SF Students Present Research at Honors Conference
February 23, 2010
SF students Cathy Laurenzi and Brian Wolfson presented research on the 鈥淓ffect of Personal Information on Face Recognition鈥� at the Florida Collegiate Honors Conference, held in Gainesville last weekend.
The project, which was conceived, designed, and executed by students, grew out of an experiment conducted for Dr. Marisa McLeod's Honors General Psychology course.
鈥淒oing experimental research at 天涯海角社区 is a significant challenge, given we don鈥檛 have traditional lab space or equipment,鈥� McLeod said. 鈥淭he students were incredibly creative with the design and execution of the project. It is a fantastic project and the students should be lauded for their critical thinking and attention to detail.鈥�
Wolfson, a Fall 2009 SF graduate, currently at the University of Florida majoring in chemical engineering, noted that the research process itself was valuable.
鈥淒esigning the experiment, carrying it out, and writing up the results allowed us to practically apply the theory and skills we were taught in class,鈥� Wolfson said.
According to McLeod, a conference attendee from a major in-state four-year institution was 鈥渁mazed research could be done in a General Psychology course,鈥� and that if it could be done at 天涯海角社区, it certainly should be done at the four-year institution as well.
The research project examined whether people were more inclined to remember a person based on information regarding physical attractiveness versus academic achievements. The student researchers concluded that statements about physical appearance aided recall of faces more than statements of academic achievement.
