Sponsored yearly by APAGS, all APA graduate student affiliates are eligible to apply for the Psychological Science Research Grant (PSRG), a $1,000 grant used to fund innovative research projects conducting psychological science research studies, with additional funding reserved specifically for diversity-focused research. This year, 12 exceptional graduate student projects have been selected from the pool of highly competitive applications. Below are summaries and highlights of their awarded projects.
Thomas O’Kane (Rowan University) will be developing a new measure that attempts to provide a complete picture of schizophrenia risk. More specifically, Thomas will be collecting data on both specific and non-specific indicators of schizophrenia risk to construct a new measure that incorporates both domains. Through these efforts, Thomas hopes to improve the field’s ability to identify those at risk for schizophrenia.
Sirui Wan (University of California, Irvine) This proposal aims to understand the role of students’ achievement profiles in explaining gender gaps in STEM career choices. By asking questions such as if gender differences in performance profiles could explain the gender differences in STEM education and career choices, Sirui aims to test multiple hypotheses proposed by the breadth-based model. My research will inform new directions for policies and intervention programs that can benefit not only women but all students from historically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Samantha V. Jacobson (Seattle Pacific University) will be examining the effects of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills training among LGBTQ+ adults. Through testing how each DBT skill training module may impact LGBTQ+ adults differently across domains, including suicide risk, internalized homophobia, and community connectedness, Samantha’s study holds significant social justice implications in providing equitable and tailored treatment to the LGBTQ+ community.
Madeline Palermo (University of South Florida) The present study contributes to the prevention and intervention targeting maladaptive exercise behaviors by testing two psychosocial factors as potential risk factors of compulsive exercise among college students. Specifically, I aim to investigate how exercise identity and peer norms impact the trajectory of compulsive exercise over a nine-month period.
Julia Nolte (Cornell University) will be studying adult age differences in intentional information avoidance depending on various information types. Specifically, Julia will explore whether effects of age and information type on information avoidance can be explained via age-related differences in cognitive abilities and/or age-related differences in information processing preferences. Shedding light on when and why older adults are more likely to evade information, Julia hopes to inform the development of treatment that can improve older adults’ ability to make well-informed choices for themselves.
Giselle Gomez (University of La Verne) proposed a qualitative study to further understand bilingual trainees’ training experiences. Giselle aims to examine the current experiences of Latinx English-Spanish bilingual mental health providers-in-training delivering services in Spanish, and then explore the degree to which training recommendations have been implemented within training programs to provide adequate training experiences to bilingual trainees. Giselle hopes this study can help training programs better understand the current training needs of bilingual trainees.
Giovanni Ramos (University of California, Los Angeles) will conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test the effectiveness of an app-based mindfulness meditation intervention among people of color who experience high levels of discrimination. Giovanni’s study will provide important information regarding whether a self-directed smartphone intervention may be a feasible treatment for a high-risk, marginalized population.
Eva Dicker (Rice University) will identify the broad applicability and utility of polyregulation as a part of an adaptive emotion regulation toolkit for bereaved spouses. Eva hopes this current study can provide insights into real-life emotion regulation implementation and motivate intervention development involving polyregulation to more adeptly address the impacts of psychological stress in grieving adults.
Calissa Leslie-Miller (College of William and Mary) will be studying the relationships between coping strategies (i.e., coping flexibility) and depressive symptoms among women diagnosed with breast cancer. Calissa aims to use self-report measures over a three-week period to assess the association between coping and depressive symptoms since this methodology may enhance our understanding of the stress that women with breast cancer experience. This current study may aid in the development of intervention techniques that increase a patient’s ability to adaptively cope with a breast cancer diagnosis.
Benjamin Schulte (Texas A&M University) will be evaluating the effectiveness of an active shooter training (AST) video named Avoid Deny Defend (ADD). Specifically, Benjamin will evaluate the ADD video using the following three criteria: reactions, learning, and behavior. Benjamin hopes this study can help organizational leaders make better decisions on how to prepare employees for active shooter events, given data regarding the effectiveness of AST videos.
Ariana Rivens (University of Virginia) will be studying Black students’ heterogeneous perceptions of seeking treatment provided at college counseling centers. In particular, Ariana is interested in conducting an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study to investigate Black students’ perceptions of universal (i.e., perceived accessibility and efficacy of CCCs) and culturally specific (i.e., perceived clinician multicultural competence) factors. This study has the potential to empower Black students attending PWIs to utilize culturally responsive mental health care provided by their college counseling centers.
Amber Hopkins (University of California, Los Angeles) will be studying brain function complexity. Amber aims to use concurrent transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electroencephalography (EEG) with the cutting-edge method of low-intensity focused ultrasound pulsation (LIFUP) to test brain function complexity as a promising biomarker of consciousness. If complexity can reflect thalamo-cortical activity, it could be established as a reliable measure that can be used to detect consciousness in disordered states of consciousness patients and maybe, in the future, know whether consciousness can be recovered.
Finally, many thanks to the APAGS Science Committee members for their dedication in reviewing applications this year! If you are interested in having your project featured next year, make sure to check out the APAGS grants web page. Another great opportunity offered by APAGS and Psi Chi is the $1,000 Junior Scientist Fellowship which provides support for students entering their first year, or the first semester of their second year, of a research-oriented graduate program. Grant writing has many benefits, including being a wonderful way to think critically about your research ideas, providing valuable opportunities for discussions with your mentor(s), and boosting your CV or resume. You can also check out this post by the Association for Psychological Science to learn grant-writing tips and tricks.
Posted by Yexinyu “Yolanda” Yang, an APAGS Science Committee member and a clinical psychology doctoral student at UNC- Chapel Hill. Contact Yolanda with any questions you may have!