Honors and Research
Honors Projects
Many psychological science majors choose to complete an Honors project on a topic of their interest. Most or all of the work associated with an Honors project is done in the senior year, though it may be earlier.
- Hudson Baker '23: The Damoclean Threat of Climate Catastrophe: The Impacts of Climate Cafés on Eco-Anxiety
Emily Fisher, Adviser - Greta Weiss '23: The Influence of Group Discussion on Moral Decisions
Emily Fisher, Adviser - Alexandra Brind '22: How Character Knowledge Influences Comprehension Processing
Michelle Rizzella, Adviser - Travis Schneider '21: Cognitive Distortions as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Dispositional Mindfulness and Psychological Distress
Julie Kingery, Adviser - Runzhong Zhang '21: Covid-19 Adult Mental Wellbeing Study in Academia
Daniel Graham, Adviser - Khanh Le '20: Establishing the Psychometrics of IPARTheory Measures in Vietnam
Brien Ashdown, Adviser - Sarah Burstein '19: Facets of Mindfulness and Health among a Low Income Community Sample
Jamie Bodenlos, Adviser - Cailey Mastrangelo '19: The Efficacy of a Long-Term Sex Education Program in the Highlands of Guatemala
Brien K. Ashdown, Adviser - Megan Blanchfield '19: How Studying Abroad Influences Cultural Identity, Global Identity, Global Perspectives, and Social and Health Behaviors
Brien K. Ashdown, Adviser - Marilyn Buck '17: Perceptions of Short-Term Volunteer Workers in Guatemala
Brien Ashdown, Adviser - Andrew P. Malordy '15: Consumption Stereotyping, Materialism and Brand Engagement in a College Setting
Emily Fisher, Adviser - Rachel N. Smith '15: Song Preference and Context Dependency: The Effects on Memory
Michelle Rizzella, Adviser
Undergraduate Research
Many psychological science majors choose to enroll in an independent study course each semester, which requires them to actively engage in a research project.
Heres a recent sampling of undergraduate research projects completed by psychology majors:
- Hannah Lax '24: “Simulations of brain network communication models in schizophrenia,” Summer, 2023
Daniel Graham, Adviser - Alexandra Brind '22: “How Character Knowledge Influences Comprehension Processing.” Work presented at 32nd Annual Meeting of the Society for Text & Discourse, July 2022
Michelle Rizzella, Adviser - Kayla McEachern '19 & Samantha Buckenmaier '20: “The Effect of Context on the Comprehension of Semantic Anomalies.” Work presented at 31nd Annual Meeting of the Society for Text & Discourse, July 2022
Michelle Rizzella, Adviser - Katherine Brown '23, Avery Palmer, '23 & Cassidy Piza-Taylor, '23: “The Role of Reading Skill in the Processing of Misinformation.” Fall 2022
Michelle Rizzella, Adviser - Katherine Brown, '23, Isabelle Friedman, '23, & Travis Schneider, '21: “Dispositional Mindfulness, Anxiety, and Depression Predicting College Students’ Sleep during COVID-19.” Work presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, March 2023
Julie Kingery, Adviser - Molly Moore '22 & Travis Schneider, '21: “Cognitive Distortions as a Mediator of the Relationship between Dispositional Mindfulness and Psychological Distress.” Work presented at the virtual annual meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, November 2021
Julie Kingery, Adviser - Claire Joshi, '21, Emma Kelly, '21, Molly Moore, '22, & Travis Schneider, '21: “Mindfulness, Gratitude, and Resilience Predicting Psychological Distress and Well-Being among College Students during Covid-19.” Work presented at the Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood virtual conference, April 2021
Julie Kingery, Adviser - Travis Schneider '21: “Dispositional Mindfulness and Sleep: The Mediating Role of Cognitive Distortions.” Work presented at the Society of Behavioral Medicine virtual conference, April 2021
Julie Kingery, Adviser - Mara Sindoni, '19 & Travis Schneider, '21: “Dispositional Mindfulness Predicting Psychological Adjustment among College students: The Role of Rumination and Gender.” Work presented at the virtual biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, March 2021
Julie Kingery, Adviser - Eileen Rath '20: “Belief Change in Response to Evidence: Predictors and Persistence Over Time.” Work presented at virtual Society for Personality and Social Psychology Convention, February, 2021
Stephanie Anglin, Adviser - Jennifer Yuodsnukis '21 & Nicole Miller '22: “(In)sensitivity to Evidence Strength in Changing Beliefs in Response to Polarized Science.” Work presented at the virtual Society for Personality and Social Psychology Convention, February, 2022
Stephanie Anglin, Adviser - Eileen Rath '20, Jennifer Yuodsnukis '21, Nicole Miller '22, Marlendy Eylsee '21, Jack Daley '21, & Alexandra Deku '21: “Beliefs and Receptiveness vs. Resistance to Evidence.” 2020-2021
Stephanie Anglin, Adviser - Allison Feder '22: “Measuring Scientific Uncertainty.” Spring 2022
Stephanie Anglin, Adviser - Allison Feder '22, Alexandra Deku '21, & Nicole Miller '22: “Public and Scientist Perceptions of Problems in Scientific Research.” 2021-2022
Stephanie Anglin, Adviser - Emily Leonard '22: “Media Communication of Science.” Fall 2021
Stephanie Anglin, Adviser - Leland Barclay '20, Julia Serin '19, Jacqueline Steinman '20: How does Perceived Interpersonal Acceptance and Rejection Influence Spying and Stalking Behaviors in Romantic Relationships?
Brien K. Ashdown, Adviser - Alyssa Sanito '19, Abbey Brown '20, Mara Sindoni '19, Mackenzie Tamblin '19: Mindfulness and Health Research Project
Julie Kingery, Adviser - Kathryn Peglow '20, Rachael Piercy '20: Cognitive Fusion and Domains of Health in College Students
Jamie Bodenlos, Adviser - Sarah Burstein '19: Facets of Mindfulness and Health in a Low-Income Community
Jamie Bodenlos, Adviser - Megan Blanchfield '19: Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Appetite Hormones
Jamie Bodenlos, Adviser - Elizabeth Hawes '19, Sarah Burstein '19 and Kelsey Arroyo '18: Role of Cognitive Fusion in Well-Being and Health
Jamie Bodenlos, Adviser - Jessica Lathrop '18: Dispositional Mindfulness and Social Support Predicting Psychological Adjustment Among College Students
Julie Kingery, Adviser - Jessica Lathrop '18: Reading and the Development of Empathy and Prosocial Behavior
Julie Kingery, Adviser - Sarah Burstein '19, Mengqi Liu '18: Mindfulness in the College Classroom
Julie Kingery, Adviser - Maureen Milmoe '18: Middle School Transition Research Project
Julie Kingery, Adviser - Emily Robinson '18: Sex Offenders: Extended Literature Review
Julie Kingery, Adviser - Elena Parkins '18, Kelsey Arroyo '18, and Melanie Patterson '17: How does Coloring affect Mood, Mindfulness, and Stress
Jamie Bodenlos, Adviser - Marilyn Buck '17 and Tyler Sutherland '18: Perceptions of Short-Term Volunteer Workers in Guatemala
Brien Ashdown, Adviser - Hannah Nichols '17: Ecology and Psychology in the Lake Atitln Region of Guatemala
Brien Ashdown, Adviser - Cailey Mastrangelo '19: Assessing a Model Classroom Program in Guatemala
Brien Ashdown, Adviser - Shenguan Sharon Tong '18: Assessing a Model Classroom Program in Guatemala
Brien Ashdown, Adviser - Kathryn Lyle '17 and Juliana Heffern '17: The relationship of internet addiction and health in college students and the role of mindfulness in this relationship
Jamie Bodenlos, Adviser - Olivia Hanno '16: Sex Education and Gender Roles in Guatemala
Brien Ashdown, Adviser - Catherine Forman '16: Facial Representation in Masks
Daniel Graham, Adviser - Cameron Pugach '15: Aesthetic Stability Across the Life-Span
Daniel Graham, Adviser - Shani Saul '15: Design Preferences: Synthesis of Environmental Psychology, Personality and Architectural Design
Daniel Graham, Adviser - Taylor Amico '15: Influence of Target Ethnicity on Perceptions about Alcohol Use
Brien Ashdown, Adviser - Rachel Smith '15: Media and Political Knowledge
Emily Fisher, Adviser - Jessica Kemp '15, Aubreyanne Mayrsohn '15 and Rachel Smith '15: How does the Biggest Loser Television Program affect Eating Behavior?
Jamie Bodenlos, Adviser
Faculty and Student Conference Presentations
Students and faculty often engage in collaborative research projects and present their findings during a national conference. HWS faculty and students have presented original research at conferences of the Society for Research and Child Development, the Association for Psychological Science and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, just to name a few.
Here are several recent conference presentations given by faculty and students:
Graham, D.J., Conwell, C., Boccagno, C. and Vessel, E. A. (2024, August). Affectless Visual Machines Explain a Majority of Variance in Human Visual Affect and Aesthetics for Natural Images. Cognitive Computational Neuroscience Conference. Boston, MA.
Anglin, S. M. (2024, May). On the nature of research: Fostering transparency, innovation, and quality in science collaboration. Chaired symposium presented at the Association for Psychological Science Convention, San Francisco, CA.
Anglin, S. M., Baschnagel, A. M., Homan, C., Carey, M. G., Boyce-Jacino, C., & Edlund, J. E. (2024, May). Scientist and non-scientist perceptions of issues in research practice. Paper presented at the Association for Psychological Science Convention, San Francisco, CA.
Graham, D.J., Hao, Y., Lax, H.*, Tower, T.*, Conwell, C. and Vessel, E. A. (2024, May). What kind of network is the brain? 5th International Convention on the Mathematics of Neuroscience and AI. Rome, Italy.
Anglin, S. M., Baschnagel, A. M., Homan, C., Carey, M. G., Boyce-Jacino, C., & Edlund, J. E. (2024, March). Scientist and non-scientist perceptions of issues in research practice. Paper presented at the Eastern Psychological Association meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
Anglin, S. M., *Hong, R., & *Poirier, B. (2024, March). Public perceptions of scientific uncertainty and support for science. Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
Kingery, J.N., Lassman, K., Bodenlos, J.S., Peltz, J., & Schneider, T.I. (2024, March). Facets of dispositional mindfulness predicting anxiety, depression, and sleep among college students. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Philadelphia, PA.
Lax, H.*, Tower, T.*, Hao, Y. and Graham, D. J. (2024, March). Simulations of Message Passing on Cortical Networks in Schizophrenia. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Philadelphia, PA.
Graham, D.J., Hao, Y., Lax, H.*, Tower, T.* and Hütt, M.-T. (2023, September). Collision Models of Brain Network Communication. 4th International Convention on the Mathematics of Neuroscience and AI. Rhodes, Greece.
Cunningham-Baker, H. M., Hall, N., Bodenlos, J.S., & Pekmezi, D. (2023, April). Physical activity and self-compassion: A systematic review. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, Phoenix, AZ.
Anglin, S. M. (2023, March). Improving the Communication of Psychological Science. Invited workshop for the Psi Chi program at the Eastern Psychological Association meeting, Boston, MA.
Brown, K.J., Friedman, I.M.*, Kingery, J.N., Schneider, T. I., Bodenlos, J.S., & Peltz, J.S. (2023, March). Dispositional Mindfulness, Anxiety, and Depression Predicting College Students’ Sleep during COVID-19. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA.
Brind, A.D.* & Rizzella, M.L. (2022). How character knowledge influences comprehension processing. Poster presented at the 32nd annual meeting of the Society of Text & Discourse, Atlanta.
Brown, N. I, Boone, L., Baskin, M.L., Demark-Wahnefried, W., Oster, R. A., Pisu, M., Hardy, C. M.,Powell, M. A., Bodenlos, J. S., Rogers, L. Q., and Pekmezi, D. (2022, April) Exploring the environment, programs, and policies that support physical activity opportunity in the rural deep south. Paper presentation at the annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine in Baltimore, MD.
Anglin, S. M., *Yuodsnukis, J., & *Miller, N. (2022, February). (In)sensitivity to evidence strength in changing beliefs in response to polarized science. Poster presented at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology Convention, San Francisco, CA.
Anglin, S. M. (2022). Predictors and persistence of belief change in response to evidence. Paper presented at the 2021 Society for Judgment and Decision Making Meeting (rescheduled for February 2022).
Anglin, S. M., & *Rath, E. (2021, February). Belief change in response to evidence: Predictors and persistence over time. Paper presented at the virtual Society for Personality and Social Psychology Convention.
Rizzella, M.L., McEachern*, K.M., Buckenmaier*, S.R., & O’Brien, E.J. (2021).Context effects on the comprehension of semantic anomalies. Poster presented at the 31st annual meeting of the Society of Text & Discourse, online.
Sonia, A.N., Creer, S.D. & Rizzella, M.L. (2021). The impact of perspective taking and preference formation on narrative processing. Poster presented at the 31st annual meeting of the Society of Text & Discourse, online.
Bodenlos, J.S., Peglow, K., & Piercey, R. (April 2020). Cognitive Fusion and fatigue in college students. Poster session at the annual meeting for the Society of Behavioral Medicine, San Francisco, CA.
Kingery, J.N., Bodenlos, J. S., Peltz, J., *Sindoni, M., *Schneider, T.I. (2020, March). Dispositional mindfulness predicting psychological adjustment among college students: The role of rumination and gender. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, San Diego, CA.
Burstein, S. M., Bodenlos, J. S., Hawes, E. S., & Arroyo, K. M. (2020, March). Difference in trait mindfulness between meditators and non-meditators. Poster session presented at the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA.
Peltz, J., Kingery, J.N., Bodenlos, J. S., & Rogge, R. D. (March, 2020). The moderating role of financial strain in college students work hours, sleep, and mental health. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, San Diego, CA.
Bodenlos, J. S., Peltz, J., Kingery, J, & Oswald, K. (April, 2020). Mindfulness, problematic internet use, and emotional health among college students. Poster presented at the annual meeting for the Society of Behavioral Medicine, San Francisco, CA.
Ashdown, B. K., Hackathorn J., *Barclay, L., & *Browning, H. (2020, February). Spying on Romantic Partners in the USA [Paper presentation]. Annual Meeting of the Society for Cross-Cultural Research, Seattle, WA, USA.
*Owens, G., *Zhang, Y., & Ashdown, B. K. (2020, February). Guatemalan teenagers aspirations for 15 years in the future: A qualitative study of desired futures [Poster presentation]. Annual conference of The Society for Cross-Cultural Research, Seattle, WA, USA.
*Le, K., *Lin, X., *Uddin, M., & Ashdown, B. K. (2020, February). The relationship between parental, teacher acceptance-rejection and resiliency in Guatemalan adolescents[Poster presentation]. Annual conference of The Society for Cross-Cultural Research, Seattle, WA, USA.
*Le, K. & Ashdown, B. K. (2020, February). Examining the reliability and validity of interpersonal acceptance-rejection theory (IPARTheory) in Vietnamese adolescents [Poster presentation]. Annual conference of The Society for Cross-Cultural Research, Seattle, WA, USA.
Rizzella, M.L. & O’Brien, E.J. (2019). When prospective information conflicts with current information. Poster presented at the 29th annual meeting of the Society of Text & Discourse, New York, NY.
*Mastrangelo, C., Ashdown, B. K., *Banta, S. (2019, February). Adolescent sex education in the highlands of Guaetmala. Paper presented at the annual conference for the Society for Cross-Cultural Research, Jacksonville, FL.
*DiPhilippo, A., Ashdown, B. K., & *Owens, G. (2019, February). Guatemalan teenagers hopes and dreams for the future: A qualitative study of goals and characteristics for future selves. Paper presented at the annual conference for the Society for Cross-Cultural Research, Jacksonville, FL.
*Blanchfield, M., *Barclay, L., & Ashdown, B. K. (2019, February). Effect of developing a global perspective and a cultural identity on students social and health behaviors while studying abroad. Paper presented at the annual conference for the Society for Cross-Cultural Research, Jacksonville, FL
*Buck, M., Ashdown, B. K., *Sutherland, T., & *Guerrero, G. (2017, March). Can helping hurt? Voluntourism in Guatemala. Paper presented at the annual conference for the Society for Cross-Cultural Research, New Orleans, LA.
*Nichols, H., Ashdown, B. K., Brown, M. & *Guerrero, G. (2017, March). Pollution at Lake Atitln. Paper presented at the annual conference for the Society for Cross-Cultural Research, New Orleans, LA.
Kingery, J.N., Bodenlos, J. S., Peltz, J., *Sindoni, M., *Schneider, T.I. (2020, March). Dispositional mindfulness predicting psychological adjustment among college students: The role of rumination and gender. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, San Diego, CA.
Bodenlos, J. S., Peltz, J., Kingery, J.N., & *Oswald, K. (2020, April). Mindfulness, problematic internet use, and emotional health among college students. Poster presented at the annual meeting for the Society of Behavioral Medicine, San Francisco, CA.
*Burstein, S., *Arroyo, K., *Hawes, E., & Bodenlos, J.S. (March, 2019). Facets of mindfulness and emotional health among a predominantly low income community sample. Poster presented at the annual meeting for the Society of Behavioral Medicine, Washington, D.C.
Peltz, J., Kingery, J.N., *Sindoni, M., *Tamblin, M., & *Brown, A. (2019, March). Adolescents sleep variability mediates parent-child conflict and adolescents anxiety/depressive symptoms. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Baltimore, MD.
Faculty and Student Publications
Here are several recent publications co-authored by faculty and students:
Graham D. (2024). Purple Perils Redux: Open-ended AI-resistant Reasoning Problems for Introductory Undergraduate Sensation and Perception Instruction. Visual Cognition doi: 10.1080/13506285.2023.2250518
Rizzella, M.L. & O’Brien, E.J. (2024). When prospective information conflicts with current information, Discourse Processes
Anglin, S. M., Drummond Otten, C., & Broomell, S. B. (2023). Hypothesis testing preferences in research decision making. Collabra: Psychology, 9. https://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.73029
Graham D.J. (2023) Nine insights from internet engineering that help us understand brain network communication. Frontiers in Computer Science 4:976801. doi: 10.3389/fcomp.2022.976801
Hall, J. N., Cunningham-Baker, H., Bodenlos, J. S., & Pekmezi, D. (2023). Physical Activity and Self-Compassion: A systematic review. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 15598276231222183.
Kingery, J. N., Bodenlos, J. S., Schneider, T. I., Peltz, J. S., & Sindoni, M. W. (2023). Dispositional mindfulness predicting psychological adjustment among college students: The role of rumination and gender. Journal of American College Health, 71(5), 1584-1595.
Peltz, J. S., Bodenlos, J. S., Kingery, J. N., & Abar, C. (2023). Psychological processes linking problematic smartphone use to sleep disturbance in young adults. Sleep Health, 9(4), 524-531.
Spector D. & Graham D. (2022). Blankets heat and why free energy has not illuminated the workings of the brain. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 45 E209. doi:10.1017/S0140525X22000188
Suh, A., Krosnick, J. A., Jussim, L., Stevens, S. T., & Anglin, S. M. (2022). Science reform. In L. Jussim, S. T. Stevens, & J. A. Krosnick (Eds.), Research Integrity: Best Practices for the Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Jussim, L., Stevens, S. T., & Anglin, S. M. (2022). Questionable interpretive practices: Data (mis)interpretation and (mis)representation as threats to scientific validity. In L. Jussim, S. T. Stevens, & J. A. Krosnick (Eds.), Research Integrity: Best Practices for the Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Graham D. J. Avena-Koenigsberger A. and Mišić B. (2020). Editorial: Network Communication in the Brain. Network Neuroscience 4 (4) 976-979.
Hao Y. and Graham D. (2020). Creative destruction: Sparse activity emerges on the mammal connectome under a simulated communication strategy with collisions and redundancy. Network Neuroscience 4 (4) 1055-1091. DOI: 10.1162/netn_a_00165
Kingery, J.N., *Lathrop, J., *Liu, M., & *Burstein, S.M. (2019). Mindfulness practices in a developmental psychology seminar: Student outcomes, practical strategies, and future directions. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 5, 305-311. doi: 10.1037/stl0000148
Kingery, J.N., Bodenlos, J., & *Lathrop, J.A. (2019). Facets of dispositional mindfulness and domains of social support predicting psychological adjustment among college students. Journal of American College Health. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2019.1574801
Graham D. J. and Hao Y. (2018). A selective diffusion model of brain network activity. Proceedings of the Conference on Cognitive Computational Neuroscience 1195.
Kingery, J.N., *Gaskell, M.E., *Toner, S.R., *Rice, S.E., *Gray, M.L., Milligan, J.A., & *Milmoe, M.H. (2018). Active learning in a child psychology course: Observing play behavior at a childrens museum. Psychology Learning and Teaching, 17, 209-218.
Ashdown, B. K., Bodenlos, J. S., Arroyo, K.*, Parkins, E.*, Patterson, M.*, Burstein, S.* (2018). How does coloring affect mood, stress and mindfulness? Journal of Integrated Social Sciences
Bodenlos, J. S., Strang, K.*, Gray-Bauer, R.*, Faherty, A.* & Ashdown, B. K. (2017). Male representation in mindfulness based therapy clinical trials. Mindfulness, 8, 259-265. DOI 10.1007/s12671-016-0646-1
Graham D. J. (2017). Commentary: Building brains that communicate like machines. Behavioral and Brain Sciences e266 37-38.
Pugach C.* Leder H. and Graham D. J. (2017). How stable are human aesthetic preferences across the lifespan? Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 11:289. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00289.