Psychosocial Empowerment Group Creation and Implementation Among Malawi Women

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Libby Evans and Benjamin Ogles, Psychology Research has shown that most women in Malawi will experience some form of trauma or adversity in their lifetime, and that such adversity can increase rates of mental illness and instability by as much as 15-20% (Saxena, 2017). Simple psychosocial groups and trainings have been shown to increase psychological […]

A Comparison of Gender Ratio, Military Culture, and Organizational Climate as Determinants of the Sexual Harassment of Women and of Men in Eight Government Organizations

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Alex Calder, Bruce Brown and Robert Ridge, Psychology Introduction The United States government spends millions of dollars each year in relation to incidences of sexual harassment. Far more important, however, is the psychological toll on individuals who experiences sexual harassment. Organizations function most effectively when people of all levels of the organization feel physically and emotionally […]

Destined to Dominate? Exploring the Link between Prenatal Androgens and Dominance Rank in Rhesus Monkeys

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Alexander Baxter and Dr, J. Dee Higley, Psychology Introduction Prenatally, androgens are responsible for masculinizing the developing male fetus. Prenatal androgen exposure (PAE) also shapes male brain functioning and organization, and is the main underlying influence underlying sexually dimorphism, to a certain extent even in adulthood. Through its effect on the brain, PAE can influence […]

University and College Counseling Centers: Collegiate Athletes Shifting Changes In Mental Health Risk

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Lilly Bautista, Rachelle Clayson, Jared Klundt and Davey Erekson, Counseling & Psychological Services Introduction Within the college population, student athletes are often considered a unique population for mental health concerns. There are more student athletes than ever before, with over 460,000 students participating in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA, 2016). Student athletes have access […]

Development and Evaluation of an EEG-Based Symbol-Digit Substitution Task

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Christopher Beckett and Dr. Bruce Brown, Department of Psychology Introduction The event-related potential (ERP) method has led to major advances in the experimental exploration of the neurological correlates of human cognition (Luck, 2005). The usual process is to take EEG (electroencephalographic) recordings during a cognitive task. The recording is timelocked to a stimulus so that […]

Prenatal Androgens and the Stability of Temperament and Anxiety: A Study of Testosterone-Mediated Digit Ratios in Rhesus Macaques

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Alexander Baxter and Dr. J. Dee Higley, Psychology Department Introduction Prenatal androgen exposure (PAE) is the organizational force that masculinizes the brain. It has impact on other parts of the body as well. For example, PAE induces growth in the ring finger. Consequently, the pointer-to-ring-finger digit ratio (2D:4D ratio) is frequently used to assess PAE.1 […]

Ketamine as a Predictor of Excessive Alcohol Intake: A Rhesus Monkey Nonhuman Primate Model

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Ryno Kruger and Dr. J. Dee Higley, Psychology Department Introduction In 2014, 8.7 million teenagers in the United States reported drinking alcohol, with the vast majority engaging in binge drinking1. Due to the rise of underage drinking and alcohol abuse, it is of increasing importance to study variables that influence risk for alcohol abuse and […]

Exploring Ideocentrism: Ideology-Conflict and Out-Group Discrimination

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Ryan Hemsley and Dr. Robert Ridge, Psychology Department Conflict has long been a topic of interest in the social sciences. There is considerable research that has examined conflict through bias, prejudice, out-group discrimination, and in-group preferential treatment. (see Burne et al, 1975; Hewstone et al, 2002; Kilduff et al 2016) However, the literature focuses disproportionately […]

The Role of Interleukin-1 Beta in Methamphetamine Mediated Increases in Dopamine Release within the Mesolimbic Pathway

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Anneke Klomp, Ben Lee, and Dr. Scott Steffensen, Neuroscience Department Introduction In this study we wanted to determine the effect that Interleukin-1 Beta (IL-1𝛃) would have in changing the effects that methamphetamines have on dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens (reward center of the brain). It has been well established previously that methamphetamines increases dopamine […]

The Involvement of the IP3 Receptor in the Rewarding/Addictive Properties of Methamphetamine

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Mark Woodbury and Dr. Scott Steffensen, Neuroscience Department Introduction Methamphetamine (METH) is a very powerful psychoactive drug that is highly addictive and toxic to the brain. Its use and abuse has been rising in recent years, and certain reports indicate that amphetamine-like drugs are the second most abused drugs worldwide. The side effects of METH […]