April 25, 2025
Meghan O'Toole
Psychology students present at Midwest Psychological Association conference in Chicago
In an impressive representation of student research coming out of a single department, 16 undergraduate psychology students presented their accepted research over the annual Midwest Psychological Association (MPA) conference.
The three-day conference took place April 10 through April 12, 2025 at Chicago's Palmer House Hilton.
The Lake Forest College students represented three of the College’s research labs.
Dr. McLean’s lab
From Assistant Professor of Psychology Nora McLean’s lab, multiple students presented in a poster session focusing on experimental psychology research.
Graduating seniors Heidi Cruz ’25, Amy Czuaderna ’25, Samantha Jenkins ’25, Jia Zheng ’25, and Pablo Gilbert ’25 presented on the role of psychosocial stress and perceived control in moral decision making in an experimental lab setting.
Stephanie Arreola ’27, Kiera McKee ’27, Keisha William ’27, and Jackson Rothman ’25 presented on a science of teaching and learning study that explored the effects of factors in asynchronous learning videos on student recall and subjective stress, based on analysis that was conducted by Arreola and McKee during the 2024 Richter Scholar Summer Research Program.
Dr. Vollman’s SEED lab
In the SEED Lab, run by Assistant Professor of Psychology Layne Vollman, five graduating seniors presented their research. Arianne Collins ’25 and Valeria Almendares ’25 conducted a cross-cultural analysis of the presence of social-emotional pedagogy in two Sesame Workshop productions: Sesame Street and Ahlan Simsin, a production for children in the Middle East.
“Conducting research in the Science of Early Education and Development Lab this past year has allowed me to develop skills that I know I will need as I pursue higher education, and has also led me to develop a strong interest in the research at hand - understanding how social-emotional learning is taught in children's media cross-culturally,” Collins said.
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Nicole Golden ’25, Jackson Rothman ’25, and Mac Chan ’25 participated in a collaborative research project with a local middle school to examine cognitive and non-cognitive factors predicting mathematics achievement in a low-income middle school.
“Working in the SEED lab has been one of the highlights of my undergraduate career,” Golden shared. “The guidance we receive from Dr. Vollman and the experience we’ve gained is invaluable, and presenting a national conference felt like the culmination of our work.”
Dr. Dix’s lab
From Assistant Professor of Psychology Emily Dix’s lab, three students presented posters on research projects related to understanding racial bias.
Recent graduate Lucy Freeman ’24 presented a study conducted during her senior year at Lake Forest. Using a politically diverse national sample, the study examined how people’s recognition of ongoing racial bias relates to their support for policies that promote racial equity and their reactions to race-related current events.
Graduating seniors Fatima Galvan-Alva ’25 and Loreto Galvan-Alva ’25 presented a study that explored who is likely to speak out and take issue with racial bias that occurs online in a social media context.
Reflecting on her experience conducting this research, Loreto Galvan-Alva said: "Research is truly a labor of love—one that requires countless hours of dedication, collaboration with peers, and endless revision and reflection. It’s been one of the most fruitful experiences I’ve been part of during my time at the College.”