The Department of Psychology and Sociology held the Lowell Overton 5th Undergraduate Symposium on a warm spring day on April 11, 2014, coinciding with California State Polytechnic University, Pomona's 75th anniversary. This year's symposium was attended by (in alphabetical order): Dr. Erika Dejonghe, Dr. Jack Fong, Dr. Juliana Fuqua, Dr. David Horner, Dr. Anita Jain,Dr. Sara Langford, Dr. Alejandro Morales, Dr. Anjana Narayan, Dr. Anthony Ocampo, Dr. James Sturges, and Dr. Felicia Friendly Thomas. Associate Dean Dr. Laurie Roades also attended. We had twelve speakers overall, six from Psychology and six from Sociology, with some presentations including more than one speaker. Presenters had the floor for 15 minutes with 3 minutes allocated for questions from the audience.
This year's symposium had a very rich collection of poster presenters that added great energy to the overall dynamic of the event. A total of 12 students worked on nine different posters to present the outcomes of their studies. There were nine psychology and three sociology poster presenters. There were over 50 attendees during the poster presentation session who enjoyed speaking to the poster presenters as well as complimentary lunch.
All students, whether oral presenters or poster presenters, were mentored by faculty from our department. This year the participating faculty mentors and/or symposium moderators were: Dr. Erika Dejonghe, Dr. Jack Fong, Dr. Juliana Fuqua, Dr. Jeff Mio, Dr.Sara Langford, Dr. Alejandro Morales, Dr. Micere Keels, Dr. Anjana Narayan, Dr. Anthony Ocampo, Dr. Fatima Sadiqi, Dr. James Sturges, Dr. Felicia Friendly Thomas, Dr. Nicholas Von Glahn, and Dr. Jennifer Yaffee. Our gratitude goes out to all aforementioned faculty members.
Our department chair, Dr. Horner, began the symposium by welcoming the attendees as well as introducing our important benefactor, Lowell Overton, President of RealMega.Com and Broker for Coldwell Banker. As a former graduate of Cal-Poly Pomona, Mr. Overton recounted his development at our university as well as his ability to harness the behavioral sciences to become a highly significant figure in the real estate industry. Mr. Overton's talk inspired our audience and the symposium presenters about the possibilities of empowerment through the social sciences. Certificates were then presented to our student participants, with the ceremony's conclusion signalling the beginning of the symposium in earnest. Mr. Overton's generosity in supporting our symposium was further enhanced by his attendance at our presenters' talks and poster presentations in their entirety. We are very grateful that Mr. Overton has taken time from his busy schedule to attend our event as well as serve as a continuing benefactor for future symposia organized by our department.
A very special thank you goes to our department staff Leticia Keenan, Diane Slusser, and Jenny Huyler. Their efforts have been invaluable in making this year's symposium flow smoothly. Without their dedicated assistance with the logistics of attending to food provisions, the printing of posters, managing the configuration of rooms, as well as ensuring whatever supplies that were needed were available, this year's symposium would not have succeed.
Finally, without the students' dedication to knowledge and its dissemination, along with their intellect, professionalism, and curiosity, this symposium would not have taken place. We are thoroughly impressed by their efforts and commitment to their disciplines. Additionally, the students that attended deserve commendations as well since their ability to be part of an inquisitive audience adds greatly to the dynamic of the event. Thank you to all of you.
In the following pages, speech presenters' photographs will be displayed along with the titles of their talks. Photographs of our luncheon area where poster presenters were stationed are also included.
Psychology Speakers
(in order of appearance)
Aaron Cortez: Causes of Online Aggressive Behavior
Sophie Martini: Plagiarism: More Common With Print or Digital?
Bianca Serrato and Nicole Hamrang: Facebook Use and Narcissitic Traits
Susan Selfridge, Aaron Cortez, and Alison Villalobos: Positive Experiences of Electronic Media Among College Students
Ann Truong: Hidden Ways Social Class May Affect
Potential for Success
Sociology Speakers
(in order of appearance)
Juliana Aracely Rocha: The Globalization of Ecocide in the Arctic
Deanna Ali Plunkett Williams: The Individual "Oorah": An Analysis of the Exploitation of Service Members in Relation to Governmentality
Rachelle Berry: Can Queerness and Blackness Coexist?
Andrea Lavilles: Mixed Messages: How Race and Gender Affect How Young Adults Understand Cultural Events
Karly Chavez: White Collar Crime to its Full Extent
Michelle R. Medina: A Cross Cultural Observation of Women and the Production of Verbal Art
Poster Presenters (in alphabetical order)
Diana Castro and Rachelle Webb: When Doing Yoga as Compared to Other Exercises
Denise Cesma: Regulating the Female Body
Luis Cruz: Social Conformity: Reversing the Extroverted and Introverted in Leadership
Oliver Cruz: Two Social Institutions in the Same School District
Jose Cuchilla: Examining Diabetes Health Disparities among US/Foreign-born Hispanics
Vanessa Davila and Lauren Scott: Development of a Self-Report Measure of Self Efficacy Regarding Acceptance of Negative States (SERANS)
Ericka James: Does Gender of Ethnicity Impact Students' Comfort in Campus Interactions?
Isela Pina: The Links Between Victimization, Depression, and Gender
Uchenna Udengwu and Ericka James: Just Like Me? Mentees' Gender and Ethnicity Mentor Preferences
Websites for previous symposia can befound at:
"Osillations in Space" by Neil Johnson, photographer for our campus' ASI/GAS Creative Group. This photograph was voted a top three favorite by our campus population in 2013.
Department of Psychology and Sociology
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
3801 W. Temple Avenue
Pomona CA 91768
Website designed by Jack Fong with input from Dr. Felicia Friendly Thomas and Dr. James Sturges