Psychology Senior Thesis Presentations Dec. 9

On Wednesday, Dec. 9, from noon-3 p.m. CT, students from the Webster University Psychology Department in the College of Arts & Sciences will present their senior thesis projects to the University community. The presentations will be delivered via Zoom. Contact Eric Goedereis at ericgoedereis18@webster.edu for Zoom meeting information.

Psychology Department Senior Thesis

Students in the senior thesis course work with the course professor and a faculty mentor to conduct original research on a topic of their choosing. Students are responsible for identifying a topic, conducting a review of the literature, specifying a research question and hypothesis, selecting an appropriate research design, navigating the Institutional Review Board (IRB) process, collecting and analyzing data, and presenting their findings. 

Presenter Schedule

This semester, students faced the additional obstacle of navigating this process during an ongoing pandemic. Students’ projects included a cross-cultural examination of mask wearing, Black students’ perceptions of academics, message framing and climate change, stereotype threat among athletes and non-athletes, metacognition among virtual and face-to-face learners, flow and resilience, probiotics and mental health, perceptions of bisexuality and relationships, and the association between hair color and health beliefs. 

The schedule of presenters, students’ project descriptions, and faculty mentors can be found below. Please join us as we celebrate our students’ hard work.

• 12 p.m.      Adrienne Schaffer, A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Associations Among Perceived Stress, Dispositional Flow, and Processes for Resilience, faculty mentor Morgan Grotewiel
• 12:15 p.m. Matthew Scott, Effects of stereotype threat and multitasking among minority and nonminority student athletes at Webster University, faculty mentor Eric Goedereis
• 12:30 p.m. Amelia Dorsey, Exploration of Gastrointestinal Probiotic Support and Mental Health, faculty mentor Amanda Kracen
• 1:15 p.m.   Jillian Wilson, What Affects Black College Students’ Academic Success?, faculty mentor Linda Woolf
• 1:30 p.m.   Sydney Trapp, Attitudes Towards Bisexuality and Relationships in Relation to Gender and Sexual Orientation, faculty mentor Linda Woolf
• 1:45 p.m.   Cassidy Cannady, The Effects of COVID-19 on Student Learning through Metacognitive Awareness, faculty mentor Heather Mitchell
• 2:15 p.m.   Naomi Raznick, Phenotypes and Health: A Correlational Study on Health Literacy, Health Anxiety and Hair Color, faculty mentor Jill Stulce
• 2:30 p.m.   Laron Smith, The Effects of Message Framing and Political Factors on Climate Change Perceptions, faculty mentor Michael Hulsizer
• 2:45 p.m.   Emily Etter, Cultural Differences on Health and Social Perceptions About Mask Wearing During The COVID-19 Pandemic, faculty mentor Michael Hulsizer