After hosting the Hot Topics in Psychology series for two years, the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences has revamped the program. This fall, the college introduces the new Psychology Graduate Research Series, which will include presentations and talks by students in the college’s new M.S. in Experimental Psychology program and in NSU’s Center for Psychological Studies.
The first presentation will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 7, from noon to 1:00 p.m., in the Parker Building, room 201A. Tatiana Viena and Isabelle Barbu, students in the experimental psychology graduate program, will present “The Impact of Psychological Stress on an Acute Stress Challenge: An Investigation into Biochemical, Social, and Personality Correlates.”
Presentation Abstract
Stress exposure activates a variety of physiological coping systems. While acute stress responses are considered important for healthy coping, overexposure to stress results in an alteration of the functioning of the stress (HPA) axis, leading to a variety of deleterious psychological and physiological effects. This talk will highlight the background, methods, and results of a study wherein the researchers sought to determine whether chronic psychological (examination) stress would result in a decreased ability to mount an acute stress and immune response.
Viena and Barbu conducted the research as part of an undergraduate independent study project, which earned First Place in the 2011 Undergraduate Student Symposium in April. The students worked under the guidance of faculty advisers Jaime Tartar, Ph.D., associate professor and coordinator of psychology research in the college, and Allan Schulman, Ph.D., professor in the college.
The Psychology Graduate Research Series is free and open to the public. Pizza will be served. For more information, contact Jaime Tartar, Ph.D., at (954) 262-8192.