Psychology majors Hailee Dunn, Jamie Coy and Jessica Holmes tackled the effects of media on sexual promiscuity in their recent Advanced Junior Research Seminar. Their research project examined how the media affects promiscuity in adolescent females from socio-psychological, biological and forensic perspectives.
Through an in depth review of literature, the students analyzed definitions of promiscuity, conscious and unconscious levels of cognition of advertising, brain responses, and factors that contribute to susceptibility to sexual stimuli created by the media.
In addition, the students conducted their own original study to test whether media exposure was related to risk factors and/or psychological type. Through set up of an original experimental design including creation of stimuli, testing of subjects and statistical analysis of results, all three students experienced first hand what it is to be an experimental psychologist including the task of writing up and presenting their findings for their final project.
Their experience as researchers provided a great foundation for further study in Psychology - all three are currently considering graduate school in their futures.