Susan Clayton

Professor Clayton discusses climate change’s effects on mental health on NPR podcast

Susan Clayton, Whitmore-Williams Professor of Psychology at The College of Wooster, was recently featured on the podcast The Sound of Ideas, produced by Ideastream […]

Zoe Seymour '23

‘Overlooked Adoptees’ I.S. research earns Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Award at the Senior Research Symposium

Zoe Seymore ’23 grew up in Texas after being adopted from China when she was 11 months old. The adoption community has always been […]

Lucy Agurkis '23

Dual research in psychology and studio art helps validate art therapy career goals

For several summers, Lucy Agurkis ’23 worked at Camp Squanto in New Hampshire—it’s where her parents met, and it’s a special place that the […]

Claudia Partridge ’23, Zoe Seymore ’23, Tomoka Adams ’23

Fulbrights awarded to three soon-to-be Wooster graduates

Tomoka Adams ’23, Claudia Partridge ’23, and Zoe Seymore ’23 will represent The College of Wooster when they take their talents overseas as 2023 […]

Morgan Stanley head shot

Oral Contraceptives Improve Spatial Learning and Anxiety in a Rodent Model Despite Opposing Androgenicity

Name: Morgan Stanley Major: Psychology Advisors: Amy Jo Stavnezer, Meredith Hope Little is known about the effects of oral contraceptives, or “the pill,” on cognition and […]

Lucille Segal head shot

Beyond the Game: Examining Health Attitudes from a Collegiate Student-Athlete Perspective

Name: Lucille Segal Major: Psychology Minor: Education Advisor: Bryan Karazsia; Meredith O. Hope (second reader) The mental well-being of collegiate student-athletes is often overlooked by the […]

Lucy Agurkis

Coloring Away the Blues: Exploring the Therapeutic Effects of Art Activities on Well-Being

Name: Lucy Agurkis Majors: Psychology, Studio Art Advisors: Meredith o. Hope, Daren Kendall For college-attending emerging adults, college can be simultaneously the most rewarding […]

Kate Larson head shot

Breaking Out From Binaries Behind Bars: How Structural Identity Denial Influences Pro/Anti-Social Reactionary Responses and Corresponding Psycho-Social Experiences Inside and Outside the Prison Industrial Complex

Name: Kate Larson Majors: Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Psychology Advisors: Zareen Thomas, Amber Garcia, Katie Holt The goal of this research was to complete Critical […]

Min Kim head shot

Sources of Stress in NCAA Division III Athletes: Racism and Mental Health Threats in Competition

Name: Min kyung Kim Major: Psychology Advisor: Susan Clayton; Amy Jo Stavnezer (second reader) The demands that athletes experience during competition can indicate the rising […]

A Tale of Two Morphs: Understanding the Influence of Temperature on Eastern Red-Backed Salamander Color Morphs

Name: Mary Elise Blair Major: Biology Minor: Psychology Advisors: Rick Lehtinen, Hilary Edgington Color polymorphism is one type of variation in morphology that can be […]

“Newgenics”: A Comparison Study of Parents of Children with Down Syndrome in Denmark and The United States

Name: Lauren Ganson Major: Sociology Minor: Psychology Advisor: Tom Tierney, Heather Fitz Gibbon This study analyzes and compares the experiences and choices of parents […]

Katie Schumacher head shot

Congestive Heart Failure and Depression: Are medical professionals biased towards CHF patients with depression?

Name: Katie Schumacher Major: Psychology Minor: Biology Advisor: Bryan Karazsia; Amber Garcia (second reader) Many studies indicate that medical professionals are biased toward patients based […]

I.S. button

Probiotic Bacterial Produced Serotonin (5-HT) in the Microbiome of Caenorhabditis Elegans Alters Behavior

Name: Jillian Murray Major: Neuroscience (Biology) Minor: Psychology Research about the neural connections between the gut and brain, called the gut-brain-axis, have emerged as […]

Zoe E. Seymore

Overlooked Adoptees: The Effects of COVID-19 Racism and Ethnic Identity on the Psychological Well-Being of Chinese Transracial Adoptees in the United States

Name: Zoe E. Seymore Major: Psychology Minors: Mathematics, Chinese Advisor: Amber Garcia Second Reader: Nathan Foster Previous research has shown how Asian Americans have […]

I.S. button

Nike’s “Equality”: How the Spread of Equality is Halted by the Delivery of Nike’s Message and Their Past Controversies

Name: Zak Nowatzke Major: Communication Studies Minor: Psychology Advisors: Joshua Smith; Denise Bostdorff (second reader), Michelle Johnson (academic advisor) The purpose of my project […]

Head shot of Hope Carmody

Post-Disaster Urban Reconstruction’s Effect on Mental Health: A Case Study of Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans Residents

Name: Hope Carmody Majors: Urban Studies, Psychology Advisors: Hamed Goharipour, Heather Fitz Gibbon Laying on rafters for days on end to avoid high flood […]

I.S. button

Think Globally, Act Locally, Panic Internally: Climate Anxiety’s Impact on Political Participation

Name: Emily Hasecke Majors: Psychology, Political Science Advisors: Susan Clayton, Matthew Krain This study explored how climate anxiety is related to political participation. Prior research suggested that […]

I.S. button

Authenticity & Virtue Theory

Name: David Dunn Majors: Philosophy, Psychology Advisors: John Rudisill, Ronald Hustwit In this thesis, I examine a conception of authenticity as a virtue. Then, after […]

Head shot of Cloud Chang

The Effects of Parenting Styles and Parental Conflict on Child Development

Name: Cloud Chang Major: Psychology Advisors: Susan Clayton, Amber Garcia The current study examines the effects of parenting style and parental conflict on child development with regard […]

Head shot of Ayaka Iwasaki

Multicultural Experiences Influence Attitudes toward Different Groups: The Role of Social Identities

Name: Ayaka Iwasaki Major: Psychology Minor: Education Advisor: Amber Garcia; Amy Jo Stavnezer (second reader) One’s identification with social groups influences attitudes toward different groups. Identity as […]