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I had the opportunity to speak with Lauren Powell concerning her research with Dr. Bucholz concerning the empathic differences between conservatives and liberals. 

Can you describe what your research project is about?

The most recent research Dr. Buchholz and I have presented was a study about the empathic differences between conservatives and liberals. Right now, we are looking at the use of fear appeals in politics and the levels of fear related to the 2020 U.S. presidential election. For this, we posted a survey in several different politically-leaning Facebook groups and had users fill it out. In the survey, we assessed fear and worry related to different core political issues, fears directly related to the election (ex., vote-counting issues), as well as fears related to the outcome of the election. We also included some empathy scales.

Why did you decide to do research?

To start, my brother is 7 years older than me. He is about to finish up and graduate from his Ph.D. program in school psychology. In the summer before my freshman year, my brother gave me two pieces of advice to take with me to undergrad: during your freshman year, put making friends over academics. It sounds weird, and of course, it doesn’t mean to flunk out during your first year as it’s all about balance, but make sure that you have a solid base of friends otherwise college won’t be a good time for you. The second was to DO RESEARCH! I’ve known for pretty much ever that I wanted to go on to grad school and eventually get my doctorate in Clinical Psychology and doing as much research as you can is a really, really good way to get there. Of course, maintaining a solid GPA is just as important, but having research experience is really important as well. It really helps you stand out from other applicants because at a bigger school, you might not have as many opportunities to do research with an advisor as you may be competing with graduate students (who I promise will come before an undergraduate student) for a spot in a lab. I was recently accepted into the University of Lynchburg’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling M.Ed. program, and I think that because my GPA wasn’t super high during my undergraduate years, the research really helped to bump me up to the top applicants and eventually got me a spot in their program.

How has your experience with your research advisor been?

I loved working with Dr. Buchholz for the past four years and wouldn’t change a thing. He was (and continues to be!) so helpful and understanding when it comes to research – if I had any questions about what I was supposed to be doing in our lab, in class, or just in general, he was always there to point me in the right direction. He never got mad when I came had shortcomings with my work because he always understood that some weeks I just had too much going on and not a lot of time left for our research. Dr. Buchholz and I have become friends at this point – in our meetings that we have every two weeks, a lot of the time is spent catching up and talking about what’s going on in my life and how he’s doing. COVID has really made our lab meetings interesting because we’re doing them via Zoom now, but we still make it work.

What has been your favorite or most interesting part of your research project so far?

For this project, I really enjoyed figuring out what core issues were important to both parties. It’s always fun to think about the other side and what’s important to them. I also enjoyed joining the Facebook groups and seeing what people with different opinions than my own have to say. Looking at the results of our data collection of course is always fun. Right now, I’m working on our paper and while that isn’t my favorite part it’s interesting to see how everything comes together in the end and all of the work we’ve done has produced a well-written and documented paper. We will be presenting our findings at APS’s virtual conference in May!

What would you say to current and incoming students interested in doing research?

Research in any field/major is super important – it’s important to keep researching to grow and improve the field. It’s really cool to be a part of that process. You read a lot of scientific articles/academic journals when you’re in college, and it’s neat to be able to understand what the researchers in the article you’re reading did because you have the experience. You’ll really learn to understand data analysis too, which again, makes the articles you would be reading regardless of if you’re involved in research or not a lot easier to understand. Additionally, you get the experience you need to improve your CV or your resumé. If you’re looking to continue your education at a graduate school after your time at Roanoke, a CV full of research experience is a really good tool to have to stand out from other applicants. You also become really involved and build close relationships with the faculty member(s) you work with – Dr. Buchholz is absolutely one of my favorite professors at Roanoke. I know that I can go to him for just about anything and I know he is always going to be there to help me, and that’s something I really hold close to my heart. He’s not only a professor to me but a friend as well! Another cool thing about doing research at Roanoke is that you will get the opportunity to attend conferences all around the country. I’ve been to two different conferences during my four years at Roanoke – one in Atlanta, GA my freshman year (which was really cool! Not a lot of students can say that they went and presented their research at a conference as a freshman!), and one in New Orleans, LA in February of 2020, right before COVID hit. Both were unforgettable experiences that I will always be grateful for. All in all, doing research at Roanoke really made me fall even more in love with the school and the faculty and I would recommend conducting research to every student! 

Anything else?

Applying to become a research fellow was hands down the most useful, productive, and important thing that I did at Roanoke. I remember before I started college, my brother told me that it was important to try and get involved in research especially as a psychology major with plans for graduate school. The Research Fellows program is awesome! You not only get the experience that is absolutely crucial for pursuing a masters degree or Ph.D. early, but you also get course credit and you get paid. Having the extra GPA boost each semester from the course credit I receive in return for doing research is always nice – I know that I work hard in our lab and it’s nice that my hard work and dedication to the research reflects on my institutional GPA. It’s also nice getting paid to do something I love to do!

I started working on this topic in particular because I am very passionate about doing work for social good. My simulation is one step of a research process that we hope will save lives down the road. I am enthusiastic about anything that gives me the opportunity to use my abilities for real change.

Why did you decide to do research?

I decided to do research generally because I like to challenge myself. I could always get a job doing some simple programming, but I want to push myself. In addition, I think there is a lot of benefit to the research process, and I love putting out work that no one has done before.

What has been your favorite or most interesting part of your research project so far?

My favorite part of the research is when we were first able to bring real-world fire data into our simulation. It was a real confirmation that what we were doing was possible, and it was inspiring to see the fire move in the computer in real-time.

What would you say to current and incoming students interested in doing research?

I would highly recommend any new student to do research. The skills and confidence you develop while working on a large-scale project are invaluable and will be beneficial no matter your intended career path.

I had the opportunity to speak with Stephanie Zemba concerning her research experience with Dr. Hoffman and Dr. Mehrotra on examining interfaith dating relationships.

Can you describe what your research project is about?

Our research project examined interfaith dating relationships among college students, including students’ experiences, attitudes or views, expectations, and apprehensions. Drs. Kristi Hoffman and Meeta Mehrotra were the primary investigators, and they conducted five focus groups, which fell into two categories depending on whether students had interfaith experience (personally or through family/friends). Interfaith relationships were broadly defined to include faith-no faith and interdenominational relationships as well as a relationship between two individuals from different faith traditions.

I joined this project as a Research Fellow after the data was already collected, so I was primarily involved with analysis and helping to write up the results. Our article, called “Students’ Attitudes Towards Interfaith Relationships: The Impact of Parents, Religiosity, and Christian Privilege,” will be published in the Journal of College and Character this month. It discusses three main themes that arose from an analysis of the focus group data: the continued relevance of parents’ opinions about dating partners, the importance of religiosity in a religiously mixed relationship, and the role of Christian privilege in shaping attitudes towards potential dating partners who do not follow a Christian faith tradition.

What made you decide to pursue your topic?

I was interested in joining Drs. Hoffman and Mehrotra’s research team because my parents are in an interdenominational marriage. Several difficulties arose from these relatively minor religious differences in their relationship, most notably the negative reactions of my dad’s side of the family. Listening to my parents discuss their experiences sparked my interest in learning more about how religion shapes partner choice, relationships, and family life.

Why did you decide to do research?

My career goal is to become a professor of sociology and gaining research experience is very helpful as a prelude to a Ph.D. program. In addition to the practical benefits of learning the basics of research as an undergraduate, I enjoy the process of discovery that comes along with conducting a research project. Sociologists examine the social world, and I think that the best way to understand the multiple facets of a topic or issue is to ask people about it directly!

How has your experience with your research advisor been?

Drs. Hoffman and Mehrotra have both been wonderful advisors and mentors! I have enjoyed collaborating with them on several research projects, which has given me experience in all stages of the research process, from the design/planning phase to writing up results. Like all great mentors, they always see the potential in me and provide me with encouragement and support. Many of the opportunities that they encouraged me to apply for have really helped me develop as a person and as a scholar, including conference presentations, RC’s Summer Scholars, and the American Sociological Association’s Honors Program.

What has been your favorite or most interesting part of your research project so far?

My favorite part of this research project was the critical analysis we did when developing the Christian privilege theme. This was one of the major contributions of our paper, as few researchers examining interfaith relationships in the U.S. have considered the structural dominance of Christianity and how power inequalities between religious groups can influence openness towards interfaith relationships. In this section, we also discuss the need to encourage the development of religious literacy among college students, and the steps that higher education institutions can take to broaden students’ understanding of diverse religious groups.

What would you say to current and incoming students interested in doing research?

The first step to doing research is simply asking a professor about their interests and any research projects they are involved in or considering! While this may seem intimidating, it can lead to you becoming involved with a professor’s research project or developing an independent study with them. There are a lot of ways to do research, including as a volunteer, for course credit, or for pay. For current students, I would stress that it’s never too late to become involved in research!

I had the opportunity to speak with Ryan Denholm concerning his experience participating in an independent study with Dr. Bañuelos Montes which focused on actions committed by the Guatemalan military during the Cold War.

Can you describe what your research project is about?

My research project is about atrocities committed by the Guatemalan military during the latter part of the Cold War. I set out to use testimonial literature (that told through the eyes of individual witnesses) in order to document and analyze the nature of the human rights abuses committed. Additionally, I analyzed the relation of these crimes to the broader geopolitical landscape at the time, which is why I entitled my research “El costo humano de geopolítica” (the human cost of geopolitics). Grave human rights abuses were committed with assistance from U.S. tax dollars, under the pretext of “fighting communism.” 

I read and wrote about two works of testimonial literature: “Death of a Guatemalan Village” by Victor Montejo and “After the Bombs” by Arturo Arias. The former is a work of nonfiction written by a schoolteacher in the indigenous village of Tzalalá who witnessed the military execute civilians. The latter is fiction written through the eyes of an imagined boy, named Máximo, describing the Guatemala that he would have grown up in, marred by violence and destruction. Especially damning is the way that Arias follows Máximo’s growth and development; whereas in the United States many of us take for granted life milestones like falling in love for the first time, in Máximo’s case his first date is interrupted by military men violating his girlfriend. While again, this is a work of fiction, many of these types of crimes (and much worse) occurred within the context of Cold War geopolitics. My completed research becomes, in essence, a rebuke of U.S. Cold War foreign policy in Guatemala for the way in which it aided and abetted some of the 20th century’s most horrific atrocities.

What made you decide to pursue your topic?

My freshman year at Roanoke, I took a Latin American history course taught by Dr. Wallace Fuentes. In that class, for the first time, I began to gain a more clear picture of the region’s history and its relation to broader geopolitical discussions. Prior to college, as a middle and high school student in public Virginia schools, I was  often taught broad oversimplifications about the Cold War, like that the United States won without anyone dying. Dr. Wallace Fuentes’ course sparked in me a desire to more fully understand the politics of the region and the way that Washington’s power has shaped its development. 

As a Spanish minor, my discussions with Dr. Bañuelos Montes often involved the politics and history of Latin America, as well. Him and I both share an interest to academically explore human rights abuses that were committed in Latin America during the Cold War. Guatemala is the perfect case study of this. 

Why did you decide to do research?

I decided to do research in order to pursue a topic of academic interest more fully, and to work one on one with a faculty member. This independent study with Dr. Bañuelos was a great opportunity to do that. 

How has your experience with your research advisor been?

It has been a pleasure to work with a research advisor as engaged and as knowledgeable in his field as Dr. Bañuelos. He provided me with academic guidance that was invaluable to the completion of my research. I learned a lot from him and the readings that he provided me with.

What has been your favorite or most interesting of your research project so far?

The most intriguing part of my research has been what I have learned about U.S. Cold War policy in Guatemala. As an American who wants his country to pursue good in the world and uplift those in other countries, learning about the atrocities committed in Guatemala with U.S. financial and logistical support is disheartening, to say the least. It has been sobering to learn that while our presidents are happy to pay lip service to ideals of democracy and human rights, when it comes to tangible policy, too often these principles have been ignored. 

For example, in my research I learned that President Reagan, despite having clear evidence of the genocide and atrocities being committed by the Guatemalan military against indigenous people, praised dictator Efraín Ríos Montt as a man of great personal integrity and provided him with military equipment. As an American, this research leaves me with a bitter taste in my mouth and a renewed desire to work towards building a country that actually practices what it preaches, politically.

What would you say to current and incoming students interested in doing research? 

Just do it! I would encourage any students interested in doing research to talk to a professor who is knowledgeable in a subject that they are interested in. By working one on one with a faculty member, I was able to pursue a subject of interest at a deeper level than can otherwise be attained.

Dr. Guan Soon Khoo is an Assistant Professor in Communication Studies teaching Research Methods, Communication Theory, and an INQ 120 (Storytelling Cinema) in the Spring. He has a PhD in Mass Communications in the Media Psychology, Media Effects field with a specialty in Entertainment Research and Narrative film.

1. Tell us a little bit about your research.

My research is on media entertainment, particularly films. We often think of film as “entertainment,” the out of sight, out of mind kind. However, some of us seek out and watch movies that provide us with a different experience, ones that we’d consider meaningful; some of us go to the cinema for a good cry or to be moved by these narratives, particularly dramas. So, I am interested in looking at our cognitive and emotional responses to these meaningful experiences when we expose ourselves to somber films. One over-arching research question would be “to what extent could media entertainment make us better individuals?

2. What attracted you to Roanoke College?

The atmosphere in the department in which I was hired and the feeling of belonging with faculty members who were curious and interested in my research.

3. What do you do when you’re not at work?

I am rarely not at work or thinking about it; I blame my intense but captivating graduate work. Occasionally, I practice strumming on my ukulele, which may prove to be therapeutic, and I try to watch movies on my shamelessly large projection screen at my residence after sundown.

If you see Dr. Khoo on campus, please welcome him to Roanoke College!

Jessica Gladfelter (’15) spent her summer studying texting behavior in college students.

In particular, Jessica’s research project focuses on technointerruptions, such as text messages or Facebook notifications.

Most students do not turn off their electronic devices when studying or completing coursework even though they are known to cause stress and distract students from what they are doing. Jessica believes there may be a biological explanation behind it.

“Over the summer, I reviewed existing literature on texting and the social hormone, oxytocin. We developed a study to examine whether oxytocin is released in relation to receiving technointerruptions, causing students to feel socially connected and overriding the stress associated with being interrupted.”

Jessica enjoyed Summer Scholars because

“it allowed me to concentrate solely on my research while receiving individual attention and support from my research adviser.”

All of the Summer Scholars and summer researchers had the option to live in New Hall this summer. Jessica noted that

“I enjoyed the atmosphere of living on campus with other students that love research just as much as I do.”

Jessica’s faculty mentor was Dr. Denise Friedman, and Jessica advises other student researchers to be proactive.

“Start a literature search without being asked, come up with research ideas, ask if there is a project that you can help with, etc. Show the professor you are working with that you can handle and want responsibilities.”

Jessica is planning to continue her research this fall by collecting data that she will write up for publication.