Research

Students are encouraged to become involved in research activities with the faculty of the Psychology department. There are opportunities to volunteer or receive course credit (Psy 401/501 and 405/505) for involvement in the individual research activities of various faculty members. Past topics have included research in several areas including: learning styles, teaching-learning issues, personality differences, high-stress risk taking activities, sexual behaviors, gay and lesbian issues, flight anxiety, and animal behavior.

Students have presented research at various conferences ranging from regional to international conventions. These have included: the International Congress of Applied Psychology, the American Psychological Society National Conference, the American Psychological Association National Conference, the Social Sciences Research Conference at George Fox University, the Psychology Conference for Undergraduate Research at Santa Clara University, the Psi Chi Research and Chapter Idea Exchange at the Western Psychological Association Conference, the Association of Women in Psychology Conference, the Annual Undergraduate Research in Psychology Contest by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, and the Families Alive Conference at Weber State College.

Students will also become involved in research activities through their capstone project. These projects range from practical research topics such as program evaluation or workshop presentations to community mental health agencies to more theoretical research topics such as tomboyism, morality and authoritarianism, or internal and external locus of control in children on a finger maze task.