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Page 9
Campus Review
April 1, 2013
Fifteen Presentations at Georgia Psychological Society Meeting
Clayton State Psychological Department Continues to Excel
Clayton State Students, Faculty Featured at
Southeastern Psychological Association Conference
There is no better measure of the manifest
success of the Clayton State University
Psychology Department than the pro-
gramming
at
the
Southeastern
Psychological Association (SEPA)
Conference at the Omni CNN Center.
The Psychology Department, which also
has the second-largest number of majors
at the University (567), is headed by Dr.
Donna McCarty, who attended the SEPA
meeting along with no fewer than 10 rep-
resentatives of Clayton State -- five stu-
dents and five faculty -- making presenta-
tions; or, if you will, making their dreams
real.
In addition to McCarty, faculty members
Dr. Deborah Deckner, Dr. Brian Goldman,
Dr. Pinar Gurkas, and Dr. Sam Maddox
presented at the SEPA Conference.
However, should you ask the aforemen-
tioned faculty members about the high-
light of the conference, odds are they’ll
point to the participation of the five stu-
dent presenters.
Undergraduates Tavares Harris (Dawson,
Ga.) and Zenia O’Neil (McDonough, Ga.)
made a poster presentation at the CEPO-
Psi Chi Undergraduate Poster Session of
the SEPA. According the Gurkas, their
faculty advisor, the title of their presenta-
tion was: “Through the Eyes of Head Start
Parents: Their Self-Efficacy Beliefs and
Executive Function of Their Kids.”
O’Neil is the president and Tavares is the
vice president of the Clayton State chapter
of Psi Chi, the International Honor
Society in Psychology.
Three graduate students also presented,
inclduing Kimberly Mapel (Peachtree
City, Ga.) on “Gender Differences in Self-
Esteem? It Depends on How Authentic
You Are.”
“Drs. Goldman, Gurkas and Maddox are
all co-authors on her talk and have been
central in mentoring her,” notes Deckner.
“I would love to draw attention to her and
celebrate her excellent scholarship.”
Kecia Ellick and Nick Langley are both
second year students in the Applied
Developmental Psychology program, and
with the guidance and assistance of
Deckner, they also presented their research
at the 59th Annual Meeting of SEPA.
“Kecia and Nick have really exemplified
the values of our program by immersing
themselves in the science of child devel-
opment and have already started to con-
The professional expertise of the Clayton
State University Psychology program was
on display at the Eighth Annual Meeting
of the Georgia Psychological Society
(GPS). Not only did Clayton State host
the day-long affair on Saturday, Mar. 30,
but no fewer than 15 of the conference’s
presentations were made by a total of 22
Clayton State psychology faculty and stu-
dents.
Meeting co-chair Dr. Deborah Deckner,
Clayton State associate professor of psy-
chology, notes that both the Clayton State
faculty and staff are well-represented at
the meeting, presenting on a wide variety
of topics, including; the role of language
in life transitions among second genera-
tion Asian-Americans, how multicultural
education contributes to positive ethnic
identity, language proficiency and school
readiness in children living in poverty, the
impact of conformity, deconstructing stu-
dent engagement, resiliency in young
moms, and African-American elementary
school students perceptions of school.
SEPA, cont’d, p. 14
Psychology Presentations, cont’d, p.14