Revanna Hogan Presents Research at National Conference

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Revanna Hogan poses with her poster at the Eastern Psychological Associations’ 84th Annual Meeting in New York Cit

CAZENOVIA, NY (04/02/2013)(readMedia)-- Revanna Hogan, of Oneida, N.Y., was among seven Cazenovia College psychology majors to have a poster presentation accepted at the recent Eastern Psychological Associations' (EPA) 84th Annual Meeting in New York City in early March.

Dr. Rachel Dinero, assistant professor of psychology at Cazenovia College, oversees the students in the Senior Capstone course. She encouraged all her students to submit their research projects for presentation at the conference. She says that of the 19 psychology seniors, seven submitted poster projects to EPA and all seven were accepted.

Hogan notes, "The psychology program at Cazenovia College is growing larger each year. There are more and more students interested in these courses. We are all encouraged to explore our interests in the many topics that psychology has to offer, and we were really excited to turn our interests into research that would support or refute our many hypotheses, which made it rewarding to put in the time and energy that is required for great research."

Dinero says, "Each student spoke knowledgeably about her work and had a great deal of interest from student and faculty conference attendees. I think the individual attention these students receive in both the Research Methods and Capstone classes facilitates their success with independent research. I am extremely passionate about research and make every effort to encourage students to conduct their own research."

Students began by researching what had already been done in their field of interest. Hogan's paper, titled "Ignoring the Warning Signs of Abusive Relationships," is focused on how easy it is for people to overlook the initial signs. Once she chose the direction her research would take, she put together a questionnaire involving two versions of the same scenario and asked participants from Cazenovia College for their input.

Hogan notes that there has been much research that identifies personality and social factors that characterize a person who is likely to accept an abusive relationship, as well as profiles of the typical abuser. "The existing research," she says, "does not account for people who find themselves in abusive relationships who do not necessarily fit into the typical mold. My research explored why those who may not have been surrounded by violence find themselves in such situations."

Wanting to be involved in a helping profession led Hogan to major in psychology. "I chose it," she says, "so I would have many options for careers in the helping fields, such as teaching, research or counseling. I'm planning to continue this line of research while applying to graduate programs after I graduate."

Hogan found attending the conference to be a valuable learning experience, noting, "I spent a lot of time at the conference viewing and learning about all the amazing new research that has come out this past year, both from other students and from professionals."

Photo provided by Dr. Rachel Dinero

Cazenovia College, founded in 1824, is an independent, co-educational, baccalaureate college near Syracuse, N.Y., offering a comprehensive liberal arts education in an exceptional community environment, with academic and co-curricular programs devoted to developing leaders in their professional fields. Cazenovia, named one of "America's Best Colleges" by U.S. News & World Report, is also a national College of Distinction. For more information, visit www.cazenovia.edu.

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