Graduating from college is an important time of life transitions and career development for undergraduates and their future. Future self-identification, the connection between an individual’s current and future self, can negatively predict depression and utilize self-control as a mechanism to achieve later academic goals. Investigating an individual’s future self- identification, depression scores, and behavioral outcomes in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic can help optimize college graduate success in an uncertain world. The present study aimed to (1) determine if earlier future self-identification moderated the changes between later outcomes (e.g., depression, perceived alcohol consumption, and academic and career goals) from pre-COVID-19 to during COVID-19, (2) investigate if psychological resources (e.g., self-control and emotion regulation) had any intermediary effects between earlier future self-identification and later depression and behavioral outcomes during the pandemic, and (3) test for any moderation effects of future self-identification on the relationship between available psychological resources before COVID-19 and during COVID-19. The present research demonstrated that students with greater earlier future self-identification were less likely to change their academic and career goals and were less likely to experience symptoms of depression during the pandemic. Additionally, self-control was demonstrated as an intermediary factor between earlier future self-identification and later academic and career goal changes. These findings may help college graduates develop resilience in other stressful situations.

This paper explores the psychological experiences of domestic workers in three contemporary Latin American films: Roma (Mexico, 2018), Crímenes de familia (Argentina, 2020) and Que Horas Ela Volta? (Brazil, 2015). Specifically, the motherhood of these three protagonists is explored and analyzed using psychological research that pertains to motherhood, trauma, and the relationships between domestic workers and the families that employ them. This paper reveals that contemporary Latin American cinema portrays domestic workers as having negative experiences of motherhood as a direct result of their occupation and proposes for further protections, policy change, and psychological research to take place for domestic workers in Latin America and beyond.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the comprehensive HPV educational video, “What is HPV?” on the vaccination intent of young adults. The study also aimed to collect information regarding knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs that influence vaccination and related health behaviors. The sample included 215 participants between the ages of 18-26 who had not received any HPV vaccine, were able to read and comprehend English, and had consented for participation through Amazon Mechanical Turk. After they completed the baseline survey (T0), participants were randomly assigned to two study conditions. The intervention group (n = 104) watched the “What is HPV?” video, and the control group (n = 111) read the CDC HPV Fact Sheet. Both groups then completed a post-intervention survey (T1). The analysis results show that the vaccination intent among participants in the intervention group significantly increased following the intervention (59.6% to 71.2%), while vaccination intent significantly decreased for the control group (65.8% to 55%) following the intervention. The results also show a significant difference in the changes in vaccination intent for the two intervention groups. The most change in vaccination intent following the intervention came from the group who was undecided in the initial survey. The findings of the study suggested that a brief HPV educational video that provides the most updated evidence while using non-stigmatizing language and tone has the potential to increase young adults’ vaccination intent to prevent HPV-related cancers and diseases. The findings also suggested that effective HPV education is key to combating negative attitudes and misinformation about HPV vaccines.

Empathy includes multiple components, including empathic concern, perspective-taking, and motivation to empathize. Various perspective-taking interventions have been found to be useful in increasing empathy. Games can be utilized as such interventions, especially when they involve perspective-taking components. The similarities between tabletop roleplaying games and various empathy-building interventions suggests that tabletop roleplaying games may be an intervention option that is already played for enjoyment. This study examines the influence of tabletop roleplaying games on motivation to empathize. Participants played a short tabletop roleplaying game and then were asked to choose between describing and empathizing with refugee targets over a series of trials. There is a potential main effect of tabletop roleplaying games on motivation to empathize, but this main effect is absent when controlling for self-other-overlap. It appears that self-other-overlap influences motivation to empathize. However, this study was underpowered, and the main effect of roleplay may have been detected if more participants were involved. Thus, there is potential that tabletop roleplaying games may influence motivation to empathize, and future research should examine this while considering the limitations of this study.

This qualitative project was done as a way to learn more about the personal experiences of Asian American participants surrounding education and how it has impacted their identities, and questions how and if the model minority stereotype has impacted the Asian American student particiapnts. 14 participants were interviewed one-on-one to see if there were any patterns in values that their parents had pushed, and revealed that cultural expectations influence the participants’s educational choices, leading to self-regulation in regards to education. Because the shared trait of these participants are being current Asian American students in university at the time of their interviews, experiences range with how acculturated their parents are, the ethnic background of their families, and prior expectations with education.

Abortion is one of the most polarizing moral issues in our society today. This issue divides the country into two separate groups: Pro-choice or Pro-life. Our thesis analyzes published reviewed articles, media articles, policy papers, and perspective, opinion, and commentary pieces to discuss the ethical implications of selective abortion, specifically sex-selective abortion and genetic-selective abortion. Our thesis provides an overview of selective abortion, explores women’s bodily autonomy in the U.S., addresses the complexities of both sex-selective and genetic-selective abortion, and finally evaluates the U.S.’s regulation of selective abortion. Through these topics, we were able to determine the implications selective abortion has on the disabled community and how selective abortion is being used to ban abortion overall in the U.S.

Abortion is one of the most polarizing moral issues in our society today. This issue divides the country into two separate groups: Pro-choice or Pro-life. Our thesis analyzes published reviewed articles, media articles, policy papers, and perspective, opinion, and commentary pieces to discuss the ethical implications of selective abortion, specifically sex-selective abortion and genetic-selective abortion. Our thesis provides an overview of selective abortion, explores women’s bodily autonomy in the U.S., addresses the complexities of both sex-selective and genetic-selective abortion, and finally evaluates the U.S.’s regulation of selective abortion. Through these topics, we were able to determine the implications selective abortion has on the disabled community and how selective abortion is being used to ban abortion overall in the U.S.

We created a website with the intent to educate on the Valley Metro light rail. We showcased different aspects of the light rail and presented an argument as to why it should be utilized and expanded. We also created a social media account that highlights art pieces along the light rail.

Curiosity has been linked with many benefits, including increased overall well-being (Lydon-Staley et al., 2020) and greater academic achievement (Gottfried et al., 2016). The value that children place on learning new things and exploring novel ideas is unrivaled by older individuals. However, little research has been conducted to examine how parents may be able to help foster their children’s curiosity in a way that teaches them how to effectively search for and synthesize information. This paper aims to determine how parents’ language during a storybook task is related to their children’s strategy to collect rewards during a search game. Preliminary results suggest that parents may be able to encourage more effective search by asking more close-ended questions. These findings provide insight into how parents and guardians may be able to encourage their children to become better adept at searching for information by taking in clues about their environment and modifying their behavior to maximize their efforts.