04/01/2022
This academic year two counseling students, under the direction of their faculty advisor Dr. Janet Dean, have designed, carried out, and completed original research projects resulting in professional conference presentations this March.
Olivia Hockett investigated the mediating role of grit in the relationship between intrinsic motivation and personal life satisfaction. Grit is that tendency to successfully overcome many obstacles and challenges due to the combination of passion and persistence extended over a long period of time, and Hockett found that grit may explain how intrinsic motivation leads to life satisfaction. Competing against master- and doctoral-level psychology students across the state, Hockett earned the Paul Hager Graduate Research 2nd Place Award, plus a cash award, during the Kentucky Psychological Science Conference at Bellarmine University (Louisville).
Marjorie Price, working both with Dean and Dr. Eric Watterson of Greenville University, explored the experiences of students of color on Christian college campuses, comparing students at a more rural and less diverse university to those at a more urban and diverse institution. Among the findings, students’ personal spirituality appeared to be even more important in their perceptions of campus climate than are various institutional characteristics and students’ own race/ethnicity. Price presented her work at the annual conference of the Christian Association for Psychological Studies.
Stephen P. Stratton, Ph.D.
