Ohio Wesleyan Department of Psychology

Research Opportunities in Psychology at Ohio Wesleyan University

The Psychology Department strongly encourages majors and minors to become involved in some type of individual study and/or research regardless of a student's future career objectives. Involvement in independent research or research with a faculty member should begin as early as possible in the student's academic career and is crucial for those students who desire admittance to graduate programs in psychology. Normally students become involved in individualized empirical projects either during their freshmen year in our tutorial program (for honors students only) or immediately after completion of PS 310. Those students who are interested in graduate study should make this known to either academic advisor as soon as possible and should seriously consider enrolling in PS 410 during their junior year in preparation for developing a year long research project during their senior year. Admission to graduate programs in psychology are highly competitive and success in the classroom and completion of a research project as well as practical experience is highly desirable regardless of the student's area of specialization.

Extensive research facilities within the Department are available to interested students. These facilities include audio-visual equipment, human research rooms with one-way mirrors, animal conditioning equipment and holding rooms, sophisticated physiological research equipment, visual perception laboratories, extensive computer equipment, a laboratory nursery school with 100 preschool children between the ages of 3 and 5, and a laboratory in human memory and cognitive studies. The following is a listing of some of the opportunities open to interested students:

Independent Studies - (PSYC 410 and 490): This is one method of becoming involved in research, either by means of self-initiated project or by joining in with some type of ongoing research within the department. Usually lasting one semester and earning one credit, the course gives students a chance to work closely under a faculty member on an empirical research project of personal interest. Open to students normally in their junior or senior year who have satisfactorily completed PS 210 and 310 and have the permission of a supervising instructor.
Directed Readings - PSYC 491: This course of study is designed for the student who has completed the relevant preparatory courses and wishes to pursue study in an area in which formal course work is not available. The study typically involves supervised readings of the literature including journals within the field. Students can expand upon their study by developing an independent research project to complete their coursework although this is not necessary.
Freshman Honors Tutorials - PS 190: This individualized "one-to-one" arrangement with a faculty member is open to any Freshman who enters Ohio Wesleyan as an honors student. Tutorial courses normally encompass a combination of directed readings, discussions, an empirical or library project and may include passing a competency examination that exempts the student from the PSYC 110 prerequisite requirement for further course work in the department.

Specific research projects conducted by our students in the past several years include:

Age of Entry and Success in High School
Attribution Style and Susceptibility to Learned Helplessness
Adjustment and Success of Accelerated Students
Backgrounds of Women with Sub-Clinical Eating Disorders
Behavioral Definitions of Eating Disorders
Bilingualism and Cognitive Codes
Contextual Variables That Influence Measures of Language Dominance
Delayed Versus Immediate Memory Monitoring Judgments in Elementary School Children
Effect of Counselor Gender-Role on Client Preference
Effect of Ethanol on Radial Maze Performance in Young, Adolescent and Adult Rats
Effects of Amount of Exposure and Spacing of Acquisition Trials on Hypermnesia in Cued Recall
Effects of Amygdala Central Nucleus Lesions on Second-Order Conditioning in Rats
Effects of Divorce on Self-Esteem, Anxiety, and Behavior
Effects of the Content of Music Videos on Attitudes Toward Women
Factors Affecting Employee Assistance Referrals
Family Background of Women with Sub-Clinical Eating Disorders
Gender Differences in Desirability of Various Traits in Persons with Whom One Has a Relationship
Gender Differences in "Comfort Food" Motivations for Eating
Gender Differences in Responses to S&M Pornography
Grandparent and Young Adult Interaction and Intimacy
High School - College Changes in Alcohol Use
Hypermnesia in Cued Recall
Impact of Changing Cue Type on Fluctuations in Recall of Information from a Stabilized Knowledge System
Laboratory Investigation of the Effect of Observing Film Violence on Aggression in the Observer
Metacognitive Judgments in Children
Malingering: Detection Using a Visual Acuity Task
Mood Induction and Physical Performance
Parents' Disclosures to Children
Parents' Disclosure to Middle and High-School Children
Perceived Masculinity/Femininity and its Possible Correlation to the Small Number of Black Female/White Male Interracial Couples
Personality/Affective Factors Influencing Memory Distortions
Personality Variables and Degree of Personal Investment in Hindsight Bias in Memory
Personality Characteristics and Affective Factors Which Influence Degree of Distortion in Memory for Grades
Physical Attractiveness and Attractedness: Gender Differences
Psychosocial Factors in Physical Illness
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Vietnam Veterans
Relationship Between Degree of Bilingualism and the Nature of the Cognitive Code Which Represents One's Second Language
Recognition of Visual Distorted Images: A Study of Contrast Sensitivity
REM Episodes and Bodily Movement During Sleep in Sleep Deprived Subjects
Satisfaction of Referral Sources with Delaware Area Recovery Resources
Sensory Mechanisms: Predictor Recognition in Fish Based on Smell
Sex-role Orientation and Career Family Aspirations
Sexual Behavior, Self-Esteem, and Assertiveness
Sleep Deprivation Effects on Perceptual and Learning Tasks
Simple Learning Processes in Fish
Single Cell Recordings in the Optic Tectum of the Turtle
Situations for Relapse in Recovering Alcoholics at College
Success of Surgical Procedures to Correct Refractory Errors
Thermal Biofeedback as a Treatment for Students Suffering from Migraine Headaches

General Information

Information for Students

Information for and About Alumni

Other Information

Research Opportunities in Psychology at Ohio Wesleyan University

Specific research projects conducted by our students in the past several years include: