Department News – Page 115 – GWU Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences

Undergrad. Psych. Major – Amber Prince – Discusses DACA Policy

rwatkinsDecember 24, 2017July 26, 2018Leave a comment

One of our undergrad majors has just posted an important commentary on DACA after spending the semester as an intern at SPSSI (Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, Division 9, APA). See below:

From SPSSI's Blog: SPSSI Intern Amber Prince Discusses The Dream Act of 2017
To mark the culmination of a semester spent interning at SPSSI, George Washington University undergraduate student Amber Prince blogged about the need to address the precarious situation of Dreamers, especially as the Obama Administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy sunsets.

Psychology and our Daily Lives (Prof Mitroff’s innovative freshman seminar)

rwatkinsNovember 16, 2017July 26, 2018Leave a comment

From airport security to highway safety, cognitive psychology can be applied to real-world situations every day, as freshmen in the Science in the District Dean’s Seminar discovered.

Like anyone who has boarded a plane, the students in Associate Professor of Psychology Stephen Mitroff’s freshman seminar Science in the District were all too familiar with the headaches and hassles of airport security. They knew about long lines at checkpoints as passengers removed their shoes and security officers searched through carry-on bags. And more than a few students admitted they had rolled their eyes and wondered if the security employees couldn’t do their jobs a little bit better.

But that was before Mitroff’s class gave them a peek behind the curtain—and they saw airport chaos from a cognitive psychology point of view. During a field trip to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) headquarters at Reagan National Airport, the students trained a watchful eye on the multitude of factors that come into play when thousands of passengers rush through security gates—from the angle and detail of computer monitors to whether an officer got enough sleep the night before. They looked for clues to impaired visual perception. Were the tables too cramped? The alcoves too noisy? Were there too many display screens? Too few?

Read full story: https://columbian.gwu.edu/psychology-and-our-daily-lives

Alumni Spotlight – Aaron Moffett (BA ’99)

rwatkinsNovember 16, 2017January 20, 2018Leave a comment

As Team USA head coach at the Invictus Games, Aaron Moffett, BA ’99, combines his psychology training and his sports passion to help veterans overcome physical and emotional wounds.

At the Toronto opening ceremonies of the 2017 Invictus Games, with dignitaries like Britain's Prince Harry and former president Barack Obama looking on, USA Head Coach and Columbian College alumnus Aaron Moffett, BA ’99, took a moment to survey his team of athletes. They included a world record-holding Navy swimmer who lost both his eyes when he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan; a one-armed archer whose Air Force squad was ambushed by a terrorist cell in Indonesia; a wheelchair cyclist who, after years of serving as linguist for the Air Force, developed debilitating multiple sclerosis; and a veteran servicewoman who found a measure of peace in the pool after struggling with the effects of a sexual assault.

“These wounded warriors are overwhelmingly resilient, incredible people who are dedicated to their country,” Moffett said. “I am privileged to be even a small part of their recovery.”

Read the full story: https://columbian.gwu.edu/coaching-wounded-warriors-across-finish-line