Department of Psychology

Honors Thesis

The Psychology Honors Program provides students an opportunity to enrich their undergraduate education with an intensive program of independent study and research.

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2019

Graduate Honors Thesis Title Faculty Thesis Advisor
Rael Sameroff

Glucocorticoid Receptor Density Concentrations in Amygdala and Hippocampus across Age and Sex in Sprague-Dawley Rats

Drs. Dragana Claflin & Debra Mayes

Yoon-Jae Yi

Synergistic Depression of Breathing Due to Concurrent Ethanol and Opioid Use is not Mediated by Actions on Carotid Body Type I Cells            

Dr. Christopher Wyatt
Emily Chriswell

Characteristics and Behaviors of Heterosexual Men Who Have Sex with Other Men

Drs. Patricia Schiml & Robert Gordon

2018

Graduate Honors Thesis Title Faculty Thesis Advisor
Sarah Gann

Salivary Cortisol Levels Before and After Acclimation and Experimental Manipulations in IAF Hairless Guinea Pigs

Dr. Gale Kleven
Dorothy Ayres

An Oculomotor Contribution to the Attentional Blink              

Dr. Scott Watamaniuk
Sophia Zwick

The Electrophysiological Correlates of Complex Image Perception

Dr. Assaf Harel
Abigail Schmidt A Parametric Study of Context Fear Conditioning Using Periorbital Shock Dr.  Dragana Claflin
Allison Costello

Social Buffering Reduces Plasma Corticosterone Levels and Amygdala Activity Following Stress Exposure in Juvenile Rats

Dr.  Dragana Claflin
Andrea Bell 

Maternal Influences on Neuroimmune Signalers and Behaviors of Infant Guinea Pigs

Drs. Michael Hennessy & Patricia Schiml
Natalie Ehret

Effects of Transcutaneous Direct Current Stimulation on an ALS Mouse Model

Drs.  Sherif Elbasiouny (NCBP) & Dr. Patricia Schiml (PSY)

2017

Graduate Honors Thesis Title Faculty Thesis Advisor
Joshua Sensenbaugh Maternal Influences on Infant Behavioral and Febrile Responses Following Inflammatory Challenge Drs. Michael Hennessy & Patricia Schiml
Adam Koraym Increased Activation of the Central Nucleaus of Amygdala after Maternal Separation in Pre-weanling Rats Dr. Dragana Claflin
Tiara Bishop Acceptance of a Novel Food During Early Development in the Guinea Pig (Cavia porcellus) Dr. Gale Kleven
Andrea Barnett Attention! The Effects of Environmental Distractions on Careless Responding Dr. Nathan Bowling
Emily Artz Perceptual Properties of Scenes Determine Their Subsequent Memory Dr. Assaf Harel

2016

Graduate Honors Thesis Title Faculty Thesis Advisor
Katelyn Berberich Can the Stress Hormone Cortisol Sensitize Depressive-Like Behavior Drs. Michael Hennessy & Patricia Schiml
Stephanie Kenzig Effects of Personality and Coping Style on Cortisol during Social Stress Dr. Gary Burns
Stephanie McCullough How to Select a Coaching Approach: An Employee Preference Scale Dr. Gary Burns

2015

Graduate Honors Thesis Title Faculty Thesis Advisor
Darci Gallimore Stress, Maternal Seperation, and Learning Dr. Dragana Claflin
Lashonda Waters Bio-Behavioral Development of Preterm Human Infants Dr. Gale Kleven

2014

Graduate Honors Thesis Title Faculty Thesis Advisor
Layla Akilan Comparison of the Basal Lateral Amygdala in Two Guinea Pig Strains Dr. Gale Kleven
Chelsea Bell Barriers to Help-Seeking in Neurotic Individuals Dr. Gary Burns
Alexis Garybush Role of the Medial Amygdala During Seperation in Infant Guinea Pigs Drs. Patricia Schiml & Michael Hennessy
Steffani Hoelscher Type of Sketch Map Used Affects the Accuracy of 3D Spatial Memory Retrieval Dr. Herbert Colle
Sarah McLaughlin Predicting Work Interactions: Counterproductive Work Behaviors, Interpersonal Relationships and Select Big Five Personality Traits Dr. Gary Burns
Melanie Stephenson Resilience Training Dr. Debra Steele-Johnson
Kathleen Wylds Personality, Proactive Copying, and Stress in Students Dr. Gary Burns

2013

Graduate Honors Thesis Title Faculty Thesis Advisor
Taylor Guerrant Deception and Opinions Dr. Tamera Schneider
Asiah Stewart Stress Responses and Deception Dr. Tamera Schneider
Erica Page Changing Attitudes Concerning Gender Dr. Tamera Schneider
Tang Watanasriyakul C-FOS Immunoreactivity in Medical Amygdala during Maternal Seperation & Social Buffering In Guinea Pig Pups Drs. Patricia Schiml & Michael Hennessy

2012

Graduate Honors Thesis Title Faculty Thesis Advisor
Jacob Brewer Enriched Open Field Facilitates Exercise and Social Interaction in Two Strains of Cavia porcellus Dr. Gale Kleven
Shannon Collins Examining the Effects of Preexposure on Later Learning in Developing Rat Pups Dr. Dragana Claflin
Feras Deek One Week Retention of Eyeblink Classical Conditioning in Weanling Rats Dr. Dragana Claflin
Andrew Fent Spatial Retrieval Cues for Structure in a Recognition Task Dr. Herbert Colle
Lauren Han Factors that Influence Using Online Health Information Technology Dr. Wayne Shebilski
Emily Harris Direct and Ultrasound Observations of Fetal Behavior Detect Neurotoxin Exposure (methylazoxymethanol, MAM) in an Animal Model Dr. Gale Kleven
Matthew Shiverdecker Human Interaction Reduces Stress in Shelter Dogs Drs. Michael Hennessy &
Patricia Schiml

2011

Graduate Honors Thesis Title Faculty Thesis Advisor
Bridgett Bonifas The Influence of Instructions on Stress Responses Dr. Tamera Schneider
Rayne Bozeman Understanding Variations in Antigay Prejudice: Examining In-Group Biases Related to Race and Gender Dr. Martin Gooden
Joshua Johnson Working Towards Practical Methods for Reducing Stress in Shelter Dogs Dr. Michael Hennessy
Molly Miklasevich The Effects of Choline Supplements on Acquisition and Extinction of the Conditioned Eyeblink Response in Young Rats Dr. Dragana Claflin
Kevin Schmidt Effects of Postnatal Choline Supplementation on NoveltyExploration in Rats Dr. Dragana Claflin
Brittany Yusko Sensitization of Depressive-like Behaviors and Pro-Inflammatory Activity in the Guinea Pig Drs. Michael Hennessy & Patricia Schiml