Alum Nicholas Ashenfelter ’23 and Associate Professor of Psychology Kristina Howansky recently published an article (based on Ashenfelter’s St. Mary's Project) entitled “LGBTQ Minus: Predictors of Anti-Asexual Bias Among Straight, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals” in the Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research. Ashenfelter's work explores personality (i.e., Social Dominance Orientation [SDO], moral disengagement, and traditional gender role acceptance) and individual difference factors (i.e., sexual orientation) that predict acephobia and social distancing from asexual individuals. He finds that heterosexual individuals reported more acephobia and social distancing than gay or bisexual participants, but gay and bisexual individuals did not differ. He also finds that SDO, traditional gender roles, and moral disengagement predict asexual prejudice. Ashenfelter is pursuing an MA in psychology at Villanova University with an expected graduation in 2026.
Psychology majors Sadie Gryzmalski ’26, Lorelai Symmes ’25*, Jayden Washington ‘25 and Professor of Psychology Aileen Bailey, Associate Professor of Psychology James Mantell and Associate Professor of Psychology Jennifer Tickle had their research represented at the Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association in New York in early March.
Washington led a poster presentation on the “Impact of Advanced Data Science Instruction in Psychology Laboratory Courses.” The presentation focused on the Year 1 outcomes from an Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded to Mantell and Bailey in 2023. The grant is focused on the infusion of advanced data science skills in psychology laboratory courses. Current outcomes indicate improvements in data science confidence and attitudes in students enrolled in psychology laboratory courses with a data science emphasis. Washington and Gryzmalski have been serving as research assistants on the NSF project since summer 2024. Washington, who completed his SMP "The Influence of a GABA-NAM on Adolescent Depressive-Like Behavior [in Rats]" with Bailey in the fall, has applied to several neuroscience and psychology PhD programs based on his broad area of interest.
Tickle presented a poster on behalf of Symmes who fell ill shortly before the conference and unfortunately could not attend. Symmes' poster entitled "Clinical Perfectionism in the Co-Occurence of Disordered Eating Behaviors and Substance Use" was the product of her fall 2024 independent study mentored by Tickle. Eating disorders (EDs) and substance use disorders (SUDs) often co-occur, with individuals diagnosed with EDs being more likely to develop SUDs. This study explored clinical perfectionism as a potential predictor of this co-occurrence, focusing on disordered eating and drug/alcohol use. Data was collected from 130 participants via self-report questionnaires. Results indicated that levels of clinical perfectionism were highest when elevated levels of disordered eating behaviors and substance use co-occurred. Symmes will present the poster again to the SMCM community at the Spring Research Symposium on April 25 at 11:30 a.m. in the Michael P. O. Brien Athletics and Recreation Center Rec Courts. Symmes was recently accepted into the clinical psychology PhD program at Bowling Green State University in Ohio where she will join the “Finding Balance in Emotions and Eating Lab" in the fall.
