Congratulations to Grace Boyers and Michael Ovalle who were accepted to APA’s competitive Advanced Training Institute on Structural Equation Modeling in Longitudinal Research. Grace and Michael were two of 35 participants selected nationally to attend. SMU will be well represented! Bravo!

Dr. Austin Baldwin was interviewed by KERA about his research study concerning HPV vaccinations for teens and income disparity.

To hear the interview go to:  http://keranews.org/post/teens-low-income-families-get-hpv-vaccine-if-parents-persuade-themselves-benefits 

As of August 1, Ernie Jouriles will become the first holder of the Dale McKissick Endowed Professor of Psychology. Ernie is a highly distinguished member of the SMU faculty. He is internationally known as a leading researcher into children’s exposure to intimate partner violence and, more recently, violence in adolescent romantic relationships. In addition to being a prolific contributor to the research literature, he is currently an Associate Editor of Developmental Psychology.

Congratulations, Ernie!

A study to appear in Psychology of Violence has been picked up multiple news outlets.
The study, by psychology faculty members Alan Brown and George Holden and graduate student Rose Ashraf, assessed the impact of terminology on perceptions about physically disciplining children.
Both parents and non-parents rated “spank” as more common, acceptable, and effective than four other terms referring to the same behavior.

The study indicates that our lexicon can legitimize violent behavior.

To read about the study go to:

http://cbsnews.cbs.com/news/spanking-children-corporal-punishment-study/

A study by psychology faculty members Drs. Meuret, Rosenfield, Ritz and their colleagues, published in Psychoneuroendocrinology, was recently featured in the WSJ. The study found that patients with anxiety disorders who had therapy appointments earlier in the day benefited from the therapy more than the patients who had appointments later in the day.

To see the article, click this link:

file:///C:/Users/44106001/Desktop/For%20Better%20Talk%20Therapy%20(WSJ).pdf

Dr. Alytia Levendosky from Michigan State University will be giving a research presentation on “Intimate Partner Violence as a Prenatal Stressor: Unique and Common Effects on Women, Children, and the Mother-Child Relationship” on Monday, Nov. 14 at 10 a.m. in the Sartain Conference room, 11th floor of Expressway Tower. All are welcome to attend.

Dr. Alicia Meuret and three other prominent anxiety research psychologists will be discussing the role of fear and anxiety in mental disorders on Thursday, Nov. 17 at 1:00 pm.
This webinar is free, but space is limited. Register at: https://zoom.us/j/994273102.

Katie Price, a psychology major, won the Psychology Academic Excellence Award for Fall, 2015 from the DIS Study Abroad in Scandinavia program. This award recognizes academic achievement, as well as the positive contributions and enthusiasm the students bring to their courses. Great going, Katie!

Juliet, under the direction of Dr. Ritz, was awarded a National Institute of Aging grant for a pilot project titled: Stress Activation of Neurocircuits, Hippocampal Metabolites, and Cognitive Function: A Combined fMRI, MRS, and HPA-Axis Function Study. Congratulations Juliet!