American Psychological Foundation
The American Psychological Foundation (APF), in conjunction with APA's Div. 40 (Clinical Neuropsychology), seeks applications for the Henry Hécaen and Manfred Meier Neuropsychology scholarships: one-year, $2,500 grants awarded to two graduate students who show great promise or achievement in their studies, as signified by scholarly and research activity. All applications must be received by June 1.
For details, refer to the March issue of the Monitor or contact Amy Kiel, APF program coordinator, at the APA address; phone: (800) 374-2721, ext. 5843; e-mail.
Outstanding graduate student researchers recognized
Thirteen graduate students in psychology won research scholarships in 2001-02. The American Psychological Foundation (APF) and the Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology (COGDOP) award these scholarships annually to students who show evidence of financial need and exemplify strong academic merit.
Elizabeth Flanagan received the $3,000 Ruth G. and Joseph D. Matarazzo Scholarship. Flanagan is a fifth-year doctoral student at Auburn University. Her multiple research interests focus on gender bias in diagnosis, the taxonomic classification of mental disorders, personality disorder category structure and decision-making in novices who have been taught personality disorder categories. She hopes to begin an internship in the fall of 2002.
Moria Smoski received the $2,000 Clarence J. Rosecrans scholarship. A doctoral candidate in the clinical psychology program at Vanderbilt University, Smoski received her master's degree from Vanderbilt. She studies the emotional aspects of vocal communication, with a focus on laughter and infant-directed speech. Smoski plans to use the scholarship to compensate participants and cover equipment costs in her dissertation research study.
The following scholars each received $1,000 awards for the outstanding quality of their research projects:
Kristen Weede Alexander, a doctoral candidate in human development at the University of California, Davis, studies the mechanisms underlying individual and developmental differences in children's memory and the application of memory research to legal settings.
Erika Bauer, a second-year graduate student in psychology and biopsychology at the University of Michigan, is investigating play behavior in domestic dogs, with a view to revealing how animals combine competitive and cooperative strategies within the context of play.
Livia L. Gilstrap, a doctoral candidate in developmental psychology at Cornell University, focuses her research on narrative recall abilities, memory and the communication skills of children.
Cynthia Huang-Pollock, a doctoral student in clinical psychology at Michigan State University, focuses her dissertation research on the examination of selective attention and interference control processes in childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Timothy C. Justus, a second-year doctoral student with an emphasis on cognitive neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley, studies developmental dyslexia.
Helen J. Kaczmarek, a doctoral candidate at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and the biopsychology representative on the APA Science Student Council, received the award for research on the role of the mesocortical and mesolimbic dopamine pathways in the reinforcing properties of cocaine and ethanol abuse.
Angela Krom Fournier, a second-year graduate student in the clinical psychology program at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, is studying intervention strategies aimed at decreasing alcohol abuse at fraternity parties through incentive/reward programs.
Tamar Mendelson, a doctoral student in clinical psychology at Duke University, is investigating cognitive-motivational factors contributing to the incidence of depression among women in her dissertation study on susceptibility to depression in relation to gender and sex typing.
Vinuta Rau, a doctoral student in behavioral neuroscience at the University of California, Los Angeles, will research the development and clinical evaluation of pharmacological agents that involve corticotrophin-releasing hormone and its related peptides.
Donald J. Seyler, a graduate student in psychology at the Cleveland State University, is studying the relationship of subtraction to working memory.
Oshin A. Vartanian, a graduate student in experimental psychology at the University of Maine, focuses his research on creativity and is investigating the role of attention and perceptual processing in creative cognition and aesthetics.
Each graduate department of psychology in good standing as a member of COGDOP is invited to nominate one or more candidates each year, relative to department size. The APF/COGDOP scholarships are given directly to the students and can be applied to the cost of books, supplies, scientific research or travel to a scientific meeting.
APF funds will help create terrorism response task force
In alignment with their priority of violence prevention, APA and the American Psychological Foundation (APF) are collaborating on an Integrated Science-Practice Task Force on Promoting Resilience in Response to Terrorism. APF President Dorothy W. Cantor, PsyD, comments, "Supporting this task force presents a dynamic opportunity for APF to promote psychology's benefits to the public at this crucial time in our country's history."
Chaired by Ronald F. Levant, EdD, dean and professor of psychology at Nova Southeastern University, the task force includes 15 members--scientists, practitioners and experts in diversity issues. APF is funding approximately 20 percent of the task force's cost.
Levant says individual psychologists and graduate students, state psychological associations and other groups such as the National Mental Health Association are "in need of science-based information on resilience" as well as help in finding workshop materials, strategies for implementing such programs in the community and training on leading such workshops.
Because the nation's experience with terrorism is unprecedented and studies do not yet directly address it, says Levant, most researchers looking for information on the topic have been led toward literature about resilience, terrorism in other countries and natural-disaster responses. "It is vital that when we give psychology to the public that it is based on sound psychological research and good clinical judgment," he says.
The task force, which received approval from APA's Board and Council in February, will work through 2002. Its goal is to develop information on issues including psychological resilience, coping with disasters and programs most likely to help citizens deal with the chronic stress, anxiety and fear caused by terrorism. Ultimately, the task force aims to enhance U.S. citizen resilience--reacting with less fear following future terrorism strikes, reducing not only the impact of terrorism but also the incentives for terrorists to engage in violent acts--to potentially reduce violence. "The task force's charge will be to keep the diverse needs of our pluralistic society uppermost in its mind as it develops information on programs," Levant says.
The programs for dealing with acute and chronic stress and anxiety are especially likely to be of significant help, he believes, since the literature reveals that outcomes of programs like these show efficacy in workplace stress, medical illness and family stress.
At the end of the year's work, the task force plans to present a range of approaches, materials and information, "leaving it up to the clinician to determine what fits best under the circumstances he or she faces." It will disseminate the material via the APA's Web site and publications as well as at state leadership conferences and APA's 2003 Annual Convention in Toronto.
"This initiative thus could help position psychology as a key national resource," says Levant, "perhaps as significant as the repositioning that occurred after World War II."
--K. HEWLETT
