Dr. Rachel Albert, associate professor of psychology, published “Infant vocalizations elicit simplified speech in childcare” in Infancy with co-authors Morgan Ernst ’21 and Dr. Claire Vallotton (Michigan State University). The paper demonstrates that infants use their vocalizations to actively shape their learning environments in multiple social settings—including childcare classrooms! Just like mothers, childcare teachers simplify their speech when responding to baby babbles to provide simpler more learnable information at moments infants are more receptive to learning. 

Dr. Michael B. Kitchens, professor of psychology, co-authored Cognitively accessible words associated with God as effective lexical primes in the Journal for the Cognitive Science of Religion, 8(2), 78–101 with four current and former student researchers: Isabella Lang ’23, M’25 (clinical mental health counseling 3+2), Sydney Petrasic ’21 (neuroscience), Brian Remper ’16 (criminal justice and psychology), and Brittany Wilson ’16 (psychology). Kitchens also presented his paper, What do people think about God? Investigating a mental representation of God as effective priming stimuli, at the 2022 Annual Meeting for the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion/Religious Research Association in November.  

With research support from LVC undergraduate and graduate students, Dr. Tonya Miller, adjunct instructor in business administration and master of business administration; Dr. Jenna Marx, assistant professor of psychology; Dr. Lori Portzer, assistant professor of exercise science, recently published the “Exploratory study of physical activity programming for women experiencing homelessness.” The researchers found that participants of a four-week physical activity program reported a significant decrease in the number of mentally unhealthy days they experienced. Their work was highlighted in “Research Shows Exercise Can Improve the Lives of Women Experiencing Homelessness.”

Dr. Rachel Albert, associate professor of psychology, presented “Infant vocalizations elicit simplified speech in childcare settings.,” at the International Congress on Infant Studies in Ottawa, Canada, and virtually at the National Research Conference on Early Childhood. The research was co-authored by Morgan Ernst ’21 (psychology) and Reagan Little ’23, M’24 (communication sciences & disorders/speech-language pathology). 

Kristie Houck ’22, psychology and sociology, was featured in a recent article on The Neighborhood Advocate, “YAP’s Wraparound Services Help Pennsylvania Girls Gain Confidence Through Acting.” Houck, who has been an advocate at Youth Advocate Program (YAP) in Lebanon for two years, served an internship at YAP this semester to complete her psychology major requirements. She inspired two girls to add acting as a hobby, with the duo later performing as cast members in “The Pony Expresso,” a melodrama produced by The St. James Players.  

Dr. Jenna Marx, assistant professor of psychology, presented “Mindfulness and Meditation Information Online: A Content Analysis,” with Alyssa Miller ’20 (psychology and neuroscience) at the 2022 Eastern Psychological Association Conference in New York City during spring break. Dr. Marx and Miller presented research conducted with Emily Frazier ’21 (biology), Jasmine Locke ’21 (psychology), and Jacob Beard ’21 (business administration). Among other revelations, their student-faculty research found that “Online information about mindfulness and meditation varies in adherence to information literacy guidelines.” 

Sydney Petrasic ’21 (neuroscience) presented “Intellectual Humility: Connections to Reasoning, Cognitive Attitudes, and Irrational Beliefs” at the 2022 Eastern Psychological Association Conference in New York City. Petrasic’s presentation was the result of student-faculty research with Dr. Lou Manza, chair and professor of psychology, and psychology majors Margaret Mailey ’24, Jordan Stum ’23, Molly Faron ’23 (psychology and sociology), Sydney Fitzgerald, and Ashley Dotey ’21. The researchers found that “Conspirational beliefs were correlated with being overconfident in one’s intellectual skills—but not with logical reasoning ability.”

Dr. Lou Manza, chair and professor of psychology, presented “Grit: Connections to Self-Esteem, Self-Worth, Cognitive Processing, and Aging” at the 2022 Eastern Psychological Association Conference in New York City during spring break. Dr. Manza’s presentation, produced through a student-faculty research project with Julia Gabriel ’22 (psychology), Mallory Anderson ’22 (psychology), Samantha Paradise ’22 (psychology), Sophie Stranick ’24 (psychology and criminal justice), Shelby Anderson ’21 (psychology), and Amber Kintzer ’21, M’22 (psychology and master of business administration), noted that “High levels of grit were related to having positive self-esteem/worth, strong habits of mind, good metacognitive awareness, and aging.”

Dr. Rachel Albert, associate professor of psychology, was a recent guest on the “Teachers in the Tiny Chairs” podcast. Dr. Albert discussed her research on infant language development and how it applies to childcare teachers in early childhood education during the interview.

Dr. Jenna M. Marx’s, assistant professor of psychology, article, Perceptions of cigarettes and e-cigarettes: Does health literacy matter? was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of American College Health. Alyssa Miller ’20, Alexa Windsor ’19, Jasmine Locke ’21, and Emily Frazier ’21 co-authored the article with Dr. Marx.