GPS alumna Dr. Louise Freeman ’84, an associate professor of psychology at Mary Baldwin College, returned to her Chattanooga roots to attend the Southeastern Psychological Association meeting at UTC. Among the more than 100 undergraduates presenting research at the meeting were four from Mary Baldwin, who enjoyed a day at GPS with Dr. Freeman.
Daniela Guzman, Rachel Nieves, Naianka Rigaud and Jamie Edwards, three of whom are already members of Psi Chi, the national honor society in psychology, shared their research with students in human biology. Among their experiments were one that asked the question “Do College Students Spend More with Meal Plan Cards than with Cash?” and another that studied the “Degree of Suntan as a Factor in Female Attractiveness.”
According to the undergraduates, difficulties in research included procuring participants, protection of subjects, and the length of time that any project takes. “It takes a lot of time and energy to set up the basic idea, get it approved, collect participants, analyze data, and write the report,” said Daniela. “You have to be very patient.”
The visiting researchers were patient with questions from GPS students as well, delving into the problems that their research raised, the creativity needed not to reveal the topic of each study, and the methods by which participants were gathered and rewarded. “I’ve learned to ask the same question in three different ways,” said Jamie when discussing the surveys and questionnaires that she compiled.
Their single-sex college campus in Staunton, Va., didn’t seem too different from GPS. When asked about attending an all-girls college, their responses about confidence, close relationships with faculty, and leadership opportunities mirrored what families say about GPS.