What is Research Team?
The psychology curriculum at Ithaca College is unique. We offer students the opportunity to work with their professors in the creation of original research. The experience spans three semesters with the same team and provides exposure to opportunities to learn both about the research process and about a field of interest to the student.
Our students regularly present the results of their research at psychology conferences. Students have also won awards for their work from the the New England Psychological Association, from the New York State Psychological Association, from the Eastern Colleges Science Conference, from the Pace University Psychology Research Conference, and from Psi Chi Regional Award program.
How do you sign up for Research Team?
To join a Team, you need to talk to the professor who supervises that team. You need to get permission to join. Teams are relatively small, so there may not be room for everybody who is interested in it; that is why it is essential that you talk to the professor. It is also a good idea to talk to students on the teams that interest you. They can give you a good idea of what you will do as a member of that team.
In order to join most teams, students need to have completed the Statistics. In addition, students must either have completed Research Methods or be enrolled in it during their first semester on Team. If you have questions about this, you should talk to the professor.
Once you get permission to join a team, you register for it as you would for any class. The course number is 330-30200. The section number is the same as the team number; it appears in the description below.
Human Motivation
Research Team 3
Supervised by Dr. Mary Turner
DePalma
Office: 119-C Williams
The focus of this team is human motivation. We will study the variables that initiate and direct human behavior. Motivational factors present in competitive situations and interpersonal interactions are currently being studied by this team. Team members design and implement studies, and are responsible for data analysis and preparations of APA-Style research reports.
The Human
Mind: Origins and Function
Research Team 4
Supervised by Dr. Nancy Rader
Office: 115-C Williams
The team will work on research designed to answer questions about cognitive origins and function. Team members will be involved in research on samples drawn from across the life span; current research involves infants and undergraduates. Two areas of focus are infant language and the impact of emotion on cognition.
Psychology of
Humor Research Team
Research Team 5
Supervised by Dr. Barney Beins
Office: 115-E Williams
This Research Team studies psychological aspects of humor. Our work consists of collecting humorous stories, jokes, anecdotes, and cartoons so that we can see how different people react to them. Students on the Team complete library research to discover what other researchers have done, help plan the studies, and produce written reports of the results. In the past, students have presented their work at various psychology conferences.
Psychology of
Television and Other Media
Research Team 7
Supervised by Dr. Cyndy Scheibe
Office: 115-B
This research team is part of the Center for Research on the Effects of Television (CRETV), conducting research concerning television and social cognition, especially as it relates to social and cognitive development in children. Projects generally involve both content analyses of TV programs and/or commercials, and corresponding studies of television effects. Current projects include studies of put-downs and teasing on television shows, children's understanding of selling intent in advertising, the impact of television on false nutritional beliefs of children, and the effectiveness of media literacy interventions in K-12 education. Empirical studies typically involve subjects of different ages, but with an emphasis on elementary school aged children. Team members are involved in the ongoing collection and analysis of TV programs and commercials as part of the CRETV Archive.
Neuroscience
Research Team
Research Team 8
Supervised by Dr. Jack Peck
This team is designed to expose students to laboratory and research techniques in Behavioral Neuroscience. During the first semester basic lab skills and instrumentation are taught. Second and third semester students do research in a topic which could lead to a written and oral presentation. Interested students should also take Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory (330-31200) or get permission of the instructor.
Social
Judgment Research Team
Research Team 11
Supervised by Dr. Leigh Ann Vaughn
Positive psychology is the scientific study of how ordinary human beings survive, thrive, and improve in their environments, as well as change their environments for the better. In this research team we take a social-personality psychology approach to studying how potentially positive aspects of the self may be brought out more in some situations than others. Furthermore, we examine how bringing out those aspects of the self might subsequently influence people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in regard to themselves and to other people. Team members read current research in the field, and collaborate on designing and running studies, interpreting results, and writing APA-style reports about our research.
Clinical and Mental Health Research Team
Research Team 12
Supervised by Dr. Hugh Stephenson
The research that will be the focal area of team revolves around broad issues of mental health and abnormal psychology particularly as they apply to college students. In the coming semester team members will analyze data based on 20,000 student responses to the national college health assessment survey. Team members will explore the relationship between a host of life style variables and negative outcomes such as depression and eating disorders.
Students on the team will also have the opportunity to participate in studies being conducted in the mind body lab. Currently we are examining the relationship between psychological manifestations of anxiety, physiological symptoms and performance related pain and injury in music students.
Developmental and Educational Psychology
Research Team 13
Supervised by Dr. Judith Pena-Shaff
This research team focuses on issues related to human development and learning. Projects involve both qualitative and quantitative research to study development and learning and to evaluate educational programs. Our current project focuses on cross-cultural analyses of preschool socialization practices in India, the Dominican Republic, and Japan. Team members conduct library research, learn about qualitative research, and are responsible for data analysis and preparation of APA style research papers or poster presentations.
Autism Treatment Research Team
Research Team 14
Supervised by Dr.
Bill Hudenko
The aim of this research team is to study the effects of a novel treatment approach on children with autism. Families who have 9-10 year-old children with autism will be recruited and asked to participate in a 10-week treatment study. The study is designed to improve systemic family functioning and reduce symptoms of autism. Secondary topics of interest include examining the relation between positive affect and autism, and investigating moment-to-moment change effects in clinical populations.
Students will be involved in all aspects of the research process. Research team members will gain experience reviewing literature, recruiting participants, writing scholarly research reports, and conducting data analysis. Senior team members will be involved with the creation of a manualized treatment, analyzing videotaped treatment segments, and establishing long-term relationships with treatment participants.
This page is maintained by the Psychology
Department, Ithaca College
Last updated: July 10, 2007