NWC students present research

Twenty-four Northwestern College students gave presentations at the Siouxland Social Science Research Conference, hosted by Northwestern, on April 23. They were among several student presenters from area private liberal arts colleges.

A panel of Northwestern psychology alumni spoke, including Emily Griese, a 2008 graduate who is a doctoral degree candidate in educational psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Heather Kirkeby, a 2011 graduate who is working at Cherokee (Iowa) Mental Health; and Jeremy Koerselman, a 2005 graduate who is a licensed clinical social worker specializing in play therapy at Creative Living Center in Rock Valley, Iowa.

Eight students collaborated on a presentation entitled “Who Volunteers? Relation of Volunteering to Gratitude and Belief in a Just World.” They included Malea Beeson, a junior psychology major from Orange City; Mica Graves, a sophomore majoring in psychology from Platte, S.D.; Stephan Harsma, a senior psychology major from Hills, Minn.; Amanda Jackson, a freshman psychology major from Waukee, Iowa; Rachel Krause, a senior majoring in psychology from New Richland, Minn.; Sadie Mennen, a Parkersburg, Iowa, senior with majors in psychology and sociology; Naoko Oura, a sophomore psychology major from Japan; and Rebekah Wicks, a junior psychology major from Parkersburg.

Harsma also presented “Sadder but Wiser?”

Krause also presented “Traumatic Experience in Relation to Hope, Locus of Control, and Empathy.”

Mennen also gave a presentation entitled “Are We a Product of What We See? Materialism and Media Exposure in Relation to Body Image Satisfaction in College Women.”

Amber Amundson spoke on “Impulsivity and Low Perception of Control in Females With Bulimic Symptoms.” She is a senior from Westbrook, Minn., majoring in psychology.

Erin Anderson and Jenna Harms presented “A Change in More Than Status: A Phenomenological Study of DACA Applicants in Northwest Iowa.” A social work and Spanish major from Ossian, Iowa, Anderson is a senior. Harms is a senior from Alta, Iowa, with majors in social work and political science.

Social work majors Rebecca Boon and Hilary Spring collaborated on “The Impact of Family Relationships on Nursing Home Residents’ Quality of Life.” Boon is an Alvord, Iowa, junior; Spring is a sophomore from Collegeville, Pa.

Amie Davis spoke on “Memory Recall and False Recall Through the Use of Distraction and Dual vs. Mono-Coding.” She is a senior psychology major from Mapleton, Iowa.

Social work majors Sean Guthmiller, Sarah Shapiro and Audrey Wheeler spoke on “Integration of Children With Physical Disabilities in the School System.” Guthmiller is an Orange City senior. Shapiro is a junior from St. Louis Park, Minn. Wheeler is a junior from Montezuma, Iowa.

Kelsey Martinez and Abby Van Gorp presented “Internationally Adoptive Families: Integration of Race and Acculturation.” Martinez is a junior from Sibley, Iowa, majoring in social work. Van Gorp is a junior social work major from Sioux Falls, S.D.

Dani Maurer, a senior psychology major from Sioux City, spoke on “The Hopeful Life Story: The Effect of Narrative on Hope and Satisfaction With Life.”

Kirsten McConnel, a senior psychology and Spanish major from Sioux Center, presented “The Intrusion of Intuitive Concepts in an Online Processing Task: The Theological Correctness Effect.”

Eric Posthuma, a senior from Pella, Iowa, majoring in psychology, spoke on “Attitudes About Sexual Orientation Among College Students in Relation to Gender, Church Attendance, Field of Study, and Spirituality.”

Bev Rubel, a senior psychology major from Palatine, Ill., gave a presentation on “Yoga, Micro-expression Detection, and Interoception.”

Jennifer Welch, a senior psychology major from Storm Lake, Iowa, presented “Expansion of Time Perception Influenced by Spiritual and Natural Awe.”