Four Sterling College students presented research at the Southwestern Psychological Association convention April 8-10 in Dallas, Texas. Research students Ellie Becker, Madison Stephens, Samantha Wilper and Dayton Winter worked with Assistant Professor of Psychology Dr. Jennifer Dyson to collect 1,157 survey responses as part of their class Research Experience. The research of Stephens and Wilper further explored Sterling College Professor Emeritus Dr. Arn Froese’s work on cell phone use in the classroom and 2015 graduate David Amador’s ideas about perceptions of a person who takes selfies. Becker and Winter presented research on two new topics: the stigma attached to post-traumatic stress disorder and perceptions of the homeless.

“I was extremely proud of all of my students. They presented with confidence and were very professional. They did a great job presenting and answering questions from the audience afterward. It’s fun to be able to use the skills that Dr. Froese taught me and then pass those along to my students,” said Dyson.

In 2012, Froese published that students’ scores drop approximately 27 percent as a result of texting in class. Influenced by this message, Stephens of Wichita, Kansas, researched if students thought they would learn more or less in a classroom that allowed the use of electronic devices. Although her research was not conclusive on this topic, she did find that students would prefer to take a class with a professor that had a lenient electronic device policy because they found that professor more likeable. She also found that students thought a professor with a strict electronic device policy was more intimidating.

Wilper of Wellsville, Kansas, worked with Dyson to expand Amador’s study on selfies. Wilper and Dyson surveyed students from three higher education institutions, both public and private, about their perceptions of four types of Instagram profiles. Finding the same conclusion as last year’s study, the profile that was least preferred was the one containing all selfies. This year, however, only four dependent variables reached statistical significance—popularity, ability to lead a small group, desire to do homework with this person and desire to attend a social gathering with this person. The dependent variables showed that they were highly interrelated. Therefore, a combined score was formed to find the overall result that a profile containing all selfies was least preferred.

Winter of El Dorado, Kansas, wanted to know how “empathy is affected by people’s attributions regarding the cause of a person’s current negative situation.” Survey participants received a story about a homeless man who was either homeless because of a heroin addiction or because of a back injury. Results determined that people were more willing to work for and donate to an organization that helped the man with the back injury. They also felt greater sadness when thinking about homelessness. Winter also found that participants with the heroin addict scenario had a lower desire to help homeless people.

Becker of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, focused on perceptions of PTSD by giving participants a scenario that described either a formally diagnosed veteran with PTSD symptoms or an undiagnosed veteran with PTSD symptoms. The results showed that students were more likely to introduce their family to the veteran who had been formally diagnosed. This result seems to go against current research that says there is a stigma attached to diagnosed mental health disorders. There was also a significant difference between male and female participants. Males preferred to “hang out” with the undiagnosed veteran, and females preferred to “hang out” with the diagnosed veteran. However, more research is needed to detect a shift in cultural perception.

Becker, Stephens and Wilper will also be presenting their studies at the American Psychological Association Convention in Denver, Colorado, August 1-4.  

Sterling College is a Christ-centered, four-year college located in Sterling, Kansas, with a mission to develop creative and thoughtful leaders who understand a maturing Christian faith. For more information, visit www.sterling.edu.