focused on whether or not Polynesians preferred to accept compliments of ability or of appearance. Additionally the study analyzed the effect of social distance, like whether the compliment came from a peer, parent, or professor, on the acceptance of different types of compliments. The study found that Polynesians accepted appearance and ability compliments similarly. However, the results also showed that social distance mattered in acceptance of compliments on a person's ability.

Devin explains that he enjoyed his experience in the psychology department at BYUH. He had many of the same classmates in his Statistics, Research Methods, and Senior Seminar classes and he was able to see the growth in his peers as well as himself throughout this series of courses. He was surprised that it was not as difficult to conduct his research in PSYC 490 as he thought it would be, a fact which he attributes to the excellent preparation in PSYC 305. Devin shared that he really enjoyed seeing the presentations of his classmates' research projects, as it was like a showcase of everything they had learned over the years with a mix of their own creativity and interests.

He appreciates how the Psychology department really invests its time and efforts in the students, and how much passion the faculty has for the material they teach.

See Devin's full poster here.


Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Student Research Spotlight- Scents of Attraction

 
Scents of Attraction: Differences Between Synthetic and Naturally Occurring Fertility Pheromones

 

Kayla R. Suhrie

The psychology curriculum at Brigham Young University-Hawaii ends in a capstone course which allows students to conduct original psychological research, and subsequently present it on campus in two forms: a poster and powerpoint presentation.

One research project was recently completed by Kayla Suhrie, a senior this year. She conducted her research on how human pheromones drive behavior. This project, Scents of Attraction: Differences Between Synthetic and Naturally Occurring Fertility Pheromones, examined whether men would find the scent of a synthesized female pheromone to be more attractive than the scent of an ovulating woman, which has been found in previous research to smell attractive to men and increase testosterone levels. The research was designed in PSYC 305, Research Methods, and conducted in PSYC 490, Senior Seminar, both taught by Dr. Miller.
Kayla had male participants come in and smell shirts that had been unworn, dabbed with a synthesized putative pheromone, and worn by an ovulating woman and rate how attractive they found these scents. She recruited participants by offering them cupcakes. Many of those she recruited thought it was weird to smell shirts that women had worn, but others did so with enthusiasm. Some participants felt uncomfortable with rating the attractiveness of women based on the smell of the shirts, with one participant writing in that in spite of their low attractiveness scores, "I'm sure they would all make good mothers".

The results indicated that, overall, both the pheromone and ovulation shirts were more attractive than the control. In factors of attractiveness, the ovulation shirt was rated as smelling sexier, more pleasant, and more intense and estimating the woman who wore the shirt to be more attractive than the control, while the pheromone shirt was only more pleasant and intense than the control. Additionally, the pheromone was rated as smelling more intense than the ovulation scent. Kayla explains that the synthesized pheromone, which was labeled as unscented, had a bit of a sweet scent to it, which could have influenced ratings. She said more research would need to be done on the synthesized pheromone to determine if it is really as attractive to men as an ovulating woman, though it is clear that does smell attractive to men.

According to Kayla, the take away message is that men like the smell of women, whether real or just perceived. Even the control shirt, which was plain cotton, was rated as smelling rather attractive, which shows that men either like the IDEA of a woman's scent, or find the scent of cotton to be attractive.
Kayla explained that she was originally interested in researching something to do with dating or attraction between men and women. She came upon research studying a synthesized pheromone and thought and it would be interesting to look at that with LDS populations. However, upon learning about research on the effect of the scent of an ovulating woman on men, she decided it would be most interesting to compare the two pheromones.
Of the senior seminar research experience, Kayla noted that it was very empowering for her, as a student, to conduct her own research project. She said that while she received a lot of help from faculty and friends, it was a great learning experience for her to realize she could effectively do research similar to those that she read about in professional journals.
In addition to presenting her research to faculty and students in a poster session and presentation held on campus, Kayla also had the opportunity to present this research at a regional research conference, the 6th Hawaii Pacific University Psychology Conference & Awards Dinner Banquet.

This project has been accepted for presentation at the Association for Psychological Science National Convention in May 2013 to be held in Washington, D.C.

See the full poster here.