2007 RiSE-UP Research Award Winners

Arab and Israeli Children's Stereotypes About the Other and Evaluations of Peer-Intergroup Exclusion

Alaina Brenick, University of Maryland

Alaina Brenick is a fifth year doctoral candidate at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her research interests include social and moral reasoning about intergroup relations, intergroup attitudes, stereotypes and prejudice, and the influence of the media and intergroup contact on stereotypes and prejudice, especially in areas of high conflict.

Alaina was awarded the RiSE-UP Research Award for her research entitled, "Arab and Israeli Children's Stereotypes About the Other and Evaluations of Peer-Intergroup Exclusion." Interviews were conducted with 5-year-old Palestinian, Jordanian, Israeli-Palestinian, and Israeli-Jewish children (N=433) regarding cultural stereotypes and peer exclusion revealed that children held negative stereotypes but were also inclusive regarding peers who were from a different country, spoke a different language, and had different customs. Nationality, gender, and context effects emerged.

Potential Benefits of Face-to-Face Groups in Same-Sex Sexuality Exploration

Kevin Hahn , Elizabethtown College

Kevin Hahn is a senior at Elizabethtown College where he majors in psychology and music therapy. His research interests include the classification of mental disorders, critical thinking in mental health practice, and the relationship between technology-mediated communication and psychopathology. Kevin is interested in working with individuals with mood and anxiety disorders.

Kevin was awarded the RiSE-UP Research Award for his research entitled, "Potential Benefits of Face-to-Face Groups in Same-Sex Sexuality Exploration." Seventy individuals with varying levels of same-sex sexuality completed an online survey about their use of face-to-face groups, the Internet, or both, in exploring their sexuality. Those using solely face-to-face groups tended to express higher comfort about public aspects of their sexuality, lower social isolation, and lower need for acceptance.

Family Obligation and Social Adjustment in Economically Disadvantaged Youth

Nicole Walden, University of Albany, SUNY

Nicole Walden received her B.A. in psychology from Stanford University, and is a student in social/personality psychology at the University of Albany, State University of New York. Nicole's research investigates the contributions of motivation, implicit theories and validation seeking to the experience of achievement situations. Nicole also investigates social development focusing on risk and achievement in underrepresented populations.

Nicole was awarded the RiSE-UP Research Award for her research entitled, "Family Obligation and Social Adjustment in Economically Disadvantaged Youth." In a multiethnic sample of economically disadvantaged youth, family obligation, the expectation of children's loyalty and contribution to the family, was found to play a protective role in adolescents' psychological adjustment. Adolescents' endorsement of family obligation was found to mitigate the positive association between life stressors and antisocial behavior.

Multiple Methods of Influencing Implicit Racial Bias in Shooting Decisions

Joshua Watt, Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Joshua Watt is a second-year clinical psychology student at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. His research deals with split-second shooting decisions that are commonly made by police officers. Using a computer-simulated task, Joshua investigates the influence of race on shooting decisions and methods of attenuating racial biases commonly shown on the task.

Joshua was awarded the RiSE-UP Research Award for his research entitled, "Multiple Methods of Influencing Implicit Racial Bias in Shooting Decisions." Using a task intended to measure implicit racial bias in shooting decisions, we developed multiple methods of influencing this bias. Participants who were informed the task measured racial bias shot more unarmed black men than those in the control condition. Also, misinforming participants about the task led to bias.