DEPARTMENT PAGES:

Dr. Walsh's Pages

Late Breaking Stories~2007-2008

Phone: 401.341.3120
e-mail:walsh@salve.edu

Bottom ~General Information & NEWS Since 1999

May 19, 2008, Newport, RI : On Sunday, May 18th, at Salve Regina University's 58th Annual Commencement, the Department of Psychology graduated its largest class ever. Thirty-five graduates were awarded Bachelor of Arts degrees in psychology at that ceremony. They were: Kerry Duarte, Shivaun Dugan, Bonnie Duncan, Meghan Fitzpatrick, Ashley Fournier, Katherine Glover, Lisette Gomes, Julie Grieco, Perry Heath(image left), Katelyn Horan, Yuri Ichikawa, Patrick Judge, Allison Lacey, Kara Lamb, Meghan Leahy, Christina Lee, Brielle Luciano, Kaenna Macauley, John Masiello, Krista Maynard, Alexandra Miller, Kayleigh Novi, Quinn O'Brien, Jeffrey Pantano, Christine Pezzi, Angela Piscopo, Angela Piscopo, Jay Punsky, Jason Settles, Jennifer Sousa, Christina Suehr, and Nicholas Zambrotta.

Members of psychology's class of 2008 who received academic honors include Kerry Duarte and Nicholas Zambrotta both of whom graduated Magna Cum Laude. Julie Grieco, Yuri Ichikawa, Kaenna Macauley, and Christine Pezzi all graduated Cum Laude. Congratulations to them all!

May 19, 2008, Newport, RI : At an awards luncheon for faculty held in Ochre Court on Saturday, May 17th, 2008, Dr. Arthur Frankel, Professor of Psychology, received a personalized official university captain's chair from university President, Sr. Therese Antone, in recognition of his 30 years of service to Salve Regina University. Dr. Thomas Day of the Music Faculty received a similar award that day. Fr. Michael Malone of the psychology department was recognized for his 20 years of service to the university and awarded a personalized official Salve mantel clock. Congratulations gentlemen.

May 19, 2008, Newport, RI :At the Honors and Awards Ceremony on May 17, 2008 psychology majors received the following awards (in no special order): • Anthropology Club ~Meghan Fitzpatrick • Psychology Club Award ~ Kaenna Macauley • Helene Kelly Burrell Award in Psychology ~ Jennifer Sousa • Pell Scholars Honors Program ~ Jennifer Sousa • VIA Program ~Meghan Fitzpartick, Kaenna Macauley, John Masiello & Christine Pezzi • Pell Scholars Honors Program ~Jennifer Sousa • Alpha Phi Sigma ~Kera Bisson • Chi Alpha Sigma ~Jennifer Sousa • Delta Epsilon Sigma ~Kerry Duarte, Yuri Ichikawa, & Nicholas Zambrotta • Sigma Phi Sigma ~Katherine Glover

April 16, 2008, Newport, RI : On Tuesday, April 15, 2008 at 5:15PM in the Pell Center on Bellevue Avenue fourteen psychology majors were inducted into membership in Salve's Psi Chi Chapter of the National Honor Society in Psychology. From left to right in the photo above they were: Carly Walas, Desire Beaumont, Ashley Donafrio, Andrea Michel, Lauren Mecalizzi, Erin Vadaro, Deana McKenna, and Andrea kaufman. Unable to attend the induction were inductees Kristen Brewer, Katie Fava, Kristen McLaughlin, and Jennifer Sousa. Click on the image for a larger view.

April 9, 2008, Newport, RI : On March 14, 2008, seniors Meghan Fitzpatrick(far left) and Kaenna Macauley(second from the right) were joined by faculty mentors Dr. Debra Curtis(SRU Anthropology) and Dr. Arthur Frankel(SRU Psychology) at the 79th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association held in Boston. The group were on the EPA program this year to present the results of their research investigation entitled Money Becomes You: How Good Looking You Are May Depend on How Much You Earn at a poster session held there. The published abstract describing their research and its results may be read here. Jennifer Sousa who also participated in the research was unable to attend. Another senior, Julie Grieco, was on the program as well(see announcement below). Congratulations to them all.

Alumni News | Gina Liguori(2005)

February 22, 2008, Newport, RI :Gina Liguori(2005) is currently working for a Brown University-Bradley and Butler Hospital collaborative in Providence, RI as Head Psychometrician. In this position, she administers psychological tests for several clinical research projects on child and adult mental disorders. She is also responsible for training other staff in test administration. As a clinical researcher, she is also responsible for data collection and analysis. She and her colleagues have written two articles on medical school education in psychiatry which will be appearing soon in the journal Academic Psychiatry. Her presentations include a poster session at the Brown University Research Day titled Video Games and Self-Perception: The Relationship in an Inpatient Adolescent Sample and Developing Quality Medical Student Exposures to Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Brown University Teaching Day. Gina will be presenting her research on juvenile fire-setters at the American Psychological Association Annual Meeting in Boston in August, 2008. Report by Dr. Sheila O'Brien Quinn

February 22, 2008, Newport, RI :Psychology MAJOR Allegra Lovoy was featured in "NEWPORT this week's" February 20th, 2008 edition, p. 3. The article focused on some of Allegra's basketball records which include being a two-time Academic All-Conference pick in The Commonwealth Coast Conference. Allegra was also named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Third Team, had her third appearance on the Commonwealth Coast Conference Women's Basketball Honor Roll, and had back-to-back Player of the Week honors in January, 2008. Congratulations Allegra!

January 31, 2008, Newport, RI : Julie Grieco(2008), who has been conducting research on the "Stroop Phenomenon" this year with Dr.Sheila O'Brien Quinn, has had her research project entitled "WORKING MEMORY, CAPACITY FOR INHIBITION, AND THE LOAD THEORY OF COGNITIVE CONTROL" accepted on the formal programs of BOTH the Eastern Psychological Association 2008 annual convention to be held in Boston in March, and the American Psychological Association's 2008 Convention to be held in Boston in August. Julie appears as the the senior author for both presentations. The abstract summarizing her findings states: "This study tested the perceptual load model of information processing by comparing correlations between the interference scores of 2 different forms of the Stroop Test and a measure of working memory (WM). A computer-administered form of the Stroop (Quinn & Quinn, 2005) yielded significant negative correlation as would be predicted by the perceptual load model. The Golden Stroop (Golden, 1976) score did not correlate with WM. Results will be discussed in terms of test sensitivity." Congratulations Julie!

January 30, 2008, Newport, RI : Allison Lacey(2008) has just notified the department of her acceptance into the Doctor of Physical Therapy three year program at University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey. According to the university's web site, "The Entry–Level Doctor of Physical Therapy is an accredited full time three–year program that prepares a student to enter the physical therapy profession as a clinician capable of practicing in an autonomous and ethical manner. The graduate will have skills in differential diagnosis‚ as well as in advanced clinical and management practices. They will be able to understand and apply research presented in various formats to clinical decision making and practice and will be expected to help lead the profession in the changes needed for effective practice in the 21st century." The program has been "...accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education since 1980." Congratulations Allison! We are certain you will do well and find many ways to apply your strong background in psychology.

January 30, 2008, Newport, RI : Several psychology majors have received word that their research has been accepted on this year's annual convention of the Eastern Psychological Association to be held in Boston in March. Meghan Fitzpatrick, Kaenna Macauley, and Jennifer Sousa under the supervision of Dr. Arthur Frankel and the assistance of Dr. Debra Curtis of the SRU Anthropology Department, will report on their research entitled "MONEY BECOMES YOU: HOW GOOD LOOKING YOU ARE MAY DEPEND ON HOW MUCH YOU EARN." Their research is described in the abstract for the official program as follows: "We found that perceptions of the physical attractiveness of opposite sex targets reliably varied as a function of the salaries these targets were alleged to earn. It seems, therefore, that not only might attractive people be paid higher salaries, as previous research seems to demonstrate, but those with higher salaries are also likely to be perceived as more attractive. We may indeed see good where we see beauty, but it appears that we also see beauty in that which is deemed good." Congratulations to them all!

October 24, 2007, Newport, RI : The Psychology Club and Psi Chi jointly conducted a "Bake Sale" today to benefit the hospitalized children of Bradley Hospital in Providence, RI. The proceeds from the sale totalling $158.00 will be given to the hospital and are destined to be used to supplement funds that pay for field trips away from the facility for the residents there. We are certain that both the residents and the hospital staff that conduct the trips will be very very grateful. Oh yes. It should be mentioned that the baked goods for sale were home made these by these generous fine students and were extraordinarily delicious. Well done ladies!

October 8, 2007, Newport, RI : Psychology faculty regularly engage in community service activities both on and off campus. Newport This Week for October 3, 2007, for example, carried a notice(at left, p. 18) recently announcing Fr. Michael Malone's blessing of the animals in King Park yesterday, a very generous community service undertaking appreciated by all, both four and two legged participants alike. The photo shows Fr. Malone, Pat Healy, and her dog, Moonbeams, at the event. Click it for a larger view. Fr. Michael Malone, CSSP, who obtained his Ph.D. from Boston College and who teaches personality theory, cross-cultural psychology, counseling, and other classes for us was at one time a missionary in Africa. Most recently(summer, 2007), Fr. Malone has been deeply involved with the development of a master of education in psychology program at Catholic University of East Africa in Kenya. You can read more about that undertaking and Fr. Malone's involvement here.

September 30, 2007, Newport, RI : Although a bit belated, this communication is written to announce that Dr. Sheila O'Brien Quinn, Associate Professor of Psychology, presented the results of her recent research into the history of animal magnetism, mesmerism, and related matters at the 2007 convention of Chiron: The International Society for the History of Behavioral and Social Sciences held at University College Dublin in July. The subject of her presentation was entitled Laurena Brackett, Laura Bridgman and Mesmerism at Perkins Institute. The Perkins Institute in Watertown, Massachusetts is a famous school for the blind founded in the 19th century. Laura Bridgman was one of its most famous students during its early years. Dr. Quinn is preparing her presentation for publication at the present time.

September 4, 2007, Newport, RI : In late August, 2007, Dr. Walsh also heard from Mary Cordeau, Psychology Class of 2006. Mary wrote: "Hello Dr.Walsh, How are you? This is Mary Cordeau writing... It has not been that long since I graduated I am sure you remember me. I think about you and the rest of psychology professors at Salve often. I miss all of you and I miss your abnormal psychology class that I took my senior year. I did my final presentation on persons with autism and I learned so much from that experience! Your lectures were so informative and I owe so much of my knowledge in psychology to Salve's program. I am at Southern ...[Connecticut] right now entering the second year of my master's program. It is a wonderful program and I have learned a great deal. I took a class entitled psychopathology and thanks to your abnormal course I took I was well prepared. The professor had us write case studies, it was so much fun! I am applying to University of Hartford's Psy.D. program next year and hopefully I will be...[accepted]. I have a 4.0 GPA at Southern, I just hope I do well on the GRE's." In a follow-up e-mail Mary added: "I will be graduating in 2008 and possibly (if I chose the thesis route) spring of 2009, with my M.A. in general psychology. If I am lucky enough to be accepted into [the] University of Hartford's Psy.D. program I would go for clinical psych[ology]. If I do not gain entry to U-Hart, I will definitely go on to obtain my Ph.D. elsewhere. I will not end my education until I have my doctorate. It has been my goal for a long time and I will never let it go." Good for you Mary! We will all be pulling for you as you complete your master's and begin the process of gaining entrance to a doctoral program in psychology to fulfill your dream.

September 4, 2007, Newport, RI : In July of this year Heather Kirby(2002) contacted the Dr. Anthony A. Walsh with news of her activities since graduation. She wrote: "...I have been thinking a great deal about the psychology staff at Salve[recently]. I e-mailed you a few years back to inform you that I was at the University of Montana[ linked here] and already I am entering into my last year in the developmental psychology program. For the past two years I have been teaching classes both for the main campus and for the college of technologies campus. I have taught stats[statistics], psych 100, adult and aging, and lifespan development. This upcoming year I've been hired to teach abnormal psychology which brought me back to the days I was myself in your abnormal psychology class[PSY380] at salve. Thinking back I can see how the wonderful professors in the department inspired me to become a teacher myself and instilled a love of psychology as a subject. I just wanted to take a quick moment to express my appreciation and let you know how the professors at Salve have influence[d] my life course. I hope everyone there is well."

Dr. Walsh wrote back asking for a few more details and Heather responded: "I have been at the University of Montana since fall 04' and I am going on year four in the PhD. program for Lifespan [D]evelopmental Psychology. I have finished my masters which was on the relationship between level of empathy and stress contagion, and since I found support for some of the moderating relationships I hypothesized, I will be expanding on this research in a qualitative direction for my dissertation. While out here I have also done research for the Rural Institute on Disabilities and [I] am the lab manager of the Native American Resilience Project on campus. As I mentioned in my last email[above] although I have been exposed to a great deal of research, my passion remains teaching and this spring I will be teaching my seventh course. I plan to be graduating in 08' most likely in the summer or early spring, all depending on how quickly I pick up grounded theory for my qualitative research. If any of your students show any interest in developmental psychology I would be more than willing to communicate with them via email. Also it may seem strange that I have ended up at the University of Montana, but I came here to get teaching experience early in my graduate career. The University has delivered, as even first year graduate students (with training over the summer) can actually teach undergrad courses. Other Universities I researched on the east coast could not offer this opportunity, and I think it is important for others who may be interest[ed] in teaching at a college level to consider this. With that said, I wish you all the best in the upcoming academic year and please send my best to everyone in the department. [P.S.] [T]he picture I sent isn't the best, but it does have [the] Bitterroot Mountains in the back, which I love but not as much as the ocean :)" Heather graduated from Salve Summa cum Laude in 2002. A regular on our Dean's List, Heather was also a psychology club officer, its Vice President, and received the VIA Program and the Sigma Phi Sigma awards at graduation in 2002. We are all delighted to learn that she is doing so well and wish her further success as she completes her Ph.D.