PRISM

Initiated in 2013, Longwood University’s Perspectives on Research in Sciences and Mathematics (PRISM) is a research program for undergraduate students that, “combines practical training in specific research techniques with activities designed to put the research into the context of larger goals of modern science, technology, and mathematics.” During the eight-week program, every student gets to work directly with a faculty member. Disciplines in the program include chemistry, biology, environmental science, physics, mathematics, and psychology!

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Summer 2017: Courtney White

I’m a Junior Psychology and Criminal Justice double major and for eight weeks this summer, I worked closely with Dr. Blincoe conducting an experiment on trust in the PRISM program. Specifically, we used an established and commonly referenced model of trust formation within an untested population to determine the model’s cross-cultural generalizability. The Mayer et al. (1995) model of trust has been heavily researched in populations described as western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD), such as the United States. To focus our research, we asked several questions:

  1. Do the facets of trustworthiness (ability, benevolence, integrity) predict trust?
  2. Will people have more trust for an in-group member compared to an out-group member?
  3. Will people have more trust for an individual who does not benefit from an action compared to an individual who will benefit?

Participants from the United States and India were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), an online marketplace that matches “workers” with assignments. Using an online survey, participants were randomly assigned to read one of four scenarios which varied on two factors. The first factor was group membership, whether the individual in the scenario was from the same country as them or not. The second factor was action, whether the individual would benefit from the action with earning a promotion or would not benefit by not getting paid for his time.

Based on the results of our experiment, the model of trust formation can be applied to India as well as the previously researched nations, including the United States, Canada, and Japan. Our results also indicated that the model accurately depicts trust formation; trustworthiness (ability, benevolence, and integrity) predicts trust, and trust predicts risk-taking. Interestingly, group membership did not have a significant effect; however, the act of sacrifice increased the trustworthiness perceptions in both samples. This suggests that we may be more willing to trust someone who we see make a sacrifice.

The PRISM program gave me the opportunity to work closely with a faculty member while intensely working on a project for publication. I was able to apply concepts from research methods and quantitative methods in an actual experiment. In addition to the mentorship of Dr. Blincoe, the program held weekly professional development sessions to help me plan for applying for graduate school, writing resumes and cover letters, and presenting my research in a presentation, poster session, and formal report. Over eight weeks this summer, I have improved my writing abilities, time management skills, and work ethic as well as gaining an experience that will guide me as I continue in the field. After graduating from Longwood University in the spring of 2019, I hope to continue my education in a forensic psychology program and then pursue employment with a government agency doing threat analysis.

 

Summer 2015: Gina D’Orazio

As a sophomore psychology major, this was my first year in the PRISM program. I was given the opportunity to work with Dr. Blincoe, and we were interested in the possibility of a relationship between academic entitlement and academic performance. Theoretically, academic entitlement has two fundamental pieces: it is a student’s unrealistic expectation for success (i.e., expecting an A for effort) and an absence of personal responsibility for that success (or failure) (i.e., blaming the teacher for a grade). It is frustrating for instructors; however, there is little evidence to suggest a relationship between academic entitlement and actual academic performance.

We came up with two research questions:

  1. Is academic entitlement predictive of academic performance?
  2. Is self-control predictive of academic performance, above and beyond academic entitlement?

Dr. Blincoe and I issued questionnaire packets to students in six different classes during the first week of the 2015 spring semester. These packets included three academic entitlement measures and a self-control measure. We measured academic entitlement again at the end of the semester. Also at the end of the semester, we retrieved each student’s cumulative GPA from the University’s Office of Institutional Research, and instructors reported exam grades and total course points for each participant.

Using hierarchical linear regression, our findings suggest that when a student’s entitlement stems from an unreasonable expectation to succeed, this may not predict academic performance. However, when a student’s entitlement stems from refusing to take personal responsibility for their performance, this can be detrimental to their academic performance. We also found that even though academic entitlement could be detrimental to course performance, self-control is more important when it comes to the big picture of performance, as measured by cumulative GPA.

Throughout this program, I have gained a new level of exposure to, and understanding of, the research process. After reviewing all of the literature on my research topic and coming up with questions and hypotheses, I proposed my research ideas to fellow PRISM students and staff at the end of the spring semester. Throughout the summer, Dr. Blincoe assisted me in writing a research paper and conducting =analyses in SPSS.

The faculty members involved in this program organized three sessions aimed at educating all of the students about different aspects of research. In the first session, the faculty made us aware of ethical dilemmas we could potentially face when conducting research, and how to handle these situations. In the second session, we learned about the peer-review process when submitting manuscripts, and how time-consuming that process can be. In the third and final session, we were asked to pick a career or graduate school that we would like to pursue after we finish our degrees at Longwood, and then interviewed a faculty member for that position. This interactive approach showed me the important aspects of an interview, and it also gave me a head start in thinking about my future career choices.

I’m so thankful that I was able to be involved in this program. I was given the opportunity to work 1 on 1 with a professor who taught me valuable skills in conducting research, as well as basic skills like organization, writing, and public speaking. It was an awesome opportunity that I’m so glad I took advantage of!

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Summer 2014: Logan Stigall

I’m a Junior Psychology major and this is my first year in the PRISM program. I got the opportunity to work closely with Dr. Blincoe on a research project on Student Evaluations of Teaching (SETs). Specifically, we examined the psychometric properties of the Teacher Behavior Checklist. Developed in 2002, the measure remains understudied. We asked three questions:

  1. Which student and course qualities affect student ratings via the TBC?
  2. Which course and instructor qualities affect instructor self-ratings via the TBC?
  3. Do evaluation sources (e.g., instructor, student, observer) tell the same story?

Using ratings from 35 instructors, their students, and outside observers, we found that the same characteristics (e.g., expected grade, class size, course level, etc.) that affect student ratings using other instrumentation impact student evaluation via the TBC. Further, instructor self-ratings were impacted by several course and instructor variables. Instructor self-ratings did not correlate with the ratings provided by either the students or the outside observer.

Based on our findings, we think that the TBC may not perform better than other measures if used for summative assessment with student raters; however, we suggest that the TBC may be a useful self-evaluations tool, since it proved relatively resistant to the effects of instructor sex and course level.

This program helped develop and refine many of the skills necessary to conduct research. In the spring of 2014 I conducted an extensive literature search which assisted in generating research questions and hypotheses for my project. I presented an overview of my project and proposed analyses to the PRISM group at the end of the semester. This summer, Dr. Blincoe and I analyzed data using SPSS and co-wrote a paper.

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In addition to 1:1 work with the faculty mentor, the PRISM group met three times for educational sessions. At the first session, we discussed ethical guidelines and relevant decisions in research. We talked about the Institutional Research Board process, plagiarism, and the guidelines for multiple authors. This discussion gave me a clear sense of what is it like to work with other researchers and the decisions that need to be made to make the research ethical. During the second session, we talked about our future after college, including jobs and the application process of graduate school. During the last session, we learned about the peer review process. We discussed impact factors, data presentation, the purpose of the reviewers, and the role of the editor. These three sessions encouraged professional development and understanding the role of a researcher. Throughout this program I have improved my planning and organizational abilities in addition to the research specific skills such as literature review and data analysis.

One thought on “PRISM

  1. Sarai Blincoe Post author

    Congratulations to Logan! Her first-author paper, entitled “Student and instructor use of the Teacher Behavior Checklist” has been accepted for publication in the journal Teaching of Psychology.

    Reply

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