By Rossi Ramirez
When psychology professor Gary Coulton began organizing the university’s first Psychology Speaker Series, he decided to focus on broader areas of psychology over the general study of how people think and behave.
“The mission for the speaker series is to give the students some exposure and reinforce that psychology has many areas students are unaware of,” Coulton said.
Coulton, who holds a doctorate in industrial-organizational psychology from Auburn University,
said he hopes that with the launch of the speaker series students will establish relationships with other psychology professors from surrounding universities.
By establishing these relationships, he said, students can make connections with professors who teach in graduate programs and have networking opportunities.
Each month, students will hear from local professors who research different areas of psychology specific to professor’s field of study. Topics range from professional, personal, and real world issues and behaviors.
With over 200 students in the program, psychology has the second highest enrollment in the School of Arts & Sciences, according to Spring 2013 enrollment data.
Psychology students are required to conduct research.
“With the speaker series, students can get experience, perspectives and ideas for research in a classroom setting,” psychology club president Jennifer Hambright, said.
Hambright, a master in counseling and guidance student, said students sometimes don’t understand that psychology can be applied to any career field they study.
“You don’t have to be a counselor to understand psychology. You can apply psychology in a classroom, organization, or even the study of animals, which are different areas of psychology,” Hambright said.
Hambright will attend the speaker series and encourages students to attend. Because of the broad range of topics, the speaker series is expected to attract students from other majors. She also said this will give students a chance to get acquainted with others on campus.
The first lecture fell into the category of organizational psychology. Coulton said the field deals with organizational behavior and focuses on the productivity of groups and individuals in the workplace by improving the function of organizations and promoting the health of individuals within the organization.
Gregory Pool, director of the Industrial-Organizational Psychology graduate program at St. Marys University, began the speaker series Jan. 30 with a lecture on “Social Undermining: Sneaky but harmful workplace aggression.”
Coulton explained the lecture focused on negative behaviors that can influence a person’s performance in the working environment.
Students who did not attend Pool’s lecture will have the opportunity to hear and learn from other professors from 12:30 p.m.-1:45 p.m. the last Wednesday of the month through April at Main Campus Building in Room 204/207.
COMING UP:
“Culture Influences Sunk Cost”
March 27
Dr. Carol Yoder is a professor and department chair at Trinity University. She is involved in publications for applied cognitive psychology, which is the study of human performance and basic cognitive skills in everyday environments. Her research interests include applied cognitive psychology and lifespan development. She will discuss how decisions are tainted by the emotional investments that people accumulate and how the more people invest in something the harder it becomes to abandon it.
“Conducting Research with Belugas, Dolphins & Sea Lions- The Joy and the Pitfalls”
April 24
Dr. Heather Hill is an associate professor of psychology at St. Mary’s University. She is involved in many publications associated with comparative psychology. This branch of psychology is concerned with the behavior of animals. Hill partnered with Sea World San Antonio to start a program for undergraduate students at St. Mary’s to observe and research mother and calf relationships of beluga whales and dolphins. A total of five beluga whales have been born since the start of the program.
PREVIOUS SPEAKERS:
“The Prevention of eating disorders”
February 27
Dr. Carolyn Black Becker, a professor and licensed clinical psychologist from Trinity University, specializes in the treatment and prevention of eating disorders. She is involved in publications associated with body image and prevention of eating disorders. Becker has also partnered with the department of athletics at Trinity to create The Female Athlete Body Project, funded by two grants from the National Institute of Health. Becker also provides consultation to the Eating Disorders Center of San Antonio.
For more information on the psychology speaker series, email Gary Coulton, associate professor of psychology at gcoulton@tamusa.tamus.edu, or call the School of Arts and Sciences at (210) 784-2201.
