Psychology Department Members Present Research Findings at Conference

SALISBURY, MD--Dr. George Whitehead, chair of the Psychology Department at Salisbury State University, and Kai Stefan-Fountain, 1998 graduate of SSU’s master’s program in counseling psychology, made research presentations at the 70th meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association in Providence, RI.

Stefan-Fountain presented his research, "Racial Issues and Jury Decision: A Study of Aversive Racism," in the Psychology and the Law session of the conference. His research, which utilized a mock jury simulation case, found that even though the racial composition of a jury or the race of the defense lawyer may not influence Caucasian jurors decision about the guilt or innocence of an African-American defendant, their racial identity attitudes would influence how positively or negatively the defendant was viewed.

Whitehead presented his research, "Motive Profiles of Modern and Traditional Presidents." His findings showed that modern presidents, Franklin Roosevelt to William Clinton, have higher levels of the needs for achievement, affiliation and power than traditional presidents, George Washington to Herbert Hoover. The findings are consistent with the number of changes to the Office of Presidents as it has evolved.