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Psychology Department Student Achievements




What OBU Psychology Majors Know
What OBU Psychology Majors Achieve
How OBU Psychology Majors Serve
Where OBU Psychology Majors Go

What OBU Psychology Majors Know:
As part of our regular department assessment, senior psychology majors are asked to take the Educational Testing Service Major Field Test in Psychology. This is a national, standardized test over content in several sub-fields of psychology. ETS scores the test and sends us a report of how OBU psychology majors performed in comparison to psychology majors from other schools across the nation. The table below shows the percent of universities in the comparison group that score lower than OBU

Percentile Performance of OBU Senior Psychology Majors
 
   
Knowledge Category 2001 2003 2005
Learning and Cognition 99% 99% 95%
Sensation/Perception 94% 94% 95%
Memory and Thinking 99% 99% 95%
Sensory/Physiology 95% 99% 95%
Developmental 84% 94% 95%
Clinical and Abnormal 90% 99% 95%
Social 91% 99% 95%
Measurement/Research 84% 99% 95%
Total Test 96% 99% 95%


Notes : Percentiles are derived from a comparison group of approximately 300 colleges and universities.
Beginning in 2005, 95% was the highest percentile achievable.

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What OBU Psychology Majors Achieve:
Every year the Department of Psychology takes several students to the Southwestern Psychological Association conference to present their independent research projects. Completing a research project from start to finish and presenting research at a professional conference are major accomplishments for undergraduate students. Here are OBU’s recent presenters.


 
Papers and posters presented at the March 2005 meeting of the Southwestern Psychological Association, Memphis, TN.
 
  • Allred, Ben. (2005). Can you see how I feel? Gender differences in emotion recognition from isolated facial features.
  • Bryant, Allison. (2005). The relationship between English vocabulary and second language learning.*
  • Guinn, Megan (2005). The effect of time interval on retrieval blocking.*
  • McConnell, Michelle. (2005). What teachers say and how they say it: The effects of content and style in lectures. (poster)
  • Mui, Jonathan. (2005). Timing the effects of relazation on anxiety and test performance. *
  • Sarver, Dustin (2005). Stereotype threat and stereotype fit: A relational analysis.*
* Denotes a winner of the Psi Chi Research Scholarship

 
Papers and posters presented at the April 2006 meeting of the Southwestern Psychological Association, Austin, TX.
 
  • Cooley, David. (2006). Heavy metal music's effect on affect. (poster)
  • Haney, Elizabeth. (2006). Choosing friends by personality, activities, and beliefs.
  • McCary, Laura. (2006). Influence of test authority on acceptance phenomenon in personality assessment.
  • Short, Erin. (2006). The relationship of stress and time imposed deadlines on gender.




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How OBU Psychology Majors Serve:
An important part of the OBU psychology program is the opportunity to experience a practicum course. The Practicum in Mental Health is an optional course which allows students to volunteer, over the course of a semester, at a mental health or community service related site. In addition to receiving course credit, the student gains valuable, real-world experience in a setting associated with his or her career goals. Through their volunteer service, students are helping the local community’s mental health and service organizations. While serving, they learn about the day-to-day functioning of these organizations and make important contacts for graduate school or employment references. Below is a sample of students and the sites where they served.
 
Student Position Facility
Sarah Smith Child Life Specialist Assistant OU Children’s Hospital
Bethany Auburn Guidance Counselor Assistant McLoud School District
Rachel Bilderback Counselor Assistant Youth and Family Resource Center
Amy Redelsperger Child Development Specialist Assistant Home Integration Child Development Center
Michelle McConnell Adult Educator Youth and Family Resource Center
Marti Bennett Case Manager Assistant Red Rock Mental Health Center
Claire Day Drug Rehabilitation Assistant Gateway Rehabilitation Center
Amanda Teague Domestic Violence Counselor Assistant Project SAFE
Elizabeth Haney Youth Counselor Assistant Shawnee Hope House
Chase Smith Court Case Manager Assistant Office of Juvenile Affairs
Tara Craft School Counselor Assistant Jim Thorpe Alternative School


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Where OBU Psychology Majors Go:
Obtaining a degree in Psychology from OBU is the first step of a journey that leads to a fulfilling career. For some students, the next step is to seek immediate employment in the helping profession or community service fields. Many students, however, seek to obtain a master’s degree or doctorate in psychology or a related field. Regardless of your path, the education you receive from OBU and OBU’s psychology program will prepare you well for the journey. Here is a sample of career and graduate school paths that recent OBU psychology majors have taken.


 
Recent students who took a career path
Ben Allred – Case Manager at Gateway Rehabilitation Center
Jeff Forsee – Youth Minister
Paula Green – Residence Life Coordinator at Seattle Pacific U.

Recent students who sought graduate training
Tim Doty – MA in Forensic Psychology at Denver University; now in PsyD program in Forensic Psychology at Denver U.
Melissa McConnell - PhD in Experimental Psychology from University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Alicja Carter - MA in Human Relations at the University of Oklahoma
Michelle McConnell - MA in Marriage and Family Therapy at Oklahoma State University
Dustin Sarver - PhD in Clinical Psychology at University of Central Florida
Summer Hasty - MA in Counseling Psychology at the University of Oklahoma

This represents a small sample of the accomplishments of OBU psychology students. As the chairman of the Department of Psychology, I am very proud of the successes of each and every student in our program. Because OBU and the OBU psychology program attracts some of the brightest students in the nation, the faculty in this program work diligently to challenge our students to their highest potential. As a result, students who graduate from our program have training and experience that prepares them for the future, whatever it may hold. If you would like to learn more, please contact me.

Sincerely,

Bret Roark, Department of Psychology, Oklahoma Baptist University
Bret.Roark@okbu.edu

 

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