Psychology - The Student Experience

HISTORY

Psi Chi is the National Honor Society in Psychology. It was founded in 1929 for the purposes of encouraging, stimulating, and maintaining excellence in scholarship, and for advancing the science of psychology. Membership is open to graduate and undergraduate men and women who are making the study of psychology one of their major interests and who meet the minimum qualifications. Psi Chi is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies and is an affiliate of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the American Psychological Society (APS). Psi Chi works closely with its sister honor society, Psi Beta, the national honor society in psychology for community and junior colleges.

Psi Chi serves two major goals: one immediate and visibly rewarding to the individual member, the other slower and more difficult to accomplish, but offering greater rewards in the long run. The first of these is the Society’s obligation to provide academic recognition to its inductees by the mere fact of membership. The second goal is the obligation of each of the Society’s local chapters to nurture the spark of that accomplishment by offering a climate congenial to its creative development.

HOW DO I BECOME A MEMBER?

Each year the FMU faculty adviser to Psi Chi contacts students who meet the minimum academic qualifications for membership. At that time, eligible students will be given an application for membership in Psi Chi. Induction ceremonies are held each spring. For more information, visit the Psychology Department in CEMC 109.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS

In addition to the numerous helpful articles published on the Psi Chi website, Psi Chi publishes a quarterly periodical called Eye on Psi Chi, which is delivered to the Department office. Copies are available for Psi Chi members. This magazine addresses issues relevant to students in the field of psychology, and students are encouraged to obtain a copy each quarter.

In addition, Psi Chi publishes the Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research. This journal publishes research conducted by undergraduate students; Former student, Kayla Duncan previously had a manuscript published in this journal.

More information about Psi Chi publications, student resources, and financial awards can be obtained online at www.psichi.org.

Student Awards
The Psychology Department makes three awards to students each year. Recipients are selected by the psychology faculty.

•   The L.A. Hoff Psychology Research Award goes to an undergraduate psychology student who has completed outstanding research while at FMU.
•   The Mike Jordan Psychology Award is given to an undergraduate psychology student who, in addition to strong academic performance, shows exceptional promise in areas such as research and applied psychology.
•   The Mandra Memorial Award and Scholarship in Applied Psychology recognizes a graduate student with distinguishing work.

Undergraduate Psychology majors also compete for the university-wide President’s Research Award, won in recent years by Matthew Rhodes, Marian Stokes, Kayla Duncan, Devin Mark Kellis, and Anna Beth Jackson Almazan.

The psychology club is open to all students at FMU regardless of major.

The FMU Psychology Club was created by Dr. Mike Jordan in 1972 to bring undergraduate students together in both educational and social settings. The Club has maintained an admirable record of service and collegiality since that time. The Psychology Club is co-advised by Dr. Shannon Toney Smith and Dr. Ron Murphy. Notices of meetings are posted on the Psychology Department’s social media pages. Please join us!

The Psychology Club has several goals, including:

•   Raising money to assist various community organizations
•   Organizing events across campus involving both students and faculty
•   Hosting social events, such as dinners out, picnics, and attendance at sporting events
•   Providing members with information about graduate school and careers in psychology
•   Bringing nationally renowned guest speakers to FMU

Dr. Shannon Toney Smith & Dr. Ron Murphy – Faculty Co-Advisors

Nyssa (President) and Mary Ann (Treasurer) at the Psychology Club “Hallow-Grams” event

Alicia (Vice President) selling candy to Dr. Wattles at the Psychology Club “Hallow-grams” event

RESEARCH PARTICIPATION INSTRUCTIONS FOR PSY 206 STUDENTS
To fulfill the research requirement for PSY 206, you have the option of participating in a research study. We use an online signup system to enroll PSY 206 students in research studies. This page provides instructions for signing up for studies, keeping track of the times and places you will participate in a particular study, and monitoring the research credits you have earned.

You will need to:
-register on the online website
-read about the various studies that need research participants,
-choose the study or studies in which you would like to participate
-select a time slot at which you will arrive to participate in the study

When you log in you will also be able to keep track of studies you have participated in, what time slots you have signed up for, and research credits earned. You should print this page for easy access to the instructions.

To Get Started: Go to the website: http://fmarion.sona-systems.com.

A webpage entitled, “Welcome to the Psychology Research System” will appear. In the lower left hand corner, click on “New Participant? Create an account here.”

On the next page, read and follow the instructions, and provide the required information. This includes selecting the PSY 206 section in which you are enrolled. Click “Request Account.”

At this point you will be sent an email that contains your Sona-Systems user ID and password. Once you have received this email, you can now return to the website and log in with your user ID and password.

When you have logged in, a new webpage will appear. There are three main sections: “Study Signup,” “My Schedule and Credits,” and “My Profile.”

Selecting and Signing Up for a Study: Click on “Study Signup.” You will be directed to a page that lists the available studies. You have two options here:

1) You can click on the date and choose days/times for studies that have open time slots that fit your schedule. Click on the time slot(s) for which you want to sign up.

OR

2) Click on a study name that interests you, and you will be able to read a description of the study, including the number of available credits. When you choose the study in which you want to participate, click on “View time slots.” Or, you can go back to the page that lists all the studies, and click on “Time slots available” to see what times are available for each study. On the webpage that then appears, click on a time slot for which you want to sign up.

When you have signed up for a time slot, a webpage will appear with all of the information you need to participate (e.g., where to go, what day/time to show up). Copy down or print out this information. The researchers will be informed that your time slot is filled and will expect you to show up at the correct place and time; Sona-Systems will give them your name and email address.

Note: You can cancel your research participation by going to “My Schedule/Credits” and hitting the “cancel” button next to the scheduled time. Remember, you must cancel 24 hours before your appointment time.

Checking Your Schedule for Study Participation and Credits Earned:
Click on “My Schedule & Credits,” and you will be taken to a page that allows you to see: a) your research credits earned, b) your appointment times for studies that you signed up for, and c) credits earned per course (should be same as credits earned).

Researchers are responsible for giving you credit for your study participation using the online system. If credit for your participation doesn’t show up in your account (use “My Schedule/Credits”) after you have participated in the study, please contact the researcher. Of course, please give them a few days to enter the credit information into the system.

Sign-Up/Cancellation Confirmation Email
When you sign up for a study or cancel a study sign-up, you will receive a confirmation email.

Automatic Reminder Email
You will receive an automated email reminder of your study appointment the day before it is scheduled.

Credit Notification Email
When you receive credit for a study from a researcher, you will receive a notification email.

REMEMBER: Your PSY 206 instructor will have access in this online system to keep track of your credit status (i.e., credits you’ve earned, credits you need to earn), but please remember that any responses you give WITHIN a research study are COMPLETELY CONFIDENTIAL, and only faculty members and the study’s researchers have access to your personal information and responses.

STUDENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

Both undergraduate and graduate students frequently participate in research activities under the supervision of psychology faculty members. They may serve as an assistant in a professor’s research lab, or they might conduct their own independent research project as part of a paid experience or for course credit (e.g., PSY 497, PSY 270/370/470). Faculty members routinely secure funding from grants, intramural professional development funds, or the University’s QEP funding for experiential learning. Sometimes those funds include pay for student work. Most often, students participate in extracurricular research for no pay. These students choose to conduct research to accrue experience for applying to graduate school or to gain more extensive knowledge about the research process under the close mentorship of a faculty member.

If you are a student who is interested in gaining extracurricular research experience, you should:
•   read about the interests of each of the faculty members;
•   contact faculty members whose research seems interesting to you;
•   speak with your academic adviser about possible research opportunities.

The FM Research & Exhibition Day is a day dedicated to celebrating student projects that have been conducted throughout the school year. At FM Research & Exhibition Day graduate and undergraduate students get the opportunity to share the work that they have completed with the FMU faculty, staff and students. Participation in FM Research & Exhibition Day is open to all students from all disciplines. All forms of presentation are welcome and encouraged. Additionally, projects of all stages (from concept to completion) are accepted.

Congratulations to Brittany Adkins, Matthew Blackwell, Mauria Frederick, Dequane Gurley, and Thessalonia Thomas, winners of the 2017 logo design contest.

To submit presentations for the Research and Exhibition Day, follow this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FMU_RED
Presentation submission opens February 1 and ends March 24 at 5:00 p.m.

Congratulations to Miranda Felder, Erica Williams, and Faith Derrah for winning first, second, and third places for the graduate student presentation at FM RED!

Congratulations to Anna Beth Jackson for winning the President’s Undergraduate Research Award!

First Place – Miranda Felder

Second Place – Erica Williams

Third Place – Faith Derrah

President’s Undergraduate Research Award – Anna Beth Jackson