News from 2008

Dr. Richard Harris, with grad student Michael Hinkin, former grad student Christopher Barlett, and undergrad students Ross Baldassaro and Christopher Rodeheffer, published in the October-December issue of the
journal Media Psychology.

Barlett, C.P., Rodeheffer, C.D., Baldassaro, R., Hinkin, M.P., & Harris, R.J. (2008). The effect of advances in video game technology and content on aggressive cognitions, hostility, and heart rate. MEDIA PSYCHOLOGY, 11, 540-565.

K-STATE PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR, FORMER GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH THE IMPACT OF BODY-EMPHASIZING VIDEO GAMES ON BODY IMAGE

MANHATTAN -- Too much violence may not be the only concern with some video games. Studies conducted at Kansas State University find body-emphasizing video games can negatively affect body image.

In studying violent video games, Christopher Barlett, a former K-State graduate student in psychology, and Richard Harris, K-State professor of psychology, began to notice that the characters in these games tended to have extreme body types -- either very muscular males or very thin females. This observation led to a question of how the body image of individuals playing the games might be affected by these extreme body types.

To answer that question, Harris and his research team conducted two studies.

The two study groups, made up of K-State students, were divided by gender. The men played the video game "WWF Wrestlemania 2000," while the women played a beach volleyball game. The participants were questioned about their body image before playing the game and then
questioned again after playing the game for 15 minutes.

In only 15 minutes of playing, the game players viewed their own body images more negatively, Harris said.

"The results really weren't surprising; they were kind of what we were expecting and fulfilled one of our hypotheses," Harris said. "I'm not going to say that we were happy about that, to see such an effect. It was kind of sobering that it did have such a short-term effect."

Harris said the studies also follow a trend evolving in the media of an idealized image of men.

"There's been a lot of interest for a long time on the unrealistic supermodel image in advertising," he said. "What isn't as well known is that idealized masculine image is becoming so much more muscular and is just as unrealistic as the supermodel image.

"It is just as hard for the man to get his body into the shape of the WWF wrestler as it is for the woman to get her body to look like Barbie," Harris said. "There's some evidence of increasing numbers of body-image disorders in men, which used to be very rare until the last
10 years or so, and seems to becoming much more common."

For evidence of this phenomenon, Harris said to look no further than popular action figures, such as G.I. Joe, which have been bulked up in recent years, especially in comparison to their original models.

"There is no way for a man to get his body to look like those action figures without the heavy use of steroids," Harris said. "Everyone is aware of the female body-image problem, but what we are seeing now are males struggling with their own kind of body-image problems."

The study also has implications for future studies, Harris said, which could include how video games do or do not lead to objectified views of women, what are the long-term effects of video games on body image and how video games affect the body-image views of the opposite gender.

Harris said the most significant thing the study showed was how immediate an impact on body image video games had.

"Video games are a part of popular culture," he said. "I'm certainly not saying that everyone with major body-image issues has them because of video games. That may be a part of it, but there are other factors. There may be other issues of concern with video games besides the
well-known concern about violence."

Barlett earned both a bachelor's, in 2004, and a master's, in 2007, in psychology from K-State. He is now working on his doctorate in psychology at Iowa State University.

Dr. Satoris Culbertson and colleagues Stephanie Payne, Wendy Boswell, and Eric Barger published in the Journal of Vocational Behavior, in December 2008.

Payne, S. C., Culbertson, S. S., Boswell, W. R., & Barger, E. J. (2008). Newcomer psychological contracts and employee socialization activities:  Does perceived balance in obligations matter? Journal of Vocational Behavior, 73, 465-472.

Dr. Richard Harris and former grad student Elizabeth Cady and former undergrad student Jon Bret Knappenberger published an article in the journal PSYCHOLOGY OF MUSIC in 2008.

Cady, E.T., Harris, R.J., & Knappenberger, J.B. (2008). Using music to cue autobiographical memories of different lifetime periods. Psychology of Music, 36(2), 157-177.

Undergraduate students Melanie Hall, Laura Carlson, and Alyson Herme win study abroad scholarships for Spring 2009 semester.

Melanie Hall, sophomore in pre-psychology, received a $250 Study Abroad Scholarship for Ireland.  Laura Carlson, junior in psychology, received the $500 Joseph and Elizabeth Barton-Dobenin International Scholarship and a $400 Study Abroad Scholarship for the Czech Republic.  Alyson Herme, junior in psychology, received a $400 Study Abroad Scholarship
for England.

Graduate students Margaret Gill and Rosemary Coolon and Dr. Mary Cain
presented a poster "The role of the central nucleus of the amygdala in individual differences in amphetamine-induced sensitization and reinstatement" at the 38th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, Washington, DC, Nov 14th to Nov 20th, 2008.

Cain, M.E., Gill, M.J., & Coolon, R.A. (2008). The role of the central nucleus of the amygdala in individual differences in amphetamine-induced sensitization and reinstatement. Poster presented at the 38th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, Nov 15th-20th.

Graduate student Margaret Gill, alumni undergraduate student Mari Gutierrez, and Dr. Mary Cain presented a poster "Effects of differential rearing on amphetamine-induced c-fos expression in the amygdala" at the 38th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, Washington, DC, Nov 14th to Nov 20th, 2008.

Gill, M.J., Gutierrez, M. & Cain, M.E. (2008). Effects of differential rearing on amphetamine-induced c-fos expression in the amygdala. Poster presented at the 38th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, Nov 15th-20th.

Graduate student Jerry Deehan, undergraduate student Hillary Manion,
alumni undergraduate student Edward Thomas, and Drs. Mary Cain and
Stephen Kiefer presented a poster "Differential rearing conditions
affect alcohol consumption in outbred rats" at the 38th annual meeting
of the Society for Neuroscience, Washington, DC, Nov 14th to Nov 20th,
2008.

Deehan, G.A., Manion, H.A., Thomas, E.P, Cain, M.E., & Kiefer, S.W. (2008). Differential rearing conditions affect alcohol consumption in outbred rats. Poster presented at the 38th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, Nov 15th-20th.

Article written by alum graduate student Chris Barlett and alum undergraduate student Callie Bruey along with Professor Richard Harris is #2 on the Top 25 hottest downloads from the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

Barlett, C.P., Harris, R.J., & Bruey, C. (2008). The effect of the amount of blood in a violent video game on aggression, hostility, and arousal. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, 44, 539-546

A recent journal article by former graduate student Chris Barlett, Dr. Richard Harris, and undergraduate student Callie Bruey, is currently the #2 download from the the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

Barlett, C.P., Harris, R.J., & Bruey, C. (2008). The effect of the amount of blood in a violent video game on aggression, hostility, and arousal. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44, 539-546.

Amanda Higley was recently awarded a FARE (Fellows Award for Research Excellence) $1000 travel award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In the award competition this year, out of 1045 submissions, Amanda was one of only 271 award recipients, based on her high scores in the review process.

 

Graduate student John Steele and Dr. Clive Fullagar published an article
in the Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied, 2008

Steele, J. & Fullagar, C. (2008) Facilitators and outcomes of student engagement in a college
setting.  Journal of Psychology:  Interdisciplinary and Applied.

Graduate student Maura Mills and Dr. Clive Fullagar published an article in the Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied, 2008.

Mills, M. & Fullagar, C. (2008) Flow and motivation: Toward an understanding of the dynamics
of the relationship.  Journal of Psychology:  Interdisciplinary and Applied.

Dr. Clive Fullagar published an article in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 2008.

Fullagar, C. (2008) Flow at Work: An Experience Sampling Approach.  Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology.

Dr. Clive Fullagar and graduate student David Egleston published a paper in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 2008.

Fullagar, C. & Egleston, D. (2008) Norming and Performing: Using Microworlds to Understand the Relationship Between Team Cohesiveness and Performance.  Journal of Applied Social Psychology.

Dr. Jim Shanteau gave a keynote address at the Health4Life Conference at Dublin City University, Dublin Ireland, in September 2008.

Shanteau, J. (2008, September). The Gold Standard Illusion: The Elusive Search for Perfection in Health Care. Keynote Address at the "Health4Life Conference: Judgement, Assessment & Decision Making in Health & Social Care." Dublin City University, School of Nursing.

Dr. Gary Brase published research in the Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, 2008.

Brase, G.L. (2008). A field study of how different numerical information formats influence charity support. Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, 20(1), 1-13.

Dr. Richard Harris and alumni undergraduate students, Abigail Werth and Chelsea Mueller Bartel, and current undergraduate student Kyle Bures, published in Ciencias Psicologicas, 2008.

Harris, R.J., Werth, A.J., Bures, K.E., & Bartel, C.M. (2008). Social movie quoting: What, why, and how?  Ciencias Psicologicas, 2(1), 35-45.

Graduate students Rosemary Coolon and Margaret Gill presented two posters with Dr. Mary Cain at the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) annual meeting June 14-19, 2008.  Rosemary received a graduate student travel award from CPDD to attend the meeting.

Coolon, R.A., Pittenger, S.T., M.E. Cain (2008). The effects of environmental enrichment on nicotine-induced conditioned-hyperactivity and sensitization. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Gill, M.J., Coolon, R.A., & Cain, M.E. (2008). Effect of amygdala inactivation on conditioned hyperactivity and sensitization in high responder and low responder rats. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Dr. Gary Brase presented a talk on his research in Kyoto, Japan, at the Human Behavior and Evolution Society meeting in June, 2008.

Brase, G.L. (2008, June). An Integrated Model for Theory Development and Evaluation in the Behavioral Sciences. Paper presented at the 20th Annual meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, Kyoto, Japan.

Dr. Youngcourt published an article in the June issue of the Educational and Psychology Measurement journal.

Dr. Satoris Youngcourt and colleagues Ann Huffman, Stephanie Payne, and Carl Castro published their article, “The importance of construct breadth when examining interrole conflict” in the June 2008 issue of the journal Educational and Psychological Measurement (vol. 68, pp.
515-530).

Dr. Shanteau and members of his lab, including graduate students Heather
Hilgenkamp, Jisook Park, Christopher Vowels, and Margo Woller and
undergraduate students Timothy Burrell, Emily Pientka, and Adam Savage gave several presentations at the Association for Psychological Science's meeting in May 2008.

Vowels, C.L., Pientka, E., & Savage, A. (May, 2008).  Why Sunk Cost Behavior is More Than Just a Choice.  20th Annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science. Chicago, IL.

Vowels, C.L., & Savage, A. (May, 2008).  Altering Sunk Cost Behavior Using Specific Training Techniques.  20th Annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science. Chicago, IL.

Park, A., & Vowels, C.L., (May, 2008).  Varying Threshold Convictions Using Specific vs. General Category Referents.  20th Annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science. Chicago, IL.

Woller, M., Park, A., Burrell, T., Vowels, C.L., Hilgenkamp, H., & Shanteau, J. (May, 2008).  Exploring the Mismatch Between Perceptions and Performance in Microworld Simulations.  20th Annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science. Chicago, IL.

Former graduate student, Dr. Christopher Vowels, received a Travel Assistance Award from the Association for Psychological Science to attend the conference.

Dr. Barnett and former graduate student, Jeffrey Bartel, presented a paper at the Association for Psychological Science's meeting in May 2008.

Bartel, J. S., & Barnett, M. A. (2008, May).  Parental and peer influences on adolescents' planned and spontaneous helping. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Society, Chicago, IL.

Drs. Lester Loschky and Richard Harris, grad students Manpreet Rai and Nicole Peck, and undergraduate students Karlie Mann and Breeanna McSpadden presented a poster at the Association for Psychological Science meeting in May 2008.

Drs. Lester Loschky and Richard Harris, graduate students Manpreet Rai and Nicole Peck, and undergraduate students Karlie Mann and Breeanna McSpadden presented a poster, Pronoun reference in reading comprehension is difficult for intermediate foreign language learners, at the Association for Psychological Science meeting, May 22-25, 2008.

Visiting Assistant Professor in Leadership Studies & Programs and graduate student in psychology Andrew Wefald chaired and presented at a symposium at the Association for Psychological Science on Aspects of Positive and Health Psychology in May, 2008.  Also presenting was Dr. Ronald Downey.  Dr. Clive Fullagar served as the session discussant.

Wefald, A. J. (2008, May). The Moderating Effect of Engagement on the Relationship between Employee Age and Turnover Intentions. Presentation at the Symposium on Aspects of Positive and Health Psychology at the annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science, Chicago, IL.

Dr. Loschky, graduate student Adam Larson, and undergraduate student Scott Smerchek, and former undergraduate students Elise Matz, Pheasant Weber, Lindsey Berger, and Shawn Finan presented two posters at the Vision Sciences Society Conference, Naples, FL, in May 2008.

Loschky, L., Larson, A., Smerchek, S., & Finan, S. (2008, May). The superordinate natural/man-made distinction is perceived before basic level distinctions in scene gist recognition.  Poster presented at the Vision Sciences Society Conference, Naples, FL.

Larson, A., Loschky, L., Matz, E., Smerchek, S., Weber, P. & Berger, L. (2008, May).  The roles of central versus peripheral visual information in recognizing scene gist. Poster presented at the Vision Sciences Society Conference, Naples, FL.

 

Dr. Shanteau and members of his lab, including graduate students Heather
Hilgenkamp, Jisook Park, Christopher Vowels, and Margo Woller gave several presentations at the Midwestern Psychological Association's
Annual Meeting in May 2008.

Woller, M., Park, A., Hilgenkamp, H., Vowels, C.L., & Shanteau, J. (May, 2008).  Who’s In Control?  Decisions to Distribute Control in Microworld Simulations.  80th Annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association. Chicago, IL.

Park, A., Woller, M., Hilgenkamp, H., Vowels, C.L., & Shanteau, J. (May, 2008).  Assessing Factors Involving Immersive Experience in Microworld Simulations.    80th Annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association. Chicago, IL.

Park, A., Vowels, C.L., & Shanteau, J. (May, 2008).  Shifting Guilt Threshold Based on Types of Crime.  80th Annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association. Chicago, IL.

Dr. Don Saucier and graduate students Bernie de la Garza, Sara Smith, Jericho Hocket, Jessica McManus, and Russ Webster, and undergraduate students Kyle Steppe, Danielle Zanotti, Carli Thompson, Amanda Stanford, Alyssa Miller, and Omar Branch gave several presentations at the Midwestern Psychological Association meeting in May 2008.

de la Garza, B., Saucier, D. A., & Steppe, K. A. (May 2008). Monolinguals’ and bilinguals’ perceptions of codeswitching. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association.

Smith, S. J., Hockett, J. M., Thompson, C., Zanotti, D., & Saucier, D. A. (May 2008). Feminist identification, feminist ideology, and beliefs in stereotypes about feminists. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association.

Stanford, A. J., Miller, A. K., McManus, J. L., Branch, O., & Saucier, D. A. (May 2008). Creation and validation of a measure of honor beliefs. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association.

Webster, R. J., & Saucier, D. A. (May 2008). Testing the dimensionality of social dominance orientation and right-wing authoritarianism. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association.

Graduate Student Russ Webster won travel award for Midwestern Psychological Association May 2008.

Graduate student Russ Webster won a Diversity Fund Travel Award for the Midwestern Psychological Association meeting May 1-3, 2008.

Dr. Brase gave two presentations at the Midwestern Psychological Society 79th Annual Meeting in May 2008..

Dr. Gary Brase presented his paper on his research, Perceptions and practical applications of different numerical formats, at the Midwestern Psychological Society 79th annual meeting, Chicago, IL, in May, 2008.

Dr. Gary Brase, with University of Missouri colleagues Todd Schachtman and undergraduates Sam Hirsch and Taylor Thatcher presented a poster on their research, Do People Shift Adaptively Between Retrospective and Prospective Memory?, at the Midwestern Psychological Society 79th Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, in May, 2008.

Undergraduates Steven Pittenger and Shay Ioerger and graduate student Rosemay Coolon presented a poster with Dr. Mary Cain at the Midwestern Psychological Association annual meeting  in May 2008.

Pittenger, S.T., Coolon, R.A., Ioerger, S., & Cain, M.E. (May 1 - 3, 2008). The effects of mecamylamine on nicotine-induced extinction and reinstatement in differentially reared rats. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago,
IL. (*undergraduate students Steven Pittenger and Shay Ioerger, graduate student Rosemay Coolon)

Christopher Vowels passed his Ph.D oral examination on Tuesday, May 6, 2008. * * Congratulations Chris! * *

Andrew Wefald won the Ronald G. and Dorothy J. Downey Award for Outstanding Dissertation Proposal in Industrial/Organizational Psychology in May 2008.

The Ronald G. and Dorothy J. Downey Award for Outstanding Dissertation Proposal in Industrial/Organizational Psychology was established to provide funds to help the recipient conduct his or her dissertation research. Mr. Andrew Wefald is the 2008 recipient of this award

John Steele won the Dunlap Fellowship in Industrial Pschology in May 2008.

The Dunlap Fellowship in Industrial Psychology was endowed by Jack W. Dunlap, a graduate of Kansas State University, who had a successful consulting business in Connecticut. This year the recipient of the Dunlap Fellowship is Mr. John Steele, a doctoral student in Industrial/Organizational Psychology.

Breanna Calvin McSpadden and Marisela Gutieerez won the Peterson Prize for the Oustanding Graduating Senior in Pyschology in May 2008.

The Peterson Prize for the Outstanding Graduating Senior in Psychology is awarded to the undergraduate psychology major who excels in the classroom, in research, and in service to the department.  This year the Peterson Prize was given to two individuals: Breeanna Calvin
McSpadden, from Winfield, who graduated last December and Marisela Gutierrez, from Killeen, Texas, who graduated this May. Ms. McSpadden earned a dual degree in Psychology and Marketing with a minor in Spanish and a Certificate in International Business. In addition to
outstanding academic performance in her classes, she participated in research with Dr. Shanteau and then with Drs. Harris and Loschky in the Second Language Project. Ms. Gutierrez is a McNair Scholar, working with both Dr. Rupert Klein and Dr. Mary Cain. She also served as an undergraduate teaching assistant for two semesters and graduates Summa
Cum Laude.

Christopher Rodehefer and Steven Pittenger won the E. J. Phares Prize for Outstanding Undergraduate Research in May 2008.

The E. J. Phares Prize for Outstanding Undergraduate Research is given to the student who has generated an outstanding research record. Dr. Phares was an Professor Emeritus whose research in the area of locus of control was groundbreaking work; he served as department head for over 20 years. This year the E.J. Phares Prize was awarded to Christopher Rodehefer, from Topeka and Steven Pittenger from Wamego.

Chris Rodeheffer has worked with Dr. Richard Harris and Chris Barlett in the video gaming laboratory. He has conducted several studies on the effects of playing violent and non-violent video games. He is a coauthor on five different research papers that are currently under
review in peer-reviewed journals. He has also presented his research at major national (Society of Personality and Social Psychology) and international (International Communication Association) conferences.

Steve Pittenger has worked in the laboratory of Dr. Mary Cain. He has independently conducted research on the effects of environmental enrichment on the extinction and reinstatement of nicotine-induced hyperactivity. He has also been a co-investigator on three other research projects in Dr. Cain's laboratory. He has presented this research at several regional conferences, including the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association.

Dr. Youngcourt and graduate student, William Weyhrauch, presented posters at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology meeting in April 2008.

Dr. Satoris Youngcourt and graduate student William Weyhrauch presented posters at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology meeting, San Francisco, CA, April 10-12, 2008.

Dr. Ronald Downey, Dr. David Allen, and Graduate students Michael Smith, Neena Gopalan, Andrew Wefald (Visiting Assistant Professor in Leadership Studies & Programs), and Dianne Whitney presented two posters at the annual meeting of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, San Francisco, CA in April, 2008.

Smith, M. R., Gopalan, N., Wefald, A. J., Downey, R. G., & Whitney, D. E. (2008, April). A Path Model of Performance: The Effect of Workload, Work Schedule Satisfaction and Stress. Poster session at the annual meeting of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology,
San Francisco, CA.

Allen, D., Wefald, A. J., & Downey, R. G. (2008, April). Employee engagement: Organizational and individual influences. Poster session at the annual meeting of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, San Francisco, CA.

Monica Schultz passed her Ph.D. oral examination on Friday, April 25, 2008. * * Congratulations Monica! * *

Valerie (Pilling) York passed her Ph.D. oral examination on Friday, April 18, 2008. * * Congratulations Val! * *

Russell J. Webster, graduate student, won the Diversity Fund Travel Award at the annual conference of the Midwest Psychological Association.

Graduate student Russ Webster won the Diversity Fund Travel Award for the annual conference of the Midwestern Psychological Association, May 1-3, 2008 in Chicago, IL.  Russ is advised by Dr. Don Saucier.

Dr. Gary Brase presented a talk on his research at the Oklahoma/Kansas Judgement and Decision Making Conference.

Brase, G.L. (2008, April). Do pictures promote nested-set or frequency representations in judgments under uncertainty? Paper presented at the Oklahoma/Kansas Judgment and Decision Making Conference, Oklahoma City, OK.

Dr. Richard Harris spoke at the University of North Carolina-Pembroke Undergraduate Research and Creativity Forum and at the Esther G. Maynor Honors College Annual Banquet.

Dr. Richard Harris was the plenary speaker at the University of North Carolina-Pembroke "Pembroke Undergraduate Research and Creativity Forum." Harris, R.J. Myths about the Media: Evil Mind Control or Good Clean Fun? Pembroke NC, April 23, 2008.

He also spoke at the Esther G. Maynor Honors College Annual Banquet that same day and place. The title of his speech was "Honors Students: Part of a Very Special Community."

Undergraduate researcher Jane Grdinovac shares interests

Undergraduate student Jane Grdinovac recently gave a presentation on her work at the 13th annual K-State Research Forum, and was interviewed by the K-State Collegian.  The article has also been picked up by KSU Media Relations.

Former graduate student Chris Barlett, Dr. Harris, and undergraduate student Callie Bruey published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, in April 2008

Barlett, C.P., Harris, R.J., & Bruey, C. (2008). The effect of the amount of blood in a violent video game on aggression, hostility, and arousal. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, 44, 539-546.

Dr. Saucier, graduate student Jericho Hockett, and former undergraduate student Andrew Wallenberg published in Journal of Interpersonal Violence, in April 2008

Saucier, D. A., Hockett, J. M., & Wallenberg, A. S. (2008). The impact of racial slurs and racism on the perceptions and punishment of violent crime. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 23 (5), 685-701.

Former graduate student Chris Barlett, graduate student Chris Vowels, and Dr. Saucier published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, in April 2008

Barlett, C. P., Vowels, C. V., & Saucier, D. A. (2008). Meta-analyses of the effects of media images on men's body-image concerns. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 27, 279-310.

Study finds teasing may be more damaging than once thought

Jennifer Livengood presented a poster, "Factors associated with children's emotional and behavioral responses to ambiguous teases," based on the work of Dr. Barnett's research group at the meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology in Albuquerque, New Mexico, February 7th - 9th. A brief report on this study was released as a News Release by the Kansas State University Media Relations Office.

Dr. Gary Brase published in the journal, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review in April 2008.

Brase, G.L. (2008). Frequency interpretation of ambiguous statistical information facilitates Bayesian reasoning. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 15(2), 284-289.

Dr. Mary Cain and colleagues Emily Denehy and Michael Bardo published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, in March 2008

M.E. Cain, E.D. Denehy, & M. T. Bardo. (2008). Individual Differences in Amphetamine Self-Administration: The Role of the Central Nucleus of the Amygdala. Neuropsychopharmacology, Volume 33(5), pages 1149-1161.

Former graduate students Christopher Vowels and Jason Ward served as co-authors on a technical report published through the Army Research Institute.

Christopher and Jason contributed to this research project while they were Consortium Research Fellows at the Army Research Institute. Hill, R.W., Kim, J.M., Zbylut, M.L., Gordon, A.S., Ward, J.N., & Vowels, C.L. (2008, March). Learning the lessons of leadership: Case-method teaching with interactive, computer-based tools and film-based cases. (ARI Technical Report 1226). Arlington, VA: US Army Research Institute for the Behavioral & Social Sciences.

Report is available at:http://stinet.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA472171

Graduate student Adam Larson and undergraduate student Brandon Dooley presented at the Great Plains Student Psychology Convention, in March 2008, and won second place in their session.

Adam Larson and Brandon Dooley presented a talk entitled, "Is Central or Peripheral Visual Information Preferred When Limited in Processing Scenes?" at the Great Plains Student Psychology Convention in Emporia, Kansas, March 15th.

Dr. Don Saucier and graduate students Jessica McManus and Russell Webster presented posters at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology meeting, February 7-9, 2008 in Albuquerque, NM.

McManus, J. L., & Saucier, D. A. (2008). The role of financial cost in discrimination. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.

Webster, R. J., & Saucier, D. A. (2008). Terror management and sexual prejudice: The effects of mortality salience on heterosexuals’ attitudes toward gay men and lesbians. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.

Graduate student Russell Webster won two awards at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology meeting, February 7-9, 2008, in Albuquerque, NM .

Russell Webster won two awards at the 2008 annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology:

                                       The SPSP Diversity Fund Travel Award
                                    The SPSP Graduate Student Poster Award

Dr. Mark Barnett and graduate students Natalie Brown and Jennifer Livengood presented posters at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology meeting Feb 7-9, 2008.

Dr. Mark Barnett and his graduate students presented two posters at the meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology in Albuquerque, New Mexico, February 7th - 9th.

Natalie Brown presented a poster, "The measurement and correlates of interpersonal
manipulativeness in young children," based on her thesis work.

Jennifer Livengood presented a poster, "Factors associated with children's emotional and behavioral responses to ambiguous teases," based on the work of Dr. Barnett's research group.

Dr. Lester Loschky and graduate student Adam Larson published in the Journal of Vision in January 2008.

Loschky, L.C. & Larson, A. M. (2008). Localized information is necessary for scene categorization, including the Natural/Man-made distinction. Journal of Vision, 8(1):4, 1-9.