~~Indexed By Institution~~

Buena Vista University

Culver-Stockton College

Knox College

McKendree University

Momouth College

St. Ambrose University

Western Illinois University

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Two studies investigated perceptions of female defendants in a fictional court case about assault with a deadly weapon. Study 1 (N = 101) concluded that masculine-looking defendants are judged more harshly, especially by female participants. Study 2 (N = 182) confirmed the bias against masculine-looking defendants, and explored additional variables such as gender-based names (e.g., Stephanie versus Alex). Study 2 also found the opposite participant sex difference, such that male participants were harsher on the defendant. Implications for the criminal justice
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The present study examined the influence of victim impact statements, aggravating and mitigating circumstances, and general attitudes toward the death penalty to see what effect these factors have in determining a sentencing decision. The presence of the victim impact statement along with aggravating and mitigating circumstances was manipulated. The results indicated that the victim impact statement and the aggravating and mitigating circumstances did not affect the sentencing decision, but important sex andacademic major differences occurred among other variables. The present study added to the current research on victim impact statements and their influence on capital sentencing decisions.

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Collectively violence against women and intimate partner abuse of all ethnicities is growing rapidly. The purpose of the current study was to further research on violence against Black women in intimate partner abusive relationships. This study analyzed the associations among intimate partner abuse, race, and socioeconomic status. In addition, half of the participants were primed to make their racial identity more salient. Thirty-six college women (14 Black and 22 White) aged 18-44 completed an open ended questionnaire on views of intimate partner violence (Berkel et al., 2005). Responses were analyzed according to the response categories implemented by Berkel and colleagues. The results and implications for this study will be discussed.

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The purpose of this study was to understand the effects of mood (negative vs. neutral) conditions on food consumption and choice, between non-obese and obese people. Mood was manipulated using two film segments; pre-weighed bags of food were offered to participants to eat during the film, which included one fatty choice (popcorn) and one healthy choice (carrots). The amount and type of food consumed was measured directly after each session. Surprisingly, results revealed that people in a negative mood did not consume more or chose fatty foods, compared to those who were in a neutral mood. An interaction between mood and obesity did not occur. Using different films and foods could have played a major factor in the results.

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This study investigates the association between a child's appearance and how he/she is judged by people outside the home, including daycare workers on traits unrelated to the way they look. Both physical attractiveness and socioeconomic status of target children in photographs were manipulated (independent variables).  Participants then rated the target children on a variety of traits, such as disruptive and warm.  It is predicted that children who appear more physically attractive or of higher SES will be viewed more positively. People's own SES and social desirability scores are also expected to effect ratings. Daycare workers are expected to be more neutral in judgments than college students because of daily interaction with children. Results and Discussion will be discussed.

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Using stereotypes, many think that they can accurately guess another person's sexuality based on his/her speech, behavior, attire, and mannerisms. Fifty-nine students viewed a priming clip showing either a homosexual or heterosexual character. Next, participants viewed a video of a target male discussing his dating interests. Participants guessed the sexuality of the target and chose what influenced their guess from a list of possible cues (e.g., tone of voice in the video, stated interests). Priming did not influence guesses of sexuality. However, the participants did focus on different aspects of the target video depending on impressions of the target's sexuality. Participants who thought that the target was homosexual focused on stereotypically homosexual indicators, and vice versa. Implications will be discussed.

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The purpose of the present study was to examine the psychological effects of isolation in children and adolescents in general medical and psychiatric hospitals. It is anticipated that patients who are hospitalized in single rooms compared to double rooms or suite configurations will experience higher levels of isolation. It is also anticipated that patients who have higher levels of isolations will report higher levels of psychological distress in depression and anxiety, and lower levels in self-esteem and life satisfaction.

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The current study explored student attitudes toward a proposed First Year Experience (FYE) course. A sample of sixty-two females and twenty-five males attending Culver-Stockton and Moberly Area Colleges completed a survey consisting of twenty-five statements that they assessed using a seven-point Likert scale.  Results indicated that, overall, student's attitudes towards an FYE course were positive.  Areas of concern for the students included taking a course that would be outside of their major and the appropriateness of the course objectives. Future research may focus on long-term outcomes, such as student retention rates.

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The purpose of this experiment was to explore the relationship between a person's perceived smoking status and perceptions of their image and personal characteristics. Seventy-two students at Culver-Stockton College rated assigned sets of photos, containing subjects with or without a cigarette. The participants rated the photos on nineteen different adjectives using a 7-point semantic differential scale. The results of the study showed a significant relationship between a person's perceived smoking status and the ratings they received on many of the characteristics. This study suggests that certain stigmas are associated with cigarette use.

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Our study aimed to determine whether an individual would prefer meal-related foods, snack-related foods, beverages, or alcohol, based on their mood state after reading an anxious and a happy vignette. We also looked at the role of gender in comfort food preference. Fifty-nine undergraduates from Culver-Stockton College read an anxious vignette and a happy vignette then completed a checklist of foods and beverages they believed they would consume based on their mood. Results of paired-samples t-tests indicated a preference for meal-related foods after reading a happy vignette, and a preference for beverages after reading an anxious vignette. Hypotheses regarding the relationships among mood states, gender, and food preferences were only partially supported.

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The current study examined the relationship between olfaction and memory. Sixty-eight undergraduate students from Culver-Stockton College were randomly assigned to either a scented or non-scented room, where they read a vignette from the reading comprehension section of a practice ACT exam. Then participants were taken to either a scented or non-scented room to answer a questionnaire about the vignette. It was hypothesized that those who read the vignette and answered the questionnaire in the same room would perform better than those who read and answered in different rooms. However, results did not indicate this relationship. Explanations for the lack of support for our hypothesis include history effects and small sample size.

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The purpose of the current study was to explore possible gender biases in student's ratings of professors.  In past research, there have been conflicting results in regard to student's perceptions of male and female professors. 109 Culver-Stockton undergraduate students participated in the study by reading one of two versions of a vignette. After reading the vignette, which described either a male or female professor, students filled out a 15-item survey that was assessed via a 5 point Likert scale.  Results obtained from the study indicated that students provided higher ratings for the male professor.

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In this study, we attempted to understand the different ways people respond to serial killers. Specifically, we were interested in discovering the factors that would increase interest in and sympathy toward serial killers, and also in determining which of these factors were essential in creating "celebrity status" for serial killers. Our results were based on a sample of college students who filled out Maltby et al version of the Celebrity Attitude Scale (CAS) along with a survey of attitudes towards serial killers. We found no significant correlations between interest in serial killers and scores on the CAS, though their overall relationship was negative.

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A survey was distributed to a population of 26 hunters and 103 non-hunters.  They judged 13 outdoor activities (e.g., fly fishing, turkey hunters, skiing/snowboarding) on descriptive adjectives.  In general, hunters had more favorable impressions of people who engaged in consumptive outdoor activities such as hunting, and all subjects made consistently different judgments about individuals who participate in different outdoor activities.

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This study examined the relationship between extracurricular involvement, friendships, loneliness, and well being in transfer students compared with non-transfer students at a small liberal arts school in the Midwest.  A convenience sample of 64 non-transfer students and twenty transfer students was used. Results showed that, among both groups, extracurricular involvement predicted number of friends and friendship satisfaction, which predicted overall well being.  When the groups were evaluated separately, most patterns remained the same.  However, there was a negative correlation between the total number of extracurricular activities and well being in non-transfer students.  These findings suggest that extracurricular involvement could help ease the transition to a new school.

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The goal of this experiment was to see if doing art projects for one hour a week over a period of four weeks would affect levels of depression in the elderly.  Twenty-two participants were recruited for the experimental group; 5 from a nursing home, 3 from a community center, and 14 from a senior center.  Of the twenty-two participants, 14 followed through to completion.  At the beginning and end of each four week period, the Beck Depression Inventory-II was given to each participant. During the weekly one hour sessions, the subjects participated in art projects led by the experimenter. The results demonstrated that there was no significant change in the levels of depression of those who participated in the weekly art projects.

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The hypothesis that planning musical actions involves anticipating their auditory effects was investigated in a sample of expert pianists. Participants made two button left-to-right or right-to-left keypress sequences in response to ascending or descending musical intervals presented on a staff. Each keypress sequence triggered task irrelevant auditory effects (piano tones) that were either compatible or incompatible with the target response. On compatible trials, left-to-right keypress sequences triggered ascending piano tones, while on incompatible trials the same keypress sequence would trigger descending piano tones. The results revealed that musical actions were faster when they were followed by compatible rather than incompatible auditory effects, suggesting that auditory effect anticipation is involved in the cognitive antecedents to musical action.

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Research highlights two modes of responding to thoughts of death.  Research on terror management demonstrates that people maintain psychological equanimity in response to death thoughts by bolstering investment in their cultural worldview and striving for self-esteem. Research on posttraumatic growth contrastingly demonstrates that some people respond to real life brushes with death such that they grow psychologically.  The present study is an attempt to replicate and extend work that attempts to understand the processes underlying these varying responses to death thoughts. Participants wrote responses to different death thought prompts that have been shown to prime either growth or defense over the course of a week. Afterwards, participants completed measures of value orientation, personal growth, and meaning in life.

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Two hundred seventeen college students were asked to complete either a cognitive (answering multiple-choice test questions) or a tactile (sorting playing cards) task in the presence of no music, music of moderate tempo, or the same music with a heightened tempo. It was hypothesized that the presence of music would lower accuracy in the cognitive task and that the fast-tempo music would be a predictor of increased speed in both tasks compared to the moderate-tempo music. Results suggested that the presence of moderate-tempo music may elicit increased speed but have no effect on accuracy in a cognitive task. No significant influence of either the presence of music or its tempo on the tactile task was detected.

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There are different mating preferences depending on each gender, with males generally looking for physical attractiveness, and females looking for financial dependence. Men prefer short term relationships, women tend to prefer long-term relationships; women need someone to support the family, while men value widely reproducing (Malach, 2001). The results will be predicted by surveying 25 males and 25 females on the Monmouth College campus, and then using an archival study to compare online dating preferences. Looking at both variables will lead to finding similarities between Monmouth college students and the general public. The dependent variable is the, differences between the two genders. There is a pseudo independent variable; the reason for this is because one can not control their gender.

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In this research I decided to put the "dumb" blonde stereotype to the test.  Past researches have shown that there are mixed results for the affect of hair color and gender on perceptions of others.  This researcher studied 80 individuals (40 male, 40 female) ages 18 to 25. Each participant was given a photograph of either a male or female blonde or brunette and a resume.  The participants were also given a survey and job description then asked to rate the applicants based upon qualification, salary, and intelligence.  The study found that there were no significant findings to determine if the factors of gender and hair color have an affect on getting a job.  Future research studies should include different factors such as controlling for attractiveness.

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This study replicated the research, Gender Differences in Coping with Endurance Sport Stress (Hammermeister and Burton, 2004). Unlike Hammermeister and Burton, who worked with individual triathletes, cyclists, and distance runners, this study, performed at Monmouth College, investigated gender differences in coping with sport stress in college athletes, who are more likely to train in large groups of peers and have constant guidance from a coach. Hammermeister and BurtonÆs scales (perceived threat, perceived coping potential, perceived future expectancies, perceived control to competitiveness, coping function, and competitive anxiety) were administered and demographics were collected. Results indicated that age influenced coping potential and competitive anxiety. Years in sports influenced coping potential. Unexpectedly, gender
had no influences.

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We tested whether people's behavior is in congruence with their beliefs.  The researchers hypothesized that student's sexual behaviors would not match their beliefs, and that this would be true for both genders. Past research has shown that there have been changes over the years regarding sexual behaviors and beliefs, especially regarding gender. The study took a sample of typical college students from the local campus. Each participant was given an informed consent and two surveys to fill out.  One survey asked about their sexual behaviors and the other about their beliefs.  The researchers took the results of each survey and compared the sexual beliefs of a student to their sexual behaviors.  The findings of this study will be discussed.

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Various factors may impact the progression of treatment during occupational therapy.  One such factor, environment, was investigated in rats to determine if enrichment would impact 4 occupational behaviors: aberrant behaviors, exploratoration, objecting-using and play.  Sixteen male rats (n=8) were allowed 10 days to live in and experience separate enriched or "impoverished" conditions while behaviors were recorded. Also, on Day 11 rats were observed for play with a conspecific while behaviors were recorded. Results indicated that "Impoverished" Rats showed more play with a conspecific (M=2.75, SD=0.463) than Enriched Rats (M=1.75, SD=1.04), p=<.05.  With this, researchers can better understand how environment influences laboratory behaviors.  Results can be contributed to further understanding environmental effects on successful occupational therapy.

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The cholinergic system plays an important role in human and animal learning and memory (Rezvani & Levin 2000). Related, acute nicotine effectively improves memory in patients with AlzheimerÆs disease, ADHD, and schizophrenia (Uzum and colleagues 2004).  To determine the effects of nicotine on short- and long-term memory in healthy animals, a win-shift version of the radial arm maze was used.  After sixteen male rats were trained on the task, 8 were given 1 mg/kg nicotine, i.p., immediately after the forced choice session, while 8 received saline.  Nicotine rats had fewer errors (M=0.88, SD=0.64) than controls (M=2.63, SD=1.41) during the free choice session at a 3 hour delay p=0.01.  Thus, nicotine had memory enhancing effects on long term memory.

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The current research looked at self comparisons to advertisements and body size (N = 60). The advertisements consisted of males and females whose body sizes were thin, muscular and average.  The questionnaire included body size preferences and emotions. There was significance in the male's perception (n = 14); they viewed their body as being smaller than it actually was. Findings also showed significance in the range of emotions for the female participants (n = 46). They felt negative about themselves when they viewed the thin body size and felt positive when they viewed the average body size. There still is room for future research with different long and short term effects of advertisements, eating disorders, or exercise habits.

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Research on consumer's preferences to buy name brand, generic brand, or the cheaper product has been conducted in taste test experiments. It was hypothesized that consumers would prefer name brand products over generic brand products based on their preference of the name instead of the taste. A taste test was done using Tropicana and Store Brand Orange Juice. 3 conditions were used:  no labels of the orange juice, correct labels of the orange juice, and incorrect labels of the orange juice.  Data analysis of the 3 conditions showed there was not a significant difference in taste preferences based on the labeling. We must conclude that consumers purchase food products based more on their taste than on the name brand.

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The study was designed to examine individual's social conformity levels given a simple task. Convenience samples were drawn to participate in a perception study in a classroom with a projector.  Individuals were asked to look at five randomly selected pictures and then asked a simple, obvious question about each.  The control group was asked the questions individually and in written form.  The two control groups (one confederate versus three confederates) were asked the questions orally and the confederates gave two incorrect answers.  The goal of this study was to see the confederates' influence on the participant's answers.

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Nine adults from the western Illinois region completed a survey designed to assess a caregiver's perceived effect of therapeutic horseback riding on both children with special needs and themselves. Findings revealed improvements in the majority of the children's posture, cooperation, interaction with peers, social skills, confidence level, physical balance, physical strength, and following directions. The perceived change in language development was evenly split between better and the same. The majority of caregivers stated they felt more full of hope about their child's future, their child's abilities, and their own ability to cope. The majority of caregivers described their own stress level as either the same or better.  

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The intention of this study is to explore the similarities and differences between two people in an interpersonal relationship, also to see if the personality traits one wants in his/her partner are the traits that his/her partner possesses. Participants consisted of a convenience sample of 68 Monmouth College students (24 same-sex friendships, 7 opposite-sex friendships, and 3 romantic relationships). Each participant filled out the NEO-PI and a Relationship Questionnaire developed by the current researcher by using the five personality traits and their facets of the NEO-PI.  Overall the results support the view that people look for friends with similar personalities to their own, and that the personality traits one wants in their partner are the personality traits their partner possesses.

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This study used 286 participants to survey the actual alcohol consumption of Monmouth College students, and what students perceive to be the typical drinking behavior on campus. A 21 question survey was used to gather information on the participant's alcohol consumption, reasons for drinking, and perceptions of others alcohol consumption. It was hypothesized that students would report that others drink at least as much as themselves, non drinkers would classify an average student as a heavy drinker, students that are more involved in campus activities would drink less, and non-athletes would drink less than athletes. In result, students did report that others drank as much or more than themselves, where as involved students and non-athletes do not necessarily drink less.

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The ability of researchers or individuals to influence the outcome of their own surveys by using persuasive and biased words was examined.  The participants consisted of a convenience sample of the students at Monmouth College; psychology students above Introduction to Psychology were not used because of their knowledge of biased questions in surveys.  Two surveys were administered to students asking about animal research. The first survey consisted of 6 questions and was worded in a neutral and unbiased manner. The second survey consisted of persuasive words to create biased responses. The second survey contained powerful and emotionally loaded words, used to influence the subject's answers. Students were randomly given one of the two surveys.  Results will be discussed further.

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The current study was based on previous research conducted by Heatherton et al. (1993) on the effects of thought suppression. Researchers sought to replicate their results as well as to extend the research in regards to how thought suppression affects restrained and unrestrained eaters. Fifty-seven university students were identified as either restrained or unrestrained eaters based on responses to an eating behavior questionnaire (TFEQ-R18).  Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions:  control, moderate self-awareness, or high self-awareness. &Snack food was present throughout the experiment.  The number of food items consumed was measured.  Contrary to hypotheses, results indicated no relationship between self-awareness and disinhibited eating amongst restrained and unrestrained eaters.

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The purpose of this experiment was to investigate whether the upcoming implementation of a smoke-free policy would influence the campus community's ratings of St. Ambrose University.  Seventy students, faculty, and staff at St. Ambrose University completed a survey packet containing filler questionnaires and a rating form for the university.  The participants either received a survey containing open-ended questions regarding the smoke-free policy or they received a control survey containing open-ended questions regarding the library. The results indicated that there were no significant findings with regards to the relationship between the type of survey and the items on the rating form.  In other words, the type of survey did not affect the ratings of this university.  This study suggests that the smoke-free policy does not influence the campus community's view of St. Ambrose University.

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The present study examined relationships between birth order and religious and political attitudes. The participants completed three questionnaires: Right-Wing Authoritarianism Scale (Altemeyer, 1990), Conservatism-Liberalism Scale (McCloskey & Bann, 1979), and Religious Fundamentalism Scale - Revised (Altemeyer & Hunsberger, 2004). Past research suggests that firstborns tend to become more conservative, laterborns tend to become more liberal, and lastborns tend to become the most radically liberal. Additionally, past research has demonstrated that people who endorse conservative ideologies and those who hold strong beliefs in religious fundamentalism score high in right-wing authoritarianism.  I predict that results will support past birth order findings on conservatism/liberalism, and will support high authoritarianism scores for conservatives and religious fundamentalists.

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The purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which responses to a crying person will help the crier regain satisfaction of her belongingness needs. Female college students watched a 5-minute video clip of a neutral or sad movie scene and then discussed the video clip with a confederate.  The confederate behaved in either a supportive or neutral manner.  Finally, the Needs-Threat Scale was administered in order to assess perceived threat to one's belongingness needs. Results indicated that, regardless of which video scene they discussed, supportive behavior from the confederate led to less threatened belongingness needs. These findings imply that regardless of initial emotional state, supportive behavior from an interaction partner facilitates satisfaction of one's belongingness needs.

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This study explored the reverse-effects of Frustration-Aggression Theory (Miller et al., 1936), which states that frustration often leads to aggressive behavior.  While most research has focused on frustration via ego-blows increasing aggression, few studies have explored the effects of reduced frustration on aggression levels. Thus, the goal of our study was to reverse the negative stimuli to determine the effects on aggression. Participants were given bogus feedback on task performance designed to boost their ego (positive feedback), serve as a blow to their ego (negative feedback), or received no feedback at all. They then completed self-report measures of self-esteem and aggressive behavior.  We expect to find that ego-boosts will result in higher levels of self-esteem and lower levels of aggression than ego-blows.

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Belongingness Theory (Baumeister & Leary, 1995) states that people look for meaningful relationships with others so that their chance of survival and reproduction increases. According to this theory, belongingness needs are threatened when someone experiences rejection. One effect of rejection is that the person is motivated to establish relationships with others.  Thus, we hypothesized that rejected participants would endorse promiscuous behavior in order to satisfy their belongingness needs. Participants randomly experienced social inclusion or rejection during a computer game. Then they were presented with a picture of an attractive opposite-sex person rated how likely they would be to have sex with this person. We expect that participants who were rejected will be more inclined to agree to behave promiscuously.

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According to Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Muraven, and Tice (1998), the self is a limited resource that can be exhausted through acts of volition. This resource is thought to fuel many aspects of self-regulation, which may include moral behavior. Participants performed a task to sustain or deplete self-regulatory energy by either crossing out the letter "e" on a page of text according to specific criteria (experimental group) or crossing out every occurrence of an e with no rules (control group). They then had the opportunity to make the moral decision of returning a $5 bill they found. Results yielded a trend whereby depleted participants were more likely to return the money. These results suggest that immoral behavior may require internal energy to perform.

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According to Buss, Larsen, Westen, and Semmelroth (2001), men are more sexually jealous and women are more emotionally jealous. Previous studies have supported this theory; however, research has not examined the strategies that men and women use for coping with jealousy. In this study college students read one of two vignettes (mate poaching situation vs. general stress situation).  Then they completed a scale to measure how they would cope with this situation. Our hypotheses are that (1) women will cope with jealousy by seeking emotional support and eating food; (2) men will cope with jealousy by seeking instrumental support and using alcohol; and (3) the same coping strategies men and women use for jealousy will be used in the generally stressful situation.

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Divorce has become increasingly common in America, but there are still numerous uncertainties about the effects on parents and children. Participants in this study were families who filed for divorce in a rural county in Illinois during 2006-2007.  Each parent completed a questionnaire regarding their psychological well-being, adjustment to the divorce, and perceptions of conflict with the other parent.  Children between the ages of 9-18 completed surveys regarding their own well-being and their perceptions of their parent's level of conflict. I hypothesize that children who perceive high levels of parental conflict will have parents who report difficulties adjusting to the divorce.

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Recently, Leary, Kelly, Schreindorfer, & Cottrell (2007) developed a Need to Belong Scale to measure a person's desire for interpersonal connections.  Because this scale is new, we designed a study to obtain validity evidence to discriminate it from other similar measures of personality (attachment and neuroticism). Participants (n = 141) filled out a questionnaire containing the Need to Belong Scale, Attachment Scale, and Neuroticism Scale, as well as measures of loneliness, depression, affiliation motivation, rejection sensitivity, and self-esteem.  We computed the Pearson r correlation and found that need to belong correlated with the validity measures in notably different ways than anxious attachment, avoidant attachment, and neuroticism.

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It was hypothesized that men use sexual coercion to obtain short term, promiscuous sex while women use sexual coercion to achieve a long term committed relationship.  Fifty-sex college men and 105 college women filled out the Perpetration of Short Term Sexual Coercion Scale, a measure of the extent to which the participant had used sexual coercion to obtain short term, promiscuous sex, and the Perpetration of Long Term Sexual Coercion Scale, a measure of  the extent to which the participant had used sexual coercion to achieve a long term, committed relationship. Supporting the hypothesis, although men scored significantly higher on both measures, men's Perpetration of Short Term Sexual Coercion Scale scores were higher than their Perpetration of Long Term Sexual Coercion Scale scores. In contrast, women's Short Term Sexual Coercion Scale scores were lower than their Perpetration of Long Term Sexual Coercion Scale scores.

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The purpose of this research was to test the hypothesis that women prefer men who take risks because risk taking is associated with resources.  Study 1 had women rate how much they were attracted to four men, a man who was altruistic and took risks, a man who was not altruistic and took risks, a man who was altruistic and did not take risks,  and a man who was not altruistic and did not take risks.  Study 2 had women rate how much they were attracted to the above four types of men, however, this time four of them made $30,000 and the other four made $100,000.  It was hypothesized that when information about income was absent women would choose the men who took risks.  When information concerning income was present women would choose the men who made the $100,000.  Some support was found for the hypothesis.

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The purpose of this research was to test the hypothesis that a positive relationship would be found between flirting and being unfaithful.  College students responded to single item measures of flirting and being unfaithful.  A positive and significant correlation of 38 was found between the two measures.  Thus the hypothesis was supported.

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The purpose of the present study was to replicate a previous study which found that college students promote a drinking norm but dislike their peers who are overly promiscuous. Participants were college students who were presented with a self-descriptive narrative purportedly written by another student. In actuality, all essays were fabricated and used to manipulate two independent variables:  alcohol use (high vs. abstinent) and promiscuity (high vs. abstinent). After reading the essay, participants rated how much they disliked the author. Results showed that highly promiscuous students were disliked more than students who abstained from having sex. The main effect for alcohol use was not significant (p = 28), and the alcohol x promiscuity interaction was also not significant < (p = .70).

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The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which social snacking (engaging in socially symbolic behaviors) helps individuals recover from rejection.  Participants first had a discussion with two confederates, during which they were either included or excluded. Next, they engaged in an online activity involving either social snacking (browsing Facebook / Myspace) or a neutral activity; afterwards they completed a questionnaire measuring belongingness needs, loneliness, and anxiety. The results are expected to show that participants who experienced exclusion but were allowed to socially snack will score higher on belongingness needs and lower on anxiety and loneliness than those who were excluded and did a neutral activity as well as those who were
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Much is to be said about the experiences of international students upon their arrival in the United States, especially given the zeitgeist of post-September 11th America.  Our goal was to research the assimilation process (i.e., the process of becoming "American") from the perspective of the international student.  In addition to participating in interviews, volunteers filled out questionnaires assessing their belongingness needs and levels of loneliness.  Their data on these constructs will be compared to data collected from domestic students to assess differences.  We predict no difference between international students and domestic students on these constructs.  Data are still being collected and analyzed. Results and implications will be discussed.  

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This study compared the functioning of sexually abused men and women to the functioning of men and women without a history of sexual abuse in interpersonal and family relationships, mental health status, and substance use. I hypothesized that participants in the sexual abused group compared to the non-sexual abused group will have a higher rate of alcohol abuse, substance abuse, and mental health problems. Participants of each group were contacted by email or phone that participated in a previous IRB-approved on-going on-line study assessing psychological distress. A sample of forty-two students from Western Illinois University filled out three questionnaires on interpersonal and family relationships, current mental health status, and substance abuse. The findings of this study will be discussed.

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The purpose of this research was to test the hypothesis that a positive relationship would be found between being overweight, weight gain, and extroversion.  An extrovert is someone whose attention is aimed toward the outside world.  Extroverts tend to eat and drink more than introverts and they lack self-discipline.  For these reasons extroverts may be predisposed to weigh more.  A positive and significant correlation was found between the measures of weight, weight gain, and extroversion; thus, the hypothesis was supported.

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Social comparison theory proposes that individuals compare themselves to others.  Much research has focused on the effects of modern media imagery on women's self-esteem and body satisfaction, indicating that these images are unattainable by an average woman.  However, little research has examined the effects of older media images that are more likely to be attainable.  This was the goal of our study. Female participants were randomly assigned to view one of three sets of images: actresses from the 1950s-1960s, actresses from the present time, or male actors (control group).  They then completed measures of body-esteem and self-esteem. We expect that women who view modern images will have lower esteem than those who view antiquated images or male images.

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The purpose of this research was to test the hypothesis that a positive correlation exists between videogame play and college GPA. College students responded to single item measures of videogame play and GPA.  A significant correlation was not found between videogame play and GPA; thus, the hypothesis was not supported.

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The purpose of this research was to replicate the finding that internal academic locus of control is positively correlated with GPA. Participants responded to single item measures of internal academic locus of control and GPA.  A significant correlation was not found; however, other interesting relationships were found.

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The purpose of this research was to test the hypothesis that a positive relationship would be found between self-esteem and competitiveness. College students responded to single item measures of self-esteem and competitiveness.  A significant correlation was not found; thus, the hypothesis was not supported.

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The purpose of this research was to test the hypothesis that a positive relationship would be found between stress and binge drinking. Stress was defined as external stimuli which have a negative effect on the individual.  Bing drinking was defined as four drinks for women and five for men, in one setting. College students responded to single item measures of stress and binge drinking.  A positive and significant correlation was found; thus, the hypothesis was supported.

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The purpose of this research was to test the hypothesis that a positive relationship exists between sleep and GPA in college students. College students responded to single item measures of sleep and GPA. A positive and significant correlation was found; thus, the hypothesis was supported.

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The purpose of this research was to test the hypothesis that a negative relationship exists between procrastination and GPA. College students responded to single item measures of procrastination and GPA. A significant negative correlation was not found.  Thus, the hypothesis was not supported.

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A study was performed to assess attitude change following counter-attitudinal advocacy in order to examine the effect of cognitive dissonance on acceptance of underage drinking. Participants wrote an essay opposing underage drinking via forced compliance or induced compliance.  They then filled out a questionnaire measuring their attitudes toward proposed drinking policies and other rewards for alcohol consumption. We expect that induced compliance will arouse more cognitive dissonance than forced compliance; thus participants who willingly agree to write the essay will have less favorable attitudes toward underage drinking than those who are told to write the essay.

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A sample of 48 college students was given nine questionnaires purportedly filled out by other college students.  These bogus questionnaires were created by crossing three levels of alcohol consumption (abstinence, moderate use, and abuse) with three levels of sexual activity (sexual abstinence, sexually active but not promiscuous, and promiscuous). Participants reviewed each questionnaire and rated the extent to which they liked and wanted to be friends with the target person.  Results indicated that students liked targets who drank heavily more than those who abstained, and targets who were promiscuous were disliked more than those who were sexually abstinent. These results suggest that college students may engage in risky drinking behaviors because it promotes social inclusion.

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Abstract

The purpose of this research was to test the hypothesis that a positive relationship would be found between alcohol consumption and the number of sexual partners a person had. College students responded to single item measures of alcohol consumption and number of sexual partners. Alcohol consumption was determined by a self report measure of whether or not the person drank more than the average college student. The number of sexual partners was determined by a self report measure of whether the person had more sexual partners than the average college student. A positive, significant correlation was found between drinking and sexual partners; thus, the hypothesis was supported.