Macalester Psychology

Last in our Senior Week Series: Congratulations to Brooke Offenhauser ‘21 and Nita Senesathith ‘21!!

Winners of the Walter D. Mink Endowed Prize, established in memory of Walter D. Mink, Professor of Psychology from 1958-1996. This prize is given to a senior who has a strong academic record and has also provided outstanding service to the department, the college, or the broader community.

@ Macalester College

Senior Week Series: Congratulations to Abby Dillon ‘21 and Stephanie Konadu-Acheampong ‘21!
Winners of the Jack Rossmann Endowed Prize, established in 2004 by Jack and Marty Rossmann. This prize honors a graduating senior psychology major who has an excellent academic record and has also made distinguished contributions in the application of academic psychology through activities such as applied research, internships, or community service.
@ Macalester College

It’s Senior Week and we are celebrating our 2020-2021 Psychology Department Award Recipients throughout the week!

Congratulations to Nancy Gomez ‘21! Winner of the Paterson Award Nominee—Macalester's nominee for the award given by the Minnesota Psychological Association to the most promising senior in Minnesota planning a career in psychology.

Congratulations to Brooke Offenhauser ‘21 on completing her honors project!
Can a Self-Compassion Writing Intervention Impact Feelings of Loneliness?
Loneliness is an increasingly widespread concern for many individuals, especially college students and young adults, and has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Loneliness can negatively impact health and well-being; however, many interventions are not successful in reducing loneliness. One possible intervention may be a resilience practice. Namely, self-compassion may reduce feelings of loneliness because it provides a way to connect with oneself and support well-being. This study aimed to examine the impact of a self-compassion intervention on feelings of loneliness and well-being in college students. It utilized a self-compassion writing intervention compared to a control self-affirmation writing intervention and examined both state or momentary feelings, as well as general or long-term feelings. The interventions did not affect general loneliness, but participants in both conditions experienced an increase in general well-being. Further, both conditions experienced decreased state loneliness, increased state self-compassion, and increased state well-being. The self-compassion intervention had a distinct impact on state well-being. These results support past research that long-term loneliness is difficult to alter. They also provide a new way to impact short-term feelings of loneliness in a cost- and time-effective manner.

Happy last day of classes! The Faculty and Staff at the psychology department wish the graduating seniors the best of luck in their paths after Macalester and hope you guys stay in touch!
We hope to see some of you back in person in Fall 2021!

Congratulations to Stephanie Konadu-Acheampong ‘21 on completing her honors project!
“An Invisible Spectrum: Navigating Society as an Asexual Woman of Color”
Research on asexuality is fairly recent, and the area is still relatively understudied. While previous studies have examined demographic factors associated with asexual populations—including gender diversity, few have studied how these demographic factors might impact asexual individuals’ experiences; further, despite the mutually reinforcing nature of race, gender, and asexuality, few studies have examined them in tandem. To address this gap, the current study drew upon interviews, conducted with seven asexual (ace) women of color. Using the consensual qualitative research method, six themes emerged from the data: (1) negotiation of insider/outsider status, (2) questioning identity/identity uncertainty, (3) family and cultural expectations, (4) societal reception and perception of asexuality, (5) otherization from American society and its effects, (6) support networks and resilience. The findings highlight the unique challenges that aces experience resulting from living at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities— sexual orientation, ethnic/racial identity, and gender— and how they create space to express themselves despite invalidations from American society, their racial/ethnic community, religious communities, the ace community, and the LGBTQ+ community. The implications of this study address the unique needs of ace women of color’s wellbeing,
belonging, and identity development, including emphasizing the importance of healthy and affirming relationships.

Who do these pets belong to? Last chance! Complete the form in bio by 4:30pm Central Time for a chance to win a $10 giftcard. @ Macalester College

Who do these pets belong to?
Take a break and join our trivia: Pet Pics
Fill out our google form in bio by this Friday 4:30 Central Time @ Macalester College

Our trivia is back with pet pictures!!! Who do these pets belong to??

Fill out the google form in the link in our bio for a chance to win a $10 giftcard! @ Macalester College

Who do these offices belong to?
Join our 2nd week of trivia by completing the google form in bio by this Friday, 4:30pm Central Time.
A chance to win a $10 giftcard! @ Macalester College

Who do these offices belong to?

Join our 2nd week of trivia by filling out the google form in our bio by this Friday 4:30pm Central.

Congrats to our first week winners who scored 10/10: Stephanie Konadu-Acheampong, Esra Kadioglu, and Rebecca O'Kerns!!

Winners get a $10 giftcard! @ Macalester College

This Thursday, new and prospective psych students are invited to join faculty and upper-level students to talk about a psych major/minor, the department, working in labs, and classes. There will be time in this informal discussion for questions afterwards.

Contact Lee at [email protected] for Zoom link.