On April 4-6, 2017, nine Carroll College psychology students attended the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association (RMPA) Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. RMPA is an advocate for all levels of professional development in the field of psychology, with membership and conference participation open to both professionals and students.
The best experience I had at the conference was listening to the research that people our age are doing, which is very impressive. It’s inspiring.
Emma Sower (Psychology, Class of 2019)
What I found most interesting was seeing everyone's shared love of psychology. It was really eye-opening to see all the different schools from across this side of the United States.
Kayla Mack (Psychology, Class of 2018)
Josie Ray and Anna McCarthy presented a poster, "Effects of Priming on Female Social Behavior," based on research they had conducted in their research methods course with Professor Nikki Honzel.opens image in a pop-up
When we were presenting, the people that came around and talked to us about our poster were genuinely interested in it and had lots of really cool comments. It was really fun, and it made me excited about [the research] again, and I got to talk about it with people that had feedback and great suggestions.
Anna McCarthy (Psychology, Theology, Class of 2018)
I wish I could do it again. It was a great experience.
Josie Ray (Psychology, Class of 2017)
Senior Leah Henningsen, who attended the conference last year, was invited to present her honors thesis project during an oral presentation session. The research, conducted in conjuction with Professor Jessica McManus, examined the influence of exposure to idealized images of women with and without a relationship, or male present, on negative self-perception and exercise behaviors in undergraduate women.
Henningsen was also awarded a regional research award at the convention through Psi Chi, the international honor society in psychology.
Something I found really valuable this time around was being able to observe how certain people gave their presentations. It's really important, at a conference like that, to really take note of what makes a presentation a great presentation.
Leah Henningsen (Psychology, Class of 2017)
The RMPA was founded in 1930 for the purpose of "advancing psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting human welfare in the States of Colorado, Arizaon, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming." The students were able to travel to the conference through Psychology Club. Anna McCarthy and Lauren Paradis were also awarded a travel grant through Psi Chi to help fund their trip to Salt Lake City.
Learn more about Psychology at Carroll College
,Psychology Students Undergraduate Research Presentation