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Dr. Maria R. Ruiz Joins APBA Board of Directors
Dr. Maria R. Ruiz was selected to serve on the Board of Directors of the Association of Professional Behavior Analysts. The APBA is a new organization with the primary mission of serving the needs of professional behavior analyst practitioners credentialed by the Behavior Analysis Certification Board. APBA’s mission is to work with federal, state, governmental and third party entities to enhance recognition of credentialed behavior analysts and provide resources to consumers and professionals in other fields concerning the clinical practices of applied behavior analysis.
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Davidson and St. John Receive Grant
Dr. Alice Davidson and Dr. Steven St. John received an $8000 grant last year from the Associated Colleges of the South to initiate a research project dubbed the Rollins Project for Healthy Students. In collaboration with Dr. Kurt Thaw of Millsaps College in Mississippi, the Project uses observational, anthropometric, and self-report measures in high school and elementary school students to investigate the influence of the school lunch environment on the development of eating attitudes and behaviors. Recently the Rollins researchers were generously awarded $2500 in supplemental funds from the Winter Park Health Foundation to extend the scope of the Project. Current and former Rollins students Morgan Frost, Jeni Collins, and Julia Humphrey have contributed to this work, along with Dr. Davidson's Fall, 2010 Youth Development In Schools class. The Project is in the final phase of data collection and the researchers plan to present their preliminary results to granting agencies and participating local schools this spring.
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Distinguished Scholar Speaks at Rollins
On February 8, the Psychology Department co-hosted Dr. John Gottman as part of the Winter Park Institute's Spring 2011 events series. Dr. Gottman gave two lectures: The Science of Trust and Betrayal and What Makes Relationships Work. Both lectures were delivered in front of overflow crowds and was likely the best-attended of the Winter Park Institute's events. Dr. Gottman also held a question and answer session with psychology students and graduate students in Counseling. The lectures addressed very important concepts related to attachment, trust, and connection in healthy relationships both from a relational and organizational perspective, and served as an excellent example of the way research psychology and psychological practice inform and enhance one another.
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Rollins Community Raises Money and Awareness for Suicide Prevention
The Rollins Psychology Department and Psi Chi recently organized two events to raise awareness for the prevention of suicide. On January 31, a film was followed by a panel discussion featuring Dr. David Richard, Dr. Samuel Sanabria, Ashley Green, Tiffany Griffin, and Mary Campbell. The following Saturday, Psychology faculty, students, and staff took part in the Out Of The Darkness Walk at Baldwin Park, who joined over 1,000 people to raise money for the Association for Suicide Prevention. This year's event reached its goal of raising more than $50,000. Thus far, $54,000 in donations have been collected and some are still being counted. The department's own Vicki Long again spearheaded the event, and she reports that each year this event recruits more walkers and raises more money. A highlight of the ceremony was the performance of two original songs written for friends lost to suicide, and the releasing of doves at the closing ceremonies while those gathered heard the song Memories. Thank you to all who took part in these events.
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Our sensory systems are undergoing considerable maturation even in utero. Some studies have shown that infants can, under some circumstances, show preferences for music that they only heard while in the womb. There is also evidence - stronger in animal models but also indicated in humans - that infants show preferences for foods their mothers ate during pregnancy. Of course, sensory systems can also be negatively affected by the uterine environment; difficulty in parsing speech sounds has been found in children born of moms who smoked cigarettes during pregnancy.
David Richard claims to know a lot about gambling - he's writing chapters and giving lectures on the topic regularly, after all - but now he's putting his money where his mouth is. This June he'll be entering the World Series Of Poker in one of the Texas Hold 'Em tournaments. Students, if you're making excuses about why your paper is late for Dr. Richard - don't bother trying to bluff.
•3/5 - 3/13 Spring Break
•3/16 - 3/17 Major field test (seniors)
•3/21 - 3/25 Pre-registration for Fall
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ABOUT THIS ISSUE
Shrink Rap is an email publication of the Rollins College Department of Psychology. This issue can also be found online. The newsletter is sent monthly during the academic year to Psychology majors and minors in A&S and Holt, students in A&S psychology classes, psychology faculty and staff, and friends of the department. We thank Dr. Andrew Luchner for contributions to this issue.
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Rollins Professor and Alumna To Publish Chapter
