Originally published: . Volume 7, No. 4. Source pages: 5.
A measure correcting a problem with a 2015 law, exempting certain facilities that provide substance abuse and mental health services to specialty courts, from certified providers.
SB 210 will change wording to ensure that providers are qualifed.
Present law provides for exceptions relative to facilities operated solely to provide substance abuse or mental health services to specialty courts.
Proposed law provides that the provisions of this Part shall not be considered to permit the rendering of mental health services by persons or facilities that are not properly licensed, certified, or registered.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 7, No. 4. Source pages: 10.
Am Psychological Association “Stress In America” Report Finds Discrimination a Stress
The American Psychological Association released its annual study of stress in American in March, titled, “Stress in America: The Impact of Discrimination.”
The authors note the connections between discrimination and stress, mental health, and the impact on employment in this year’s report. They note that nearly seven out of 10 adults in the United State report having experienced some type of discrimination. Almost half of all adults, the authors say, have experiences major forms of discrimination.
Among the conclusions, authors said the adults experiencing stress are largely optimistic and find that social support lowers the stress. Also, while women are typically more stressed, men’s stress has increased. The younger generation is reporting more stress, with money and work being the central issues identified. Adults who are LGBT report higher stress levels that their non- LGBT peers.
The report is available online at the Am. Psychological Assn.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 7, No. 4. Source pages: 5.
The LPC Board may be exempted from a law that authorizes entities issuing licenses for certain fields of work to issue provisional licenses to ex-offenders. The present law gives certain requirements about these entities who issue licenses to ex-offenders.
The bill is HB 251 and is scheduled for debate on the House floor on April 7. It was reported favorably out of committee. Sources say there will be an amendment.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Conference May 20–21 in New Orleans Integrated Approaches Featured at LPA
At their annual convention this May, the Continuing Education Committee of the Louisiana Psychological Association will host a distinguished group of psychologists who educate and practice in the developing field of integrated health care.
“Epigenetics is the new ‘buzzword’ in areas of psychology and science, and appears to be a revolution in the understanding of how life works,” said Dr. Gail Gillespie, Chair of the Education Committee for the Louisiana Psychological Association (LPA).
“The term epigenetics refers to heritable changes in gene expression that do not involve changes to the underlying DNA sequence,” she explained. “Epigenetic change can be influenced by such factors as environment, nutrition, and lifestyle. New research is continuously uncovering how environmental factors switch genes on or off,” she said, “which affects how cells read genes, and the resulting connection to a variety of human disorders and fatal diseases.”
Gillespie is involved in one of the newest movements in this area called Energy Psychology. “The connection between epigenetics and psychology is most clearly revealed in new ‘energy psychology’ methods,” she said, “which are a collection of novel psychological interventions that balance, restore, and enhance functioning through the stimulation of specific meridian points on the body.”
One of the techniques she uses and teaches her patients is a tapping method for acupressure points. “Among other mechanisms, the parasym- pathetic nervous system is activated,” with this technique, Gillespie said, “which results in a deep calming effect – likened to systematic desensitization…” but more efficient and effective. This is just one of many new tools in this mind-body area.
Gillespie said she is delighted for LPA to host Dr. Gerald LaHoste, biopsychologist and professor at University of New Orleans, who will give a keynote address on “Epigenetic Foundations in Health,” May 20.
LaHoste will be followed by a distinguished panel of experts representing an array of health service contexts, Gillespie noted. Included will be Mary Lou Kelley, PhD, Professor and Director of Pediatric Psychology Service at Baton Rouge Clinic; Sarah Moody– Thomas, PhD, Professor at the LSU School of Public Health and director of the Community Health Program; and Deborah Palmer–Seal, PhD, licensed psychologist with the Health & Education Alliance of Louisiana.
Christoph Leonhard, PhD, Chair at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Xavier University, will also speak on the panel, and discuss the Health Services Psychology training model from the American Psychological Association (APA).
In direct responses to the behavioral health care mandates under Obama Care, APA adopted a new accreditation system in February 2015, which takes affect in January 2017, and brings some key changes, Dr. Leonhard said.
The Affordable Care Act brings the integration of behavioral health into all health, including primary care, he explained. “While psychologists aren't necessarily going to be providing this care,” he said, “this mandate presents a huge opportunity for psychologists to play a much larger role in providing services in integrated health care settings. In these settings, psychologists will assess, treat, and/or consult on mental health and behavioral disorders for patients not commonly seen in traditional psychological service settings …”
This includes chronic medical problems such as obesity, substance use disorders, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and others, he explained. “… we are training students to become 'health service psychologists,’” he said. “This term is intended generically to refer to psychological service providers, whether they be clinical psychologists, school psychologists, or counseling psychologists.”
Another way the training standards are different is the emphasis on the “working in interprofessional care settings,” he said.
“There is much psychologists already know about seizing opportunities as health service psychologists in interprofessional care settings,” Leonhard said. “Our skills in being team players with other allied health professionals as we collaborate to prevent, assess, and improve health conditions will be particularly helpful.”
“All allied health professions share a commitment to evidence-based practice but often as psychologists we are particularly well trained to assess health and mental health conditions in a reliable and valid way and to document the positive synergistic effect the addition of behavioral health care services can make to the management of many of the disorders that make up the bulk of the disease burden nation wide,” Dr. Leonhard said.
“Finally, supervision and consultation competencies have been upgraded and are now co-equal with other mandatory competencies, such as assessment, intervention, and diversity competencies,” he said.
Dr. Leonhard does see certain challenges. “It is up to us to show that as health service psychologists we are interested in doing this work, that we have specific competencies uniquely qualifying us, and that health outcomes benefit from including us in interprofessional health care teams.”
He also said that it is up to psychologists to move from their typical cottage industry type work and evolve to a new role in the interprofessional settings of the future.
The Chicago School at Xavier was set up from the beginning to train health service psychologists, Dr. Leonhard noted, and to implement these new APA standards and competencies.
The one they added was teaching. The model is the “ … Community Engaged Scholar- Practitioner model,” he said, and the department has a “… special emphasis on serving the diverse population of New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Delta South region.”
The LPA Convention is scheduled to be held May 20–21 in New Orleans.
Xavier researcher Efehi Edomwonyi (L) speaks with Dr. Christoph Leonhard at the recent SEPA conference. Dr. Leonhard is Chair at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Xavier. He will speak on new the “Health Services Psychologist” training model at the May conference of the Louisiana Psychological Assn to be held in New Orleans. Dr. Gail Gillespie (R) at a previous workshop. She is Chair of Continuing Education for the Louisiana Psychological Association and a practitioner in “Energy Psychology.” Dr. Lacey Seymour, LPA president, is in background.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 7, No. 3. Source pages: 15.
Dr. Mary Ellen Matthews died on April 11, 2015, having moved to New Orleans in 2014 where she was able to spend some “long- awaited quality time” with her two beloved granddaughters. She was born on September 14, 1948.
Dr. Matthews was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, graduated in French and spent time in Nice, France, where friends and family say she learned to be a phenomenal baker and cook. After raising two children she returned to school and earned her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of North Dakota. She worked for many years in both private practice and in the community, retiring from Steven’s Community Medical Center in Morris, Minnesota, in 2014. She was licensed in Louisiana in May 2014.
Memorial writers say that “Princess dresses were sewn, flowers were planted, cookies were made, and a Mardi Gras was experienced before her sudden passing on April 11.”
Friends and family note that Mary Ellen will be remembered for her fantastic sense of humor, intelligence, independence, capable and creative hands, and most of all, her kindness.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Still Working on $1.9 Billion Deficit Reg Session Begins on 14th
Legislators are plugging through a host of bills the floor aimed at somehow staving off the most dire possibilities in budget cuts, as the special session debates reach the decision points before adjourning on March 9.
Among bills to be considered currently is measure which would levy additional tax on cigarettes, a repeal of certain corporate income tax deductions, an increase on excise tax for certain alcoholic beverages, a change to middle and upper income tax brackets for calculating individual income tax, and a measure, HB61 to dedicate tax proceeds to the Stability in Higher Education Fund.
Pending final passage are measures to add a one-cent sales and use tax (HB62), to increase sales tax on telecommunications services (HB72), and to repeal of the deduction for federal income taxes on state returns.
A measure to review certain state contracts and identify those that can be discontinued and report the results of a review to the Budget Committee today was previously passed.
The special session, called by the Governor, must end by March 9. The regular session then convenes on March 14.
The regular session of the Legislature begins on March 14, addressing the continued problems of the state, following the financial decisions now being considered in the special session. Some of the bills filed include the following:
The lawmakers will consider HB152, which would create the La. Postsecondary Education Board of Trustees as a single governing board for public postsecondary education and abolish the Board of Regents and the management boards of the postsecondary education systems, and transfer all work to the new Board of Trustees. Currently there are the Board of Regents, Board of Supervisors for the various University systems, and a board of for Community and Technical Colleges.
HB75 would require a 15 percent reduction in all state professional, personal, and consulting service contracts.
HB 104 would require a student to repay TOPS award amounts if he fails to meet the requirements for maintaining eligibility or fails to complete his academic degree or skill/occupational training within certain specified time frames.
HB75, would require all public school teachers (including charter schools) and teachers of scholarship (voucher) recipients in nonpublic schools participating in the voucher program to take the state assessments aligned to the state content standards prior to administering such assessments to students.
HB102 and HB101 address theater safety. HB102 creates the crime of possession of a firearm or dangerous weapon on the premises of a motion picture theater, and HB101 would create the crime of operation of an unsafe motion picture theater.
HB 151 would prohibit local governments and state agencies from developing sanctuary policies that assist illegal aliens in evading U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Laws.
HB94 would allow for the use of nonhuman primates as service animals.
HB 103 would eliminate nomination by legislators of students for free tuition to Tulane University and granting of such free tuition.
HB61 would authorize retirees of the Teachers' Retirement System of La. (TRSL) to return to work as a school psychologist in a critical shortage area without reduction of retirement benefits.
Two measures would strengthen open meetings laws. HB 81 would require Requires each public body that has a custodian of public records to make the identity and contact information of the custodian available to the public.
And, HB162 will prohibit members of certain public bodies from engaging in communication with a quorum of the members of the public body unless such communication is contemporaneously visible or audible to the public.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 7, No. 3. Source pages: 17.
The Southwestern Psychological Association will hold its annual convention in Dallas, Texas, at the Omni Dallas Hotel. The theme this year is “Evolutionary Psychology: The Adapted Mind.”
Speakers include David Buss from University of Texas at Austin, who will give the Forensics Psychology Lecture, on “The Evolution of Sexual Morality.” Dr. Buss will talk on standards of morality as fundamental features of human psychology. “They guide people’s behavior, the accolades and punishments they impose on others, and the criteria by which reputations rise or fall. No domain of human conduct is more heavily moralized than sexuality. Moralized sexual conduct includes monogamy-polygamy, incest, age of appropriate sexual debut, fidelity-infidelity, mate poaching, sexual exploitation, prostitution, same-sex sexual conduct, and various forms of sexual treachery.”
Other featured speakers are Dr. Martle Haselton, DR. Hector Garcia, and Dr. Fessler. See the website for more information.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Moody’s Investors Services has put eight Louisiana public universities on a list to be reviewed for downgrade, and impacting the organizations’ ability to borrow money and to sustain brand. In their February 22 news release, Moody’s also noted that the budget cuts currently being proposed will “limit the universities flexibility to adjust revenue or expenses, …”
Moody’s wrote, “The action reflects looming state funding cuts, including an unexpected contraction in state scholarship aid. Funding cuts implemented more than halfway through FY 2016 limit the universities' financial flexibility to adjust revenue or expenses, as spring term enrollment and student charges have been established. The uncertainty for FY 2017 state funding may adversely affect enrollment, as decisions on the state budget, including scholarship availability, will coincide student choices for fall 2016.”
“While the credit impact will be distinct for each university,” wrote Moody’s, “public universities in Louisiana operate in a very challenging environment.
“Louisiana's four-year universities have endured a severe 47% decline in operating appropriations between 2010 and 2014 compared to a median of 9% for our rated US public universities. To mitigate those cuts, universities without a solid brand in the region may have exhausted pricing power by increasing tuition by an average of 52% since FY 2010 compared to the US average of 13%.”
The eight universities and are:
Louisiana State University: A1 (Debt)
University of New Orleans Research and Technology: A2 (Debt)
University of Louisiana at Monroe: A2 (Issuer)
LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans: A3 (Debt)
Louisiana Tech University: A3 (Debt)
Southeastern Louisiana University: A3 (Debt)
McNeese State University: A3 (Debt)
Southern University System: Baa2 (Issuer) Baa3 (Debt)
Governor John Bel Ewards released a statement following Moody’s announcement.
Edwards said, ““Over the last eight years, Louisiana’s higher education institutions have faced the largest disinvestment in the country,” said Gov. Edwards. “Now, faced with the largest budget deficit in our state’s history, further cuts will be necessary if the legislature will not work with me to bring in additional revenue. We cannot continue to chip away at funding for higher education and expect them to have the ability to invest in our children’s education. This announcement should serve as a wakeup call for anyone who thinks we can simply cut our way out of this crisis, and I am hopeful this will bring folks to the table to work with me to avoid making these cuts that will have a negative long-term impact on higher education in this state.”
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 7, No. 3. Source pages: 17.
The Annual Day of Mindfulness Day for Mental Health Professionals will be held on Saturday April 9 at the Tam Bao Temple, 975 Monterrey Blvd., in Baton Rouge.
Registration typically begins at 8 am and the day concludes at about 5 pm.
The Mindfulness Day is an annual event. Past training in mindfulness techniques have included meditation and mindfulness, guided sitting meditation, and mindful lunch, as well as a variety of presentations for applying mindfulness.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
APA Regional Meeting, SEPA convenes in the Big Easy Southeastern Psychological Association Meets in New Orleans –March 30 to April 2
The Southeastern Psychological Association, known as SEPA, a regional group of the American Psychological Association (APA), will hold it’s 62nd Annual Meeting March 30 to April 2 in New Orleans at the Sheraton.
Psychological scientists, psychologists and students from around the state will participate, including those from Louisiana State University, Louisiana Tech, Loyola, Northwestern State University, Our Lady of Holy Cross College, Southeastern Louisiana University, Tulane, University of Louisiana Lafayette, University of New Orleans, and Xavier University.
Presentations and invited addresses include the Rosecrans Invited Address II by Oscar Barbarin, PhD, previously at Tulane and now at the University of Maryland. He will speak on “Paradoxes in the Development of Boys of Color,” and give a workshop, “Socio-emotional Development of African American Boys and Young Men.”
Other featured speakers are Pam Imm, PhD, community psychologist from South Carolina, speaking on prevention in community settings, and Paschal Sheeran, PhD, Professor in the Social Psychology program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who will speak on health psychology.
Louisiana State University Psychology Professor, Julia Buckner, PhD, will present a continuing education workshop, “Integrated Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Comorbid Cannabis Use and Anxiety Disorders.” Attendees will learn techniques used in this integrated treatment which includes transdiagnostic CBT for anxiety disorders, known as False Safety Behavior Elimination Therapy.
Lee Matthews, PhD, from Grief Resource Center, will Chair a Symposium, “Reminiscence 10 Years after the Hurricanes: Application of Elder Therapy.” Participants are Janet Matthews, PhD, from Loyola University; Shiva Akula, MD, and Laura Philips, LCSW, from Akula Foundation; Theresa Wozencraft, PhD, and Emily Sandoz, PhD, both from the University of Louisiana Lafayette, and Megan Alsop, PsyD, from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Xavier University. Presenters will review the development and application of “Reminiscence Therapy” groups in over 100 nursing homes and following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2006.
Janet Matthews, PhD, Professor Emerita from Loyola, will also participate in a special tribute to Dr. Ray Fowler in, “Eminent Psychologists of the Southeast Series: A Special Symposium in Honor of Raymond D. Fowler.”
Lillian Range, PhD, Psychology Professor at Our Lady of Holy Cross College, will participate in the Luncheon for SEPA Past Presidents. Dr. Range served as president in 2007.
The conference will showcase psychological research from around the state, grouped below by affiliated organization.
Louisiana State University – Psychology
Spatial Location in Auditory Distraction: The Case of Cross-Modal Stroop
by Dr. Emily Elliott, LSU Psychology Professor in Cognitive and Brain Sciences, will co-present with Danielle Lutfi-Proctor
What Underlies Individual Differences in Auditory Distraction Effects?
by Dr. Emily Elliott, Jenna Zeringue, Corey McGill, and Juan Ventura
RSVP Search: Typicality Effects in an Atypical Visual Search Task
by Dr. Megan Papesh, Assistant Professor, with researcher Juan Guevara Pinto
Test Enhanced Learning: Strategy Change and Conscientiousness
by Juan Ventura, Peter Delaney, and Yoojin Chang
The Role of Attention Deployment in Mistaken Eyewitness Identifications
by Dr. Sean Lane, Professor, and Daniella Cash, Lindsey Bernard, Hannah Stintson, Chelsea Cockburn, Olivia Ogden and others
Jury Decisions, Victim Attractiveness, and Negative Pretrial Publicity
by Daniella Cash and colleagues from Florida Southern College
Effects of Source Monitoring and Commitment Effects on Mugshot Exposure
by Daniella Cash and colleagues from Florida Southern College
“The Attention Deployment and the Mugshot Exposure studies focus on eyewitness identification, which is a topic that I have enjoyed studying throughout my academic career,” said Daniella Cash. “Mistaken eyewitness identification is one of the top contributors to wrongful convictions and there are many factors that can cause an eyewitness to be inaccurate. By better understanding how different factors impact witness memory it can be possible to reduce misidentifications.”
Louisiana State university – Human Resource Education & Workforce Development
Inter-Organizational Resource Based Collaboration Network
by Dr. Tracey Rizzuto, Associate Director and Professor in the School of Human Resource Education and Pallavi Singh
In 2015 Dr. Rizzuto was granted the Mary Ethel Baxter Lipscomb Memorial Endowed Professorship in the College of Human Science and Education, and provided three-years of project funding. “This past April, I applied the first year of funding,” Rizzuto said, “to the delivery of a data-driven multisector event designed to forge strategic and mutually beneficial ties connecting non-profits in the Baton Rouge community to like-minded businesses and government agencies. The event was called the Baton Rouge (BR) Choice Collaborative.”
The effort extended Rizzuto’s previous and ongoing work funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Justice (Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation).
Louisiana Tech University
Relationship between Features of LGB Identity and Authenticity
by Sarah McConnell and Dr. Guler Boyraz
Examining the Factor Structure and Construct Validity of the MEI-R.
by Dr. Melanie Lantz and Michael Garza
Paranormal Beliefs of Latvian and American Students: Support for Motivational-Control
by Dr. Jerry Tobacyk, Dr. Mary Livingston, Elizabeth Dixon, and Quinn Warner. Co-presenters are Arturs Utinans, Gunta Ancane, and Vinita Cauce from Riga Stradins University.
Dr. Tobacyk explained, “Our group presentation at SEPA concerns a cross-cultural comparison of paranormal beliefs of Latvian and American students. The theoretical rationale that informs our comparison is Keinan's motivational control model: that societal stressors can threaten one's sense of personal control and that internalization of paranormal belief is one method for persons to re- establish a sense of control ––even if illusory.”
Self-Stigma toward Counseling: Internet Online and Office Settings
by Dr. Mary Livingston, Christopher Coleman, Dr. Guler Boyraz, and Dr. Jerry Tobacyk, and Margaret Hindman from the University of Arkansas.
“This is one part of a larger project looking at various types of online counseling and computer security concerns,” Dr. Livingston said. “This piece focuses on self stigma in seeking help and online counseling.”Online counseling is usually studied as a unitary phenomenon; little research has examined the public’s differentiating attitudes about the various types of online counseling––face-to-face, video, chat, and email counseling.”
“Results indicated that individuals who have self-stigma toward face-to-face counseling also hold negative attitudes toward online forms of counseling.”
“Findings indicated that online counseling might reduce self-stigma associated with seeking counseling. It appears that greater anonymity associated with online counseling may appeal to individuals who have self-stigma associated with seeking help,” said Dr. Livingston.
Loyola University
Financial Stress, Coping Behaviors, and Satisfaction with College Experience
by Maria Bruyn and Dr. Charles Nichols
Effects of Song Valence and Autobiographical Memory Valence on Mood
by Kim Ernst, from Loyola University, and Alexandria Lake from New York University.
Effects of Well-known and Lesser-known Nonprofits' Requests on Donor Intentions
by Kim Ernst and Ally Keene
Northwestern State University
How Meta-memory affects Emotion and Repetition
by Dr. Tanya Karam-Zanders, Assistant Professor, Amanda Boudreaux, and Courtney Foret-Chiasson
“Research suggests that memory accuracy does not benefit from repetition of negatively arousing information to the same extent as neutral information,” noted Dr. Karam-Zanders, and “a potential explanation for such a discrepancy involves meta-cognitive awareness.
While Karam-Zanders and her team are still collecting data her results suggest that neutral information benefits more from repetition than emotional information. “Completion of this and future studies will likely shed light into the nature of that difference,” she said. “My co-authors are very bright and talented undergraduate students at NSU graduating in May.”
Nova Southeastern University & The Neuropsychology Center of LA
Cognitive Rehabilitation and Its Effects on a Geriatric West Nile Encephalitis Survivor
by Julia Hussey, Traci Olivier, and Dr. Darlyne Nemeth
Our Lady of Holy Cross College
Help-Seeking Behaviors of African American Christians in the South
by Lillian Range, PhD, Professor of Psychology Education at Our Lady of Holy Cross College, and Ashley Ojo and Tara Payne.
Trauma in New Orleans Adults: Does Age Make a Difference?
by Dr. Range and Anna MacLellan
Emergency Medical Personnel: Burnout, Depression, Anxiety, and Fear Seeking Treatment
by E. Joy Hutchinson and Lillian Range
Dr. Range is a Past President of SEPA and Professor Emeritus at The University of Southern Mississippi. “I am proud of these research activities of my students, and look forward to these presentations to the scientific community.”
Southeastern State University
College Students' Attitudes towards Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) Based on Maternal Age, Marital Status, and Sexual Orientation
by Dr. Sara Sohr-Preston, Assistant Professor at Southeastern.
Examining Potential Bias against Prospective Adoptive Parents due to Age, Sex, Marital Status, or Sexual Orientation
by Olivia Moreno, Dylan Zepeda, Holly Kliebert, and Dr. Sohr- Preston
Student Biases and Potential Effects on Faculty Rating Websites
by Karen Phung and Dr. Sohr-Preston
Predictors of Parenting Self-Efficacy in Parents Attending College
by Heather Conn and Dr. Sohr-Preston
“In 2015, my students and I collected data regarding undergraduate students' attitudes toward assisted reproductive technology (ART) and infant adoption,” said Dr. Sohr-Preston. “Participants viewed vignettes about fictional adults seeking to become parents using either intrauterine insemination (IUI) or adoption.”
“No evidence emerged for bias based on parental age or sex. However, both sets of results suggested that participants were more positive in their appraisals of prospective parents in an opposite-sex marriage than those listed as single or in a same- sex marriage.”
Dr. Sohr-Preston said that the findings of differences suggest that “… while single adults and same-sex couples have increasing options for becoming parents, they may still face subtle bias or covert prejudice regarding their ability to parent.”
The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Xavier
Performance Differences for Children on Repeat Administrations of a Sustained Attention and Inhibitory Control Task
by Dr. Matthew Holcomb, Professor, and Melissa Ulbricht, and Jonathan Lichtenstein from Dartmouth Medical School and Laszlo Erdodi from University of Windsor.
University of Louisiana Lafayette
Behaviorism Isn't Dead: Research in a Behavioral Approach to Cognition
by Dr. Emily Sandoz, Assistant Professor of Psychology, and Madison Gamble, Garret Cantu, Nolan Williams, and Gina Boullion
Hassles Experienced at Work by Emergency Medical Technicians
by Dr. Theresa Wozencraft, Associate Professor, and Alecia Vaughn
Effects of Cell Phone Distraction on a Pair Cancellation Tasks
by Dr. Theodore Scott Smith, Grant Chaisson, and Chelsea Shaeffer
Social Identity Theory and Victim Blame in the United States-Iraq Conflict
by Emily Broussard
Assessing Vignettes Depicting Sexual Scenarios for Perceptions of Consent
by Sara Gibson and Dr. Amy Brown, Assistant Professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Assessing Media Print Images to Elicit Self-Objectification in Viewers
by Casey Bevens and Dr. Amy Brown
Prior Exposure to Sexual Violence Awareness Education and Gender Impact Bystander Attitudes and Intention
by Jada Horton, Holland Campbell, Dr. Amy Brown, and Casey Bevens
Assessing the Hypothetical Effectiveness of Two University Condom Administration Policies
by Cristian Rivera and Dr. Amy Brown
(Not) Talking about Death: Implications for Terror Management Theory
by Dr. Brooke Breaux, Assistant Professor of Psychology at U. of Louisiana Lafayette, Dylan Richard, Dr. Laurie Robinette, Kylie Garber, Mark LaCour, and Dylan Harrell
How Does Thinking About Religion (And Other Factors) Influence the Way People Talk About Death?
by Dylan Richard, Kylie Garber, and Dr. Brooke Breaux.
“The members of my Cognition and Psycholinguistics (CaP) Research Lab,” said Dr. Breaux, “were dedicated to their research efforts last semester.” Dr. Breaux said. Her team of two masters students and two undergraduates, and colleague Dr. Laurie Robinette began work on their "Talking About Death" project. “… we started collecting and analyzing pilot data to explore some of the language that people actually use to talk about the topic of death and dying and how this language related to Terror Management Theory.”
Recent graduate Kylie Garber said, “The research we are conducting about death is definitely catching people's attention.” And, “Hopefully it will provide insight on the best ways to speak about death in order to promote positive coping. It is very rewarding to be apart of a research project with that kind of potential.”
Dylan Harrell said efforts have “… provided valuable groundwork on the ways individuals talk about death aside from using the words ‘death’ and ‘die.’ Being in this lab provides a fresh perspective on why better understanding the cognitive or psycho-linguistic aspects are important to consider in research.”
Dylan Richard, said, “Conducting this research is beneficial because it is allowing me and other students to use our critical thinking skills and our individual creativity in order to construct a sound experimental model while also exploring topics that we are passionate about.”
Mark LaCour, Graduate Assistant, is also on the research team. "In our lab, we are combining research on conceptual metaphor theory with terror management theory—the idea that physical experiences in the world affect not only the way we speak about death but also the way we think about it.”
“Because many of our lab members, especially the principal investigator,” Mark said, “work (or have worked) with a local organization for bereaved children, this research has helped us explore the ways in which our linguistic practices affect the grieving process and we hope to share our findings with others who are grieving or attempting to console someone who is grieving, whether in a professional role or a personal one.”
Priming Prepositions: Attempting to Replicate and Extend Boroditsky’s (2000) Findings
by Iesha King, Dustin Dronet, and Dr. Breaux.
“At first, this project was very challenging for me to grasp an understanding of,” said researcher Iesha King, “but over time I began to see its true essence …” And, “It is very important for us to understand the conceptual connection between abstract and concrete stimuli and why we subconsciously use these instances interchangeably.”
Dustin Dronet, said, “Metaphoric structuring is the idea that we use spatial objects to talk about abstract ideas such as time.” He said, “I am currently developing stimuli and surveys as a means to re-norm our stimuli that we had previously used. Its very rewarding to see the results that we receive.”
Xavier University
The Effects of Gender and Parenthood on Career Competence Judgments
Aliyah Jones, Zaharra Withers, and Assistant Professor, Dr. Katherine Eskine
The Effects of a Multimedia Meditation Video on Self- reported Executive Functioning and Procrastination- related Behavioral Traits
by Efehi Edomwonyi, Chinyere Okafor, and Dr. Katherine Eskine, Xavier
The Effects of Music on the Cognitive Abilities of Patients with Dementia
by Zaharra Withers and Dr. Katherine E. Eskine
Not So Reality Television: The Media’s Effect on Cognitive Dissonance
by Abigail Maristela
Parental Selection of Collateral Witnesses in High Conflict Custody Evaluations
by Hannah Lubman, Courtney Wineland, Sara Mermer, and W. Michael Nelson
Psychometric Properties of the ABAS-II with Adults Diagnosed with Intellectual Disability
by Rachel Holden, W. Michael Nelson, Kathleen Hart from Xavier University; and others
Effectiveness of Seven Challenges Program for Adolescents with Substance Disorders
by W. Michael Nelson, Caroline Sawyer and others
University of New Orleans
Enhancing Effectiveness of Teenagers' Supervised Driving Practice
by Yinan Zhao, Laura LaFleur, Megan Zeringue, and Dr. Robert Laird, Professor, all from University of New Orleans.
“The presentation is based on Yinan Zhao’s Master’s Thesis and is one of the first analyses of the data from our three-year longitudinal ‘Teen Driving Project’ which was funded by the W. T. Grant Foundation,” said Dr. Robert Laird, UNO Professor of Psychology, Associate Chair and Undergraduate Coordinator.
Researchers has focused on parent-teen relationships and negotiations around driving and they hope to understand factors in how families negotiate this risky venture to make driving safer for teens.
“This first analysis sought to find predictors of more extensive driving practice during the learner’s permit stage, which is a presumed to linked to safer driving subsequently. Results showed that the adolescents’ enjoyment of driving, and motivation to drive were the strongest predictors of both the amount of driving and of driving in different conditions …” said Laird.
“Future analyses will test whether more extensive driving practice during the learner’s permit stage is linked with safer driving during later,” said Dr. Laird.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 7, No. 3. Source pages: 17.
Southern Society for Philosophy & Psychology To Meet March 10-12
The Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology will hold its annual meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, from March 10 to March 12.
Invited Speaker is Jerome Wakefield from New York University speaking on, “Taxonomizing DSM-5: Health, Justice and Virtue as Psychiatric Organizing Values.” Also invited is Scott O. Lilienfeld, from Emory University, speaking on, “The Mother of All Biases: Confirmation Bias and Erroneous Claims in Everyday Life.”
Among a variety of offerings is also is a symposium, “The Metaphysics of Science: Beyond Reductionism and Antireductionism,”and also a Contributed Symposium, “The Phenomenology of Shame,” among many other offerings.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 7, No. 3. Source pages: 2.
A Real Applied Psychologist by J. Nelson
SEPA is in New Orleans at the end of the month, and SWPA in April. We have quite a showing of psychology research from around our state. Reviewing some of what people are researching reminds me of how large and complex a field psychology is and how much information there is to stay aware of––at least to know about, if not to actually know.
We are a species that likes to study itself. Psychology ranks either 4th or 5th every year in most popular undergraduate major, the APA publication manual has been on the bestseller list for years, and there is a journal for just about any topic imaginable.
In their 2015 knowledge industry report, Elsevier found that relative to the total world output, the U.S. produces a particularly high volume of research in psychology, with 3.6% of the total publications. This gives us over 19,000 articles per year. If we combine psychology and social sciences, at 8.6%, then those two give us over 65,000 articles a year.
Adding to that volume is our typical fog index which is high, and even higher now days when subspecialties use the jargon in their silo and those in other psychology silos can’t understand it. I’ve noticed––I’m sure others have––that we seem to be reinventing the wheels more than usual.
It’s no small task to stay up to date in our field, especially if you aim to be a generalist or effective in applied areas. (Being a generalist is akin to being a fox, rather than a hedgehog, in the terms used by Phillip Tetlock. Of the two cognitive types, the fox, who knows a little about a lot of things, is better at predictions than the hedgehog, who knows a lot about one thing, his or her silo.)
I try to be a good generalist and applied psychologist. I’m delighted with my five journals that come with my membership in Association for Psychological Science (APS). I’m convinced that by reading all the abstracts and then a selection of the articles, and scanning PubMed and other online sources and blogs, I can stay 10% up with psychological science.
Who can apply all of this wonderful information we generate and make a difference?
One fine example is Dr. Susan Tucker. I ran into Susan in 2010 after I’d started the Times and we have been reporting on her work since. She was working as the Assistant Warden at Forcht Wade Correctional Center in Keithville and later moved her work to the Bossier Sherriff Facility.
Dr. Tucker, despite the many challenges, is able to apply psychological science in a truly comprehensive way––her innovations have been recognized nationally and her results continue to be impressive.
This has not been luck. She designed a core, evidenced-based, intensive therapeutic program and added numerous ancillary programs tailored to the individual offender, and she recognized the true underlying problems, such as a 70 to 80 percent substance abuse problem. She drew in family and community and designed around systems, individual needs and family units. One of the most basic of human needs, to be a good father to your child, inspired the “Read to Me, Daddy Program,” a shinning example of innovative ideas in her programs.
The most recent news is that the programs are resulting in major savings. The proper psychological treatment of offenders benefits the state’s bottom line, saving millions and millions of dollars in prison costs.
The less invisible benefits, and perhaps the true savings, are in human lives and the quality of one person’s existence, some who would surely have become lost forever.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 7, No. 3. Source pages: 17.
in Baton Rouge The Louisiana Academy of Medical Psychologists are scheduled to hold a training conference on April 16 & 17, in Baton Rouge, according to their website.
The group met in January for two days of continuing education including, “Gestational and Lactational Psychopharmacology: The Pain and Pleasure,” by Dr. Robert Nevels. Also, Daniel Dowd, PharmD, spoke on “Genetic Markers and Personalized treatment in Psychiatry.”
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 7, No. 3. Source pages: 2.
Corrections &Clarifications
Other than typos, we had no corrections/clarifications for February’s issue.
We were contacted by a reader who said that we did not make clear an issue in our investigative article, “The Secret Life of Board Complaints,” October 2015 . The reader said we needed to clarity the complaint about Dr. Pellegrin having a dual relationship: That Pellegrin “liked” a Facebook photo or photos, posted by a paralegal who was employed in the office of opposing council. The reader said we did not make that point clear. We apologize for any confusion it caused our readers.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 7, No. 3. Source pages: 18.
The Louisiana Group Psychotherapy Society will hold it Spring Institute on April 1 and 2 in New Orleans. The featured speaker is Mollyln Leszcz, MD, co-author of Irvin Yalom’s The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy, 5th Edition.
The topic will be “Maximizing & Sustaining Your Effectiveness in Group Psychotherapy.” Dr. Leszca is Professor and Vice Chair, Clinical, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto and Psychiatrist-in-Chief at Mount Sinai Hospital. He was awarded the 2009 Anne Alonso Award for Outstanding Contributions to Psychodynamic Group Therapy.
The Institute will be held at the Hampton Inn, Convention Center in New Orleans.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.