Psychological Sciences

Session I

Mo Al Saffar, "When Beliefs Betray You"

Cognitive dissonance, the psychological discomfort from holding conflicting beliefs or making incompatible decisions (Festinger, 1957), plays a critical role in decision-making. Yet, the ways ideological alignment and personal outcomes jointly shape this discomfort remain underexplored experimentally. In this study, participants (N = 99) completed 18 policy dilemmas on controversial topics such as inflation and healthcare, each requiring a trade-off between ideological alignment (choices matching vs. conflicting with participants’ stated ideology) and outcome valence (positive vs. negative personal consequences). After each choice, dissonance was assessed using the novel, validated 6-item Political Cognitive Dissonance Index (PCDI). Results showed strong main effects: dissonance was higher for ideologically conflicting choices and for choices with negative outcomes. A significant interaction revealed that dissonance peaked when a conflicting choice also produced a negative outcome. Exploratory analyses indicated this effect was primarily driven by liberal participants. Behavioral patterns showed that participants more often selected options that were positive, aligned with their ideology, or both.

These findings provide robust experimental evidence for how ideological consistency and outcome utility together shape political cognitive dissonance. They also validate the PCDI as a tool for measuring this complex construct in realistic political contexts, offering new insights into the psychological costs of political trade-offs.

Student Major(s)/Minor: Neuroscience Major, Psychology Minor

Advisor: Dr. Cheryl Dickter

Andrew Beck, "Parental Empathy Predicts Sibling Relationship Quality Indirectly through the Mediating Factors of Children’s Theory of Mind and Emotion Recognition"

Empirical research has shown higher levels of parental empathy are associated with better emotional regulation and lower risk of conduct problems (Meng et al., 2020,  Zhang, 2024). Less is known about the relationship between parental empathy and sibling relationship quality, particularly the role of children’s social-emotional skills. The current study aims to address this gap by examining associations between parental empathy  and aspects of sibling relationships (i.e., warmth, agonism, and rivalry; Kramer & Baron, 1995). Additionally, this study will explore two potential mediators of this relationship: children’s theory of mind and emotion recognition. Theory of mind refers to the ability to understand others’ thoughts, feelings, and behaviors (Wellman & Liu, 2004), while emotion recognition refers to the ability to accurately identify emotions in oneself and others. These cognitive milestones, which develop across early childhood, may help explain why more empathic parenting is associated with more positive sibling relationships. Findings from this study may clarify links among parenting factors, children’s social-emotional development, and sibling dynamics, with potential implications for improving sibling relationships through family-based interventions. We hypothesize that parental empathy will be associated with better sibling relationships, as indicated by higher warmth, lower agonism, and lower rivalry. Our second hypothesis is that parental empathy will have indirect effects on sibling relationship quality through children's social-emotional skills (theory of mind and emotion recognition). 

Student Major(s)/Minor: Psychology Major, Business Analytics Minor

Advisor: Dr. Madelyn Labella

Ella Bender, "Descriptive Study of Risk Factors Among Justice Involved Families Receiving Home Visiting Services"

The study examines patterns in  the prevalence of criminal justice involvement and co-occurring risk factors among families participating in home-visiting throughout the state of Virginia from 2016 to 2021.  Data were derived from routine intake procedures completed by parents (n = 15,434) enrolling in Healthy Families Virginia (HFV), an organization that conducts home visits with the goal of reducing risk factors linked to child maltreatment. At each site, HFV screened for risk factors such as criminal history involvement within the immediate family, mental health problems and substance abuse, and assigned a psychosocial risk score before beginning services. Descriptively, parent-reported criminal justice involvement, mental health problems, and substance abuse all increased over time, peaking in 2020 and then plateauing. Chi-square analyses revealed that those  with criminal history involvement in their family were more likely to report substance abuse and mental health problems. Our findings will help to provide insight into longitudinal trends and co-occurring risk factors of justice-involved families who receive home visiting services.

Student Major(s): Psychology

Advisor: Dr. Danielle Dallaire

Anna Diaz, "Alcohol Use Among Latino College Students: Examining the Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences, Poor Attitudes Towards Professional Help, and Drinking to Cope"

The present study aimed to investigate the relationships between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), attitudes towards professional help (ATPH), drinking to cope (DTC), and alcohol-related problems among Latino college students. Specifically, we examined whether more ACEs relate to more alcohol-related problems via DTC. Furthermore, we examined whether ATPH (both negative and positive attitudes) would moderate the relationship between ACEs and DTC, which in turn may lead to more alcohol-related problems. Participants were 1,337 Latino college students (73.4% female, Mean age=20.42) from eight different U.S. universities that filled out an online survey. Within our hypothesized mediation model, we did find that more ACEs relate to more alcohol-related problems via DTC (indirect β=.05, 99% CI=.03, .08). In our moderated-mediation models, neither positive nor negative ATPH significantly moderated the relationship between ACEs and DTC. Our findings suggest that Latino college students who experienced significant ACEs are at risk for problematic alcohol use via DTC.

Student Major(s): Psychology

Advisor: Dr. Adrian Bravo

Rose Hsieh, "Orexin-2 Receptors and Attentional Deficits in a Rodent Model of Schizophrenia Induced by NMDA Receptor Hypofunction"

Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder that often causes difficulties in attention, memory, and daily functioning. While past research has focused on dopamine, other studies suggest that low activity in NMDA receptors, a type of glutamate receptor, may contribute to these cognitive problems. The neuropeptide orexin, which helps regulate arousal and attention, also interacts with brain regions involved in dopamine signaling. This project explores whether blocking orexin-2 receptors can reduce attention deficits caused by NMDA receptor hypofunction in a rat model of schizophrenia. Rats will be trained to perform a visual attention task. They will then receive a drug that blocks NMDA receptors to induce cognitive impairments, followed by either a selective orexin-2 receptor antagonist or a control solution. We expect that blocking orexin-2 receptors will lessen the attention deficits. These findings may improve our understanding of the orexin system in schizophrenia and point to new targets for treating cognitive symptoms.

Student Major(s): Neuroscience

Advisor: Dr. Joshua Burk

Maanasa Schwartzkopf, "Exploring a Potential Relationship Between Ascribed Childhood Giftedness, Neurodiversity, and Burnout Experiences"

“Twice-exceptional” individuals – those diagnosed with both giftedness and a neurodevelopmental disability – can be at higher risk for social, occupational, and emotional problems in life. Due to the overlap between traits of giftedness and neurodevelopmental disabilities, one may mask the other, and diagnoses may be missed. Schwartzkopf’s pilot study supported a potential relationship between ascribed giftedness in youth and current neurodivergence. The current study asks how we can assess the prevalence of a relationship between giftedness, neurodivergence, and burnout through a multi-faceted variable approach. This will be done using measures including the Autism Quotient and Burnout Assessment Tool, as well as a series of short surveys designed to analyze the three variables from different angles. Participants will include two hundred William & Mary students and individuals from a broader national sample. The results may inform future research and diagnostic practices to best support those who are “twice-exceptional” and have experienced misdiagnosis challenges.

SStudent Major(s): Psychology, Studio Arts

Advisor: Dr. Cheryl Dickter

Lillian Shee, "Investigating the Relationship Between Orexin-a Induced Impulsivity and Potential Rescue Effects of  Atomoxetine"

Orexin/Hypocretin is a neurochemical that is important in modulation of wakefulness, attention, and appetite drive. Recent investigations of Orexin's role in attention have shifted to implications with Attention Hyperactive Deficit Disorder (ADHD). Current research shows Orexin subtype, Orexin A (OxA) levels are lower in children with ADHD compared to non-ADHD children. However within the ADHD subtypes, OxA levels are higher in the impulsive subtype compared to inattention subtype. This experiments aims to investigate if non-stimulant ADHD medication Atomoxetine is able to limit OxA induced impulsive behavior in rat models. Utilizing a go/no-go task, the subjects received either control or OxA as well as either control or Atomoxetine prior to testing. It is anticipated that subjects administered OxA with control will exhibit increased premature starts and lever presses during the no-go portion of testing. Atomoxetine is expected to attenuate this effect by decreasing lever pressues during no-go portions and increasing omissions of presses altogether. These implications could lead to better understanding of the Orexin system's effects on ADHD and potential usage of Orexin Antagonism for treatment of ADHD. 

Student Major(s): Neuroscience

Advisor: Dr. Joshua Burk

Rayaan Siddiqui, "Investigating the Role of M2 Muscarinic Receptors and Orexin A in Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Attention Deficits Using the Rule Switching Task in Rats"

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is associated with cognitive impairments, particularly in attention, due to disruptions in cholinergic and orexinergic systems. M2 muscarinic receptors (M2R) regulate acetylcholine release, but their overactivation may contribute to attention deficits by excessively inhibiting neurotransmission. Conversely, Orexin A, a neuropeptide involved in wakefulness, has been shown to enhance cognitive function. This project will investigate whether M2 receptor activation impairs attention and if Orexin A can serve as a potential rescue intervention. Using a Visual Sustained Attention Task (VSAT) in rats, the study will compare performance across four experimental groups: control, M2 agonist-treated, Orexin A-treated, and a combined M2 agonist + Orexin A rescue group. By identifying how these pathways interact, this research could provide insight into new therapeutic strategies for AD-related attention deficits. Understanding Orexin A’s role in cognitive rescue may open avenues for targeted treatments aimed at improving attention in neurodegenerative diseases.

Student Major(s)/Minor: Neuroscience Major, Kinesiology Minor

Advisor: Dr. Joshua Burk

Ela Sobol, "Pixel Pressure: Examining the Relationship Between Social Media Usage and Body Esteem"

Previous literature has found that social media usage is negatively correlated with life satisfaction, self-esteem, and mental well-being. This study investigated the relationship between a few of the most popular social media platforms for college students (TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat) and body esteem, which is defined as self-perceptions about one’s body and its appearance. Participants were students enrolled at William & Mary. They were asked to fill out an online Qualtrics survey about their social media usage and then respond to the Body-Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults (BESAA), a 23-item validated scale for assessing body esteem. It was expected that the findings would follow previous literature, but results found no statistically significant correlations between the usage of Tiktok, Instagram, and Snapchat and BESAA scores. This suggests that further research should be conducted regarding these applications, ideally using additional factors to measure social media usage and a more diversely representative sample. 

Student Major(s): Psychology & Data Science

Advisor: Dr. Harvey Langholtz

Audrey Vergara, "The Effect of Different Fonts on Recall when Re-Reading Material"

Many studies have found disfluent fonts – fonts perceived to be difficult to read – act as a cue for the brain to activate a deeper processing system. This study investigates if using a disfluent font still has a significant effect on information recall when the information has been already presented. All participants completed two surveys, 24 hours apart, where they completed a free recall task with the same list of words. The control group was presented with words in a fluent font, a font perceived to be easy to read, for the pretest and posttest while the experimental group was presented with words in a disfluent font during the posttest. The results found there was no statistically significant difference in recall performance between the two fonts but a statistically significant difference between the pretest and posttest which suggests that re-reading material improves recall performance but different types of font do not.

Student Major(s): Psychology

Advisor: Dr. Harvey Langholtz

Benetta Wang, "Emotion Polyregulation Under Stress: The Influence of Rumination on Regulation Effectiveness"

Emotion regulation (ER) is the process of influencing emotions (Gross & Jazaieri, 2014). Recent studies suggested that people often implement multiple ER strategies in a single emotional episode, which is known as polyregulation (Ford et al., 2019). The effectiveness of polyregulation is context-dependent, and one potential factor is rumination, a repetitive and passive focus on distressing thoughts (Lask et al., 2021). Given that rumination is linked to maladaptive ER and psychopathology, the current study aimed to examine whether individuals with greater tendency to ruminate experienced lower effectiveness of polyregulation during lab-induced stress. Data were collected from 334 undergraduate students. It was hypothesized that the tendency to ruminate would moderate the association between polyregulation and ER effectiveness, such that greater rumination would weaken the effectiveness of polyregulation. The current study would further contribute to the understanding of polyregulation and provide insights into future prevention and treatment strategies.

Student Major(s)/Minor: Psychology Major, Public Health Minor

Advisor: Dr. Meghan Quinn

Session II

Bella Close, "Zebrafish: Maze Masters or a Red Herring? (Spatial Learning)"

This project will explore the research question: Will zebrafish demonstrate spatial learning and memory? It is inspired by a growing interest in developing quick and reliable pre-clinical tasks to assess those who could be suffering from developmental or neurological injuries. Zebrafish are becoming a relevant complementary, or even replacement, animal model for medical research due to multiple key fundamental genetic mechanisms which overlap with humans. This should be further explored in more important contexts, in order to diversify species used in research. Spatial learning will be tested using a custom-built maze which will consist of several identical holes, only one of which will be open. This will require the zebrafish to locate one specific area and test their spatial learning ability. Each fish will be retested daily in order to assess their memory, and after a period of time the position of the hole will change.

Student Major(s): Psychology, History 

Advisor: Dr. Pamela Hunt

Rachael Gardiner, "Does Parental Empathy Predict Children’s Behavioral Compliance and Parasympathetic Regulation During a Clean Up Task?"

This project explores the relationship between parental empathy and children’s self-regulation, defined as managing one’s behavior, emotions, and physiology. Parental empathy has lasting effects on aspects of children’s development; however, little research examines the relationship between parental empathy and self-regulation. The current study addresses this gap by investigating associations between parental empathy and two aspects of self-regulation: parasympathetic functioning and behavioral compliance. Primary analysis included running correlations between parental empathy, child compliance, and parasympathetic functioning (RSA), as well as determining if RSA moderates the relationship between parental empathy and child compliance. The sample includes parents aged 22-48 and children in preschool aged 3-4.99. Data was collected as part of a larger study on stress- and parenting-related predictors of emerging self-regulation skills and coded in accordance with various manuals. Primary analyses about direct correlations and moderation effects were null. Additional exploratory analysis revealed a marginally significant effect where child age moderates the relationship between parental empathy and parasympathetic functioning. These findings indicate further research should be conducted in order to provide a clearer understanding of the relationship between parental empathy and self-regulation.

Student Major(s)/Minor: Psychology Major, Data Science Minor

Advisor: Dr. Madelyn Labella

Sophie Levine, "College Adjustment as a Predictor of Alcohol Consequences Via Drinking to Cope Motivations"

The present study examined whether poor college adjustment (i.e., poor educational, relational, and psychological adjustment) predicts worse alcohol problems via greater drinking to cope motivations. Participants were 1,089 college students (69.4% female; Mean age=19.08) from six countries (USA, Argentina, Spain, South Africa, England, Canada) who completed an online survey. Within our estimated mediation model (i.e. college adjustment facets -> drinking to cope -> alcohol problems), we found several significant mediation effects. Specifically, poor college adjustment was linked to greater drinking to cope motivations, which in turn predicted more alcohol problems within the educational (indirect β=-.0411, 99% CIs=-.0729, -.0155), relational (indirect β=-.0503, 99% CIs=-.0813, -.0233), and psychological domain (indirect β=-.0716, 99% CIs=-.1043, -.0426). These findings suggest that inadequate adjustment to university is associated with greater drinking to cope motivations, thus leading to more problematic alcohol use.  Longitudinal analyses will be run during the next steps of this project to examine change over time.

Student Major(s)/Minor: Psychology Major, Biology Minor

Advisor: Adrian Bravo

Sarah Lozina, "Mitochondrial Gsdmd Translocation and Inflammasome Activation in Alpha-Synucleinopathies"

Microglia, the immune cells of the central nervous system, play a critical role in maintaining neural homeostasis by responding to injury, clearing debris, and eliminating pathogens. However, chronic microglial activation can drive sustained neuroinflammation and exacerbate neuronal damage. In alpha-synucleinopathies, including Parkinson’s disease and Dementia with Lewy bodies, misfolded alpha-synuclein activates innate immune pathways such as the NLRP3 (NOD-like receptor protein 3) inflammasome and the STING (Stimulator of Interferon Genes) pathway. These responses are often initiated by mitochondrial stress signals, amplifying neurodegenerative pathology. Recent research suggests that the protein Gasdermin-D (GSDMD) may accelerate mitochondrial dysfunction. This project investigates the mechanistic role of GSDMD in mediating mitochondrial damage and inflammasome activation in microglia exposed to alpha-synuclein. By elucidating the molecular interactions between GSDMD and mitochondria, this research aims to identify novel targets to modulate microglial activation and mitigate neuroinflammation in alpha-synucleinopathies.

Student Major(s): Neuroscience & Data Science 

Advisors: Dr. Paul Kieffaber (W&M) and Dr. Nikhil Panicker (Cleveland Clinic)

Gabriel Monroe, "Ruminative Thought, Body Dissatisfaction, and Attitude Towards Self: Examining Their Impact on Binge Eating in College Students"

The present study explored the potential interactive impacts of overthinking (i.e., ruminative thinking), body dissatisfaction, and attitude towards self on binge eating behaviors within college students in the United States. Participants were 5,300 U.S. college students (56.6% white, 51.4% first year students; Mean Age = 19.32) recruited from six universities who completed an online survey. Within our moderation models, we found one significant interaction effect between body dissatisfaction and negative attitudes towards themselves (interaction b = -.05, [99% CI = -.09, -.03]). Specifically, the positive relationship between body dissatisfaction and binge eating weakened at higher levels of negative attitudes towards themselves (when controlling for all other predictors). Our preliminary results suggest that negative attitudes towards self may be protective factor in weakening the positive association between body dissatisfaction and binge eating behaviors. Though further longitudinal/experimental research is needed to confirm our results.

psychology

Student Major(s)/Minor: Psychology Major, Global Business Minor

Advisors: Dr. Adrian Bravo

Daniella Morales, "College Readiness Among Youth From Low Child Opportunity" 

According to the United States Department of Education, 29% of young adults in rural areas are enrolled in higher education, 19% lower than their urban counterparts (United States Department of Education, 2023). While rurality seems to be associated with lower rates of college attendance, socioeconomic factors also strongly influence college attendance rates. Eighty-nine percent of youth from high-income homes attend college, whereas only about half of youth from the bottom socioeconomic quintile pursue post-secondary education (Reber & Smith, 2023). Research highlights a unique association between socioeconomic factors and rurality by identifying disparities in access to higher education (Koricich et al., 2018). This mixed-methods study aims to understand how socioeconomic status and rurality influence college readiness and institutional choice patterns for high school students in Virginia. Results will contribute to possible support systems and institutional buffers that can improve college readiness and college attendance for students with these backgrounds.

Student Major(s)/Minor: Psychology Major, Public Health Minor

Advisor: Dr. Danielle Dallaire

Kendall Pade, "Social Media Usage and Voting Behavior in Digital Natives: Investigating the Media's Influence on First Time Voters in the 2024 Presidential Election​"

The rise of social media in the 21st century has created a wave of unstudied influences on the developing mind. There has been limited research on the effects of specific media sites on voting preferences in digital natives. The present study posed two questions: First, what media platforms do college students receive their political information from? Second, was there a relationship between different types of media consumption and voting preferences in the 2024 primary election? Participants were 68 undergraduate William & Mary students who completed a survey measuring political views, 2024 voting plans, and hours of different forms of media consumption per week. A significant correlation was found between voting patterns and Twitter, Washington Post, and Fox News. Further, the study found that unaccredited social media platforms have, on average, higher levels of consumption. This study inspires research on the influences of media consumption on the modern-day political sphere.   

Student Major(s): Psychology, English

Advisor: Dr. Harvey Langholtz

Hanna Pazo Vargas, "College Marijuana Beliefs, Harm Reduction Strategies, and Marijuana Outcomes: A Cross-National Study"

Within the college student alcohol literature, college alcohol beliefs (i.e., the belief that drinking alcohol is an important part of the college experience) has been shown to be a robust risk factor for excessive alcohol use and problems (Bravo et al., 2018). More recently, researchers have found that college marijuana beliefs (i.e., the belief that using marijuana is an important part of the college experience) is a unique robust predictor of marijuana-related outcomes (i.e., marijuana user status, frequency of use, marijuana-related consequences) among U.S. college students (Pearson et al., 2018). In exploring mechanisms, one prior study found that lower use of protective behavioral strategies (PBS) links greater college alcohol beliefs to problematic alcohol use (Bravo et al., 2017); however, limited research has examined whether marijuana PBS use links college marijuana beliefs to marijuana outcomes, particularly across diverse cultural contexts. The present study examined the associations between college marijuana beliefs, marijuana PBS use, and marijuana-related outcomes among college students from six different countries. Within our estimated path model (i.e., college marijuana beliefs → marijuana PBS → marijuana quantity → marijuana-related consequences), findings revealed that stronger endorsement of college marijuana beliefs was positively associated with lower use of marijuana PBS, which in turn was associated with greater marijuana quantity (indirect β = .11; 99% CI = 0.07, 0.16) and more marijuana-related consequences (indirect β = .08; 99% CI = 0.05, 0.12). These findings highlight the importance of addressing college marijuana beliefs and promoting marijuana PBS use to mitigate the impact of heavy marijuana use among college students, particularly in culturally diverse settings.

Student Major(s): Psychology, Data Science

Advisor: Dr. Adrian J. Bravo

Sydney Ridge, "The Effect of High vs Low Autistic Traits on Rejection Sensitivity Levels and Responses to Rejection"

This study aims to investigate the impact that autistic and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) traits have on rejection sensitivity levels and responses to rejection. To investigate this, we will recruit individuals from introductory psychology courses at William & Mary and have them complete a series of questionnaires assessing ADHD and autistic trait levels, rejection sensitivity levels, social anxiety levels, and responses to rejection. Participants will also play a virtual ball tossing game where they are told they are playing a game with fellow lab participants, when in reality, they are playing with a computer program designed to not throw them the ball, thus rejecting the participant. Participants will be monitored via galvanic skin response and heart rate monitoring while playing the game to gather physiological data in response to rejection. This research hopes to further the conversation of rejection sensitivity in ADHD and autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Student Major(s): Neuroscience

Advisor: Dr. Joshua Burk

Caitlin Zecca, "Investigating the Well Being for People with Disabilities in Japan"

This project will explore the well being of Japanese people with disabilities in the education system. Japan, while “technologically advanced” as many say, is socially conservative. As a result, it leads to closed mindsets of how a person should look and behave. Anyone that falls outside of society’s norms will be socially ostracized and lead to more difficulty creating stable relationships. Thus, this project aims to investigate how this instability of relationships affects a Japanese student with a disability’s well being. This project’s main method for collecting data is a survey. The target demographic for this survey are high school students who live in suburban areas and experience a disability. The significance of this research is that it will generate evidence for the people in charge of Japan’s education system to change how they conduct schools for people with disabilities, as well as advocate for more support for this community.

Student Major(s): Psychology

Advisor: Dr. Joanna Schug

Video Presentations

Calliope Koesters, "Sex Education Satisfaction: An Analysis Focused on Religion and Schooling"

Formal sex education provided to adolescents under age 18 differs depending on various demographic factors, religiosity, schooling type, and setting of sex education. However, previous research does not consider all these variables simultaneously or compare their effects against each other. This study utilized data from a survey to examine the sex education topics on which participants previously received information and if the information was satisfactory, additionally highlighting if the participants’ dominant household religion or schooling type affected their sex education. The data suggested that sex education taught in school environments was more satisfactory than when taught elsewhere, but nevertheless lacked topic breadth. These data show that adolescents’ sex education is affected not only by location and setting of sex education but also by religion and schooling type. It is not enough to mandate sex education; it should be comprehensive, objective, medically accurate and standardized for all students, regardless of demographics. 

Student Major(s): Psychology & Gender, Sexuality & Women's Studies Majors

Student Major(s)/Minor: Dr. Harvey Langholtz

Video Coming Soon!