Effects of Adult’s Clothing on Children’s Ratings of Likability -- Jeanetta Groenendyk & Karyn Zuidhof
Social status symbols, such as cars, cell phones, and jewelry, aid in forming social impressions about others; when objects are not present, individuals look at clothing.  Adults view others in formal clothing more positively than those in casual clothing; college students see adults dressed in formal clothing as less caring and less likable (Morris, Gorham, Cohen, & Huffman, 1996).  We explored how young children’s perceptions of adults were affected by casual and formal clothing, predicting that they would rate the casually-dressed men as more likeable.  Ninety-two children answered questions about pictures of men in either casual or formal attire.  Results indicated children can discriminate between men based upon clothing, favoring casual clothing. This study is beneficial for men who work with children, including fathers, teachers, pediatricians and counselors.

Effect of Male Presence on Food Consumption in College Females -- Jaime Altena & Kayla Dykstra
Eating behaviors are influenced by a lot of factors.  Past research indicates that social factors influence food consumption.  This study looks at the influence of gender on eating behaviors.  We hypothesized that females will eat less when males are present in a group setting.  This study included 47 female participants.  Groups with different proportions of males and females completed a task with food present.  Experimenters counted the amount of food consumed by each female.  Results showed that having males present significantly affected how much food was consumed by females.  Future research should examine the differences between healthy and non-healthy food and different ethnicities. 

Effect of Caffeine on Working Memory in Regular and Irregular Caffeine Consumers -- Samuel Zylstra & Jeremiah Kats
Working memory has been shown to have a limit of about 7 items, but this can vary based on situational factors. One factor that may influence working memory is caffeine intake. We hypothesized that irregular caffeine consumers would have greater working memory capacity than regular caffeine users after consuming caffeine. We also hypothesized that there will be no change in working memory capacity in either group after not being given caffeine. This study used 51 undergraduate students who either did or did not consume caffeine before doing a computerized working memory task. However, no significant results were found. Our findings were comparable to other studies on caffeine and working memory, which have found conflicting data.

Effect of Paper Color on Mood Change and Test Performance  -- Georgina Aquino & Stephanie Van Voorst
Performance is evaluated in different settings. Knowledge tests are used to check for performance, especially in education. Research has looked at color and its effects on mood showing some colors create a calming effect on people. This study focuses on the relationship between change in mood to color and its effect on test performance. We predicted participants given a bright colored test would have a negative mood and a lower test score whereas those given a pastel colored test would have a positive mood and a higher test score. Findings showed brightness of color affected mood but had no significant effect on knowledge test performance. Future research on how color affects test performance could go in many directions.

Effects of College Experience on Reading Rate and Comprehension -- Paulina Aquino & Beverly Leusink
Previous research has shown that reading experience improves our vocabulary and our ability to encode information for later retrieval (Braze, Tabor, Shankweiler, & Mencl, 2007).  Sixty-six undergraduates participated in a reading comprehension test after reading either a long or a short passage.  Their comprehension test scores were compiled according to class standing and the essay length they were exposed to (either short or long). The results were not statistically significant.  The hypothesis that upperclassmen would obtain a higher score on the long reading comprehension test compared to freshmen who would obtain a higher score in the short passage reading comprehension test was not supported.

 

Experimental Psychology home page

Research Project Assignment Page