Issue 3 Spring 2020 Visit our website

What Do I Do with a Psych Degree?  P sychology offers several career options, but many majors find themselves unsure of what they want to do after graduation. To address that insecurity, Bob Hessling and two graduate instructors now offer Psych 211X, a pass/fail course in Career Opportunities in Psychology. The department schedules four sections of the popular one credit course each semester with 25 students per section. The class meets once a week for 16 weeks.  “Half the course focuses on career development skills like resumes and grad school applications,” said Hessling, “and the other half is an exploration of all the opportunities within the sub-fields of psychology.” Today’s students have career interests like and unlike years past. “Fifty percent of students want to be clinicians or therapists of some kind,” said Hessling. “But we found that the next topic that students were most interested in was forensic psychology—the application of psychology in the legal system. That’s another 15% of the class. We were surprised by how many there were. We also have several students interested in joining the FBI.”  Students are required to interview a psychologist and discuss the interview in class and to write a final paper on a career goal and how to achieve it.

Above: This is the new collaboration space, which was formerly a conference room. It connects to the mail room and kitchenette.

Renovations at Lagomarcino Hall Below: This is a newly renovated conference room that was formerly an office space.

Above: These pictures show the renovated mailroom with kitchenette. A door was installed into the new collaboration space.

Veronica Dark retires after 32 years at ISU Big heart. Passionate about students. Cyclone Spirit. Service to the university community. T hese are some of the phrases faculty use to describe Veronica Dark, who recently retired from the Department of Psychology. For over 30 years, Dr. Dark advocated for undergraduate students, taught courses ranging from Introductory Psychology to Learning and Thinking and mentored legions of graduate and undergraduate students in her cognitive psychology research lab.   Alumni may remember her Cyclone Spirit. She attended a wide range of ISU athletic events and frequently wore Cyclone gear to work on game days. She also wore costumes on Halloween even while teaching. Alumni who remember VEISHEA may recall her help with Psych Club displays when she was club advisor. Behind the scenes, Dr. Dark brought enthusiasm, intelligence, and compassion to her service in a wide range of positions in the department, the college, and the university. In the Department of Psychology, Dr. Dark’s impact is reflected in high standards for excellent teaching and mentoring, a concern for fairness, and the collegial atmosphere. The university keeps running smoothly due to the hard work, diligence and compassion of faculty like Dr. Dark. In her retirement, Dr. Dark and her husband Dr. Rick Dark (former Chair of the Department of Finance) have moved to Colorado Springs, CO, to be near their son and grandchildren. Dr. Dark spends her time riding horses, hiking, and following Cyclone athletics.

New Faces

Brooke Arterberry I feel a sense of belonging at ISU,” said Assistant Professor Brooke Arterberry, who joined the psych department in August 2018. The Indiana native received her doctorate in counseling psych from the University of Missouri in 2015. She enjoys teaching Counseling Theories and Techniques as well as Personality Assessment and finds mentoring her students very rewarding. Her research focus is on the use and outcomes of cannabis. Dr. Arterberry is married to Tony Arterberry, who works at ISU as a Grant Finance Specialist, and they share the affection of their cat, Petras.

John Grundy P sych alums of a certain age will appreciate the research of newcomer John Grundy. An assistant professor since August 2018, John works to understand “the neuroplasticity that eventually helps to prevent cognitive decline associated with age.” A Canadian from Toronto, John earned his Ph.D. From McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. At ISU, he teaches Research Methods in Psychology and Cognitive Neuropsychology and lives with his partner, Kim. “My time at ISU and within the psych department has been nothing but pleasant,, “ said John. “The students have also been quite pleasant to teach. I look forward to working at ISU for years to come. Andrew Smith A lso from Toronto is Assistant Professor Andrew Smith, who joined the faculty in August 2019. “I received my Ph.D. from Queen’s University, Canada, in 2015” said Andrew. He completed a postdoc at ISU and then taught for two years at Carlton College, Canada before returning to ISU. He concentrates his research at the Psychology and Law Lab where he studies recognition memory, eyewitness memory and diagnostic accuracy. Andrew currently teaches Research Methods and will add courses on Thinking and Decision-making and Categorical Data Analysis next year. He and wife Kellie are parents to Colton, a future Cyclone!

S ince September, the Graduate Students in Psychology (GSP) organization has been working to increase their engagement with the Ames community. That’s when they launched a series of free and public panel discussions on important and newsworthy psychological topics. Discussions led by Abby Boytos, Anna Wehde, and Andreas Miles-Novelo were held at the Ames Public Library and ISU Parks Library. The trio helped debunk common misconceptions about psychology, highlighted mental health concerns and provided information about mental health resources in the Ames area. “We also wanted to increase understanding of the work being done by ISU researchers and how that work directly impacted and benefited the Ames community,” said Wehde. So far this year, GSP has organized panels on fake news, sexual harassment, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's. Volunteers from Student Counseling Services, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and the Department of Neuroscience have worked with GSP in presenting this year’s discussions. More information on these events - including videos—can be found on the GSP Facebook Page. Search for Psychology in Everyday Life

Industrial/Organizational Psych Practicum by Kathy Hanisch

I SU students often seek relevant experience to learn useful knowledge and skills, to determine if they want to remain on their chosen career paths as well as to answer the experience questions on job/graduate school applications and interviews. The Psychology Department helped to address this need several years ago by adding a practicum course for students interested in Industrial and Organizational (I/O) Psychology, the branch of psychology that studies individuals in the workplace using psychological principles.   The practicum course, under the supervision of Dr. Kathy Hanisch, seeks to pair sponsors in the ISU/Ames and surrounding communities with students interested in projects and tasks associated with psychology in the workplace. Students take one or two I/O psychology courses prior to participating in the practicum so they are prepared to work with practicum sponsors with assistance from Dr. Hanisch.   A few examples of organizations that have or are currently participating include Ames Community School District, Ames Public Library, Hy-Vee, ISU Environmental Health and Safety, ISU Provost’s Office, Salvation Army, and Workiva. Students have assisted these and many other organizations with projects covering topics such as the development, administration, and evaluation of employee surveys, evaluating bias in performance evaluations, and recruitment/selection of job applicants. In addition to these projects, whenever possible students make formal presentations to managers, management teams, and boards of directors to share the work they’ve completed.   As one example, Reagan Brackey and Kyra Miller (see photo; Reagan is on the left) have worked this year to develop, present, and evaluate a training program titled CPR+ to provide useful skills to several groups of individuals including teachers, parents, non-clinical staff at Mary Greeley Medical Center, and members of the ISU Psychology Department. These experiences are directly related to their career goals and future plans; Kyra is interested in an employee training position upon graduation and Reagan plans to work in industry and later earn a master’s degree in I/O Psychology.

From the Chair's Desk

 Psychology in the time of Covid-19

W hat an adjustment! The Department of Psychology has had to adapt to teaching, learning, and staying healthy while working from home. Faculty hauled home desktop computers and ergonomic chairs, bought headsets and webcams, and shared tips and strategies for recording lectures and teaching labs. It took an incredible amount of time, energy, and creativity to adjust to this new way of working and learning, and everyone—faculty, students and staff—have risen to the challenge.  In particular, one group of students and staff have epitomized the Psyclone Spirit during this time. Early in the spring, we became aware that our professional advising staff would be reduced from three to one from early March until June. This is the busiest time of year for the advisors as they guide almost 1000 majors and minors through registration for summer and fall courses. To handle some of their many questions and tasks, the advisors recruited a group of advanced students to assist them. When Covid-19 hit, these Psychology Peer Advisors were prepared to pitch in and help with the transition to online advising and recruitment of new students. These students:  Answered general questions from current students about registration, course availability, and course requirements, Met (virtually) with prospective students to inform them about the program and wrote letters welcoming next year’s entering students to campus, Created materials for students on how to be successful in their online courses and how to maintain their mental and physical health and Kept current students in touch and informed by posting tips and suggestions for thriving while working at home on Instagram (isupsych).  We are fortunate to have Psychology majors who can translate their classroom experiences into strategies to help others. Thanks go to Selena, Kaytlin, Brandon, Caitlyn, Sarah, Merrie, Lauren, and Masha for all their work on behalf of students in the Department of Psychology. Go Psyclones! Susan E. Cross, Chair P.S. Please watch for our new Facebook page coming soon!

The PsyClone is published periodically throughout the academic year. Pete Prunkl, Off-Campus Editor Cassidy Conway, On-Campus Editor   What would you like to know about our ISU Psych Department? E-mail news, ideas, letters and photos to: psyclone@iastate.edu   Want to continue the work of the Psychology Excellence Fund?

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