PULLMAN– Undergraduate research will be the focus at Washington State University once again as the annual Psychology Undergraduate Research Symposium takes place April 12 in the Smith Center for Undergraduate Education.
Student research posters will be available for viewing in the CUE atrium from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. with a formal poster presentation from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Student researchers will be on hand to answer questions about their projects.
At 2:30 p.m. in CUE 203, keynote speaker Tim Smith, professor of psychology at the University of Utah, will present a lecture titled “Marriage and the Heart: Behavior During Marital Conflict Predicts Coronary Artery Disease.”
Smith is a member of the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research, former president of the American Psychological Association’s Division of Health Psychology and recipient of the University of Utah Distinguished Research Award.
Students who received grants for research will be given psychology department awards following Smith’s lecture.
“Requiring students to go through the grant process and to write research proposals creates a form of ‘real-life’ competition for the awards,” said Samantha Swindell, director of the psychology department’s undergraduate program and organizer of the student research symposium. “The end result of the grants and the symposium has been a drastic increase in the scholarly value of student research projects.”
Recipients of 2007 research grants are Graham Ulmer, Laena Huffaker, Danielle Smith, Marylynne Kostick and Carl Martensen.
Student researchers conduct research under the guidance of faculty mentors. Huffaker, a senior from Pullman worked with Michiyo Hirai, assistant professor of psychology, on a research project titled “The Role of Disgust in People’s Attitudes Toward Homosexuality.”
“I’ve learned so much about the research process,” said Huffaker, who is finalizing graduate school plans but hopes to earn a Ph.D. in clinical or counseling psychology.
Huffaker believes projects such as this will strengthen her graduate school application. “Research experience is highly valued by graduate school programs,” Huffaker said.”Being the primary investigator of a grant-awarded research project isn’t something every undergraduate can put on her vitae.”
“I have learned how to become a leader and have learned to handle the responsibility of ensuring the project’s completion,” said Danielle Smith, a junior from Clarkston, Wash., majoring in psychology with a minor in pre-genetic counseling.
“It’s amazing to see a project grow from an idea to data collection to the final results,” said Smith, who plans to pursue a master’s in genetic counseling. “I feel much more confident in my ability as a researcher and have learned hands-on experience of what is needed to execute a research project.”
Smith’s project, “The Role of Inhibitory Control in Impulsivity,” was conducted with mentor Paul Whitney, professor of psychology and associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts.
“Hands-on research allows students to become close with a faculty advisor and graduate students,” said Smith. “Having these personal connections and the opportunity to demonstrate leadership and responsibility allows you to prepare for the future. By demonstrating responsibility one shows to those around them that they are capable of pursuing a higher education.”
