Psychology Student & Faculty Research
An extracurricular learning opportunity that students are advised to consider is collaborative research with departmental faculty. All of the full-time members of the Department conduct empirical research in their area of expertise, and students are urged to gain research experience by working with faculty members. This experience is especially useful for students intending to enroll in graduate school, although students halting their education at the Bachelor’s level can also gain valuable knowledge from this experience. Furthermore, beyond the research conducted as part of faculty members’ labs, students may gain research experience in the context of the completion an individualized research project, which is another graduation capstone project option (in addition to internships); 30% of our students complete their capstone requirement in this manner.
Students engaged in research will frequently interact with faculty in a manner that is different from classroom interactions, and come to gain a wealth of advice concerning both graduate school and “real world” work experiences. In addition, many students present the work done with faculty at professional conferences, and/or appear as authors on versions of their work appearing in various peer-reviewed professional journals. For a copy of the full department handbook with additional information, email Dr. Lou Manza at manza@lvc.edu.
Recent Student & Faculty Publications & Presentations
Geary, M. & Albert, R.R. ((March, 2023). Does infant gaze while babbling change parental perception of vocal maturity? Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Child Development, Salt Lake City, UT.
Geary, M., Graham, T., Mater, H., & Albert, R.R., & Vallotton, C. (March, 2023). Infant vocalizations shape sensitivity of childcare teachers’ language. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Child Development, Salt Lake City, UT.
Mailey, M., Casella, R., Fritz, A., & McFalls, A. (June 2023). Feathered ambassadors: Stories of how backyard chickens are causing a shift toward a kinder coexistence. Paper delivered at the Int’l. Society for Anthrozoology annual meeting, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Mailey, M., Manza, L., Forsythe, J., Stum, J., Anderson, M., & Keough, M. (2023). Predicting intellectual humility and rational/irrational beliefs via perceptions of cultural systems. Poster presented at the 94th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA.
Mazack, B., Geary, M., Osadchyi, I., Hartsock, J., & Marx, J.M. (2023, March). Short-term impact of social media and gaming on health: Preliminary results. Poster presented at Eastern Psychological Association Annual Meeting, Boston, MA.
Paradise, S., Manza, L., Faron, M., Hunyara, T., Gabriel, J., Stranick, S., & Ward, A. (2023). Predicting grit through ascription of responsibility and other modes of thinking. Poster presented at the 94th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA.
Albert, R.R., Ernst, M., & Vallotton, C. (July, 2022). Infant vocalizations elicit simplified speech in childcare settings. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the International Congress of Infant Studies, Ottawa, CA.
Albert, R.R., Ernst, M., Little, R., & Vallotton, C. (June, 2022). Infant-toddler teachers simplify speech when responding to infant babbling. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the National Research Conference on Early Childhood, Crystal City, VA.
Beck, A., Talamona, S., Arnold, M., Pitta, M., & McFalls, A. (July 2022). Dogs who require encouragement to approach a novel object make more eye contact with owner. Poster presented at the International Society for Anthrozoology annual meeting (virtual format due to COVID19).
Gabriel, J., Manza, L., Anderson, M., Paradise, S., Stranick, S., Anderson, S., & Kintzer, A. (2022). Grit: Connections to self-esteem, self-worth, cognitive processing, and aging. Poster presented at the 93rd Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, New York, NY.
Kitchens, M.B., Kitchens, J.M., Kline, J., & Longenecker, E. (2022). The explanatory power hypothesis: On Christians’ identification with and perceived value of science. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 40(4), 280-297
Meier, B.P., Kitchens, M.B., Kupersmith, D.E., Houck, K.E., *Keyton, N.S., Petrasic, S.E., Schultz, E.H., Sheriff, S.S., Simmers, M.M., Underwood, J.O., Walker, S., & Zweizig, D.N. (2021). Be responsible? Priming “responsibility” and the bystander effect in a field setting. Experimental Psychology, 68(2), 107-112. https://doi.org/10.1027/1618-3169/a000513
Kitchens, M.B., Phillips, R.E., & Petrasic, S. (2022, February 16-19). Ideological identity: Worldviews are self-defining attitudes [Poster presentation]. Annual Conference for the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, San Francisco, CA. https://osf.io/2src3/
McFalls, A., & Mailey, M. (July 2022). Hens who raise chicks late in the season may be better mothers. Poster presented at the International Society for Anthrozoology Annual Meeting (virtual format due to COVID19).
Miller, A., Locke, J., Beard, J., Strous, K., Frazier, E., & Marx, J.M. (2022, March). Mindfulness and mediation: A content analysis. Presented at Eastern Psychological Association Annual Meeting, New York, NY.
Petrasic, S., Manza, L., Mailey, M., Stum, J., Faron, M., Fitzgerald, S., & Dotey, A. (2022). Intellectual humility: Connections to reasoning, cognitive attitudes, and irrational beliefs. Poster presented at the 93rd Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, New York, NY.
Albert, R. R. (2021). Teacher talk: Infant vocal cues affect non-lead infant teachers’ responding. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 55, 326-335.
Albert, R.R., & Toth, S. (April, 2021). PPVT scores predicts preschoolers’ speech changes to infants. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, virtual conference due to COVID19.
Anderson, S., Manza, L., Anderson, M., Galvin, M., Gabriel, J., Kintzer, A., & McIlhenny, R. (2021). Roles of self-awareness and metacognition when assessing grit: Self vs. observer ratings. Poster presented at the 92nd Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association [online; COVID-19 pandemic].
Dotey, A., Manza, L., & Petrasic, S. (2021). Influences on beliefs in paranormal phenomena, junk science, & conspiracy theories. Poster presented at the 92nd Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association [online; COVID-19 pandemic].
Kegan, D. H. & Vejar, C. M. (April, 2021). An Examination of Parenting Resilience. Life Paths Research Centers ResilienceCon 2020 [online; COVID-19 pandemic].
Locke, J., Miller, A., Frazier, E., & Marx, J.M. (2021, March). The Behavioral Economics of smoking: Graphic warning labels among contributors to hypothetical cigarette and e-cigarette purchasing behavior. Accepted for presentation at Eastern Psychological Association Annual Meeting, Virtual Format.
Dotey, A., Manza, L., Anderson, S., Ebersole, G., & Petrasic, S. (2020). Metacognition and academic pressure: Predicting beliefs in paranormal phenomena and junk science. Poster presented at the 91st Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA [online; COVID-19 pandemic].
Kegan, D. H. & Vejar, C. M. (November, 2020). Experiences of Shame in Parenthood: Incidence and Gender Differences in Self-Conscious Affect. National Council on Family Relations [online; COVID-19 pandemic].
McIlhenny, R., Manza, L., Galvin, M., Snyder, M., Harper, B., & Anderson, M. (2020). Developmental trends in assessing grit: Self reports vs. observer ratings. Poster presented at the 91st Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA [online; COVID-19 pandemic].
Miller, A., Locke, J., Frazier, E., Fischer, T., & Marx, J.M. (2020, April*). Health literacy and smoking perceptions for cigarettes and e-cigarettes. Accepted for presentation at Undergraduate Research at the Capitol, Harrisburg, PA. *Conference cancelled due to COVID-19.
Miller, A., Locke, J., Frazier, E., Fischer, T., & Marx, J.M. (2020, June*). Health literacy and smoking perceptions for cigarettes and e-cigarettes. Accepted for presentation at Eastern Psychological Association Annual Meeting, Boston, MA. *Virtual format due to COVID-19.
Sydow, D., & Albert, R.R. (June, 2020). Teacher Talk: How infant cues impact childcare teachers language. Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association’s annual meeting, online due to COVID-19.
Thomas, L.A., Marx, J.M., Lupold, M., Kinneman, A., McGlory, H., & Miller, T.Y. (2020, May*). BMI influence on quality of life following physical activity program for women in homeless shelters. Presented at American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA. *Virtual format due to COVID-19.
Toth, S., Ernst, M., Harper, B., & Albert, R.R. (June, 2020). Associations between preschoolers’ theory of mind and speech to infants. Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association’s annual meeting, online due to COVID-19.
Vejar, C. M. & Kegan, D. H. (November, 2020). Perceptions of the Childfree Population. National Council on Family Relations [online; COVID-19 pandemic].
Dalpiaz, H. & Manza, L. (2019). Life of trauma: The effects of day-to-day traumatic events for emergency service providers. Poster presented at the 90th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, New York, NY.
Hodecker, K. & Manza, L. (2019). Rumination and sleep duration: Is there a difference between genders? Poster presented at the 90th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, New York, NY.
Kitchens, M. B., Barto, E. M., & Kline, J. (2019). Beliefs about God are self-defining. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, Portland, OR.
Riley, A., Manza, L., Grinestaff, M., Boltz, S., Toth, S., Dotey, A., Yoder, J., Schlusser, E., Mogle, A., Hiller, S., Davis, H., Howard, A., & Nicolaro, S. (2019). Connections between fabricated beliefs, metacognition, and knowledge domains. Poster presented at the 90th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, New York, NY.
Sydow, D., Harper, B.. & Albert, R.R. (2019). Experience with infants impacts childcare teachers’ responses to infant vocalizations. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development’s Biennial Meeting, Baltimore, MD.
Sydow, D., Harper, B., Ansel, A. & Albert, R.R. (2019). Daycare from the infant’s perspective: How caregiving experience impacts responsiveness to vocalizations. Poster presented at the 90th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, New York, NY.
Toth, S., Manza, L., Schlusser, E., McIlhenny, R., Riley, A., Grinestaff, M., & Dotey, A. (2019). Self vs. observer ratings of grit: Misperceptions and their associations to subjective and objective cognitive processes. Poster presented at the 90th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, New York, NY.
Davis, H., Manza, L., Howard, A., Mogle, A., Schlusser, E., & Cook, M. (2018). Grit in and out of the classroom: Motivations and cognitive habits. Poster presented at the 89th meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Philadelphia, PA.
Howard, A., & Manza, L. (2018). Emotional intelligence: Decision-making skills and beliefs. Poster presented at the 89th meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Philadelphia, PA.
Kitchens, M., Cook, M., & Shultz, R. (2018). Are beliefs about God central to the self? Paper presented at the 89th meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Philadelphia, PA.
Koros, S., Toth, S., & Albert, R.R. (2018). Beyond baby babble: Imitating influences adult perception of infant vocalizations. Poster presented at the 89th meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Philadelphia, PA.
Mann, S., Manza, L., Nicolaro, S., Mogle, A., Riutzel, H., & Schlusser, E. (2018). The impact of mindset and grit on writing-based skills and attitudes. Poster presented at the 89th meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Philadelphia, PA.
Martin, P. & Albert, R.R. (2018). The relationship between childcare teachers’ background and attitudes towards caregiving. Poster presented at the 89th meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Philadelphia, PA.
Martinez, A., Rinehimer, J., & Albert, R.R. (2018). Acoustic features of infant vocalizations impact fathers’ perceptions and responding. Poster presented at the 89th meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Philadelphia, PA.
Mogle, A., Manza, L., Howard, A., Nicolaro, S., Davis, H., Riutzel, H., & Potosnak, A. (2018). Overclaiming and pseudoscience: Correlating self-generated degrees of knowledge and beliefs towards paranormal phenomena and junk science. Poster presented at the 89th meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Philadelphia, PA.
Cook, M., Manza, L., Aguilar, E., Parsons, C., & Acevedo, C. (2017). Predicting grit: Parenting styles, academic entitlement, and cognitive habits. Poster presented at the 88th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA.
Fleming, M., Manza, L., Potosnak, A., Davis, H., Mogle, A., & Howard, A. (2017). Objective vs. subjective perceptions of writing skills: Connections to grit, habits of mind, and composition-related attitudes/behaviors. Poster presented at the 88th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA.
Frace, K., & Albert, R.R. (2017). Effects of caregiving experience on labeling responses to infant vocalizations. Poster presented at the 88th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA.
Niculescu, M., Chenail, T.R., Aguilar, E.A., Potosnak, A.N., Parsons, C.R., Carper, P.V., Boyle, R.S., Kutch, J.K., & Tranchitella, V.J. (2017). How genetic factors and personality traits affect peer pressure susceptibility. Poster presented at the Research Society on Alcoholism Meeting, Denver, Colorado.
Potosnak, A., Manza, L., Mann, S., & Sorber, K. (2017). Cognitive firewalls: Protecting pseudoscientific beliefs at the expense of rational reasoning? Poster presented at the 88th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA.
Kitchens, M. B., Wilson, B., & Remper, B. (2016, January). The cognitive accessibility of God: Describing natural word-associations with the concept of God. Poster presented at the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality Conference, San Diego, CA.
Meyer, J., Manza, L., Sorber, K., Cook, M., & Acevedo, C. (2016). Writing skills and college students: Relationships between composition-related attitudes/behaviors and academic entitlement. Poster presented at the 87th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, New York, NY.
Potosnak, A., Manza, L., Fleming, M., Sorber, K., Meyer, J., Parsons, C., Aguilar, E., & Umbrell, T. (2016). Paranormal firewalls and metacognitive awareness: Separating pseudoscientific beliefs and decision-making. Poster presented at the Undergraduate Research at the Capitol (PA) Poster Event (Spring), Harrisburg, PA.
Oliveri, J., Manza, L., & Meyer, J. (2015). College students and writing: Connections between composition-related grades, attitudes, & behaviors. Poster presented at the 86th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Philadelphia, PA.
Eyler, R., Manza, L., Sorber, K., McKain, K., Madanat, S., Lachance, K., & Harris, A. (2015). Grit in and out of the classroom: Associations with habits of mind, exposed parenting, and academic entitlement. Poster presented at the Undergraduate Research at the Capitol (PA) Poster Event (Spring), Harrisburg, PA.
Harris, A., Manza, L., Morse, B., Meyer, J., Potosnak, A., & Eyler, R. (2015). Pseudoscientific beliefs and their connections to reasoning errors, religiosity, tolerance for ambiguity, and cognitive reflection. Poster presented at the 86th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Philadelphia, PA.
McKain, D., McKain, K., & Smedley, K. (2015). Digit ratio and celebrity worship on the college campus. Poster presented at the 86th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Philadelphia, PA.
McKain, K., McKain, D., & Laguna, L. (2015). The impact of physical exercise as a coping strategy for dealing with stress among pre-service police applicants. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Philadelphia, PA.
Wilson, B., Dorman, K., Harris, A., Samper, J., Buzinski, S.G., & Kitchens, M.B. (2014). Ego-depletion and prejudice: The influence of perceived social pressure to be non-prejudiced. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA.
Boyle, R.S., Siffin, K E., Kitchens, M.B., & Niculescu, M. (2014). The relationship between genetics and personality factors in peer-pressure susceptibility. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA.
Kitchens, M.B., Pruett, E., Graby, B., Mackey, K., Chaffier, L., & Samper, J. (2014). Emotional attention fosters the development of emotional intelligence. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Personality & Social Psychology, Austin, TX.
Honchar, K., Manza, L., Eyler, R., & McKain, K. (2014). Critical thinking instruction and its connection to divergent reasoning approaches and attitudes towards pseudoscience. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA.
Lachance, K., Manza, L., Bogert, D., & Tarson, C. (2014). Grit and habits of mind: Self-perceptions across academic and non-academic contexts. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA.
Niculescu, M., Cerullo, K.J., Hess, K., Rupslaukyte, R.E., Stoothoff, B., Enman, N., Hesterberg, K., Manza, L., & Hutchinson, K.E. (2014). The involvement of the CNR1 gene in impulsivity and stress response in alcohol-related behaviors. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Ronco, R., Manza, L., Harris, A., Oliveri, J., Honchar, K., Hoover, J., Zeller, J., Pruett, E., & Geyer, J. (2014). Predicting pseudoscientific beliefs: Connections to tolerance for ambiguity, religiosity, and cognitive reflection. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA.
McKain, D., McKain, K., & Laguna, L. (2014). Body mass index and locus of control. Poster presented at the 85th annual meeting of the Eastern Psychology Association, Boston, MA.
McKain, K., McKain, D., & Laguna, L. (2014). Negative cognitions and their impact on activity level. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA.
Dodson, D.L., Jackson, K., Koller, K., & Lachance, K. (2014). A comparison of finger maze learning in left- and right-handers. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA.
Dorman, K., Harris, A., Wilson, B., Samper, J., Kitchens, M.B., & Buzinski, S.G. (2014). The effect of ego-depletion and social norms on prejudice. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA.
Baby Lab Research
We study infant language learning by observing parent-child interaction. The goal of our research is to better understand the relationship between the social environment and infant cognitive development. For more information about current studies and how to participate please email us at babylab@lvc.edu or call 717-367-6191.