Psychology Research - Worcester State University

Research

Psychology Research Opportunities at Worcester State

Collaborating with your professors on research projects will reinforce classroom learning and expose you to best research practices. Here, you will have the opportunity to join in faculty-led undergraduate research on a wide range of topics including predictors of stress and students’ adjustment to college, emotion and self-regulation, predictors of anxiety and depression, visual perception, and analysis of visitor interaction with works in a Worcester Art Museum gallery. Many of our students have co-authored important papers and presented well-regarded posters at regional, national, and international conferences.

The Role of Individual Differences in Inhibition in Face Memory Specificity

This study will evaluate the specificity of memory for faces. Participants will be asked to remember a series of faces. They will then be shown old faces, related faces, and new faces and will indicate whether the second and third sets of faces are exactly the same as the originals. Participants will also take the Cambridge Face Memory Test to assess individual differences. Analyses will investigate memory specificity and whether this depends on inhibition and individual differences.

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East-West and Healthy-Unhealthy: Patterns of Perfectionism in Vietnamese and White American Undergraduate Women

Among Vietnamese international students (n=44) and White American (n=40) students, striving for personal standards was significantly higher than evaluative concerns and parent-driven perfectionism in healthy perfectionists, but not in unhealthy perfectionists. From a social cognitive perspective, healthy perfectionists may have internalized early parental influences. These findings added to the literature on patterns of healthy and unhealthy perfectionism.

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The Role of Inhibition in Long-Term Color Memory Specificity

The current study evaluates the specificity of long-term color memories. Participants are asked to remember a series of colored shapes. Participants are then shown old colored shapes, similar colored shapes, and new colored shapes and then indicate whether the second two sets of items were exactly the same as the original ones and their confidence in their answer. Analyses will investigate whether memory for color is very specific and if color memory specificity depends on inhibition.

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Portrait of Psychology Student Leah Guzman

The Center for Business and Industry is one of the many departments in the division of Graduate and Continuing Education. I completed an inexpensive certification because I wanted to learn something brand new–and it was taught completely online!

— Leah Guzman, Psychology

My goal is to be a neuropsychologist and help out in the Latino community with mental health issues. At Worcester State, I'm completing my master's in Clinical Psychology, with an emphasis on Coginitive Behavior Psychology, which is helping me get closer my goal.

— Moises Chauca, Psychology

Portrait of Psychology Student at Worcester State Nick Giovino

Through Psych, I've had the chance to explore ways that I can impact people and change lives.

— Nick Giovino, Psychology

Recent Psychology Research at Worcester State

Attitudes Toward Disability Across the Lifespan

People with disabilities comprise one of the largest minority groups in the United States, impacting young and old alike. It is important to understand how attitudes toward disabilities are formed in order to identify potential interventions to decrease issues related to prejudice and discrimination toward those with disabilities.

Faculty Advisor: Nicole Rosa, Ph.D.

Gender Moderates the Mediation Effects of some Repetitive Negative Thinking in the Relations Between Neuroticism and Both Stress and Well-Being

We studied gendered moderation of self-blame and venting as concurrent mediators in the neuroticism – stress and neuroticism – well-being relations in 189 undergraduates. In the preceding relations, self-blame was a mediator only in women. Venting mediated the neuroticism–stress relationship in both men and women.

Faculty Advisor: Champika K. Soysa, Ph.D.

An Examination of Spatial Relations in Science Category Learning

This study examined visual science category learning. Images of high or low similarity were viewed, and new images were classified. Similar contrasts improved the classification of images that had the same spatial layout as the learning ones but led to the poor classification of different layouts.

Faculty Advisor: Benjamin D. Jee, Ph.D.

How Do Classroom Outlines Impact Comprehension and Metacomprehension?

Students are not always able to assess their learning and be cognizant of what they understand. Previous research has found discrepancies between what students think they know and what they actually retain. Outlines have been shown to improve both comprehension and metacomprehension.

Faculty Advisors: Nicole Rosa, Ph.D.; Emily G. Soltano, Ph.D.

Spatial Thinking and Relational Scaffolding (STARS) in Elementary Space Science Learning

Children have difficulty integrating observations of the sky (Earth-based perspectives) with a scientific model of the solar system (space-based perspectives). The present study tested whether comparisons between perspectives help students understand the day/night cycle.

Faculty Advisor: Benjamin D. Jee, Ph.D.

Incorporating the Institutional Vision into the [remastered] Gallery at the Worcester Art Museum

The purpose of this project was to develop an effective gallery guide for visitors to use in [remastered] at the Worcester Art Museum (WAM) that incorporated the director’s vision for the space. Queued visitors were interviewed after they explored the space while using the gallery guide.

Faculty Advisor: Amy Cota-McKinley, Ph.D.

Gender Moderates the Mediation Effects of some Repetitive Negative Thinking in the Relations Between Neuroticism and Both Depression and Anxiety

We studied gendered moderation of the mediation effects of repetitive negative thinking in the neuroticism – depression and neuroticism – anxiety relations in 189 undergraduates.

Faculty Advisor: Champika K. Soysa, Ph.D.

College Environment Mediates and Gender Moderates the Relations Between Maladaptive Coping and Psychological Outcomes

We examined the mechanisms through which maladaptive coping predicted depression and well-being in college students (N=94). Gender moderated both direct and mediation effects in the associations between maladaptive coping and psychological outcomes.

Faculty Advisor: Champika K. Soysa, Ph.D.

Self-Esteem, Generational Status, and LOC in Relation to Stress and Well-Being

Self-esteem mediated the internality – stress and internality – well-being relations in first- but not continuinggeneration college students. Self-esteem mediated the externality – stress and externality – well-being relations in both first- and continuing-generation undergraduates.

Faculty Advisor: Champika K. Soysa, Ph.D.

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