Graduation pictures from December, 2018

Congratulations to the fall, 2018 graduates. We wish you the best in your future careers.

MC Whitlock, Erica Faircloth, and Brittnea Holland

Carley Turner, Lee Roland, Abigail Sholar, Tara Bauman, Samuel Elliott

Lydia Bentley, Joyce Franklin, Alexis McGarvey, Taylor Bass, Ambria Flanders, and Gary Fisk

Hannah Hendricks and Cara White

Lydia Bentley, Stantaveshia Benson, Jessica Bell, Tara Bauman, and Taylor Bass

Psy/Soc Club meeting on November 12

The Psychology/Sociology Club will have its last meeting of the semester on Monday, November 12 at 5:00 p.m. in Room 245.  We’ll be discussing stress management and also electing some new officers for next semester.  Everyone is welcome to come.

Psy/Soc Club Events for October 17 and 31

The Psychology/Sociology Club will meet on Wednesday, October 17 at 5:00 p.m. in Room 245.  We’ll either be discussing psychotherapy as represented in the Netflix series Maniac or watching a scary movie.  Everyone is welcome to come.

Also, on Wednesday, October 31, the Club is working with the Psi Chi chapter and Career Services Office to host a small career fair specifically intended for social sciences majors (although everyone is welcome to come to that too).  This career fair will be from 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. in the Intramural Gym in the SSC.  We’re attempting to have representation from employers that our majors are likely to be interested in (e.g., Carl Vinson VA Hospital, Middle Flint Behavioral Healthcare, DFCS) as well as graduate programs (e.g., Marriage and Family Therapy, Social Work, Criminology).  Please ask your students to mark this event on their calendars.  We also need volunteers to help with registration, setup, and cleanup.

Class meetings relocated for October 15

There is a pine tree on the east side of our building that needs to be removed. For safety, the classes on the east side of our building have been relocated. These classes have NOT been cancelled. Please report to the following temporary locations. This is for Monday, October 15.

8:00 a.m.
SOCI 3350, Criminology (Laughlin) is relocated to Room 236.

9:30 a.m.
PSYC 1101, Intro to Psych (Worthy) is relocated to the Education Center Room 100

PSYC 3390, Cross-cultural Psychology (Orton Grissett) is relocated to Education Center Room 102

11 a.m.
UNIV 1000 (Cotter) is relocated to Room 235.

12:30 p.m.
SOCI 4420, Development of Social Theory (Comeau) is relocated to Education Center Room 102

2:00 p.m.
PSYC 4407, Theories of Learning (Worthy) is relocated to Education Center Room 102
SOCI 2293, Sociology of the Family (Whitlock) is relocated to Education Center Room 100

3:30 p.m.
PSYC 3301, Psychological Statistics is relocated to Room 235

Psych/Soc Club meeting on September 26

The Psychology/Sociology Club will meet on Wednesday, September 26, at 5:00 p.m. in Room 245.  Our guest speaker will be Asha Odums, a Psychology alumna whose career trajectory since graduating from GSW has included working for the Department of Revenue, being a motivational speaker, and opening a bakery.  Everyone is welcome to come.

Psy/Soc Club Meeting on September 12

The Psychology/Sociology Club will meet at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 12, in Room 245 of the Psychology/Sociology Building.  We'll be hosting a game night.  Everyone is welcome to come.

Psych/Soc Club Meeting on August 29

The Psychology/Sociology Club will have its first meeting of the year on Wednesday, August 29 at 5:00 p.m. in Room 245.  This is primarily an organizational meeting to plan activities for the year.  All students are welcome to come regardless of major, GPA, or class.

Elliott Cole Varnum, 1996 - 2018

Elliott Cole Varnum, a psychology major, passed away on June 2. We will miss his upbeat and easy-going personality. He was particular intrigued by associations between colors and emotions. The photo below shows his undergraduate student research poster presentation on the Stroop task. Information about the funeral service is available at the Greg Hancock Funeral Chapel web site. 

Spring, 2018 graduation

The Psychology/Sociology Department congratulates the Spring, 2018 graduates! We wish you good luck.

Psychology alumna Babs Hall - 40 under 40 recipient

The GSW Department of Psychology and Sociology is proud to announce that 2003 alumna Babs Hall has been named one of Georgia Trend magazine's "40 Under 40" noteworthy citizens. Ms. Hall works for Aspire Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Services in Albany and is involved in numerous community organizations and activities, including facilitating support groups for people who have lost loved ones to suicide, co-chairing the Southwest Georgia Suicide Prevention Coalition, serving on the State Coalition of Advocates for Georgia's Elderly, and serving on the board of directors for Leadership Albany, the Georgia Gerontological Society, and the Albany chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. You can read more about Ms. Hall's inspirational story in the Winter 2017 issue of Albany Living magazine.

Two Faculty Members Receive Awards

Two faculty members of the Psychology/Sociology Department were recognized for outstanding achievements during the Spring, 2018 Honors Ceremony. Ellen Cotter received the Excellence in Advising Award.  Judy Orton Grissett received the Excellence and Commitment to Teaching Award.

Psy/Soc Club Meeting on April 25 with Katie the therapy dog

The Psychology/Sociology Club will have its last meeting of the school year on Wednesday, April 25, at 5:00 p.m. in Room 245.  Ms. Laura Bauer and her therapy dog Katie will be visiting us, and we’ll learn about what goes into training therapy dogs as well as what kinds of things therapy dogs do.  Everyone is welcome to come.

Student poster presentations for Spring, 2018

Three psychology majors presented posters at the undergraduate research day event. Carley Turner and Cole Varnum presented their research on unconscious perception (faculty sponsor: Gary Fisk). Sholeh Rezaee presented a poster on distinguishing chia seeds from other seeds (faculty sponsor: Stephanie Harvey, Biology). We are proud of our their research efforts.

Carley Turner

Cole Varnum

Sholeh Rezaee

Psy/Soc Club meeting on April 11 about Careers

The Psychology/Sociology Club will meet Wednesday, April 11, at 5:00 p.m. in Room 245. We’ll be talking about the types of career fields that are available for people with bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Sociology. All GSW students are welcome to come.

Psychology/Sociology Club meeting on March 21

The Psychology/Sociology Club will meet on Wednesday, March 21 at 5:00 p.m. in Room 245. We'll be talking about GRE preparation. This information is aimed primarily at juniors and seniors who are actively considering graduate school, but everyone is welcome to come.

The Psychology/Sociology Department Receives ALG Grants

Three members of the Psychology/Sociology Department recently received small grants from the Affordable Learning Georgia program. The three grants of $2,000 will help to lower the cost of textbooks and supplies for GSW students. Judy Orton Grissett, Ellen Cotter, and Gary Fisk will use this funding to develop free resources for the Experimental Psychology, Human Growth and Development, and Psychological Statistics classes, respectively.

Psy/Soc Club meeting on internships for February 21

The Psychology/Sociology Club will meet on Wednesday, February 21, at 5:00 p.m. in Room 245.  We’ll be discussing various aspects of the internship experience, including the registration process, possible internship sites, and the typical duties and course requirements of internship students.  As always, anyone’s welcome to come, but students considering internships in Summer or Fall 2018 are especially strongly encouraged to do so.

Psy/Soc Club meeting on February 7

The Psychology/Sociology Club will meet on Wednesday, February 7, at 5:00 p.m. in Room 245.  We'll be playing board games, some of which may have loose connections to psychology.  Everyone is welcome to come.

Fisk presentation at Furlow Charter School

Gary Fisk gave a presentation about the psychology of emotions to the 10th grade class at Furlow Charter School. The students will use this information to write scary stories.

Difference thresholds in Sensation and Perception

The Sensation & Perception students learned about difference thresholds by judging two similar weights.