100% of Woodbury Psychology Seniors Submitting Own Research Projects Receive Invite to Present at Western Psychological Association Convention; University Makes Fifth Consecutive Appearance
LOS ANGELES (March 15, 2017) 鈥� What鈥檚 the impact of music content on aggression and sexual objectification? What are the links connecting bullying, narcissism, shame and irrational aggression in young adults? To what extent does political orientation involve the selective recall of political information?
Graduating psychology seniors at 麻豆社区app set out to answer these and other probing questions through their capstone thesis research projects — and all were accepted to present their senior thesis research projects at the peer-reviewed Western Psychological Association annual convention in Sacramento next month. This will mark the fifth consecutive appearance by a Woodbury contingent.
This year鈥檚 results bring the program鈥檚 lifetime acceptance rate to 94 percent. Acceptance is based on a blind peer-reviewed process where students are judged against graduate students, professors, and professional researchers. Among the participating students: Ali Alghamdi, Najla Alhasan, Knarik聽Arutyunyan, Lia聽聽Babakhanyan, Monica聽Babian, Izabella Bagdasarian, Lauren Carrington, Brittany Cobb, Mary Manoukian, Michael聽Mikaelyan, Moayad al Marrar, Nare Nazaryan,聽Emily聽Shatz and Celine Skaf.
Among the projects: Lauren Carrington鈥檚 study on 鈥淎dult Attitudes Regarding Romantic Relationships and Child-Rearing after Early Parental Loss;鈥� Nare Nazaryan鈥檚 study, 鈥淚t鈥檚 Not Just for Kids: Association between Bullying, Narcissism, Shame and Irrational Aggression in Young Adults,鈥� and Moayad Al Marrar鈥檚 study, 鈥淪eeing What You Want to See: Political Orientation and the Selective Recall of Political Information.鈥�
鈥淎s a group and as individuals, our senior psychology students have accomplished something quite extraordinary,鈥� said Prof. Joye Swan, Ph.D., Chair of the Psychology Department. 鈥淔rom the development of topics to the conducting of research to the presentation of results, each student has performed with distinction. It鈥檚 both inspiring and rewarding to witness their growth in the field.鈥�
A part of the School of Media, Culture & Design, the Woodbury psychology program is among the most demanding in the field. Participating students are required to take multiple statistics and research courses culminating in an individual empirical thesis project. 鈥淭he result is students who are way ahead of the curve upon graduation, evidenced by our laudable 90 percent acceptance rate to graduate school,鈥� Prof. Swan said.
Psychology students at Woodbury complete a rigorous curriculum to prepare for graduate school or the workforce. The program includes theoretical breadth, applied experience, and in-depth participation in conceptualizing and implementing an independent, capstone research project. Psychology students hone their empirical skills through two levels of research methods courses and two levels of statistics courses. Each year, seniors submit their project abstracts to a national or regional psychology convention, and finalize their research in the capstone senior thesis course.