College of Education and Human Services Spotlights Its Undergraduate Research
By Jennifer Payne |
USU is commemorating 50 years of undergraduate research, and students from the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services are furthering that legacy.
Here’s a spotlight of just a few students and how their undergraduate research is helping advance fields such as kinesiology and psychology.
Comparing Free-Living Versus Laboratory Movement Data
Stephen May is an undergraduate student in the Department of Kinesiology Last year, May compared activity monitor data collected in a laboratory setting to free-living data, where participants do activities of their choice, on their own time, and without researchers observing them.
Participants performed some activities differently depending on the setting, and there were many activities they did in free-living which couldn’t be done in the lab, such as rock climbing or piloting an airplane. He has presented his findings at USU’s Fall Student Research Symposium, as well as at the American College of Sports Medicine conference in Boston, Massachusetts, in May 2024.
The USU Office of Research awarded May an Undergraduate Research and Creative Opportunities (URCO) grant to expand on his work, so this year, May has taken the study a step further. He wanted to be sure the movement differences between the lab and free-living were greater than the difference between two lab visits.
“My goal is to verify that free-living data is more representative of how people move, so that in validation studies, we will get a better representation of how people really behave,” May said. “Theoretically, researchers could mail accelerometers around the world to people to get much larger and more diverse sample size and activities. It opens up the type of people, type of activities, and sample sizes used in validation studies in the future.”
Kimberly Clevenger, May’s mentor and an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology, explained, “This project can fundamentally change how we measure physical activity. Research takes a long time, so it is impressive that Stephen has seen this project through the entire process — from data collection, to acquiring funding, and disseminating the results.”
Examining Misophonia for Inclusion in Academic Literature
Hailey Johnson, an undergraduate student in the Department of Psychology and research assistant for Professor Michael Twohig in the ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) Research Lab, also presented a poster at the Fall Student Research Symposium that details the research she has done on understanding and characterizing misophonia.
According to Johnson, the disorder has not been established in any diagnostic classification system nor have experts reached consensus on whether it should be classified as purely a neurological, audiological or psychological problem. People who suffer from misophonia often experience avoidance, anger, isolation or anxiety when exposed to sometimes ordinary sounds such as chewing, breathing and tapping. In her study, Johnson reviewed interviews of 60 individuals with clinically significant misophonia.
“For the project, I watched interviews the ACT lab had conducted with participants to analyze their experiences with misophonia,” Johnson said. “I transcribed the video interviews and categorized participant responses into cognitive, emotional, and behavioral characteristics, then analyzed the responses to see the most frequently reported responses.”
Mercedes Woolley, doctoral student in the ACT Research Lab and mentor to Johnson, remarked, “It is inspiring to witness an undergraduate take charge of such a large and ambitious project. A qualitative study involving 60 individuals is a significant undertaking for any researcher, particularly for an undergraduate. Hailey’s interest in this under-researched population and her initiative in designing and executing her own project are remarkable and highlight her potential for a promising research career.”
Johnson plans to publish her findings in a scientific bulletin where she will recommend that misophonia be classified as a multidisciplinary disorder with significant psychological symptoms, as it affects conditions, emotions, and behaviors. She will graduate in May 2025 and plans to work as a research assistant while she decides her area of research and prepares for her doctorate.
Determining Whether a Child’s Sex Impacts Parenting Alliance and Brain Activation
Anna Bailey, who graduated with her bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in chemistry last May, presented her research at the symposium under the guidance of faculty mentor HDFS Professor Lisa Boyce and HDFS doctoral student Matthew Cook.
“Anna was giving so much to the project that I was very invested in making sure she got the best experience possible,” Boyce said. “She is bright and went above and beyond to ensure our study was going forward. We worked together to find something we could embed into our larger study.”
Bailey’s research examined whether a child’s sex impacts the association between parenting alliance — parents who incorporate positive parenting practices in raising their children — and the child’s brain activation.
The study was conducted in Boyce’s lab under the supervision of Cook. It examined oxygen levels of hemoglobin in the brain and its correlation to parenting alliance. Bailey explains that she was interested in looking at if a child’s sex made a difference in their overall brain activation.
“The measure examined whether there was a difference in male activation and female activation dependent on the parenting alliance,” Bailey said. “We found that the higher the male activation or the higher the parenting alliance was in male children’s brain activation, it would lower their prefrontal cortex activation levels.”
Bailey concluded that when males were able to develop their autonomy, their executive functioning skills were more robust, unlike females. Her measures on parenting practices and the difference between male and female children determined that the desired outcome is for parents to foster positive parenting practices while increasing their child’s autonomy.
Overall, Bailey felt the experience provided her with research experience for graduate school.
“Working in Dr. Boyce’s lab is the reason I want to get a Ph.D. and look at children through the lens of neuroscience. I think that being able to answer questions I haven't been asked is always a good pursuit and is a good use of time and energy,” Bailey said.
As a graduate student mentor, Cook recognizes the benefit of Bailey presenting her research in the event.
“I wanted Anna to gain presenting and public speaking experience. It’s important for her to learn about first author research and conduct a quality project,” Cook said. “Learning how to take a presentation from start to finish but also looking at the process — how we design a study, how we look at the study, what the statistics are, and how we know what to expect.”
Bailey is currently applying for graduate schools. She hopes to be accepted into a doctoral program in neuropsychology.
“After I graduate, I want to do pediatric neuropsychological testing in hospitals. I initially went into psychology knowing I wanted to help children, but this research and some of my classes sparked my interest in neuroscience. I found out that I also love research, so I want to get a research-based degree with an emphasis in clinical assessment,” Bailey said.
WRITER
Jennifer Payne
Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services
Public Relations Specialist
jen.payne@usu.edu
CONTACT
Alicia Richmond
Director of Public Relations & Marketing
Emma Eccles Jones College of Education & Human Services
alicia.richmond@usu.edu
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