The Department of Psychology held its annual Class Day event on Monday, May 30, 2016 to celebrate the Class of 2016 graduates.
Festivities were held in the Frist Campus Center, where families, friends, and faculty congratulated the graduates on their profound accomplishments.
Among the celebrations, the Department recognized the following Class of 2016 Honors recipients.
Highest Honors: Kellyn Blaisdell, Jose Lopez, Sahiba Singh, Alissa Wagner
High Honors: Carrie Chen, Malena de la Fuente, Susana Martinez, Rachel Newman, Jamie Oliver, Lyra Olson, Lucia Perasso, Elizabeth Wilcox
Honors: Matthew Barouch, Jalisha Braxton, Reina Gabai, Eliana Glatt, Everest Goldstein, Douglas Guyett, Victoria Hammarskjold, Kamber Hart, Christopher Harwood, Victoria Higgins, Rohey Jah, Kristen Kim, Julie Kwong, Ana Maldonado, Alice Terrett, Gabriela Villamor, Amelia Warshaw, Michal Wiseman, Kathey Yuen
The following Honors recipients were also elected into the Phi Beta Kappa Society (the oldest national honorary scholastic society, founded in 1776): Kellyn Blaisdell, Sahiba Singh, Alissa Wagner
The Department also handed out the following Awards and Prizes.
Graduate School Teaching Award: Each year, the Department of Psychology selects a graduate student with demonstrated excellence in teaching undergraduates for the departmental graduate teaching award. This year, Adam Brockett was chosen as the recipient of this award. Adam was also awarded the University graduate teaching award, which was presented to him by the Dean of the Graduate School, Sanjeev Kulkarni, at a special ceremony on April 25.
The Miller-Schroeder Memorial Prize: This prize is given in memory of the two psychology majors killed at Kent State University in the spring of 1970. It is awarded to the graduating senior whose thesis best exemplifies the application of the psychological methods to the study of a problem of social significance. Douglas Guyett’s thesis, advised by Professor Diana Tamir and entitled, “Psychological Interventions Through Email: An Answer for Energy Conservation,” was selected as the 2016 recipient.
The Edward E. Jones Memorial Prize: This prize is awarded to the graduating student whose senior thesis is judged to be the most outstanding work in social psychology, broadly construed. In keeping with Professor Jones' own interests, special consideration is given to theses that report innovative empirical research, although theses of a purely theoretical character are also considered. Christopher Harwood’s thesis, advised by Professor Johannes Haushofer and entitled, “Shopping for Poverty: Does Helping Others Increase Psychological Well-Being?” was selected as the 2016 recipient.
The George A. Miller Prize in Cognitive Science: This prize is given annually to the best interdisciplinary senior thesis in cognitive science. Matthew Barouch’s thesis, advised by Professor Adele Goldberg and entitled, “Statistical Learning of Novel Words is Unaffected by the Additional Assignation of Referents,” was selected as the 2016 recipient.
Senior Thesis Prize in Clinical Psychology: This prize is awarded to the graduating senior whose thesis is judged to be the most outstanding work in clinical psychology, broadly construed. Generally, it will be awarded to the student(s) whose thesis best exemplifies the application of empirical methods to the study of psychopathology or the prevention or treatment of psychopathology. Kellyn Blaisdell’s thesis, advised by Dr. Megan Spokas and entitled, “Removing Negative Information: The Effects of Working Memory Training on Stress Reactivity in Major Depressive Disorder,” was selected as the 2016 recipient.
Sigma Xi Book Prize: Sigma Xi is the international honor society for science. Acceptance and membership into Sigma Xi is based on a student’s promise as a researcher, shown by both outstanding course work and by conducting exceptional empirical work on his or her senior thesis. Last week, Sigma Xi added a number of new members into its ranks from the various departments of science at Princeton University, including 49 Psychology concentrators. Sigma Xi has further singled out four inductees for the Sigma Xi Book Prize in Psychology, based on their outstanding accomplishments and potential as young scientists: Kellyn Blaisdell, Jose Lopez, Sahiba Singh, Alissa Wagner
Howard Crosby Warren Junior and Senior Prizes in Psychology: Funded by an endowment established by the bequest of Catherine C. Warren, the Howard Crosby Warren Prizes are awarded annually to the junior and senior concentrators in Psychology selected by the Department as the most worthy recipients on the basis of scholarly attainment and good character. The following junior concentrators received this award for 2016: Jennifer Bu, Diana Hernandez, Sofia Hiltner, Duc Nguyen, and Aneesh Rai. The following senior concentrators received this award for 2016: Kellyn Blaisdell, Jose Lopez, Susana Martinez, Lyra Olson, Sahiba Singh, and Alissa Wagner.
The Department of Psychology would like to thank all Class of 2016 graduates, award and prize recipients, and their families and friends for their commitment and contributions to Psychology and Princeton. Congratulations and best wishes for all that the future brings!