Psychology Commons^™

Perception Of Narcissism In College Professors, Harry M. Wallace, A. Carrillo, Jack Kelley

Psychology Faculty Research

We conducted three studies to examine perceptions of grandiose narcissism in college professors. Narcissism might appear incompatible with the profession if professors are viewed fundamentally as helpers or as introverted bookworms. Then again, people might expect professors to display big egos congruent with the prestige of their profession and their privileged public platforms. Our research indicates that professors are generally not seen as highly narcissistic according to the criteria of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory and the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire, though they are viewed as more narcissistic than elementary school teachers. More professor narcissism was expected at colleges that …

A Journey To Finding Space In The Tension: Experience Of Instructors' Relationship With Religion And Spirituality In Doctoral Psychology Programs, Samantha Mcgee

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Religion and spirituality, when viewed through a holistic lens, can reflect important aspects of a person’s identity. It can be a source of well-being and also struggle. The fields of religion, spirituality and psychology have had a history of being polarized, with some efforts to integrate the two fields. Tensions exist at multiple ecological levels around the topic of religion and spirituality, which can make it easier to avoid discussing it in classrooms and therapy rooms. It is important to address and create room for discussion of experiences around religion and spirituality in classrooms that are training psychologists so they …

Teaching Materialism Through Storytelling: A Collection Of Short Stories And Learning Materials, Zoie Zvonar, Katherine Arnold

Honors Projects

This collaborative projects seeks to combine the disciplines of psychology and writing into a collection of short stories and learning materials dedicated to teaching young students the psychological concept of materialism. In order to accomplish this goal, Zoie Zvonar and Katherine Arnold have designed and created a set of materials that seek to inform, educate, and instill in those young students what materialism is, how to recognize it in our own lives, its consequences, and potential strategies to lower high materialistic tendencies. Zoie Zvonar created the companion guide, learning activities for both students and instructors, and an additional resources list …

Teachers’ Experience With Problematic Behavior And Educational Support: A Phenomenological Inquiry, Kristen Michelle Brashear

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation was conducted to discover how teachers of elementary and middle school-aged children experience the phenomenon of problematic behavior in their classrooms and the support they receive from the educational system in this regard. The literature review revealed that there is a dearth of research using a purely qualitative approach to exploring the experience of teachers in this area. The idea that teachers are rarely asked how they experience problematic behavior and support was evident in the findings of this study. I conducted this study using a phenomenological approach to interview six teachers from three states. The interviews were …

Going Beyond Defining: Preschool Educators' Use Of Knowledge In Their Pedagogical Reasoning About Vocabulary Instruction, Julie Dwyer, Rachel E. Schachter

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Previous research investigating both the knowledge of early childhood educators and the support for vocabulary development present in early childhood settings has indicated that both educator knowledge and enacted practice are less than optimal, which has grave implications for children's early vocabulary learning and later reading achievement. Further, the nature of the relationship between educators' knowledge and practice is unclear, making it difficult to discern the best path towards improved knowledge, practice, and children's vocabulary outcomes. The purpose of the present study was to add to the existing literature by using stimulated recall interviews and a grounded approach to examine …

Reflecting On The Context Of A Teaching Philosophy, Judith Platania

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Teaching experience is only valuable when we reflect on our practices as professors. This reflection should expand our realization of the challenges we face in the classroom.As faculty, we have an obligation to our students and to ourselves to participate in continued assessment of our teaching philosophy.Not only is it important to do so from a pedagogical perspective, it reminds us of our responsibility to inform our students through evidence-based practices and the science of our respective disciplines.

Op-Ed On Our Current Educational Inequalities, Cristin K. Mcdonough

Student Scholarship

There is a lack of equal opportunities in education across levels of socioeconomic status. This Op-Ed discusses current research and potential ways to lessen the gap in opportunities for students.

Observed Quality And Consistency Of Fifth Graders’ Teacher–Student Interactions: Associations With Feelings, Engagement, And Performance In School, Jennifer Locasale-Crouch, Faiza Jamil, Robert C. Pianta, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Jamie Decoster

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

This study examined how overall quality and within-day consistency in fifth graders’ teacher-student interactions related to feelings about, engagement, and academic performance in school. Participants were 956 children in a national study. Students who experienced higher quality interactions reported more positive feelings about school, were more engaged, performed better in math and reading, and had more closeness and less conflict with teachers. Independent of overall interaction quality, students who experienced less consistency in their interactions with teachers, whether it was with the same teacher or across teachers, were less engaged and had more teacher-reported conflict. Findings emphasize the separate contributions …

Enhancing Student Altruism Using Secure Attachment Messages (Sam) In Lecture, Kelly Campbell, Stephany Ramos

Psychology Faculty Publications

In this brief report, we examine whether students’ (N=230) willingness to help individuals in distress (altruism) would be augmented after viewing Secure Attachment Messages (SAM) during lecture in a college racism course. Students were presented with SAM in alternating weeks as part of the PowerPoint presentation slides. In each of the weeks, their likelihood of engaging in altruistic behaviors was assessed using hypothetical scenarios and a student response system, Top Hat Monocle. We predicted that the SAM would prompt students to think of their attachment figures and enhance their feelings of security, which would increase their willingness to engage in …

Gesture Enhances Learning Of A Complex Statistical Concept, Linda Rueckert, Ruth Breckinridge Church, Andrea Avila, Theresa Trejo

Psychology & Gerontology Faculty Publications

Prior research has shown that gestures that co-occur with speech can improve understanding of abstract concepts by embodying the underlying meaning of those concepts, thereby making them more accessible to the listener. The present study examined the effect of gesture on undergraduate students’ learning of a complex statistical concept (analysis of variance; ANOVA). Students in three classes watched a brief video in which the speaker explained the conceptual background of ANOVA while using gesture and students in three other classes saw a similar video with the same speech, but no gesture. Students who saw the gesture learned significantly more, as …

The State Of Multiculturalism And Diversity In Undergraduate Psychology Training, Milton Fuentes, Casey R. Shannon

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Over the past few decades, diversity and multiculturalism have received considerable attention in the field of psychology. While there have been notable efforts to ensure these important areas are addressed in undergraduate psychology training, little is known about this undertaking. The present study examined how diversity and multiculturalism were addressed in the course titles and course descriptions of 200 undergraduate, psychology programs across North America and their corresponding general education programs. Analyses revealed that while most undergraduate psychology programs offered diversity or multicultural courses, very few programs required these courses. Moreover, when these courses were offered, they typically examined diversity …

Pols: 450: Research In Biology, Psychology, And Politics—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Ingrid J. Haas

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This benchmark course portfolio provides an overview of student learning in Research in Biology, Psychology, and Politics (Political Science 450). This is an upper-level undergraduate course focused on training students to conduct research in the interdisciplinary area of political psychology. Enrollment in the course is primarily advanced political science majors, or students from related majors (i.e., psychology) with an interest in politics. This course focuses on developing understanding of research methods and application of appropriate methods to small group research projects. In addition, the course helps to improve student confidence in ability to engage in the research process and understand …

Teacher Narratives And Student Engagement Testing Narrative Engagement Theory In Drug Prevention Education, Michelle Miller-Day, Michael L. Hecht, Janice L. Krieger, Jonathan Pettigrew, Young Ju Shin, John L. Graham

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Testing narrative engagement theory, this study examines student engagement and teachers’ spontaneous narratives told in a narrative-based drug prevention curriculum. The study describes the extent to which teachers share their own narratives in a narrative-based curriculum, identifies dominant narrative elements, forms and functions, and assesses the relationships among teacher narratives, overall lesson narrative quality, and student engagement. One-hundred videotaped lessons of the keepin’ it REAL drug prevention curriculum were coded and the results supported the claim that increased narrative quality of a prevention lesson would be associated with increased student engagement. The quality of narrativity, however, varied widely. Implications of …

The What, Why, When, And How Of Teaching The Science Of Subjective Well-Being, Ed Diener, Christie N. Scollon

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The field of subjective well-being (SWB), or happiness, has become a thriving area of science, with over 10,000 publications per year on the topic in recent years. Discoveries about the causes and processes involved in SWB range widely, from culture to biology to circumstances, providing instructors an opportunity to draw broadly on concepts from psychology. New research shows that high SWB not only feels good but is also good for one’s health and social relationships. In addition to providing a platform for discussions about what constitutes a life well-lived, teaching about SWB is an excellent opportunity to emphasize scientific research …

The Neurobiology Of Burnout: A Christ-Centered Perspective On Managing Stress, Fear And Depression For Optimal Teaching And Functioning, Lisa S. Sosin

Faculty Publications and Presentations

This presentation focuses on developing a bio-psycho-social-spiritual toolbox for effectively managing stress, fear, and depression to support optimal teaching and functioning. Learning outcomes for the presentation include describing the neurobiology of burn out, exploring responses to stressful situations found in the Scriptures, practicing using tools introduced in the presentation to help regulate stress, fear, and depression, and applying content and skills taught in the presentation to develop a personal bio-psycho-social-spiritual toolbox for effectively managing stress, fear, and depression.

Testing Misconceptions And Building Excitement In A Psychology And The Law Course, Emily Stark

Psychology Department Publications

Did you know that there is no evidence that verifies that each person's fingerprints are truly unique, or that even trained dental examiners cannot accurately match bite marks to the teeth of a suspect? Thinking about our misconceptions can make us excited to learn more about a topic, so that we understand why we were wrong. This article discusses a method that I developed to address misconceptions about psychology and the legal system and to get students excited to learn more about these topics.

The Relationship Of Teacher, Student, And Content In The Clinical Psychology Classroom, Hannah Lord

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The field of clinical psychology is in the midst of redefining graduate school education with a push for competency-based approaches and measurable learning outcomes. This dissertation explores the best-practice knowledge regarding the education of professional clinical psychology graduate students and uses cooperative inquiry to richly detail the educational approach of a thus far “silent stakeholder,” Dr. Colborn W. Smith, a long-time teacher and training director. This inquiry is intended to help me [Hannah Lord] understand an important personal educational experience, to explore the tangible art of teaching that made such an experience possible, and to contribute to the evolving discourse …

The Seditious Class, Donelson R. Forsyth

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

I never saw it coming. My students and I had just shared a splendid semester-long educational experience. I had deftly mixed original readings, engaging class discussions, illuminating lectures, and thoughtful assessments with a community-based project that gave students the opportunity to apply course concepts in a real-world setting. Or had I? You would think that, after some 30 years of opening packets of students’ evaluations at the semester’s end (and now, downloading them from the University’s evil evaluation website), that the thrill would be gone—no more disappointment, elation, or surprise.

Not so.

My course was a required one, populated with …

Graduate Student Researchers' Knowledge/Efficacy: Results From A Virtual Lab, Lee Stadtlander, Martha Giles

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

Stadtlander and Giles (2010) showed the feasibility of a virtual psychology research laboratory. The present study examines improvement in students’ research skills and efficacy in a three quarter lab. Students conducted interviews in a faculty designed project, analyzed the data, and co-wrote a journal manuscript. Findings indicate lab students’ research knowledge and efficacy improved significantly over non-lab graduate students.

Using Social Networking Game To Teach Operations Research And Management Science Fundamental Concepts, Ivan G. Guardiola, Susan L. Murray, Elizabeth A. Cudney

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents our experience using the popular game FarmVille by Zynga® to teach the fundamentals of linear programming and integer programming concepts to undergraduate students in an introductory operations research course. FarmVille is a popular game within the social networking website Facebook®. A month-long contest was introduced amongst the students with the goal to be the best individual farmer by striving to reach high levels of revenue, experience, and aesthetic appeal of their own unique farm. The contest is to demonstrate the concepts of problem formulation, solution methods, multiple and competing objectives, implementation of policy, and reformulation. The students …

Loving The World And Our Children Enough--Nurturing Decidedly Different Scientifc Minds, By Design, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Publications & Research

Wise world-shaping and problem-solving requires that we and our children think in decidedly different, integral and wise ways. This transformation requires a fundamental shift in consciousness and the emergence of global minds that can creatively live into a new worldview of an interconnected planet and a sustainable and interdependent human family. "The fullness of our humanity and the sustainability of our planet rest with the nurturing of decidedly different minds."

Virtual Instruction: A Qualitative Research Laboratory Course, Lee Stadtlander, Martha J. Giles

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

Online graduate programs in psychology are becoming common; however, a concern has been whether instructors in the programs provide adequate research mentoring. One issue surrounding research mentoring is the absence of research laboratories in the virtual university. Students attending online universities often do research without peer or lab support and without previous experience in supervised research projects. This paper describes a virtual qualitative research lab course at an online university that both mentored students and collected data through a virtual qualitative lab on a national scale. The authors also address logistics, problems and issues that arose, as well as suggestions …

What New Faculty Need To Know, But Don't Know To Ask, Susan L. Murray, Elizabeth A. Cudney, Suzanna Long, Katie Grantham

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A smooth transition to life at an academic institution and the surrounding community is essential to the professional careers of new faculty members. The transition begins during the hiring process and startup package negotiations. Once at an institution, aspects of academia including teaching, proposal writing, and the tenure process inevitably generate issues and concerns for new faculty members. Research has shown that mentoring new faculty members early in their academic career can have significant impact on professional success. This is especially true at a research-based institution where the demands of funded scholarship add an extra level of complexity. A survey …

Evolving Learning: Educators’ Inner Experiences Of Engaging In Service-Learning With Undergraduates, Cara Meixner

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Evolving Learning: Educators’ Inner Experiences of Engaging in Service-Learning with Undergraduates is an exploratory, qualitative study of faculty members’ learning, growth, and development in service-learning contexts. Through two, interwoven forms of constructivist grounded theory – situational mapping and dimensional analysis – this dissertation brought voice to a once ‘private’ perspective, making explicit what all is happening as participants make meaning of their experiences engaging in service-learning with college students. A three-phased series of recursive, comparative interviews and concurrent analysis resulted in the development of a grounded theory best captured by a core, organizing perspective – evolving learning. This perspective is …

Exploring Group Behavior, Donelson R. Forsyth

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

When I migrated from the world of constructions and took a position as a college professor and social psychologist, I found myself on the right side of the "good work if you can get it" divide. Granted, professoring is still work. There are politics of the office, bosses who make demands, and duties that must be fulfilled. Nor is it a glamorous occupation, as Hollywood's depictions of Indiana Jones-like professorial types would suggest. But depending on one's goals and perspectives, it is a personally fulfilling pursuit. It is an elite profession that requires special training and skill, and for much …

Retention Of Female Faculty Members, Susan L. Murray, Mariesa Crow, Suzanna M. Rose

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The recruitment and the retention of female undergraduate and graduate students into engineering courses is discussed. A similar challenge lies in recruiting female faculty member from the limited pool of candidates in several fields at most universities. It is found that about half the females who were hired did not stay at the university. It is suggested that programs should be introduced to encourage mentoring and career development as such improvements would benefit all faculty members both female and male.

The Effectiveness Of An On-Line Graduate Engineering Management Course, Rosemarie Maffei Evans, Madison Daily, Susan L. Murray

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In the summer of 1997, the Engineering Management Department of the University of Missouri-Rolla's (UMR) began offering its first Internet-based graduate level course. This course, Advanced Production Management, was designed to utilize a combination of Internet-based tools, such as EMail and Chat rooms to create a alternative means for the delivery of course material. This paper will draw these following conclusions from more than a year of research, which included over 100 students in six different course offerings. First, the Internet-based students performed equally as well as the control group students. Second, students tend to have exaggerated time requirement expectations …