This year, 4 students presented research at WPUPC hosted by Washington & Jefferson College.
The links below (will be) are to the pdf versions of the poster handouts. You will need a pdf viewer (e.g., Adobe Acrobat) in order
to view these files.
Andrew Russell: The idea that a day of the week can be a color
is absurd to some but to others this is a natural thought. About 13 percent of the population experiences cross-sensory
events known as Synesthesia (when different senses "cross wires" with each other). Synesthetes have reported musical notes
that taste like pickles; chicken that tastes round; and so on. Such reports have often been attributed to insanity or
delusions. Current research, however, has allowed scientists to take synesthetes' claims seriously. The present study
assessed college students' color-preferences for days of the week. The extent that synesthesia may be present in such a
population should be revealed in consistent color-preferences. Julie Wyland, Rhiannon Carey, & Melissa Rennie: Within seven
seconds of first meeting someone we form an opinion of them. Such "judgment calls" do not appear to be idiosyncratic as
research has shown agreement among individuals in describing others' personalities. The present study examined
judgment-accuracy. Volunteers brought opposite-sex friends or lovers. Participants were asked to complete the Personal
Questions Inventory (PQI). Next, they completed the PQI again as they believed their partner had completed it. Data from
68 couples were examined with two issues in mind: 1) Does familiarity predict accuracy, and 2) does accuracy vary as a
function of whether people hold that "opposites attract" or that "birds of a feather flock
together."