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We invite you to check out the most recent news items and accomplishments of our faculty, students, and department! Return to homepage.
Oh, Rats! A glimpse inside Dr. Schlinger's instructional animal behavior laboratory
May 2013: The twenty-eight graduate students enrolled in Dr. Henry Schlinger’s PSY 500, Seminar in Learning and Behavior, have the unique opportunity to put into practice the principles of learning acquired in the classroom...by working with rats. Yes, rats.
The students learn to carry out magazine training, behavior shaping, behavior chaining, and discrimination training. And they also learn to place behavior under several different schedules of reinforcement. In addition, they learn how to handle and care for a laboratory animal and how to program the experimental chamber in preparation for future research and/or admittance to doctoral programs in experimental behavioral analysis or behavioral neuroscience.
These skills with laboratory rats are essential for ABA students planning to work in applied settings with humans (e.g., individuals diagnosed with autism and related disabilities) or nonhumans (in animal training programs or venues like local zoos or Sea World). For those students planning to pursue doctoral work doing basic research with nonhumans either in psychology, behavioral pharmacology, or neuroscience, the lab provides them with the basics of animal care and handling as well as the principles and procedures of operant conditioning that are used in many pharmacological and neuroscience preparations.
Dr. Schlinger serves as the director for the Master of Science in Psychology, Applied Behavior Analysis option. Undergraduate students interested in Dr. Schlinger's research can enroll in his undergraduate-level courses, PSY 421 (Psychology of Learning and Behavior) and PSY 428 (Introduction to Analysis of Behavior).
Dr. Pamela Regan featured in latest edition of Cal State L.A. TODAY Magazine
May 2013: In the article, Dr. Pamela Regan discusses her most current undertaking, writing an online blog for Psychology Today magazine. Read the article here and then check out her blog here!
The Graduate Student Recognition Reception 2013
May 7, 2013: The Office of Graduate Studies and Research presented its annual recoginition reception to honor those graduate students who have received special awards, fellowships, authorered publications, or presented their research at professional conferences. Psychology faculty were on hand to celebrate with our student honorees. The following psychology students were among those recognized for their achievements:
Graduate Equity Fellowship: Jennifer Estassi, Apply Ly, Roza Manasyan, Maisam Othman, Sibella Salazar, Christine Schmelzle, Javier Sotomayor-Galindo, Erika Tututi
International Graduate Student Tuition Waiver: Alexandra Indaco
Presenation at Professional Conferences: Rogelio Carrillo, Ana Fonseca, Marissa Garay, Tyler Hatchel, Phoebe Lee, Apple Ly, Magie Maekawa, Cynthia Martinez, Sibella Salazar, Winnie Shi, Tony Ye, Erika Zambrano-Morales
CSULA Graduate Delegate for the CSU Research Competition: Tony Ye
pictured below: Tony Ye, Michael Burgwin, Dr. Alicia Izquierdo, Dr. Kaveri Subrahmanyam, Guadalupe Gutierrez, Dr. Munyi Shea, Winnie Shi, Dr. Senqi Hu, Erika Zambrano-Morales, Minas Michikyan, Rogelio Carrillo, Dr. Eric Kohatsu and several of his lab students...
Honors Convocation 2013
On April 26, 2013, Cal State L.A. held its annual Honors Convocation to celebrate the exceptional academic accomplishements of its students. Psychology faculty and staff were on hand to pass out certificates and congratulate our many honorees! Below is a list of psychology students who received awards during the 2012 academic year.
Freshman Honors at Entrance. Psychology students who receive Honors at Entrance are first-time freshmen who entered Cal State L.A. with a minimum 3.5 grade point average on their high school records:
| Baeza, Evelyn Campos, Oscar Harvey Chan, Irma Natalia Chavarria-Pineda, Jasmin Contreras, Vanessa Nicole Crispino, Daniel Delgado, Rocio Galan, Miriam Veronica Irianto, Effieana N |
Kim, Won Mercado, Marissa Joanne Merino, Nayeli Guadalupe Newman, Aaliyah Marie Ocampo, Alexandra Olsesski, Gabby Ortiz, Jasmin Ortiz, Josselin Ramos, Priscilla Stacy |
Rivas, Karely Rodriquez, Jeannette Rosasm Vanessa Janet Tec, Mayra Lizzete Vaca-Flores, Gabriela Vanegas, Karina Vargas, Simon |
Dean's List. Psychology undergraduates who earn a grade point average of 3.4 or higher in 12 or more units of graded course work in one quarter and who rank in the upper five percent of students in academic achievement in their college are named to the Dean’s List.
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Special Recognition in Graduate Studies. Psychology students receiving Special Recognition in Graduate Studies are those who have demonstrated superior scholastic achievement through 2012 by maintaining a grade point average of 3.8 or higher in 80% or more in their required program:
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Michael W. Roffe Psychology Scholarship: Ramon, Douglas David
Charles Wang Scholarship: Ishikawa, Haruko Jeannie
William Hobson and Evelyn Troup Scholarship Fund:
| Alsina, Maria Betania Anderson, Jared Kirkman Argutinsky, Anna Katrina Babakhanian, Vagik Baghasarian, Maria Baker , Katie M. Barreto, Halima DeLosAngeles Bickelman, Allison Rose Carrasco, Janet Castaneda, Marlene Chang, Andrew Colombo, Richard Andrew Craven, Hillary E Dotson, Brenna Marie Estassi, Jennifer Marie Fletes, Ruby Elsie Giddens, April Lynn Guardado, Deisy Marisela |
Gutierrez, Guadalupe Indaco, Alexandra Kostandyan, Liana Kupalyan, Meriam Bella Lee, Vivian Liu, Ying Ly, Apple Nhuan Manasyan, Roza McGee, Oriana Meena, Dalton Tony Moradian, Melania Nielson, Aubrey Oceguera, Belen Ochoa, Wendy Parrales, Adriana Rita Quan, Matthew K. Ranson, Jeffery Reeves, Aaron Alexander |
Reule, Jonathan Edward Andrew Romero, Phillip Albert Rosen, Roxanna Luisa Ryan, Justina louise Salazar, Sibella Bernadette Schmelzle, Christine Nicole Shi, Winnie Sotomayor-Galindo, Javier Stolyarova, Alexandra Tavera, Giovanna Trang, Kathy Tututi, Erika Wang, Sherry W. Ye, Tony Zeng, Vivian Zepeda, Yarazeth |
Psi Chi Honor Society. The Cal State L.A. chapter of the Psi Chi Honor Society initiated the following new members in 2012:
| Alexandia, Mania Anguiano, Carlos Angulo, Jessica Antuna, Claudette Bill, Shelley Brown, David Capistran, Denise Chavez, Dora Clause, Haley Constantino, Anthony Corcoran, Lindsay Cortez, Crystal Cruz, Cynthia Davidian, Ellen De Serrano, Leslie Durantes, Brenda Enamorado, Alexa Estrado, Jorge Frost, Emily Garcia, Jaime Garcia, Yesenia Gaucin, Idania |
Gonzalez, Amy Guzman, Rosa Hatchell, Tyler Hernandez, Cristal Hua, Linda Julie-Guiot, Madhavi Karagiozova, Anna Kneefel, Adrianna Kostandyan, Liana Lange, Bianne Lee, Vivian Limon, Joshua Manamshian, Tanya Manzo, Elizabeth McDanial, Gloria McGee, Oriana Munoz, Yunuen Nguyen, Anh Oceguera, Belen Ochoa, Wendy Parra, Vanessa Perez, Raul |
Pineda, Elba Ponce, Martin Rayas, Erika Regalado, Gabriel Rivas, Mariela Rodriquez, Brianna Rodriquez, Ivette Romillo, Claire Romo-Silva, Veronica Rubio, Araceli Salinas, Bryant Sanchez, Elizabeth Santhoff, Sasha Shi, Winnie Torres, Jeanetter Tucker, Ty Uscanga, Martha Valley, Venna Vazquez, Sandra Velasco, Johanna Veliz, Amber |
Rebecca Wang, psychology undergraduate student, receives the Golden Eagle Award of Excellence
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March 2013: The Golden Eagle Awards of Excellence recognize the outstanding achievements of CSULA students who have made important contributions to the campus and to their communities. Rebecca Wang, an undergraduate senior who will be completing her double major in Psychology and Political Science this spring, was one of the recipients of this year's awards. Recipients were honored at a reception held on Wednesday, March 6 that included family, friends, and campus dignitaries.
In addition to pursuing a double major and placing on the Dean’s Honor List for three consecutive years, Rebecca is also a member of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and Golden Key International Honour Society. She is also a gold leader for Camp Golden Eagle, a mentoring program for first year freshmen. This year, she has also served as a mentor for CSULA’s 2nd Annual Pride Mentorship Project where LGBTQ college students spend a day getting to know their high school counterparts and discussing issues in the community. Rebecca has worked previously as a student assistant in the psychology department office and is currently working as a customer service assistant at the Cross Cultural Centers. Both of these jobs have allowed her to interact with the students at CSULA, helping to answer questions, address concerns, and connect them to programs on campus. |
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| As a gold leader mentor, Rebecca has had the opportunity to mentor first time freshmen, attend events with them, and help them adjust to CSULA. As a member of Golden Key, an honor society heavily focused on service, she has been able to volunteer for various causes in the surrounding community, including hosting a book fair, doing crafts with children, doing spring cleaning for Anna Bing Arnold Child Care Center, planting trees, organizing and cleaning at the Downtown Women’s shelter, walking dogs at Furbaby animal rescue, building homes for low income families with Habitat for Humanity, feeding the homeless on Thanksgiving as part of the annual Gobble Gobble Give Day, feeding the homeless at the midnight mission, volunteering with Padres Contra El Cancer at a picnic for children with cancer, volunteering for fundraising efforts at Bruin Walk, Alzheimer’s Walk, Light The Night, and Ronald MacDonald’s House Walk For Kids, wrapping donated Christmas gifts for charity with Friends and Helpers, and helping to organize a trip to visit the USS Iowa for disabled veterans. Finally, taking part in Pride Mentorship really opened Rebecca’s eyes to the struggles of queer youth in the community at large. |
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| Rebecca’s ultimate goal is to go to law school, specialize in environmental law, and work for either a government agency or a non-profit organization. Her primary interest lies in protecting natural resources from corporate exploitation and pollution. | ||
The 21st Annual Cal State L.A. Symposium on Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities (RSCA) took place on Friday, February 22, 2013. The symposium provided several of the department’s undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to showcase their research and scholarly work via oral or poster presentations. The event gave judges, guests, and fellow participants a glimpse of the gifted and stimulating work that is being done by our psychology students under the invaluable guidance of our faculty mentors.
The department wishes to congratulate all psychology students who participated and a special thanks to faculty mentors who helped to make this year’s symposium a wonderful success. Below is a list of our student presenters. Winners (to be announced at a later date) go on to represent Cal State LA in a CSU-statewide competition to be held at Cal Poly Pomona on May 10 and 11, 2013.
Oral Presentations (University Student Union)
| Student name(s) | Degree program | Presentation title | Faculty mentor |
| Brenna Dotson | MS Forensic Psychology | The Effects of Gang Affiliation on Verdict Choice | Mitchell Eisen |
| Marissa Garay and Halima Barreto | BA/MS Forensic Psychology | Social Anxiety and Presentation of the False Self on Facebook | Kaveri Subrahmanyam and Minas Michikyan |
| Tyler Hatchel and Andrew Frane | BA Psychology | Me, Myself, and My Facebook: Narcissism and Self-presentation on Facebook | Kaveri Subrahmanyam and Minas Michikyan |
| Rachel Mendez | BA Psychology | Haunted by the Past, Drowning out the Present: Parental Conflict and Substance Use in Intimate Partner Violence | Gaithri Fernando |
| Belen Oceguera | BA Psychology | Barriers to Recovery from Multiple Traumas: The Impact of Culture and Minority Status | Gaithri Fernando |
| Marilyn Orozco and Maisam Othman | MS Forensic Psychology | “We got the guy”: How overhearing suggestive information can lead to false identifications | Mitchell Eisen |
| Sibella Salazar | MA Psychology | American Indian Ethnic Identity | Jessica Dennis |
| Tony Ye | MA Psychology | Cognitive Inflexibility After Adolescent Methamphetamine Exposure | Alicia Izquierdo |
| Rogelio Carrillo | MA Psychology | Reading Comprehension as a Function of Bilingualism | Kaveri Subrahmanyam and Minas Michikyan |
| Wendy Ochoa | BA Psychology | Language Mixing Among Preschool Dual Language Learners | Kaveri Subrahmanyam |
Poster Presentations (Golden Eagle Ballroom)
| Student name(s) | Degree program | Presentation title | Faculty mentor |
| Ana Fonseca, Phoebe Lee, Sibella Salazar, and Liana Kostandyan | BA/MA Psychology | Maintenance of Latino Culture among Latino Young Adults and Parents | Jessica Dennis |
| Sherry Wang and Rogelio Gonzalez | BA Psychology | College Stress and Psychological Adjustment among Ethnically Diverse Students: an Examination of Spirituality as a Moderator | Munyi Shea |
| Guadalupe Gutierrez, Lilibeth Lira, Vivian Lee, and Ruby Fletes | BA Psychology | Family Support: A Key to Biculturalism | Jessica Dennis |
| Guadalupe Gutierrez and Sandy Wang | BA/MA Psychology | Parenting Behavior and School-Aged Bullying Experience: Association with Self-Esteem in Young Adults | Munyi Shea and Robert Kennison |
| Cristal Hernandez Santiago | BA Psychology | Language Change in Mexican-American Dual Language Learners: Examining Spanish Errors | Kaveri Subrahmanyam |
| Veronica Romo-Silva and Ayana Younge | BA/MA Psychology | Perceptions of Relationship Conflict: Links with Parental Marital Conflict and Divorce | Heidi Riggio |
| Bryant Salinas | BA Psychology | The Effect of Word Valence and Environmental Sound on Working Memory | Theodore Bell and Pamela Harman |
| Winnie Shi and Yu Zhang | MA/BA Psychology | Parents and Teachers’ Perspectives on Asian and Latino Immigrant Children’s School Bullying Experience | Munyi Shea |
Dr. Kaveri Subrahmanyam participated in a panel, "Will Gaming Change the Way We Learn," that took place at the MOCA in Downtown LA...
Dec. 2012: Dr. Kaveri Subrahmanyam's talk, "Will Gaming Change the Way We Learn," took place in Downtown LA's MOCA Grand Avenue. Speaking to a jam-packed audience, the panel of experts discussed the impact of video games on learning. Check out the video below. To read more about the event, click here: "Teachers of Yesteryear, Bow To the Awesomeness of Minecraft"
Dr. Ramani Durvasula receives the 2012-2013 Outstanding Professor Award
Sept. 2012, from CSULA News Release: At Cal State L.A., the annual Outstanding Professor Awards recognize excellence in teaching and cite significant achievements in scholarly inquiry or creativity, professional activities, and service to the campus and community. Frequently referred by the media as a psychology expert and a mental health commentator, Ramani Durvasula has conducted research on the neuropsychiatric aspects of HIV, sexual risk behaviors, substance use, psychosocial factors and health, eating disorders, and health and ethnicity.
More recently, Durvasula has been exploring the role of mental health in the media, and exploring such global issues as the health issues faced by girls and women who are victims of human trafficking. She authored a book on health and wellness that will be released in 2013 and has recently started working on her second book. Additionally, her work and expert opinion has been cited in numerous print and internet media outlets. She was featured on Bravo's THINtervention and on the Dr. Oz Show, among other TV programs. On Oct. 9, she will be co-host of My Shopping Addiction on Oxygen. Her research has been funded by the National Institute of General Medical Science and the National Institute of Mental Health. She is presently in the second year of the Health Adherence Research Project, a continuation of her longitudinal work examining major psychopathology and personality disorders on sexual health, substance use, and overall health in persons living with HIV/AIDS and those at risk for infection.
A CSULA faculty since 1999, Durvasula teaches a wide range of topics, including introductory psychology, psychopathology, research design, health psychology, clinical psychology, assessment, and substance use. One of her students commented: "She brings her real-world experiences and scientific knowledge together in her classroom. I consider myself lucky to have had her as a mentor. She will be an inspiration for the rest of my life." Another wrote: "This professor is entirely responsible for igniting my passion for research." A licensed clinical psychologist in private practice in Los Angeles, Durvasula is past chair of the American Psychological Association's (APA) Committee on Psychology and AIDS, and vice chair elect of the APA's Committee on Women and Psychology. She completed her master's degree and doctorate in clinical psychology at UCLA, and her clinical training at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute. The American Association of University Women awarded her the 2003 Emerging Scholar Award, and in that same year, she was the recipient of a Distinguished Women Award from Cal State L.A.
