Eastern Student Justin Berak of Ellington Presents Psychology Research at Poster Session

2017 Dec 4

Forty-three psychology students at Eastern Connecticut State University presented their research in a poster session on Nov. 27 at the department's annual Psychological Science Afternoon.

Justin Berak '19 of Ellington was one of the students who presented their research. Berak majors in Psychology and was mentored by Psychology Professor Madeleine Fugere during the course of their research. Berak's research project is titled "Correlations between Perceived Stress and Domains of Creativity."

Student research projects are the culimination of preparation through two Psychology Research Methods courses. In Research Methods I students learn to develop hypotheses, understand a variety of research methodologies, conduct library and database research and properly read scholarly journal articles in preparation for conducting their own research. In Research Methods II, a continuation of Research Methods I, students carry out independent undergraduate-level research projects. As a result, students gain experience in correlational and experimental research, ethics, statistical analyses and the writing of research reports. Student who complete research are then required to present their final research project in a forum that is open to the university.

"Research takes classroom experience and applies it to tangible, practical work," said Psychology Professor Carlos Escoto. "The opportunity to present research as an undergraduate opens so many doors."

Undergraduate research and creative activity at Eastern provide opportunities for students to work closely with faculty mentors on research or creative work. Projects are aligned with the mentor's expertise and designed to expose students to professional activities within a chosen field.