Congratulations to the 2011 Student Awards Recipients

2011 Student Research AwardRecipients

The Student Research Award promotes and acknowledges outstanding research conducted by student members of APS.

Children Prefer Peers Who Share Their Beliefs
Larisa Heiphetz
Harvard University
In two studies on belief-based preference, 6-9-year-old children reported preferences for religious in-group members and for peers who shared their religious, factual, and preference-based beliefs. These experiments demonstrate preferential treatment in children when others differ in mental states rather than perceptual cues.

Co-Author: Elizabeth S. Spelke, Harvard University

Co-Author: Mahzarin R. Banaji, Harvard University

Training the Emotional Brain: Transferable Effects and Neural Substrates of Affective Brain Training
Susanne Schweizer
Medical Research Council, Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit
Our experiments show that brain-training (dual n-back task) leads to significant gains in training performance and untrained measures of working memory, fluid intelligence, and attentional control of emotion. Training gains are associated with increased cingulate and decreased inferior parietal cortex activation. Brain-training could be applied to educational and clinical settings.

Co-Author: Adam Hampshire, University of Western Ontario

Co-Author: Jessica Grahn, University of Western Ontario

Co-Author: Dean Mobbs, Medical Research Council, Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit

Co-Author: Tim Dalgleish, Medical Research Council, Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit

Mind Your Errors: Neural Evidence Linking Growth Mindset to Remedial Action
Hans S. Schroder
Michigan State University
Error-related event-related brain potentials (ERPs) and post-error behavioral adjustments were measured in 25 undergraduates performing a flanker task. Participants endorsing a growth mindset evidenced enhanced error positivity amplitude and increased post-error accuracy. Results are discussed in terms of the beneficial effects of growth mindset on learning from mistakes.

Co-Author: Carrie Heeter, Michigan State University

Co-Author: Yu-Hao Lee, Michigan State University

Co-Author: Jason S. Moser, Michigan State University

2011 RISE Research CompetitionWinners

The RISE Research Competition seeks to cultivate scholarly research in psychological fields related to socially and economically under-represented populations.

Not Fully Black, but Not Fully White: Whites Perceptions of Black-White Biracials
Sabrica Barnett
Graduate Center, The City University of New York
Across two experiments, we compared Whites’ ratings of perceived similarity, competence and warmth for Blacks, Whites, and Black/White biracials. Consistent with a social identity explanation (Tajfel & Turner, 1979), Whites’ perceived Black/White biracials to be more similar, competent, and warm than Blacks, but less similar, competent, and warm than Whites.

Co-Author: Daryl A. Wout, John Jay College, City University of New York

Race/Ethnic Differences in Ambulatory Blood Pressure: When Optimism Might Not Be Optimal
Bryan Jensen
Brigham Young University
The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between dispositional optimism and ambulatory blood pressure in foreign-born Mexican Americans and Caucasians. Data suggest that a less optimistic outlook (perhaps more realistic) could be cardio-protective for Mexican Americans new to the United States.

Co-Author: Patrick R. Steffen, Brigham Young University

Co-Author: Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Brigham Young University

Cultural Risk and Protective Factors for Depression and Suicidal Ideation
Lillian Polanco
Hunter College, The City University of New York
The present study examined whether culture-related variables (e.g. acculturative stress and ethnic identity) would prospectively predict depression symptoms and suicidal ideation. Baseline acculturative stress predicted depression symptoms and suicidal ideation at 2-year follow-up, while ethnic identity at follow-up was associated with decreased depression symptoms and lower suicidal ideation.

Co-Author: Regina Miranda, Hunter College, The City University of New York

Co-Author: Jessica Silver, Hunter College, The City University of New York

Anti-Arab Prejudice Extends Beyond Terrorist Stereotypes: Arabs Are Blamed for Car Accidents More Than Caucasians
Allison L. Skinner
University of Southern Indiana
We investigated the influence of drivers’ race (Arab versus Caucasian) on the evaluation of blame in an automobile accident. Participants blamed the Arab driver more than the Caucasian driver, yet participant gender moderated the effect of race. Men allocated marginally more blame to the Arab than Caucasian driver, but women did not.

Co-Author: Michele Breault, Truman State University

Co-Author: Margaret C. Stevenson, University of Evansville