USD Student Researchers Impress at APCAM and Psychonomics Society Conference
Four USD senior students recently showcased their research at the Psychonomics Society conference and the affiliate Auditory Perception, Cognition, and Action Meeting (APCAM), held in New York City. The students enjoyed sharing their research and networking with colleagues, peers and alumni.
“It was so rewarding getting to present something I’ve helped work on," psychology major, Lauren O'Donnell, said. O'Donnell and behavior neuroscience major, Isabella Ramirez, presented their joint project, titled "Melodies Are Not a Useful Mnemonic Cue for Immediate Word Recall Regardless of Familiarity." Their research investigated participants' memory for word lists paired with sung versus spoken text conditions, finding that familiar melodies were initially distracting but could aid memory recall with repeated exposures. Ramirez shared her gratitude for the support of “OUR [Office of Undergraduate Research], the McNair travel grant and my professor, Dr. Laura Getz,” which allowed her the opportunity to travel to the two conferences.
Similarly, psychology major, Gabriella Thomas, appreciated the educational benefits of attending the conferences. "This incredible opportunity allowed me to present my research to experts in the field and learn more about the topics I’ve been working with," Thomas said. Thomas's project, "English-Spanish Bilinguals’ Perception of Ambiguous Speech Sounds Changes Based on Task Language," explored how English-Spanish bilingual participants categorized ambiguous sounds after interacting with researchers in either English or Spanish, revealing differences in performance based on task language.
The experience also gave students confidence in their work. "Presenting my research and answering their questions made me realize that I understand my work and can confidently defend it," behavior neuroscience major, Kayla Phan, shared. Phan's project, titled "Congruency Advantage in Multisensory Processing is Task-Specific," examined how congruent audiovisual object presentations (like a picture of a dog paired with a barking sound) affect processing speed and accuracy compared to mismatch conditions (like a picture of a dog with a train whistle).
The student researchers also had the chance to reconnect with psychology alumni Alexa Andrade ’22 (BA) and Rhiannon Novelli ’22 (BA). Novelli recently completed a master's of social work from UNC Wilmington and is now a licensed social worker, while Andrade completed a master's of cognitive science in education from Columbia University and is now a Hudson Scholars Academic Counselor at Hudson County Community College.
Assistant Professor Laura Getz, PhD, praised the students for their dedication and achievements. She shared, "I love giving students in my lab their first conference experience and am always impressed with their excitement and pride in their presentations as they showcase our work to a broader audience. Working with students on research projects is definitely one of my favorite parts of my job."