Published – Psychology

Howansky Published in Teaching of Psychology

September 21, 2021

Congratulations to Assistant Professor of Psychology Kristina Howansky who was recently published in the journal Teaching of Psychology!

Her article “Fostering Inclusivity: Exploring the Impact of Identity Safety Cues and Instructor Gender on Students’ Impressions and Belonging” was included in Teaching of Psychology’s special issue on social justice pedagogy: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Teaching of Psychology. Collaborators were Melanie Maimon and Diana Sanchez of Rutgers University.

Identity Safety Cues (ISCs) signal to students with marginalized identities that their identities are valued and respected. In this work, we explored whether positive outcomes of ISCs differed based on the gender identity of the instructor. Students in an introduction to psychology course read a syllabus of a prospective class that either included ISCs or did not. The gender of the professor was also manipulated. Students reported greater expected course engagement and sense of belonging in the field of psychology when the syllabus included ISCs compared to when it did not. Further, students had more positive impressions of the instructor when the syllabus included ISCs compared to the control syllabus. Instructor gender had a minimal impact on participants’ outcomes and impressions. This work demonstrates including ISCs in course syllabi can positively impact students when course instructors are White men or women. In future work, we hope to explore more diverse gender and racial identities.

Freedman Published in Psychology of Popular Media

July 7, 2021

Congratulations to Dr. Gili Freedman on her recent publication!

Freedman, G., Green, M. C., Kaufman, G., & Flanagan, M. (2021). Using comics and tweets to raise awareness about gender biases in STEM. Psychology of Popular Media. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000313

For this project, Freedman and her colleagues worked with a comic artist who created comics about women’s experiences in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). In their study, men and women were shown tweets that contained the comics or tweets with text only. Researchers measured attitudes toward women in STEM before and after participants viewed the tweets. They found that after reading either type of tweet (text-only or comic), participants became more aware of the negative climate issues for women in STEM. In addition, women in the comic condition thought that there were more women in STEM after reading the comics, but men’s perceptions did not change.

View the full abstract here. Access to full text is available to the SMCM community through the Library.

Jensen Published in Journal of American College Health

March 25, 2021

Congratulations to Visiting Assistant Professor Cjersti Jensen and collaborators who recently published an article titled “Examination of ethnic racial identity exploration and commitment in emerging adults: Group comparisons and specific features of multiracial identity” in Journal of American College Health!

Jensen, C., Koerten, H., Mattei, G., Weinandy, J. G., Froemming, M., Dulek, E., & Dworsky, D. (2021). Examination of ethnic racial identity exploration and commitment in emerging adults: Group comparisons and specific features of multiracial identity. Journal of American College Health, DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2021.1900197

To better understand differences in Monoracial White, Monoracial Minoritized, and Multiracial college students, 888 emerging adults were surveyed. Results indicated that Multiracial participants were significantly different than the other two groups in ethnic identity exploration and experienced discrimination (with Monoracial White participants showing the lowest levels, Monoracial Minoritized participants showing the highest). Multiracial participants did not differ significantly in ethnic identity commitment from Monoracial White participants, but both groups were significantly lower in commitment than Monoracial Minoritized participants. Because Multiracial college students are poorly represented in the literature, Jensen and her collaborators also explored some variables specific to having multiple racial identities. Multiracial participants’ ethnic identity commitment, a variable related to positive psychosocial outcomes in previous research, showed a significant positive relationship with both ethnic identity exploration and a negative relationship with conflict between identities. This research highlights the differences between Monoracial and Multiracial people, and makes a strong case for people working with Multiracial college students to consider their unique challenges and experiences.

https://www.tandfonline.com/…/10…/07448481.2021.1900197

Howansky Publishes Article in Teaching of Psychology Journal

February 3, 2021

Congratulations to Assistant Professor of Psychology Kristina Howansky and collaborators who recently published “Identity safety cues predict instructor impressions, belonging, and absences in the psychology classroom” in the journal Teaching of Psychology!

Howansky, K., Maimon, M., & Sanchez, D. (2021). Identity safety cues predict instructor impressions, belonging, and absences in the psychology classroom. Teaching of Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628321990362

This work aimed to explore some of the possible benefits of identity safety cues – signals to let students’ know diverse identities are valued in their classroom – in the higher-ed classroom. Researchers found that identify safety cues were associated with more positive impressions of students’ professor, a higher sense of belonging in the class, and even fewer absences. Although the safety cues were aimed at specific populations, they were associated with positive outcomes across student identities, even those not specifically targeted by the cues. Provided in the article are concrete examples and small steps faculty can make to signal their values of inclusion to students.

You can read the abstract here.

The acknowledgements section of the paper includes a shoutout to psychology department members Assistant Professor Gili Freedman, Assistant Professor Ayse Ikizler, and Associate Professor Scott Mirabile for their feedback on the manuscript. It also gives thanks to psychology majors Gabrielle Backus, Jannah Mawuli, and India Oates.

Sharpless Published in Journal of Sleep Research

November 18, 2020

Congratulations to Visiting Associate Professor of Psychology Brian Sharpless who recently published an article in the Journal of Sleep Research with two colleagues from Charles University and the National Institute of Mental Health (NUDZ) in the Czech Republic! The article, “Could Sleep Paralysis be Pleasant?” was a quantitative study of the prevalence and associated features of sleep paralysis episodes.

Sleep paralysis is the experience of either going to sleep or waking up and finding yourself unable to move. It is a recognized sleep disorder that can have significant impacts on daytime functioning. The majority of individuals with sleep paralysis also experience hallucinations during the event. Though usually thought of as a frightening experience, this study – using a sample of Czech individuals with recurrent sleep paralysis – found that 23% of episodes were actually pleasant and that the nature of the corresponding hallucinations appeared to be quite different. The ability to lucid dream and a greater openness to new experiences (a “big five” personality trait) were both associated with pleasant sleep paralysis episodes. Clinical implications of these findings were also discussed.

See the full abstract at https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.13154. SMCM faculty, staff, and students can request the full-text through interlibrary loan.

Williams Published with Three Alums in Adoption Quarterly

October 28, 2020

Congratulations to Professor of Psychology Libby Nutt Williams and alums Meg Marcelli ‘17, Ben Ertman ‘18, and Kelly Culotta ‘18 who recently published an article in the journal Adoption Quarterly!

Marcelli, M., Williams, E. N., Culotta, K. & Ertman, B. (2020). The Impact of Racial-Ethnic Socialization Practices on International Transracial Adoptee Identity Development, Adoption Quarterly, DOI: 10.1080/10926755.2020.1833393

The article is based on Marcelli’s SMP which was a qualitative study that explored adoptees’ perspectives on their parents’ socialization strategies and the effect of those practices on their sense of identity and ability to manage future challenges, such as racial discrimination. Marcelli was scheduled to present the research at the Annual Meeting of the National Association of Social Workers Conference in June 2020, but the conference was unfortunately cancelled due to COVID-19.

View the advanced online publication

Sharpless Published in Sleep Medicine and Interviewed by Newsweek

July 15, 2020

Congratulations to Dr. Brian A. Sharpless, Visiting Associate Professor of Psychology, who recently published an article in the journal Sleep Medicine with several colleagues from the US and the UK. The article, “Exploding Head Syndrome: Clinical Features, Theories about Etiology, and Prevention Strategies in a Large International Sample”, was based on data from over 6,000 participants. It was carried out through the British Broadcasting Corporation’s Science Focus Magazine.

Exploding head syndrome (EHS) is a sleep disorder (i.e., parasomnia) characterized by the perception of loud noises or a sense of explosion in the head during sleep transitions. Though first identified in 1876, it has received relatively little scientific attention and no well-established treatment options are yet available for sufferers.

Results of this study indicated that those with EHS had poorer and shorter sleep than those without EHS. Not surprisingly, episodes of EHS were associated with clinically significant levels of fear, but only 25% of experienced significant distress as a result of episodes whereas only 10% reported significant life interference. The majority of sufferers believed EHS to be a natural, brain-based phenomenon, but 2.3% blamed electronic equipment and 2.8% believed that was due to supernatural causes. Finally, five effective prevention strategies were identified from the first-hand reports of sufferers. Several of these were consistent with existing treatment approaches for insomnia and anxiety and may prove useful for developing a novel treatment for chronic EHS.

On July 15, 2020, Sharpless was interviewed by Newsweek in regards to the study.

Williams Published with Alumna in Psychotherapy

May 31, 2020

Congratulations to Dr. Libby Williams on her recent publication with alumna, Emily Morgan ’18!

Morgan, E., & Nutt Williams, E. (2020). A qualitative study of psychotherapists’ in-session tears. Psychotherapy. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000298

The article, which is based on Emily’s SMP, examines the impact of therapists’ crying during counseling sessions from the point of view of the therapist. Morgan ’18 and Williams are also scheduled to present their work at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association in August.

Publisher abstract: “There is little empirical research on the topic of psychotherapists crying with or in front of clients (Blume-Marcovici, 2017); however, therapists crying in therapy appears to happen more frequently than previously believed (t’ Lam, Vingerhoets, & Bylsma, 2018). Although many clients believe that crying in session improves their relationship with their therapist (Zingaretti, Genova, Gazzillo, & Lingiardi, 2017), it is unclear how therapists’ tears impact the psychotherapy process. For example, as some research has suggested that tearful individuals may be seen as less competent (van de Ven, Meijs, & Vingerhoets, 2017), it is possible that therapist tears are potential detriment to psychotherapy. However, therapists’ tears might also have a positive effect on the therapeutic relationship if they are seen as evidence of therapist genuineness. To more deeply understand therapists’ experiences of crying during a psychotherapy session, 8 practicing psychotherapists of varying theoretical orientations were interviewed using Consensual Qualitative Research (Hill, 2012; Hill et al., 2005; Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997). Overall, the therapists had a consistent positive perception of the consequences of their own tears, both on therapy in general as well as on the client–therapist relationship. However, they also acknowledged a lack of training in how to manage their own tears in session, confirming previous results (Blume-Marcovici, Stolberg, & Khademi, 2013) and suggesting that psychotherapists may not be fully prepared to manage tears in counseling. Implications for psychotherapists as well as directions for future research are discussed.” (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

Williams Publishes Book Chapter

March 19, 2020

Congratulations to Dr. Libby Williams on her recent publication!

Williams. E. N. (2020). Research with underserved populations: Matching method to need. In J. Zimmerman, J. Barnett, & L. Campbell (Eds.), Bringing psychotherapy to the underserved: Challenges and strategies. New York: Oxford University Press.

Here is the abstract for the book chapter:

“The research findings to date are clear: health disparities exist and are persistent. This chapter explores current research strategies and considers additional, less often employed methodologies in the area of mental health disparities. In particular, previous correlational and survey studies examining barriers to treatment are reviewed. In addition to understanding barriers to treatment, however, we need to focus on what works for underserved populations. Additional experimental studies of treatment modalities (e.g., tele-health), the impact of integrated care and geographic access, and the use of cultural and language-sensitive programs seem timely. Additional qualitative studies of individual experiences within various underserved populations will also help us devise innovative treatment approaches. By matching method to need, we will be able to find new ways to help underserved populations decide to seek help, access the care they need, and receive the best psychotherapeutic treatments available.”

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