Behavioral Sciences

College of Education, Health, and Human Services

Health and Human Services

Metropolitan Impact

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Mon, 04/23/2018 - 05:00

��-Dearborn faculty, staff and students are helping the Healthy Dearborn coalition take on its biggest challenge yet: tackling the city’s health disparities.

Children play in the shadow of heavy industry in a south Dearborn neighborhood. Photo courtesy of Healthy Dearborn.

Digging in

rudmehta — Thu, 08 Sep 2022 15:20:49 +0000

Digging in rudmehta Thu, 09/08/2022 - 11:20

This article was originally published on September 11, 2019.

Materials from one of America’s first colonial settlements are in Associate Professor John Chenoweth’s archeology lab.

Chenoweth, along with 13 students, spent four weeks digging for their version of buried treasure — 350 year old trash. They worked at the Doane Memorial site in Massachusetts, which marks the homestead site of early English settler John Doane and his family. Doane and six other families were the first Europeans to permanently settle in Lower Cape Cod, being granted permission in the winter of 1644-45 and creating the town of Nauset (later Eastham) the following summer.

Looking through the trays of seventeenth-century red brick fragments, Chenoweth remarks on how surprisingly substantial the home was for the time and place — after all, Henry VIII used bricks a little more than a century before to impress when building Hampton Court Palace in England. And to take the time to make bricks in the new world — where you could have built a wooden shelter a lot quicker — would have only meant one thing: The settlers planned to stay.

Except — less than 50 years after Doane’s death in 1685 — it appears they left, starting new homes in the area.

Chenoweth, who frequented Cape Cod National Seashore — where the site is located— during childhood family trips, is exploring what remains there to learn more on why the settlers left and what we can learn from it today. A major research goal is to determine how the environment has changed since European settlers arrived in the mid-1600s. For example, what was once rich soil used by Native Americans for nearly 4,000 years became grainy sand shortly after colonists settled.

“When it came to land, Puritans had a specific idea about the relationships between land and people: They believed that God gave it to them for their use and that they had to ‘improve”’or ‘tame’ it.. But in less than two generations, their very different farming practices lead to deforestation and erosion, producing the famous sandy landscape that you still see in Cape Cod today,” Cheoweth says. “I’m interested in these environmental changes, and how these changes shifted religious beliefs, social structure, and economic systems on the New England frontier.”

Chenoweth’s research expands on archeological work that was started by the National Park Service in the 1970s, which confirmed that European settlers had lived at the location and that there were artifacts on the Cape Cod historical site. Using the map the NPS created, Chenoweth and his student crews spent their time digging for clues and cataloguing where each artifact was found.

Senior Stacey South was among the students in the excavation excursion. In addition to college credit received for the work, South says although the stuff found can be cool — that appeals to the art history major — she’s learned what’s more interesting is what it can tell you.

“We were looking at literal garbage. In the mid-1600s, when you broke something or it no longer had a use, you threw it out the window and it was covered with dirt. But that garbage can give you a bigger picture on what may have happened to someone,” says South who has a second major in sociology. “For example, a cow femur was found with the bone marrow scraped out. Professor Chenoweth shared that was indicative of the desperation there. That makes you feel something, it makes a person’s experience real."

And she appreciates how her experience with the 350-year-old trash can hold value for her future.

“You are learning about documentation, precision and teamwork. You are looking at items and finding connections on how or why they were used in the society,” she says. “Care with detail, accuracy and critical thinking are useful professionally and personally whether you are looking at the past or planning for the future.”

After Chenoweth’s year-long analysis, all property discovered at the Doane site will be given to the National Park Service. The dig was made possible by the Institute for Field Research.

Experiential Learning

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Wed, 09/11/2019 - 05:00

Anthropology Professor John Chenoweth spent his summer on the Cape Cod National Seashore looking for “350-year-old trash.” Along with 13 students, Chenoweth brought artifacts to the Anthropology Lab to learn more about one of America’s first colonial settlements.

How Native Americans shape the American experience

rudmehta — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 18:20:50 +0000

How Native Americans shape the American experience rudmehta Thu, 08/18/2022 - 14:20

This article was originally published on November 12, 2019.

Standing in front of a full classroom, Anthropology Associate Professor Brian McKenna speaks about Native American contributions to community structure, medicine, government systems, agriculture and environment. Students seem a bit surprised.

McKenna continues: And the names of more than half of our states.

“States, cities, communities. So many of our places have native origins,” he says. “I think destroying who or what was on the land and then naming the spot after what was once there is the American way. Think of apartments with names like Deer Park Run. No one sees deer there because the construction pushed them away or destroyed their food sources. But it does sound really nice.”

McKenna talks honestly, with a bit of dark humor. And his class appreciates him for it. Their hands are constantly raised with questions and contributions to the discussion. And he gets students to relate to the material he includes in his lectures.

Since we all can’t sit in his classroom — there are only about 40 desks, after all — here are some of McKenna’s course take-a-ways.

When it comes to the environment, Native Americans can teach us.

“Most of us are concerned about climate change and what’s left of our resources. But Native Americans are way ahead of us on this. The Native Americans lived here 20,000 years without messing it up. The Iroquois have the seventh generation principle, which dictates that decisions that are made today should lead to protecting the land for seven generations into the future. And American Indians are the ones we see fighting to preserve what is left; look at the Dakota Access pipeline protests and the Enbridge pipeline actions Up North. If we really want to stop or reverse the damage that’s been done, they have examples we can follow.”

Sixty percent of our consumed foods have Indian origins.

“Like fries? I’m Irish, but my history can’t take credit for the potato. That’s the Peruvian Indians and the Incas. How about chocolate? That’s the Mayans. Fall foods like squash and beans? The Native Americans have a long tradition with those foods and the New England colonists learned from them. And if you have a drink on your desk, remember that there wouldn’t be a soda industry without the coca leaves from the Indians of Bolivia. Corn? You already know. Unfortunately, that one’s led to the capitalistic creation of corn syrup. But that’s what I call the Indian’s revenge.”

Much of our prescription knowledge comes from Native American medicine.

Look in your medicine cabinet. If you have aspirin in there to help with a headache, know it comes from the willow bark of the poplar tree. Don’t thank Bayer; thank an Indian. They had 20,000 years to get to know their land and have so much knowledge of botanical medicinal properties. The early American explorers were known to write it down and take it back to Europe with them. Dogwood reduces fever. Trillium eases the pain of childbirth. A small amount of Curare — not too much, it’s poisonous — stops lockjaw cramping. ��-Dearborn Emeritus Professor Daniel Moerman published a Native American Ethnobotany Book and put it online. Type in a symptom and you can find what Natives Americans — thousands of years ago and today — use for relief. It’s a reminder that we are walking over and past medicine all of the time.

If you like the idea behind our Constitution, thank the Iroquois.

“There are leaders who helped form our government who aren’t traditionally mentioned in World History. When the original 13 colonies were busy fighting each other, Onondaga leader Canassatego encouraged them to unite and shared the Iroquois Great Law of Peace as an example on how to do this. Benjamin Franklin printed Canassatego’s words and invited the Iroquois Grand Council of Chiefs to speak to the Continental Congress in 1776. It’s where we got our checks and balances, two branches for passing laws, the impeachment process and more. Our government is descended from theirs — Congress officially recognizes this now. It’s too bad we didn’t include their seventh generation principle.”

After class ends and students have filtered out of the room, McKenna — an environmental journalist and medical anthropologist — explains how an Irish man from Philadelphia became so involved with Native American culture. He says it began with a chance meeting with a member of the American Indian Movement (AIM) as a teen in the mid-1970s while traveling across America.

“Basically, I was dropped into history.”

While staying with a newly made friend in South Dakota, McKenna met a Native American from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The man — McKenna pauses and thinks about giving a pseudonym, then decides anonymity is best — was a body double for a leader of AIM. McKenna recalled how much he admired the man’s bravery in standing up against police brutality and systemic poverty in extreme circumstances. He relayed how this experience sparked his curiosity about the history and culture of American Indians.

“The courage I saw really was life changing. After getting to know some members of the Pine Ridge reservation, I was shocked at the level of ignorance about the American Indian Movement during that time. I wanted to do what I could to dispel myths and bring awareness,” says McKenna, who’s spent time during his career working with American Indian Health and Family Services in Detroit and at National Public Radio’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross.

Years later, McKenna is surrounded by engaged students who, just like he was, are curious about Native American history and want to build community with native peoples. McKenna’s taught the course — created by Emeritus Professor Daniel Moerman in 1974 — for 15 years.

Not only does McKenna teach, he encourages the students to interact with tribal communities — noted alumna Kay McGowan, a writer of the United Nations’ Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, is a frequent guest speaker; students also do a project where they are encouraged to get to know Native culture first-hand.

“For the class project, students have the opportunity to reach out to a first nation. “I’ve recently had a student document the repatriation of ancestral remains from U-M. He went to the Saginaw Chippewa’s Recommitment to the Earth ceremony in Mount Pleasant. Other students have attended powwows or visited a Native American museum. I want our students to learn from native people directly,” McKenna says.

“And I update my course every time I teach it. For example, I’m using David Treuer’s 2019 “The Heart of Wounded Knee” right now. Treuer graduated from U-M with an anthropology degree. I want to make sure I’m relating to my students of today about issues the Native Americans are facing today. People evolve so my course can’t stay stagnant.”

But there is something that remains the same: Native American influence on shaping American culture.

So, in honor of the month — and Governor Whitmer’s recent decision to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day — McKenna wants to create awareness of cultural appropriation and have us appreciate American Indian contributions that enhance our lives all year round.

Inclusion or Diversity

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Tue, 11/12/2019 - 06:00

November’s designated as Native American Heritage Month. But Anthropology Associate Professor Brian McKenna reminds his students in campus’ Indians of North America course that we benefit from the knowledge of this country’s indigenous people all year long.

To serve and protect

rudmehta — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 17:35:31 +0000

To serve and protect rudmehta Thu, 08/18/2022 - 13:35

This article was originally published on December 19, 2019.

Dearborn Police Corporal Foyid Mockbil has Special Weapons and Tactics training. He’s been the first person into a building during a standoff with an armed suspect. Mockbil’s learned about working undercover with a special task force many citizens credit with reducing Dearborn’s crimes.

But he’s never — and he’s been an officer for 23 years — taken a training course like ��-Dearborn’s Alternatives to Violent Force.

“It raised awareness for officers that there is an opposing viewpoint out that that comes from a deeper place than a news article or someone’s one-time bad experience with an officer,” Mockbil said.

Speaking quite frankly — Mockbil said officers have a habit of that — he wasn’t thrilled to take the class at first.

“You never know if you’re going to get lectured by someone who doesn’t understand police work. And it seems that there is so much tension these days about police, politics, just about everything really, that productive conversations are hard to have.”

But Mockbil said it wasn’t like that at all.

“It was hearing from people who have worked in or with law enforcement. They’d share their experiences and how citizens might have viewed what they did when talking about different reasons there’s disconnect between police and the people we serve. Instead of talking at us about it, we talked it out. It was more like the beginning of a healing process.”

Alternatives to Violent Force, a Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES)-certified program, addresses topics like how the public views police action and force, the voices behind behind the Black Lives Matter movement, ways to approach citizens with mental illness, and other areas that lead to healthy discussions that address the us vs. them narrative and why it exists in the media and in communities.

The program is part of the Justice Reform Project and Current Policing Curriculum Series (CPCS). The Justice Reform Project and the CPCS were developed under the leadership of Public Policy Professor Julie Roddy and the Hon. Donald Shelton, ��-Dearborn Criminology and Criminal Justice Program director and a 25-year veteran of the Washtenaw County trial courts.

“We have turned our police officers into warriors — this idea that they are soldiers in a battle to preserve order. But at the same time, they have to be guardians, treating civilians with respect and with safety. You have to be both, and that’s hard work,” said Shelton on why he wanted to create the program.

Sociology Associate Professor Paul Draus and ��-Dearborn 2018 Alumna Omitra Gates, who is pursuing law school, are also heavily involved in organizing each cohort.

At a Tuesday night class, Draus — teaching the group about empathetic thinking — pushed for participation from the officers to give examples where they used discretion while on the job and then talk about the result of that choice.

One officer shared how he was called to arrest a homeless man outside of a store. Seeing the man wasn’t a nuisance, but was underdressed for the cold temperatures, he bought the man warm clothing, got him a meal and drove him to a homeless shelter.

When Draus asked the officer why he empathized with the man, the officer said he was concerned for the man’s health because it was cold and he wouldn’t want any of his family or friends out in weather like this.

The Draus asked: “Are you glad you used discretion?”

After a pause, the officer replied yes. But explained that he’s since seen the man out on the streets and underdressed for the weather again. “Even if I helped him over and over again, he’d be in the same spot again. But at least I know for a little while he had warm clothes and food.”

This sparked a discussion among the officers on both sides of the fence on if giving breaks or going the extra mile benefits people in the long term. Draus then redirected the conversation back to understanding the meaning of empathy.

“Don’t get empathy confused with being emotional and not strategic. Sympathy is an emotional reaction. Empathy is a thought process to see the situation from someone else’s point of view. It’s more about trying to understand someone’s situation when coming to the most beneficial decision,” Draus said. “And I want to be clear that you can still empathize and still give someone a ticket or take someone to jail. It’s not about being soft. It’s about taking a moment — when you can — to do this thought exercise.”

In addition to ��-Dearborn members, several guest educators are involved with the program. For example, Harold J. Love, a retired Michigan State Police officer and licensed mental health therapist, spoke about crisis intervention, de-escalation and communication training specific to people with mental illness; Daryl Harris, a minister/community organizer who is an honorary member of the Detroit Police Department talked about the sanctity of life and the importance of justice and respect from all parties. And Vincent Dalfonzo, a retired 30-plus-year FBI agent, spoke about how law interprets force and how the public views police action.

Educators like Daryl Harris, a minister/community organizer who is an honorary member of the Detroit Police Department, spoke to police at the Alternatives to Violent Force training

Mockbil — at the end of the seven-week session that met for three hours each Tuesday night — said once the group of 20 officers finished AVF, the Dearborn Police Department would have 100-percent completion among the officers.

Mockbil says he appreciated the educators’ views and liked having open, honest discussions in the sessions. But he’d like to see the work go a step further by bringing in members of the community. Maybe it wouldn’t work in this particular program, but he feels there’s a bridge-building opportunity.

“We are all adults, but it can be uncomfortable having real conversations with people we have preconceived notions about or who we don’t understand. But to get to a place of understanding, conversations need to take place. I’ve gained a lot by learning how I can be seen by someone who doesn’t know me,” Mockbil said. “Maybe one way to continue the healing process is to bring in community members to learn about police pressures and then have us work together — when we have an understanding of each other — on ways we can do things better. If that happens, sign me up.”

Health and Wellness

Leadership

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Thu, 12/19/2019 - 06:00

With hashtags and history at times grouping authority and the public on opposing sides, what can be done to bring everyone back together? Police officers are working with educators to understand the public point of view during the campus-created Alternatives to Violent Force training.

Associate Professor Paul Draus speaks about empathetic thinking with officers and listens while officers share examples of showing empathy on the job.

'This is a generation that can change the world for the better'

stuxbury — Mon, 18 Apr 2022 21:59:03 +0000

'This is a generation that can change the world for the better' stuxbury Mon, 04/18/2022 - 17:59

Many people are tired of discussing COVID. But psychology graduate student Katie Smith isn’t one of them — especially when it comes to how families were affected.

Smith has always been interested in working with kids and child psychology has been a big draw for her. She said the experiences people have as children often shape their adult lives — so the impact is broad. But children’s mental health is under-researched.

“Kids are naturally resilient and can handle pressure, but the pressure of growing up while their families adapt (to COVID changes) can have a huge mental impact,” Smith said. “Fear of the unknown and isolation all increase stress. Stress increases, use of immature defense mechanisms increase, and maladaptive behavior may arise. It feels like a ticking time bomb waiting to go off.”

For the year-plus of research she’s spent looking into this, Smith and her thesis research “Parent and Child Adaption to COVID-19” won the 2022 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition on campus. The 3MT Competition, originally developed by The University of Queensland, cultivates academic, presentation and research communication skills with students presenting their work succinctly and in an easy-to-understand way. The virtual campus event was sponsored by the Office of Graduate Studies and the Office of Research.

“I didn’t know anything about 3MT initially,” Smith said. “I was encouraged by Dr. Michelle Leonard, my professor, to submit the idea. I was given a positive nudge towards doing it, and while it was scary, it was equally interesting.”

To gather this information, Smith collected responses from parents — which she is currently still in the process of doing — and examined the reports of academic researchers.

“COVID-19 is very topical now, and I thought about connecting the two. Parents and children are interconnected and the study was vital, which led to my research topic. It was perfecting that balance to showcase the child-parent relationship and how individuals together as a unit influence each other.”

Smith stated that a key aspect of the adaptation boils down to individualistic differences. Families in more challenging scenarios — like economic difficulties and communication gaps — may be closer to the tipping point than others.

But according to Smith’s research, there is good news: It points to an evident decrease in stress as people have adapted to COVID-related changes and when they have found support within their communities. She said counseling and therapy support also have played an important role in this.

Smith said mental health is always addressed case by case by providing the tools and support to parents and children, ranging from individualistic treatment and family therapy to even just talking to some families that may just need the information to understand the situation around them.

“Psychoeducation — which involves informing parents about parenting styles and defense mechanisms to observe, recommendations, research data, action plans and more — is an excellent way to move forward in the present and post-COVID. Some families can work through it independently, while some may require communities to play a huge role in helping them out.”

Smith competed at the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools 3MT regionals in Milwaukee to represent ��-Dearborn in early April. She didn’t win, but Smith said she gained experience in communicating research and scientific findings and it challenged her to be concise and avoid academic jargon.

“All of this will be useful skills in my future career as a clinical psychologist,” Smith said. “This experience also has broadened my network of peers I can consult with. I’ve met several other 3MT participants that were extremely knowledgeable in a wide variety of fields and specialties. When I listened to everyone’s research, I thought this is a generation that can change the world for the better.”

Smith emphasizes that her campus 3MT win wouldn’t have been possible without the support from professors Michelle Leonard and Caleb Siefert. “Dr. Leonard helped a lot through this process while my adviser Dr. Siefert has always been there since the beginning, leading to this wonderful experience.”

Article by Rudra Mehta.

Awards

Campus Life

Graduate Research

Graduate Studies

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Mon, 04/18/2022 - 21:59

Grad student Katie Smith and her psychology research won the 2022 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition on campus and she recently competed at the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools' regionals.

Katie Smith won ��-Dearborn's 3MT Competition. Photo by Rudra Mehta

How to manage the transition back to the office

stuxbury — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 22:19:01 +0000

How to manage the transition back to the office stuxbury Mon, 08/09/2021 - 18:19

Photo of External Relations Marketing Manager Bailey Ayers-Korpal in her Administration Building office

Apple’s employees are returning to the office three days a week in early September. Wall Street banks like JP Morgan & Chase and Goldman Sachs already have teams back in their branches and buildings. And U-M faculty and staff are getting ready for a Fall 2021 return.

After many were forced to work from home due to the pandemic — and initially feeling confined to a home space — people acclimated to their remote schedules. Now 18 months after the mass office exodus, the reception is mixed on how people feel about coming back to the workplace.

A 2021 Work Trend Index survey — which includes responses from more than 30,000 people in 31 countries — shows that over 70 percent of workers want flexible remote work options to continue, while over 65 percent are craving more in-person time with their teams.

Photo of Professor Marie Waung

But how do team leaders do both while still maintaining organizational identity and the social cohesion of a typical workplace setting? And what does this mean for the 8-5 office workday?

College of Arts, Sciences, & Letters Associate Dean and Professor Marie Waung, who’s spent three decades researching workplace psychology, explores what’s on the horizon for the 21st century office space, and gives suggestions for supervisors on how to support their teams’ return-to-work shifts.

“As humans, we like to be able to predict what will happen next. When change occurs, it tends to bring with it some degree of unpredictability, and with that some anxiety. This is why even small changes are difficult,” Waung said. “When change happens during a truly unprecedented time, it only adds to the unpredictability. The key is to clearly communicate and be flexible when possible.”

Supervisors should build in a transition period if possible.

Marie Waung: “To help people see what their new routine may look like, allow for a brief transition period if possible. This could be a week or two.

This transition time may be having people come into the office, but being flexible on in-person hours during that transition time. It could be having meetings in person, but individual work time at home. It depends on the situation. There’s not a one-size-fits-all transition plan. But no matter the plan, it’s important for supervisors to be clear in their policies and expectations, and be specific regarding how employee performance will be assessed.”

After the transition period, people will still be adjusting.

MW: “Changes to our daily routine are difficult — and work is a part of our daily routine. As for how long it takes to acclimate to a new routine, the rule of thumb that works for me is three weeks. It seems that most people can get used to most life changes over that time period.”

Consider mentors for employees new to your organization or who are early in their career.

MW: “Anecdotal evidence suggests working from home has been particularly challenging for people earlier in their careers. For example, recent college graduates experiencing their first post-college jobs may feel unsure of their performance and of employer expectations and have difficulty establishing workplace mentors and friends in a remote environment. Those hired in 2020 and 2021 are likely to seek workplace connections and search for mentors as they enter the physical workplace. Leaders may want to look for ways to facilitate connections.”

Be flexible when possible.

MW: “Getting up earlier to get ready for work, packing lunches and commuting take time and energy. These tasks used to be part of our routine, so we did not question them. However, now that we have experienced life without them, they may seem inconvenient and it’s likely many of us will be unenthusiastic about their return. People may also struggle with the work/life balance shift. Getting children to and from school, dog walking, doctor’s appointments and preparing dinner can become more challenging when working outside of the home.

People will have to figure out how to handle difficulties they experience — if you are on a hybrid schedule, one suggestion is try to stagger work days with a partner, family member, neighbor or friend who also has a hybrid schedule to help with life tasks — but manager flexibility definitely plays a role in job satisfaction.

On occasion, maybe it’s ok to let your team do an early morning meeting from Zoom at home. Or if an employee has a reason they can’t make it in, like their child’s school is unexpectedly closed or there are poor weather conditions, consider giving the option to work from home. I think that many employees are hoping for fewer white-knuckle commutes to work on icy or snowy mornings, reasoning that we have been able to quickly switch to remote work in the past and can do so, as needed, in the future.”

Team needs come first.

MW: “In some places of work, there will still need to be a critical mass of employees. It should be recognized by staff that supervisors must balance an adequate presence in the workplace to maintain operations and facilitate employee productivity and work quality.

But that’s not all that needs to be maintained. Team morale does too. In-person teams have advantages like an enhanced sense of community, quicker and more efficient communication, and access to more information through the grapevine — that’s what’s exchanged before and after face-to-face meetings or when employees bump into each other in the hallway. If too many employees are working from home on a given day, people in the workplace lose these advantages. One of my neighbors recently said he works two days a week from the office, but felt it was pointless because there are only a handful of employees there. That’s not good.

Supervisors likely want to work with their employees, but they are going to have to make some tough calls. They cannot grant a request if it negatively impacts team goals.”

Time will reveal what works best in our new world of work.

MW: “My prediction is most places that can have people work remotely will create a hybrid schedule that’s either three days at work and two at home, or two days at work and three at home. Finding what works best may be a little messy at first, but I believe changes will moderate themselves. Some things will work and some won’t. This is new for most of us, just try to be patient with each other.

After more than a year of staying constantly logged-in to work through email and Zoom, you might find that getting back to the workplace helps establish a firmer boundary between work and home life. Or you might discover that you need the independence that full remote work gives and are no longer a good fit where you are.

I think the 8-to-5 weekdays with everyone in the office at the same time is most likely a thing of the past. The pandemic has definitely shifted how we do work. But time will tell exactly how much.”

Interview by Sarah Tuxbury. Professor Marie Waung is an expert in organizational and industrial psychology, focusing on areas like professional development, employee promotion and productive workplace processes. If you are a member of the media and would like to speak with her, please let us know at ��DearbornNews@umich.edu.

Faculty and Staff

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Mon, 08/09/2021 - 22:17

Professor Marie Waung explores what’s on the horizon for the 21st century workspace, and gives suggestions for supervisors on how to support their teams’ return-to-work shifts.

COVID-19 and Flashbulb Memory

stuxbury — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 23:31:35 +0000

COVID-19 and Flashbulb Memory stuxbury Mon, 06/28/2021 - 19:31

Some moments are so shocking that they create a mental impression strong enough to remember minute details that would otherwise be forgotten. That’s why people may recall their precise location when hearing the news of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination or have a vivid memory of the weather on Sept. 11, 2001.

“Flashbulb memories are created when people have a high-level of emotion when experiencing a surprising event or hearing shocking news that leads to vivid and long-lasting memories,” said Behavioral and Biological Sciences major Bella Martincic, a junior who works in Psychology Associate Professor Arlo Clark-Foos' Human Learning and Creativity (HuLC) Lab.

So did the news related to COVID-19 — and more precisely, when people learned of the pandemic-related shutdowns — create flashbulb memories? And, if it did, were their other factors that increased the cognitive impression?

In Martincic’s research, which she presented during the CASL Sargon Partners Undergraduate Research Showcase, she explored these questions through a nationwide survey the HuLC Lab created and sent out in May 2020. She’s spent the past year sorting and cataloguing the responses. She said hundreds of surveys were received and they represent a diverse range of ages, religions, cultural backgrounds, political affiliation and more.

“News regarding the pandemic was gradual in a sense because news regarding the virus kept trickling in before impacting the majority of people in the U.S. So the pandemic wasn’t a sudden shocking event in the same way Sept. 11 was. So I was curious if people even created flashbulb memories,” said Martincic, whose project adviser is Clark-Foos. “Data suggests that yes, people did create flashbulb memories — especially around state shutdowns. People could remember where they were, what they were doing, and what time of day it was when they heard the news.”

While looking for correlations in responses, Martincic noted something else interesting — political affiliation played a role in memory impression.

“I wanted to keep an eye on political affiliation because 2020 was a turbulent, polarizing year when it came to politics in our country. I was curious if political affiliation had any connection to pandemic-related flashbulb memories,” she said. Martincic said data shows people who indicate they vote Republican have the most specific memories of the pandemic and COVID shutdown, reporting details of where they were and the date they heard the news in their written responses.

Other politically tied discoveries? People who vote Independent have the longest memories, meaning they have the highest word count when recalling the March 2020 news.

Martincic said since emotional responses create flashbulb memories, one hypothesis on why some politically affiliated groups recalled more detail could be tied to more intense feelings toward social distancing, mask wearing or how the government handled the pandemic. Martincic said more research needs to be done before definitive conclusions can be reached.

However, the research does tell her that the effects of the pandemic will be felt long after the virus is under control.

“Even when we move past the pandemic, we are not going to be able to leave COVID in the past as much as we think. Many people created these flashbulb memories so they aren’t going to forget their experience anytime soon. It’s important to understand how people remember the pandemic and any influencing factors because these may have an impact on how local, state and federal governments respond in future emergencies.”

And there’s something else she’s discovered: What she’d like to do following graduation.

Starting as a research assistant in Clark-Foo’s HuLC Lab her sophomore year, Martincic said the opportunity was intended to be a resume builder. Instead, it was an eye-opener. She’d like to pursue a graduate degree and continue conducting psychology research.

“I love learning about people. It’s amazing how differently people view the world and it’s a privilege to work on a project that gives insight into this,” Martincic said. “Dr. Arlo (Clark-Foos) is a great mentor. This was my first time doing research and I want to do more. While learning what others had experienced, I also got the chance to learn more about myself.”

Interview by Sarah Tuxbury.

Student Success

Undergraduate Research

Off

Mon, 06/28/2021 - 23:30

CASL student Bella Martincic’s research — which is featured in the CASL Research Showcase — looks at the pandemic and asks: Did news of the pandemic leave a strong mental impression? And what role does political affiliation play in that?

'In America, opportunity is measured by ZIP code'

stuxbury — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 22:07:29 +0000

'In America, opportunity is measured by ZIP code' stuxbury Mon, 02/15/2021 - 17:07

Associate Professor Kevin Early grew up in a military family and had his sights set on a career in diplomacy. His calm demeanor, a childhood living in several countries and his meticulous attention to detail makes it seem like a logical choice.

But life took the longtime ��-Dearborn sociology and criminal justice studies educator down a different path: Criminology.

He attributes the career change of heart to working as senator’s aide in 1980 on Capitol Hill. “Too much scandal for me.” And then there was a project where he had a series of interviews with a serial killer in Brazil.

While playing a chess game with the inmate, Early saw the man looking at him intensely. Something changed in his eyes from their previous encounters; the voice changed too. And then the man told Early how he’d slowly kill him — and laughed.

“It’s a laugh that I still hear today. It was terrifying. I realized that there is a fine line between sanity and insanity. It really stayed with me and I went on to study under noted criminologist Ronald L. Akers. He was a mentor who helped guide my research and career path,” says Early, who has nearly three decades of experience in corrections/correctional populations, deviance, prison-based treatment, and substance use/abuse.

“There are people who have reasons beyond their control — be it genetic or physical — whose probability of rehabilitation is low. However, I’ve worked with the prison population for a long time now and I do believe, in most cases, people are not beyond redemption. I feel that’s something that’s important for the public to know.”

Early, a criminologist and expert in the field, has authored/co-authored three books and has appeared on NBC Nightly News and syndicated shows like TV One’s For My Man.

His latest featured spot? The BET+ series American Gangster: Trap Queens. The show, narrated by rapper Lil Kim, gives a first-hand look into the world of infamous female gangsters like Detroit’s Black Family Mafia-connected Brandi Davis and former larcenist Tiffani Rose Peak; Early gives his insight about the choices the women have made and background on the criminal activity. In his episodes, commentary is also included from Judge Greg Mathis and the late Benny Napoleon, who served as Wayne County Sheriff and Detroit’s police chief.

Early says he participated in the BET+ show because he appreciates that the docuseries gives a platform to share “the other side” of the story, addresses racial and gender disparities, explains the motivation for the crime (most often, poverty), and — in the majority of cases — shows a redemptive arc.

“In America, opportunity is measured by ZIP code and these young women took the opportunity in front of them at the time,” he said. “Yes, they made poor choices and there should be consequences. But make no mistake — these are smart, tough and loyal people. And those qualities will help them persevere when they come out on the other side (after serving prison sentences) and find their way. Tiffani is a business owner now. Brandi is a motivational speaker for youth. Both published authors and mentors.”

Early, who teaches ��-Dearborn courses CRJ 468: Criminology, CRJ 324: Serial and Mass Homicide, CRJ 200: Introduction to Criminal Justice, and SOC 200: Understanding Society, said mentorship is powerful and life-changing. Knowing this, he strives to serve as one for his students.

He credits role models from his life — like Ronald L. Akers, a junior high school teacher named Isabelle Irwin, and other educators — for helping him discover his path to success. Often the only Black student in his school, Early said racism and bullying entered his world at a young age. He credits these mentors for helping him push past the ignorance of his peers and discover and hone his talents. “Despite what was going on around me, I had people who invested in me and showed me paths of opportunity.”

Now the Internationally Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor and university professor shares his wisdom with the hope of bridging understanding and creating positive change. He blocks off extended time for students to drop in (currently via Zoom) during office hours. He’s served as a student organization adviser. And he’s presented research opportunities to his students.

“It’s leading by example. It’s taking time to listen and learn. It’s owning your mistakes and doing better,” he said. “You might not change the world — but if you touch one person in a meaningful way, you have made a difference.”

Early is featured in American Gangster: Trap Queens, season two, episodes two and four, which began streaming last month. He will also be featured in season three, which will air in 2022.

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Mon, 02/15/2021 - 22:03

Associate Professor Kevin Early, a criminologist and expert in the field, is featured on the BET+ series "American Gangster: Trap Queens," which gives a platform for people to share their stories.

Humans evolved from group hunters to civic rule creators: Do other primates have these capacities for cooperation?

stuxbury — Mon, 30 Nov 2020 17:12:28 +0000

Humans evolved from group hunters to civic rule creators: Do other primates have these capacities for cooperation? stuxbury Mon, 11/30/2020 - 12:12

Are shared intentions — such as dividing labor fairly or communicating to solve shared social dilemmas — the key ingredient of human culture and sociality? And do these abilities or what they evolved from exist in other animals?

These questions are at the center of Associate Professor Francine Dolins’ latest research project, The Cognitive Foundation of Social Minds, which received more than $1 million from the Templeton World Charity Foundation. The interdisciplinary project includes the fields of comparative psychology, biological anthropology, artificial intelligence (AI), linguistics and computer science.

Photo of CASL Associate Professor Francine Dolins with a brown lemur

Dolins and her colleagues’ are examining primates — bonobos, chimpanzees, orangutans and humans — to see if they have the ability to see themselves and act as “we.” To test this, the behavioral scientists are designing virtual systems so that these apes have the opportunity to display their ability to cooperate through we-intentions, which is the intentional sharing of tasks like dividing labor.

“Although many species engage in joint action (two or more individuals acting toward a shared goal), evidence has previously suggested that only humans possess shared we-intentions that flexibly support intentional joint action,” Dolins says. “Young human children show the ability to carry out intentionally shared tasks. But what if primates have this ability and we just don’t know how to recognize it or have not been able to provide them with the opportunity to show this?”

But — when asking these questions — how do you find answers?

Dolins and her research team colleagues will examine the way bonobos, chimpanzees, orangutans and humans interact with each other using virtual avatars in solving cooperative problems such as hunting. From Dolins’ previous research work, she knew that bonobos, chimpanzees, humans and artificial intelligence agents can rapidly learn to navigate in virtual environments. So the team created virtual reality mini-worlds with built-in cooperation challenges.

Using controlled, systematic and repeated exposure in various virtual reality scenarios and analyzing intentional behavior choices from participants from each primate group, Dolins will analyze the choices made in the VR scenarios, the communication between individuals playing these ‘cooperation’ games, the motivations behind those choices, and how the different types of cooperation may have developed.

“It’s part of the timeless endeavor to understand ourselves and our place in the natural world,” she says. “As we look to a future with new ‘species’ of computational minds (e.g., AI agents), the ancient questions about our relationship to nature are profoundly transformed into new and more general questions — questions that this project begins to prepare us for.”

Through the evidence gathered using these VR tools, the team will look for the bridges that may exist between the kinds of social intelligences human and nonhuman apes possess, and that AI agents may develop, while also characterizing the cognitive traits necessary to possess these we-intentional cooperative problem-solving skills.

“What enabled humans to go from group hunting of prey to creating complex civic rules like democratic voting? Our project seeks to reverse engineer human and non-human primate capacities for cooperation from VR experiments that have been carefully engineered to reveal previously hidden commonalities and differences.”

Dolins research collaborators include J. Call, J. Tenenbaum, R. Lewis, M. Kleiman-Weiner and L. Schweller

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Mon, 11/30/2020 - 17:10

CASL professor receives $1M grant for project looking to reverse engineer behavior to better understand humans, our primate cousins, and to prepare for future artificial intelligence development.

Photo of Teco, a 9 year old bonobo, who is participating in Professor Francine Dolins research

What have COVID-19-related changes shown us about community telemental health?

stuxbury — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 17:45:17 +0000

What have COVID-19-related changes shown us about community telemental health? stuxbury Wed, 10/21/2020 - 13:45

Graphic showing telemental health

Many things changed with the onset of the pandemic with COVID-19 concerns altering our daily routines and behavior.

Although the global Coronavirus lockdown and present pandemic situation is completely unwanted, some of those alterations have been positive. Lecturer Brian Dates, who’s worked as a community health psychologist for nearly 30 years, says one area that shows promising change is mental telehealth services.

Telehealth technology and its use are not new, but Dates says widespread adoption among healthcare professionals and patients beyond simple telephone correspondence has been relatively slow — until COVID-19.

He’s currently working with several Wayne County health network community service organizations to see what effect the shift from a face-to-face mental health service to a virtual one has had in behavioral health therapy, focusing on the past six months.

“From what I’ve seen, this is the first major study of telehealth effectiveness with community health services. That’s probably because the widespread use is so new. Since the pandemic, many states have made legislative or regulatory changes to loosen these restrictions and increase telemental health access as well as reimbursement,” Dates says. The change in regulation was spurred by the March CARES Act. Prior to it, telehealth services through community agencies could only take place in designated locations with the use of synchronous video technology; the bill allowed patients to receive services at home and included funding that expanded coverage for telehealth services in Medicare.

“As we transitioned into different phases of the pandemic, we looked at how people handled transitioning to the telemental health format,” he says. ”There is still research to do, but we are seeing that telemental health as a delivery mechanism is working for people.”

Dates presented his research — The Effect of Transitioning to Telemental Health Service Delivery on Service Array and Experience of Intervention: A Study of the Response to SARS-CoV-II in the Detroit-Wayne Community Mental Health System — at the College of Arts, Sciences, & Letters Research Slam Friday.

Dates’ presentation shared how he, along with other community health researchers, sifted through services-related data from October 2019 through September 2020. There are nearly 12,000 consumers, or clients, in the dataset. All people live in Detroit and its metro areas, but there’s a wide variety of representation in ages, gender, sex, ethnicities and more.

The study breaks the months into time periods — pre-pandemic, pandemic/CARES Act implementation, and the months that followed — and compares data like the average number of hours of therapy received, the number of time clients had contact with a service agency, amount of hours per client, and more.

“It’s a large study. And so far the data is very promising. Through our data, we expect to show that the number of canceled appointments and the number of no-shows have decreased. People are getting access to care where they are. They don’t have to worry about public transit schedules or whether or not it’s a safe time to walk. They are getting services right into their homes,” he says. “It’s also more effective on the therapist’s end. Before, the therapist had to drive to agencies, offices or homes. Now they have more time to meet with clients.”

Dates says they are finishing up the quantitative side of the study, and will shift to focusing on the qualitative side of the study. Client and provider statements were taken during those same time periods.

Living through a pandemic is a traumatic experience, and Dates is pleased to see that the less vulnerable people were not left out through healthcare expansions that allowed them to access mental health services. And he expects the research will show — through its comprehensive design and encouraging outcome measures — the importance of continuing the telemental health delivery.

Coronavirus