Wichita State News: Psychology

Future psychologists gain experience in internship program

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 15:00:00 CST

When Adam Bradford began applying for internships to complete his psychology doctorate, he did not know where he would land a year-long position; neither did doctoral candidate Kori Bennett.

Now, both Bradford and Bennett are interns in the Wichita Collaborative Psychology Internship Program (WCPIP). Wichita State University's Counseling and Testing Center is one of five agencies in WCPIP.

Bradford works for COMCARE of Sedgwick County and Prairie View Inc.; Bennett interns at Wichita State's CTC and COMCARE.

Bradford, who will receive his doctorate from Midwestern University in Glendale, Ariz., said he appreciates the diversity in work experience and supervision, and the camaraderie amongst his fellow interns.

"One of the greatest benefits of WCPIP I've noticed is the cohort," he said. "This is an amazing group of future doctors."

Interns in the program work primarily at one agency throughout the year; however, they also have the opportunity to work at a secondary location, or "switch site," which allows for broadened clinical training and experience.

Bennett, a student at the University of Indianapolis, can recognize areas of professional growth and is prepared to enter into the next career phase.

"In addition to providing psychotherapy and assessment services in the CTC, I've had the chance to interact with WSU students and staff members through multiple outreach efforts," said Bennett. "These experiences have fostered in me a deep appreciation for the WSU community."

About WCPIP

The five agencies that make up the Wichita Collaborative Psychology Internship Program are COMCARE of Sedgwick County, Prairie View Inc., South Central Mental Health Counseling Center of Butler County, WSU's Counseling and Testing Center and University of Kansas School of Medicine in Wichita.

"WCPIP is unique in that many other programs are located at only one site," said clinical psychologist Jessica Provines, WCPIP training director and associate director for Wichita State's CTC. "The fact that we collaborate with our community partners gives future psychologists varied training experiences to draw from in multiple settings."

Each year, the internship program receives around 150 applicants from doctoral clinical, counseling and educational psychology programs across the country, and accepts only about 10 students.

During summer 2012, the American Psychological Association (APA) reaccredited WCPIP for seven more years—the highest number of years the association can grant a program. As of August 2013, about 425 psychologists will have completed their internships with WCPIP, the most famous being psychologist Albert Bandura.

"The program has a huge impact on mental health services in Wichita," said Provines. "It is the most important factor in recruiting psychologists to our community. Many Wichita psychologists are WCPIP grads."

WCPIP first received accreditation from the APA in 1953, making it the first accredited consortia in the United States.

Faculty/staff news update: November 2012

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 15:37:00 CST

Academe welcomes news from WSU faculty and staff about research, teaching and service activities. This column recognizes grants, honors, awards, presentations and publications, new appointments, new faculty, sabbaticals, retirements and deaths of our current and former colleagues.

Alla Aranovskaya, Leonid Shukaev, Boris Vaynor and Evgeny Zvonniko, members of the St. Petersburg String Quartet in residence at WSU; the student Suprima Chamber Orchestra; Andrea Banke, Erika Binsley, Sarunas Jankauskas, Scott Oakes and Frances Shelly, members of the Lieurance Woodwind Quintet, and Julie Bees, Lynne Davis and Mark Foley performed by invitation in November at the 100th anniversary celebration of the St. Petersburg State Conservatory in Russia.

Amy DeVault, assistant professor, Elliott School of Communication, led a daylong workshop on Team Storytelling for 56 high school students from around the country at the National High School Journalism Convention in San Antonio in November. The convention, put on by the National Scholastic Press Association and Journalism Education Association, was attended by more than 5,000 high school journalism students and teachers.

Eric Freeman, assistant professor, counseling, educational leadership, and educational and school psychology, presented "Falsification, Annual Targets, and Errant Leadership: What Really Happened in Atlanta" at the American Educational Studies Association conference held Nov. 1-4 in Seattle.

Dan Krutka, assistant professor, curriculum and instruction, presented "Student Civil Liberties: Is Your School Violating Student Constitutional Rights?" and co-presented "Bayard Rustin and the Social Studies Curriculum: Thoughts about Citizenship in a Complex World" at the Kansas Council for the Social Studies in Topeka.

Gayla Lohfink, assistant professor, curriculum and instruction, was co-author of "Developing cultural competence through problem posing and multicultural literature" in Advocate.

Joseph Mau, professor, counseling, educational leadership, and educational and school psychology, and M.E. Yeager, postdoctoral fellow, were awarded the Kansas Educational Research Scholars Program award from the Kansas Board of Regents. The study is titled, "Factors influencing Kansas college students' choice of a STEM major and factors influencing their success in completing a STEM degree."

Jacquelyn McClendon, senior clinical educator, nursing, and Kelly Anderson, assistant professor and senior clinic coordinator, dental hygiene, received an Interprofessional National Oral Health Agenda Curricular Innovation Award, Oral Health Nursing Education Program and Practice Grant in August for $2,000.

Nancy McKeller, associate professor, counseling, educational leadership, and educational and school psychology, presented "Legal Issues that Impact School Psychological Practice" at the Kansas Association of School Psychologists annual conference in Lawrence this fall.

Rick Pappas, physical education educator, human performance studies, received the highest award made by the Kansas Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (KAHPERD). The Wayne Osness award, which recognizes leadership and significant contributions, was presented to Pappas in November at the annual KAHPERD conference held in Lawrence.

Susan Parsons, assistant professor, nursing, published Collaborative Oral Health Care for Caregivers in an Assisted-Living Facility in the Journal of Nursing Education & Practice, Vol. 3, No. 3.

Susan Parsons, C. Lee and M. Trumpp, nursing, presented "Evidence-Based Practice: Ventilator Bundle to Prevent Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia" to the Kansas State Nurses Association, Exhibit Session.

Jean Patterson, professor and chair, counseling, educational leadership, and educational and school psychology, presented "High School 21st Century Learning Initiatives as a Manifestation of Neoliberalism" at the American Educational Studies Association conference.

Jennifer Rodgers, clinical educator, nursing, gave a one-hour presentation, "Pulmonary Care Continuum: Hospital to Community," to the Kansas Healthcare Collaborative 4th Annual Summit on Quality, with Bobbie Starks, Darla Wilson and Amanda Hullet.

Donna Sayman, assistant professor, and Dan Krutka, both curriculum and instruction, co-presented "A Freirean Analysis of Identity for Individuals with Asperger Syndrome," also at the Kansas Council for the Social Studies conference in Topeka.

Elaine Steinke, professor, nursing, has been inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing for her significant contributions to the profession of nursing and health care in general. Steinke, who attended the induction ceremony in October in Washington, D.C., is internationally renowned for bringing the science of sexuality and sexual counseling of cardiac patients to the forefront of cardiac practice.

Elaine Steinke presented "Psychology and sexual function: What do we know?" to the European Society of Cardiology 2012 Congress, Munich, Germany, in August.

Elaine Steinke, Victoria Mosack, associate professor, nursing, and Twyla J. Hill, professor, sociology, gave a poster presentation, "Sexual concerns of cardiac patients: A psychometric analysis," to the European Society of Cardiology, in Munich, Germany, in August.

John Tomblin

John Tomblin, executive director of WSU's National Institute for Aviation Research, has been named a Newsmaker for 2012 by the Wichita Business Journal. He and other 2012 Newsmakers will be recognized at a Jan. 29 event at Newman University.

Susan Unruh, assistant professor, counseling, educational leadership, and educational and school psychology, was the WSU representative on a panel, "School Psychology Practice: Here I Come," at the Kansas Association of School Psychologists annual conference in Lawrence.

IN MEMORIAM

D. Ray Cook, 69, former team physician for Wichita State and longtime community doctor, died Nov. 7. Services have been held. He is preceded in death by his parents, Leon and Marie Cook. He is survived by his wife, Elaine; daughter, Candi (Mark) Brown of Spring Hill, Kan.; son, Chad (Jill) Cook of Overland Park, Kan.; brother, Gene (Linda) Cook of Phoenix City, Ala.; grandchildren, Ben, Will, Graham and Betsy Brown, and Johnny Ray, Spencer, Freddie and Lucy Cook. The following memorial has been established: D. Ray Cook, M.D. Memorial Fund, c/o Christian Network Foundation, 17001 Prairie Star Pkwy, Suite 200, Lenexa, KS 66220.

Richard Allen Moellenberndt, 71, former professor of accounting, died Nov. 24 in Topeka. Services have been held. He is survived by his wife, Kathleen; daughter, Sarah Moellenberndt; and sister, Eleanor Shaffer.

Linda Tedder, 60, senior research grants administrator in the Office of Research Administration, died Nov. 24 in Wichita. Services have been held. She is preceded in death by her parents, Francis D. and Evelyn J. (Voran) Bornowsky. She is survived her son, Mike Tedder; grandchild, Lexi Tedder; great-grandchild, Jenna St. Martin; sisters, Paula Sullivan, Gail Roland, Mary Daugherty, Jean Kemp and Rita Winfrey; brothers, Ralph and Larry Bornowsky; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

Kaylyn Turner, 70, former reference librarian, died Nov. 8. Services have been held. She is preceded in death by her parents, Robert Briggs and Ara Cron. Survivors are husband, Stanley; son, Joshua David (Tracy) Turner, Shawnee Mission; and grandchildren, Emily, Molly and Jack Turner. Memorials to Midland Baptist Church, 4200 N. Church Circle, Wichita, KS 67205.

Faculty/staff news update: October 2012

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 11:17:00 CST

Dinorah Azpuru, associate professor, political science, was invited to form part of the Academic Council of the Latin American Association of Political Science. Based in Latin America and headquartered in Brazil, ALACIP gathers scholars linked to the world of political science in Latin America.

Deborah Ballard-Reisch

Deborah Ballard-Reisch, Kansas Health Foundation Distinguished Chair in Strategic Communication and professor, Elliott School of Communication, received the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language and Gender's 2012 Teacher/ Mentor Award.

Seth Bate, community and organizational specialist, Center for Community Support and Research, recently published "Paul Mesner Puppets: Marking 25 Years in Kansas City." It is the cover story for the summer 2012 issue of The Puppetry Journal.

Fred Besthorn, associate professor, social work, was a featured keynote speaker at the recent Social Work and Social Development Conference held in Stockholm, Sweden. He is widely regarded as an expert in the field of environmental social work and has many published works addressing the interconnection of environmental awareness to the practice of social work.

Barb Chaparro, associate professor, psychology, has been named a 2012-2013 Coleman Faculty Entrepreneurship Fellow, a program sponsored by the Coleman Foundation to increase and build support for entrepreneurship education across the Wichita State University campus.

Sherry Chapman, instructor, social work, has established with Carolyn Shaw, associate professor, political science, the chartering of Pi Gamma Mu, an honorary society for social sciences at WSU. Chapman is also the secretary of the Kansas Association for Play Therapy.

Dan Close, associate professor, Elliott School of Communication, has been elected to the Kansas Sunshine Coalition's board of directors. The organization monitors and acts on complaints of open meetings/open records violations by governmental bodies and officials.

Nancy Deyoe, assistant dean for Technical Services, and Ginger Williams, associate professor, University Libraries, presented "Reaching Youth Through Diverse Collections and Teen/Community-Driven Programming" at the second National Joint Conference of Librarians of Color.

Steve Farmer, Barton Distinguished Chair in Business, has been invited to serve as associate editor of Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes by the editor Xiao-Ping Chen, chair and professor, Department of Management and Organization, Michael G. Foster School of Business, University of Washington. OBHDP is published by Elsevier.

Ed Flentje

Ed Flentje, professor, Hugo Wall School of Urban and Public Affairs, presented at the Docking Symposium on Kansas Politics at Southwestern College.

Philip Gaunt, professor, Elliott School of Communication, director, Interdisciplinary Communication Research Institute, has published a science fiction novel, "The Blane Game." Gaunt's book will be available in local bookstores soon. For an advance copy, contact Gaunt at 978-6072.

Aimee Geist, curator of education at the Ulrich Museum of Art, was honored with the Outstanding Museum Art Educator from the Kansas Art Education Association at the group's annual fall conference Oct. 27 in Wichita.

Debbie Gordon, associate professor, women's studies, participated in the Ninth Annual Beirut Program in Beirut, Lebanon, a two-track exchange program of lectures and colloquia with leading professors and public intellectuals on Lebanon and the Arab world. The program also included meetings with social, political and economic leaders from across Lebanon's political spectrum.

Ruth Hitchcock, associate professor, Counseling, Educational Leadership, Educational and School Psychology, graduated from the Leadership Academy sponsored by the Association for Play Therapy at its Oct. 9-14 conference in Cleveland, Ohio. The academy's six-month curriculum especially explores leadership concepts and the Policy Governance Model that defines organizational roles and responsibilities.

William Hendry, professor, biological sciences, procured a grant in the amount of $48,750 for "Translational Studies of Gynecological Cancer with a Unique in vivo System" from the Kansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence.

Mary Liz Jameson, associate professor, biological sciences, Natural Science Collections Alliance member, testified before Congress about the need for digitizing science collection data.

Kyoung Lee, assistant professor, social work, became a commissioner on the Commission for Diversity and Social and Economic Justice at the Council on Social Work Education.

Melissa Mallon, assistant professor and coordinator, library instruction, had an article, "The New Distance Learners: Providing Customized Online Research Assistance to Urban Students on the Go," published in Urban Library Journal.

Jeffrey May, biological sciences, procured a grant in the amount of $37,500 for "Diagnostic Relevance of Human Urinary FSH Glycoform Assessment to Ovarian Aging" from the Kansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence.

Eunice Doman Myers, associate professor, Spanish, and associate dean, Liberal Arts and Sciences, gave a paper, "The Plight and Plots of African Immigrants in Angela Reyes' Los trenes de marzo (11-M)" at the Mid-America Conference on Hispanic Literature at the University of Nebraska on Oct. 12.

Michael Palmiotto, professor, criminal justice, published the textbook "Criminal Investigations, Fourth Edition" CRC-Press, 2013, and the refereed article (co-authors D. Vejnovic and V. Lalic) "Policing Football Violence and Ethnic Hatred in Bosnia and Herzegovina": in Journal of Defendology, Volume XL, No. 32, 2012.

Michael Palmiotto was appointed editor of the Journal of Defendology in September. The journal is published in Banja Luka, Bosnia-Herzegovina, in Serbian and English.

Sabrina Perez-Glatt, field practicum coordinator, School of Social Work, has been appointed to the Sedgwick County Council on Aging.

Eric Wilson, instructor, Elliott School of Communication, was an invited presenter at the annual Bombardier Safety Standdown symposium. He partnered with two Bombardier staff members to present "Beyond the Scene of the Accident," a half-day workshop on aviation media relations and crisis communication.

Li Yao, biological sciences, procured an Institutional Core Facility Support grant in the amount of $40,000 for "Inverted Microscope, Nikon Fluorescence System, Digital Imaging System, Motorized Stage" from the Kansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence.

IN MEMORIAM

John David Boyd, 73, professor emeritus of art and design, died Oct. 25 in Wichita. Services have been held. He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Lorraine; son Aaron (Jenny) of Wichita; daughters Sarah Blythe (Kurt) of Chapel Hill, N.C., and Alice Villegas (Diego) of Cincinnati, OH; three grandchildren, and countless students.

Annie Pearl Johnson, 75, retired custodian, Physical Plant, died Oct. 26. Services have been held. She is survived by daughters Sharon (Anthony) Trotter, Cosandra (Derrick) Carr and Lisa Johnson; sons, Willie Lee (Sherelle) Johnson, Robert Earl Johnson and Anthonio (Tuyet) Johnson; sister, Dorothy Jean Johnson; brother, Augusta Johnson; 18 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren.

James McKenney, 77, professor emeritus and former chair, political science, former director, Honors Program and Taft Institute, died Oct. 25 in Wichita. Services have been held. He was preceded in death by his father, James D., mother, Thelma, and step mother, Mary E. Survivors include his wife, Mary K.; sister Sharon and her husband (Roland) Simantel of Wasco, Ore.; brother Richard and his wife (Vona) McKenney of Eugene; sister Kathy and her husband Bela Kirchberger of Salem, Ore; and sister Jane and her husband John Hyder of Salem, Ore. Children and their families include James R. of Grants Pass, Ore.; Alison (Mitch, Maeley, Mariah) McKenney Brown of Valley Center; Sean P. (Kristie, Christopher, Bailey, Kaleigh) of Honolulu , Hawaii; and Colin (Brenda, Megan, Braeden) of Valley Center. Memorials may be sent to the Valley Center Public Library Building Fund c/o the Friends of the Library, 321 W. First, Valley Center, KS 67147.

Faculty, staff news update: August/September 2012

Fri, 5 Oct 2012 14:33:00 CST

Ted Ayres, vice president and general counsel, was an invited participant in the symposium "Gathering at the School House Gate: 40 Years of Landmark School Speech Cases" relative to his involvement in the Widmar v. Vincent decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. The symposium, Sept. 20-21, was hosted by the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and the UMKC Law Review.

Amy Baker, assistant professor, musical theatre, won the Mary Jane Teall Theatre Award in September for Choreography for "Honk!" at Music Theatre of Wichita.

Ed Baker, associate professor, and Danette Baker, adjunct faculty, theatre, were awarded the Ruth McCormick Theatre Educator of the Year Award at the Mary Jane Teall Theatre Awards in September.

Daniel Bergman, assistant professor, curriculum and instruction, was elected as Kansas Association of Teachers of Science KATS vice president for 2012-2013.

Catherine Bohn-Gettler, assistant professor, counseling, educational leadership, educational and school psychology, recently presented "Tracking causal information during reading comprehension" at the annual meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading. She also presented "The interplay between mood and working memory on inference generation" at the annual meeting of the Society for Text and Discourse, both in Montreal, Canada.

Jason Flanders, manager, scene shop, theatre, had his first gallery showing at the Aviary Gallery in Wichita during the Sept. 28 Final Friday gallery crawl.

Angela Gaughn has been hired by the Center for Community Support and Research as support group project specialist for the center to promote its support group database across Kansas.

Alicia Huckstadt, graduate program coordinator, and Amy McClintock, administrative specialist, nursing, applied to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and were accepted for a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The HRSA Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship Grant is for almost $350,000 this year and comes with a recommendation for the same amount next year. The program supports training students to become primary care nurse practitioners.

John Paul Johnson, professor, music education, has been chosen to represent North America as an adjudicator at the National Christian Universities Choir Competition held in Ambon, Maluku, Indonesia from Oct. 15-22. Choirs from private universities throughout Indonesia will travel throughout the country to perform for five adjudicators representing Asia, Europe, Africa, South and North America.

Bret Jones, director, theatre, will have his play "THEBES City" presented by Fly By Night Theatre Company as part of its 2012-2013 Season. For details, go to www.flybynighttheatre.com/season.html.

Charles L. Martin, professor, marketing and entrepreneurship, traveled to Lahore, Pakistan in July to participate as keynote speaker in the Second International Conference on Contemporary Issues in Business Management. More than 300 participants from around the world and from cross-business disciplines attended the event held at the Pearl Continental Hotel and the University of Central Punjab. The keynote address by Martin, "What Goes Around Comes Around: Business Thinking As Cyclical Phenomena," focused on the roles that cycles play in business planning, forecasting and human (buyer) behavior.

Katherine Mason, assistant professor, curriculum and instruction, recently co-published "Locating queer community in award-winning LGBTQ-themed young adult literature (2005-2010)" in The ALAN Review.

Betty Monroe, professor, costume design and technical theatre, had her article "Stereotypes in Theatre Costumes: A Blessing or a Curse?" published in the 2012 International Fashion and Costume Conference's Publication.

Sara Muzzy has been promoted to associate director of the Office of Cooperative Education and Work-Based Learning.

David Neville, associate professor, design and technical theatre, won the Mary Jane Teall Theatre Award for Lighting Design for "Fiddler on the Roof" at Music Theatre of Wichita.

Fletcher Powell, producer, KMUW 89.1, has received a 2012 High Plains Media Award from the American Cancer Society for an October 2011 story about doctors beginning to focus on patients after their traditional treatments are complete, focusing on breast cancer survivorship. Winners were chosen from several categories, including magazine, newspaper, television, radio and online.

Priscilla Ridgway, community and organizational researcher, Center for Community Support and Research, published a piece in the National Recovery to Practice Initiative Newsletter discussing spirituality and recovery from prolonged psychiatric disorder. A longer report by Ridgway and peer specialist educator Lael Ewy on the topic was recently released. The document, Report of a Statewide Spirituality and Mental Health Recovery Summit, is available upon request from priscilla.ridgway@wichita.edu.

Michael Rogers, chair, professor and research director, Center for Physical Activity and Aging, presented "Effective exercise interventions for active aging" and "Falling Less in Kansas: Preventing falls in rural older adults" at a Sedgwick County conference in Wichita called Positive Aging: Protect your health, wealth and self.

Donna Sayman, assistant professor, curriculum and instruction, recently published "My journey into qualitative research." In J.M. Meloy (Ed.). Twenty-first Century Learning by Doing (3rd. ed.)

Donna Sayman, curriculum and instruction; Mark Vermillion, sport management; and Catherine Bohn-Gettler and Craig Elliott, counseling, educational leadership, educational and school psychology, recently completed a two-year, on-line "bootcamp" workshop offered by the WSU Media Resource Center. These faculty members used their training to revise and develop online courses for their departments.

Nick Taylor, a 2007 graduate of the Sport Management master's program in the College of Education and a lecturer in the department of sport management, won a gold medal in tennis at the Paralympics in London on Sept. 5. Taylor and doubles partner David Wagner of Oregon, have won two previous gold medals in Athens (2004) and Beijing (2008) in quad doubles wheelchair tennis.

Susan Unruh, assistant professor, and Nancy McKellar, associate professor, counseling, educational and school psychology, recently wrote "Evolution, Not Revolution: School Psychologists' Changing Practices in Determining Specific Learning Disabilities." It has been accepted for publication in the journal Psychology in the Schools.

Sabrina Vasquez, faculty, dance, is the recipient of the Dorothy Johansen Hauck Faculty Fellow in Dance and Musical Theatre.

Gayle Veltman, coordinator of testing, Counseling and Testing Center, was recently awarded the 2012 President's Award from the National College Testing Association. The award recognizes NCTA members who contributed to the organization in the preceding year through service on a standing committee, working on the Annual Conference Committee, or participating in a special NCTA project.

Eric Wilson, instructor and outreach coordinator, Elliott School of Communication, was interviewed by fellow ESC alum Marc LaVoie for KFDI News' "At Issue" program. Wilson talked about how the media has changed and about the Elliott School. To listen to the interview, go to http://www.kfdi.com/podcasts/news/atissue/170886071.html.

NEW FACULTY 2012
Please welcome new faculty to campus; for more information, go to http://www.wichita.edu/j/?1842.

SERVICE AWARDS 2012
Please congratulate faculty and staff who have been honored for their years of service or as Benders of Twigs; for more information, go to http://www.wichita.edu/j/?1860.

RETIREES 2012
Please offer good wishes to faculty and staff who have recently retired; for more information, go to http://www.wichita.edu/j/?1859.

IN MEMORIAM
Carol L. Johnson Harding, 74, retired, Physical Plant, died May 24. Services have been held. Survivors include brothers Walter L. Davis, Tracy A. Davis and Melvin E. Tipton; sisters Maxine J. Davis, Elaine Brashears and Joyce J. Henderson.

Psychology professor's research focuses on distracted drivers

Tue, 8 May 2012 16:25:00 CST

Of all the dangers on the road, drivers are what you have to watch out for the most.

Alex Chaparro, director of Wichita State University's psychology department, studies drivers who multitask behind the wheel, especially drivers who try to text or call while driving.

"When you ask people to rate how good they are at driving and the kind of risks they pose, they often have very positive assessments," said Chaparro. "They believe that they're good drivers.

"But what we see when we look at participants in our experiments is that their driving is affected. What people believe in terms of their capabilities isn't reflected in the data."

Chaparro has researched drivers' behavior since 1998.

"Some tasks may be more distracting than others," Chaparro said. "For example, there's evidence that listening to a book on tape doesn't seem to interfere much with driving."

Driving interference

One of the experiments Chaparro conducted was reading a set of letters to each participant while driving. Some only had to repeat the letters back in the order they received them, and that didn't seem to affect their driving.

"But when you asked drivers to alphabetize their set of letters it has a big impact on their driving," he said. "Thinking about generating a response is perhaps the main source of interference in driving."

Chaparro said when you're thinking about generating a response, you're not thinking about what's going on in the road ahead.

Most recently he has been directing his research at texting while driving.

"We did an initial study looking at texting versus talking, and we found that texting was a lot worse," he said. "On virtually every measure we found that drivers who were texting were significantly worse than drivers who were just talking on the phone."

When you're texting, Chaparro said, you have the cognitive demands of talking. But now, you also have to physically interact with a device using small buttons that require visual confirmation.

Chaparro cited a study done at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University that used video cameras in vehicles to record drivers' behavior on the road. The study attempted to correlate crashes and near misses with the drivers' behavior.

The study found evidence that texting while driving increases the chance of a crash by as much as 23 times. That compares to being four times as likely to crash while talking on the phone.

Timely research

With Kansas' new laws against texting while driving, Chaparro's research has become more timely than ever.

"I think the law highlights the difficulties faced by both the police and drivers when it has to be enforced," he said.

Kansas law now allows law enforcement officers to stop motorists for "sending, receiving or reading text messages or emails on their wireless devices."

"First, it appears that many drivers are not aware of the law and that it covers not only the typing of a text message but also the act of reading a text message," Chaparro said. "A public education program may be needed to raise awareness and educate drivers.

"Second, enforcement poses a challenge because it is not always clear from a short glance whether the driver was texting, using the phone to check the time or to turn off an alarm. Would all of these cases be treated as if the person was texting? Is dialing a telephone number any less risky than texting 'got 2 go'?"

Even though some people are naturally better at multitasking than others, that doesn't mean that they are immune from the risk, he said.

"When people are engaged in these tasks, even when they're good at them, those tasks still place a burden on the driving performance," Chaparro said.

This can be demonstrated without even getting in a car.

"We've been walking since about age 1. It's the most practiced motor task that we engage in. Yet walking is affected by the simple task of listening for two tones and responding to just one of them," he said.

His point is that people are not nearly as practiced at driving as they are at walking.

So, Chaparro said, no one should be surprised that using a mobile device behind the wheel impacts driving performance.

"Anything that distracts drivers is a risk. Looking at accident statistics, you find that driver distraction is the most common cause of mishaps," Chaparro said. "Anything in a car that serves as a source of distraction in a car is problematic."

Texting while driving: Creating the perfect storm of distraction

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 13:24:00 CST

Turns out texting and driving is more dangerous than we thought, according to a new study by human factors psychologists at Wichita State University, including psychology professor and department chairman Alex Chaparro.

Watch the video.

Don't let the Grinch steal Christmas

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:00:00 CST

This WSU Newsline Podcast is available at http://www.wichita.edu/newslinepodcast. See the transcript below:

You're listening to the podcast edition of the Wichita State University audio newsline. Learn more about WSU on the Web at wichita.edu.

'Tis the season to be thankful, jolly and possibly stressed out. Wichita State University psychologist Greg Buell says too often, folks think they have to spend big bucks to make the holiday season a success.

Buell: "Be careful not to let the Grinch steal Christmas by you overspending or other forms of excess — too much food, too much alcohol, too much of anything can lead to trouble."

"Too often, folks think they have to be spending big bucks. There are many other ways. Share some time. Get with a neighbor. Call a friend that you hadn't spoken with in a time. Make the holiday season brighter for somebody else."

And while most people anticipate spending time with family and friends, Buell says, this is a good time of year to take it one step further.

Buell: "A great strategy in the holiday season is to revisit the meaning of the holiday. Visit your spirituality. Think about how you're connected to others. How do you make meaning in life?"

Buell says there's another factor that can play a significant role in your enjoyment of the holidays.

Buell: "To avoid being a Grinch, check your attitude. Too often, folks focus on what I don't have, instead of remembering to count your blessings."

"The holiday season is a wonderful time to spend time with family members, make memories, new traditions. A challenge for you: Ask an elderly person something about something he or she used to do during the Christmas season."

Of course, high expectations for the holidays aren't always realized. Buell offers some advice for avoiding a big letdown.

Buell: "One way to avoid a big letdown is not to have things too built up. Have reasonable expectations. It won't be the best, biggest ever. Instead, a reasonable amount of togetherness, fun and relaxation will make for a great holiday."

Wishing you a safe and happy holiday season, this is Joe Kleinsasser at Wichita State University.

Preventing bullying in schools is Sabina Low's great passion

Wed, 2 Mar 2011 13:34:00 CST

Sabina Low has always felt a strong pull toward advocacy and research.

Low, an assistant professor of psychology at Wichita State University, focuses much of her work on the role of familial and peer relations to promote optimal youth development.

It's an interest that began one day when she was an undergraduate student at the University of Washington.

"I read an article in The Seattle Times about a teen-parenting intervention intended to improve the social-emotional outcomes of young children," said Low. "This mapped onto my personality -- the advocate in me."

Since then, Low's interests have evolved to focus on the development of health-risk behaviors in adolescents. At WSU now for three years, Low is busy working on new research she believes could have a profound effect on reducing bullying in schools, a big problem for children and teens today.

"Bullying is a pretty hot topic right now," she said. "There have been a lot of events that have triggered that interest. It's very pervasive."

'A positive mark on humanity'

Low received her Ph.D. at the University of Denver. Afterward, while working on curriculum development for Second Step Middle School – a program that helps students learn skills to make good choices and stay engaged in school – she met Dorothy Espelage, an expert on bullying.

Espelage, a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, turned her on to the study of different forms of aggression.

"I immediately saw how our interests complemented each other and ways in which I could expand my work," Low said.

Since then, they have embarked on several prevention trials, as well as etiological studies that will help them understand the pathways toward bullying, harassment and dating aggression.

In January, Low had a paper published in the School Psychology Review detailing how elementary school students who participated in a three-month anti-bullying program in Seattle showed a 72 percent decrease in malicious gossip.

Low was the first author, along with Callie Brockman, WSU graduate student in clinical psychology.

Low also recently finished a study with similar positive results in California and submitted another paper to the School Psychology Review.

And she's working with Wichita Public Schools on a three-year randomized controlled trial of a bullying prevention program for middle school students. Twelve middle schools in Wichita are participating, along with 24 in Chicago and Peoria, Ill.

Low said the goal with all of these projects is to reduce bullying and harassment and enhance academic engagement.

"It's very costly to students and to schools," she said. "This is a valid concern as to what's happening in our schools. I think we're a little bit stunned with the mystery on why we haven't been moving the needle more on bullying."

A passion to help

Low said she hopes the work she and others are doing will help them learn more about future prevention efforts.

It's a subject Low is passionate about.

"I love to see research applied to enhance the well-being of our youth," she said. "I enjoy surrounding myself with colleagues whose ultimate goal is to make a positive mark on humanity, and I hope to inspire a legacy of graduate students to do the same."

Espelage said Low is "outstanding" at what she does.

"We have written over six grants together in the last two years, and it has been the most fruitful collaboration in my 14 years as a professor," Espelage said. "She is a brilliant scholar who understands how to do solid, rigorous research without compromise."

WSU psychology department offers free family checkup

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:54:53 CST

Faculty and graduate students with the Wichita State University psychology department are offering Wichita-area residents the opportunity for a free family checkup for families with children ages 2-18.

The family checkup is an opportunity to explore questions, goals or concerns about your child, teen or family.

By teaming up with each family and using a variety of assessments, the family checkup strives to increase parenting knowledge and confidence, skills and effectiveness; enhance child and adolescent social and emotional development; improve behavior at home and school; handle developmental transitions (for younger children this includes potty training and/or sleep problems, school transitions such as starting school, going from elementary to middle school, or middle school to high school, and family changes); and enhance parent and/or adolescent self care.

This service can be provided in home or in WSU's clinic. Child care is available.

For more information or to schedule a visit, call (316) 978-6180 or e-mail famcheck@wichita.edu.

PODCAST: Forecast calls for a post-holiday letdown

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:36:42 CST

This WSU Newsline Podcast is available at http://www.wichita.edu/newslinepodcast. See the transcript below:

You're listening to the podcast edition of the Wichita State University audio newsline. Learn more about WSU — the home of Thinkers, Doers, Movers and Shockers — on the Web at wichita.edu.

The holiday season is similar to taking a great vacation — it's a euphoric time that is all too fleeting. When you see the glitz and glamour of decorations, listen to holiday music and look at the elaborate store window displays, it seems like the world turns into one big amusement park. No wonder expectations are so high for the holidays, as Wichita State University psychologist Greg Buell explains.

Buell: "Part of the buildup is family rituals, customs, things that we do, like decorating, special foods, special gatherings. Holidays are awesome."

Of course, what goes up — our emotional high — must come down, and Buell says the end result is frequently a post-holiday letdown.

Buell: "I think the best way to explain a letdown around the holidays is a natural buildup of expectations. Occasionally they get out of line. We set them too high and so there's a natural dropoff."

"Another possible explanation for the letdown is that we do have to pay the piper. Some of us make choices as we head into the holiday season in terms of perhaps overdoing it; be it food, be it money, or in other ways we get too extravagant."

Buell says our holiday festivities don't always go exactly as planned.

Buell: "Too often, the holiday season didn't quite go the way our Norman Rockwell imagination had constructed it. Everything didn't come off perfectly."

According to Buell, the letdown after the holidays is not unlike the grief process.

Buell: "In a way, it's not unlike grief. Reality sets in. There's the loss of the process of getting ready, but then it's back to the grind, back to work or back to school."

And Buell says that even in the best of circumstances, a post-holiday letdown is to be expected.

Buell: "You know, even if things came off perfectly, there is a drop off — the process of getting ready, the buildup, the fun of being joyful and planning to have a good time with others. It's hard to let go of that."

Buell says the best way to avoid a big letdown is to lower expectations.

Buell: "A special way to avoid a big letdown would be to moderate expectations. If you can help folks get realistic and remember the meaning of the gathering and the celebration season, that helps."

During the holiday season, people seem a little more generous with their time, money and compliments. With all of that good cheer and goodwill, who wouldn't be sad to see the holidays end?

Karen Fusco, co-founder of SilkBow.com, says one of the most effective ways to beat a mild case of depression is through exercise. When you are physically active, your body releases endorphins that help you to feel a sort of "high." Regular exercise helps to alter the chemicals in your brain which gives you a greater sense of well-being.

Thanks for listening. Until next time, this is Joe Kleinsasser for Wichita State University.

CCSR hosting workshops for small grant awards

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:20:04 CST

The Center for Community Support and Research at Wichita State University will kick off its sixth year of the Compassion Kansas initiative in October with informational workshops.

Attendance at one of these workshops is required for qualifying organizations interested in applying for small grant awards and technical assistance. Workshops are held from 1-5 p.m. in various locations throughout Kansas on the following dates:

• Tuesday, Oct. 27, WSU Hughes Metropolitan Complex
• Wednesday, Oct. 28, Garden City Community College
• Monday, Nov. 2, Capitol Plaza Hotel in Topeka
• Tuesday, Nov. 3, WSU Marcus Welcome Center

A maximum of two people per organization may attend. To register, e-mail the date of the workshop you would like to attend along with your name, organization, telephone and e-mail address to angela.gaughan@wichita.edu.

Registrations are also accepted at (316) 978-3843 or (800) 445-0116.

Qualifying organizations include faith-based and community organizations in Kansas that serve (or plan to serve) at least one of the following target populations: the homeless, elders in need, at-risk children, those in transition from welfare to work, intensive rehabilitation populations (such as addicts or prisoners), and/or marriage education and preparation.

Priority will be given to organizations with annual operating budgets of less than $500,000 that have not previously received funding from the federal government.

Compassion Kansas, funded by the federal Compassion Capital Fund, is designed to offer qualifying Kansas faith-based and community organizations small grant awards and a variety of technical assistance opportunities that include strategic planning, facilitation, leadership skills, collaboration, service expansion, communication, evaluation research and efficiency improvement.

For information about Compassion Kansas, call Sarah Jolley at (316) 978-5487.Robin Fertner, (316) 978-6746 or robin.fertner@wichita.edu.

WSU Psychology Clinic offers coping with depression program

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:46:21 CST

A 12-session program is being offered at no cost through the Wichita State University Psychology Clinic to participants interested in learning cognitive-behavioral approaches to coping with depression.

Sessions are conducted and scheduled individually. For more information or to schedule a screening evaluation, contact Rob Zettle at (316) 978-3081 or robert.zettle@wichita.edu.

ACT Math Prep Workshop is scheduled at Wichita State

Fri, 4 Sep 2009 13:42:22 CST

Wichita State University's Counseling and Testing Center is offering a workshop to help high school students prepare for the math section of the ACT test. The workshop is from 9 a.m.-noon, Saturday, Sept. 19, at WSU.

The cost for the workshop is $23. Register online by Thursday, Sept. 17, at www.registerblast.com/wsu.

This workshop will provide specific strategies for approaching and solving math problems on the ACT test. Students may bring difficult sample ACT problems or their questions to the math workshop, including questions about how to do specific math problems quicker during the test.

For more information, contact the Counseling and Testing Center at (316) 978-3440 or melinda.ware@wichita.edu.

Cash versus noncash

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:22:49 CST

Ever since the federal TARP bailout of banks and insurance companies led to a huge public and political backlash against incentive travel, the industry has become galvanized by the realization that there is very little hard research that backs up its long-held beliefs about the power and value of non-cash incentives.

In our September cover story, Incentive will look at one new piece of research set to be published in the Journal of Economic Psychology next year. "Preference Reversals in the Evaluation of Cash Versus Noncash Incentives," by Prof. Victoria Shaffer of Wichita State University, is among the first examples of scholarly research comparing the cash and non-cash awards in corporate incentive programs. And the news is generally good.

Go to the Incentive Insights Podcast Web site (click the "here" link at the bottom to hear the podcast).

PODCAST: Children's peers can be good or bad influence

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:09:21 CST

This WSU Newsline Podcast is available at http://www.wichita.edu/newslinepodcast. See the transcript below:

You're listening to the podcast edition of the Wichita State University audio newsline. Learn more about WSU — the home of Thinkers, Doers, Movers and Shockers — on the Web at wichita.edu.

Visit any school and you will experience the power of influence. Clothing, hairstyles, attitudes and even the language are all gained by some amount of influence, whether it's from fads, celebrities or friends. School is back in session, and parents hope their children choose friends who are a good influence. Wichita State University child psychologist Jim Snyder says, for parents, that means being aware of their child's friends and what they're doing.

Snyder: "There's two pieces to managing or being aware of peer influence. The first entails managing and creating environments in which your children are engaged in constructive activities under adult supervision. The second aspect is what's called supervision or monitoring, and really being aware of where your children are at, who they're with and what they're doing."

And whether you like it or not, peer influence is important to a child's development, as Snyder explains.

Snyder: "So peers are important contributors to children's development. That influence can be for good or for bad. It depends upon the characteristics of the children or peers that your child hangs out with."

Snyder says peer influence starts early and may be positive or negative.

Snyder: "Peers do have a powerful influence in children's development, beginning as early as preschool and continuing through adolescence."

"We tend to think of peer influence in negative terms, but peers can also have a powerful positive influence."

Snyder also says managing the influence of your child's friends can be a challenge.

Snyder: "Managing and being aware of your child's peers and peer relationships and peer influence is a particular challenge to parents, and that challenge changes somewhat depending on the child's age."

Snyder has a suggestion for parents who are concerned about negative peer influences at school.

Snyder: "If parents have concerns about negative peer influence during early childhood and during the elementary school years, and those are occurring at school, there are two tactics. The first is to take those concerns to the child's teacher or to school to see how that influence can be managed. The second tactic is to talk with your child about who he or she is associating with and to problem solve about how to deal with that."

Snyder says it's important to be aware of your child's peers and what they're doing.

Snyder: "So generally the idea is to be aware of your child's peers and who he or she hangs out with and what they're doing. That involves having conversations with the child, setting reasonable rules about whereabouts and friends. And probably a newer concern has to do with computer usage. And the wisdom these days is that children's use of computers — computers should be placed in public areas in the home so that parents can monitor their children's computer usage."

Mara Berkley, a family therapist and professor at Bristol University in Rhode Island, says, as a parent, you can help your children choose friends who will offer the best parts of friendship. Being your child's friend, as well as their parent, can go a long way in helping them become caring, responsible adults.

Thanks for listening. Until next time, this is Joe Kleinsasser for Wichita State University.