FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 15, 2008
Media Contact: Aya Abelon, Public Affairs; (562) 860-2451, ext. 2287
NORWALK, Calif. – September 15, 2008 – This past August four lucky Cerritos College students were given the opportunity to travel to 
Both Duff and Gaffney have been going to the APA conventions with students for over 10 years, but this years conference was different than any of the others. Two Cerritos College students received honorable mentions for their research and the Cerritos College chapter of Psi Beta, the national honors society for psychology, was unanimously awarded a Special Recognition Award recognizing them as an outstanding chapter over the years.
“This was an exciting year for us,” said Duff. “We were being recognized for several outstanding accomplishments.”
Danny Snipes and Sarah Capic received honorable mentions at the convention for research they conducted while in Dr. Duff’s spring 2008 Research Methods course. They had entered their research in a nationwide competition sponsored by the publishing company Allyn & Bacon.
Snipes’ researched the effects of audible stress on time perception and measured how people perceive time to pass while hearing a stressful sound.
Capic researched perceptions people have in regards to accents. She had “mock jurors” listen to two different recordings of men with different foreign accents and then had the jurors determine the guilt or innocence of the men.
The Cerritos College chapter of Psi Beta was a charter member of the society and dates back to 1980. This year, the National Council of the society honored the chapter with a special award in response to the numerous academic accomplishments and scholarly acts of Cerritos College students, along with hours of volunteer work and community service they have put in. Students dedicate their time volunteering at places such as the Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk and local shelters.
The four students that went to the conference, Mayra Gutierrez, Mario Torres, Danny Snipes and James Sarabia, all hold officer positions in the Psychology Club on campus. They have shown their dedication to both psychology and their academics.
The experience of attending the conference reinforced Sarabia’s career choice.
“I actually envisioned myself at the convention not as a student, but as a future psychologist with the intent of presenting research one day,” he said.
“Being around intelligent people gives me a drive,” said Torres about how he was impacted by the conference.
Although the main purpose of the trip was to attend the national convention, it was not the only great experience for the students. Some of them had never been on a plane or out of California before. During their spare time in Boston they visited some of the many sights the city has to offer, such as the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and multiple historical sights. The trip not only helped the students expand their views of psychology, but the world as well.
If students are interested in finding out more about the Psychology Club, please contact Dr. Kimberley Duff at kduff@cerritos.edu or Dr. Todd Gaffaney at tgaffaney@cerritos.edu or come to our weekly meetings that take place every Tuesday 11-12pm in SS215. For more information about the Psychology Department, see our website at www. cerritos.edu/psychology.
Cerritos College serves as a comprehensive community college for southeastern Los Angeles County. Communities within the college’s district include Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, La Mirada, Norwalk, and portions of Bell Gardens, Lakewood, Long Beach, Santa Fe Springs and South Gate. Cerritos College offers degrees and certificates in more than 200 areas of study in nine divisions. Annually, more than 1,200 students successfully complete their course of studies, and enrollment currently surpasses 20,000 students. Visit Cerritos College online at www.cerritos.edu.
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