Priming the Pump: A Study of Hidden Biases

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Rachel Maxwell and Dr. Jeffrey Reber, Psychology Introduction Priming is a method often used in psychology research to activate implicit attitudes and behaviors. Priming has been effectively demonstrated in advertising and the marketplace (North, Hargreaves, & McKendrick, 1999; Milliman, 1982; Jacob, Gueguen, & Boulbry, 2011), politics (Berger, Meredith, & Wheeler 2008; Rutchick, 2010), business (Kay, […]

Change over time of White Matter Hyperintensities and cognitive scores in the Cache County Memory and Aging Study

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Zachary McDonnell and Dr. Erin Bigler, Psychology Department Introduction The Cache County Study on Memory in Aging (CCMA) includes a sample of over 400 individuals with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (Bigler et al., 2000). Studies have shown that White Matter Hyperintensities (WMH) on MRIs are associated with not only cognitive decline, but degenerative disorders like […]

Differences in Social Interaction Patterns between Teachers and their Students Based on Gender

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Shelby McNeill and Dr. Kristie J.R. Phillips, Department of Sociology Introduction Over the past few decades, a shift has occurred in the educational attainment between the sexes. In the 1990’s, the number of adults ages 25 to 29 years-old who had received a bachelor’s degree or higher was comparable across the sexes, whereas in 2012 […]

Induction of Neuromelanin in Live Tissue

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Corrine Morrison, Dr. Scott Steffensen, Psychology and Neuroscience Center Introduction: An estimated seven to ten million people worldwide are living with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and about 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with the disease each year (Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, 2013). The underlying cause of the movement disorders in PD is dopamine (DA) neuron degeneration in the […]

Major Decisions: Understanding How Students Select a College Major12

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Jacob Mortensen and Dr. Benjamin G. Gibbs, Department of Sociology That a gender difference in pay exists has been well documented for decades. Originally described as a result of overt gender discrimination, advances in law have mitigated many of the worst practices, and yet, differences in economic outcomes persist. In order to explain the remaining […]

Predictive Factors of Gender, Attitudes Towards Sec, and Relationships on Signs of Dating Violence in Japan

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Joshua Murphy, and Niwako Yamawaki, Psychology Introduction: Domestic violence is on the rise and poses serious societal and health concerns. Studies have shown that between 21% and 34% of all women in the United States will be physically assaulted by an intimate partner (Browne, 1993). Shockingly, 1 of every 5 female high school students have […]

Stephen Fuller: Jamaican Planter, British Ambassador, Closet Abolitionist

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Garrett Nagaishi and Dr. Matthew Mason, History Department The 1780s witnessed the rise of abolitionism within the British Empire. In its Two Reports…from the Committee of the Honourable House of Assembly of Jamaica (1788), the Jamaican government, which greatly profited from slavery and the slave trade, responded to claims made against its treatment of slaves. […]

Effects of Chronic Ethanol on GABA(A) Receptors in the VTA

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Ashley Nelson and Dr. Scot Steffensen, Psychology Introduction The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attributes approximately 80,000 deaths annually to excessive alcohol use (CDC), and alcohol consumption is the third leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States (Mokdad et al., 2004). These statistics do not even describe the detrimental effects alcohol addiction […]

The Effect of Second Language Reading on Eye Movement on Second Language Learners

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Kyle Nelson and Dr. Steven Luke, Psychology Due to the difficulty of finding valid and reliable testing material for our subjects to read, this current study has been significantly delayed. Finding reading passages that can be rated for difficulty for a non native speaker to read has been difficult and only in recent weeks have […]