News Releases @ TCC

TCC STUDENTS WIN VIRGINIA RESEARCH PRIZE IN PSYCHOLOGY

Group helping to de-bunk early studies on gender and conformity marking women as conformists

HAMPTON ROADS, Va. – (June 13, 2005) – Since August 2004, six students from Tidewater Community College have been conducting experiments in a classic area of investigation in social psychology: the study of independence and conformity, which has proven especially revealing in terms of women.

On May 19 at James Madison University they formally presented their findings to the Psychology Section of the Virginia Academy of Science at its 83rd Annual Meeting … They brought home top honors for their efforts - The Virginia Psychological Foundation Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research.

Elisa Ramirez-Feliciano, Ahmad Bah, Tiffany Blake, Danial Kim, Sakeenah Abdullah and Rodolfo McIntyre each presented segments of the 30-minute paper, “An Investigation of Control Conditions in Asch-Type Experiments: VI.” This summer, a peer-reviewed abstract of their paper will be published in the Virginia Journal of Science.

All of the students were members of TCC’s 6-semester-hour class, Honors Research Methods in the Behavioral Sciences, led by Professor Jim O’Brien. Over the past 15 years, 19 TCC students have been similarly recognized by the Virginia Academy of Science.

“I welcome students interested in pursuing scientific research to contact me,” says Dr. O’Brien, adding, “It’s a great way to begin to prepare your skills, knowledge and credentials for future application to competitive post-baccalaureate schools. You may also develop opportunities for scholarships and mentoring with faculty from four-year, graduate and professional institutions in Virginia . . . not to mention a chance to make significant scientific contributions to society.”