Majors

Psychology major

The Central College psychology program has been launching students into successful careers in psychology, medicine, law, education, ministry, the corporate world, private ownership and other areas for over 50 years.

A major in psychology at Central College provides students with the following:

Scientifically-grounded knowledge about human behavior
Useful problem-solving skills
Ability to communicate clearly
Strong human relations skills
Emotional intelligence skills

With this background, our graduates are highly qualified and sought after for career positions that involve working with people and/or organizations, and they often report that they are better prepared for graduate school than the majority of their first-year colleagues from other colleges and universities.

Graduates from the last 10 years have been accepted into 59 different graduate programs at 37 universities in 16 states, the District of Columbia, England and Wales.
Over 60 percent of our graduates have earned or are currently working on a master’s degree, compared to 15 percent nationally.
Fifteen percent have earned or are working on doctoral degrees, compared to 1 percent nationally.

Faculty

Peggy Fitch, Ph.D., professor of psychology, fitchp@central.edu,
areas of interest include issues in developmental psychology, intercultural competence and intellectual development in college students, service-learning
Keith Jones, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology, joneskt@central.edu, areas of interest include life-span developmental psychology (in humans and primates), social cognition, (e.g. aging stereotypes), practical applications of research and statistical analyses
Taylor Newton, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology, newtont@central.edu
Randall Renstrom, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology, renstromr@central.edu

Successful Careers

Program coordinator, Kalona Group Home of REM Developmental Services, Coralville, Iowa
Admission coordinator, Des Moines University
Vocational rehabilitation specialist, Bass & Babb Companies, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Assistant professor of criminal justice, University of Nebraska at Omaha
Senior manager — Northeast region, Progressive Insurance, Wappingers Falls, N.Y.
Production operations manager, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Minneapolis, Minn.
Staff psychologist, Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital, Columbia, Mo.
Doctoral student in counseling psychology and research assistant, The University of Iowa
Attorney, Hills Bank and Trust Company, North Liberty, Iowa
Senior analyst, Mercer Health and Benefits, Washington, D.C.
Occupational therapist, Saint Luke’s Hospital/Surrey Place, Chesterfield, Mo.
Neurohealth and pulmonary pharmaceutical sales, GlaxoSmithKline
Youth worker, Children and Families of Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa
Social worker, Department of Human Services, Des Moines, Iowa
Autism associate, The Homestead, Altoona, Iowa
Adoption caseworker, Catholic Charities

Internships

Department of Human Services in Knoxville — assist with family evaluations
MECCA in Iowa City and Des Moines — learn to work effectively with people struggling with alcohol and other drug dependencies
Orchard Place in Des Moines — work in child psychology
Crisis Intervention Services in Knoxville and Oskaloosa — work with domestic violence cases
Christian Opportunity Center in Pella — work with mentally and physically challenged people
Homestead, Inc. in Pleasant Hill — work with people with autism

Internships are also available to students who study on the Yucatan, London, Leiden or Wales programs. Learn more.

Learn more about internships at Central.

Courses

General psychology
Psychological investigations
Theories of personality
Psychopathology
The brain and behavior
Health psychology
A Christian worldview and psychological science
Multicultural issues in psychology
Social psychology
Fundamentals of statistics
SPSS for psychological research
Cognitive psychology
Experimental psychology
Child and adolescent development
Adult development and aging
Principles of counseling
History and systems of psychology
Advanced research in psychology

Sample Schedule

Freshman year

General psychology
Core courses and/or electives

Sophomore year

Psychological investigations
Psychology electives (especially 200 level courses)
Core courses and/or electives

Junior year

Fundamentals of statistics
Experimental psychology
SPSS for psychological research
Advanced research in psychology
Psychology electives (300 and 400 level courses)
Core courses and/or electives

Senior year

Psychology electives, including internship
Core courses and/or electives

Get more details from the course catalog! (Note: this is a PDF file)

Facilities

Central College is one of the most beautiful college campuses in the Midwest. A perfect mix of old and new, our buildings reflect our history and our future. Central's distinctive library is spacious and a popular haven with more than 230,000 volumes, computer stations, a multimedia collection and an extensive online computerized catalog. In fall 2009 the psychology department moved to the newly constructed Roe Center located on the southwest side of campus, across from the Vermeer Science Center. This platinum-rated LEED-certified building contains state-of-the-art classrooms, technology resources and research labs, all designed to provide students with a cutting-edge education in psychology to prepare them for success in graduate/professional school and/or in a wide range of work environments.

Department Web site

Central’s psychology department maintains its own website with even more information about majoring in psychology.

Organizations

No matter what your interests are, Central has a student group or organization that you’ll want to join! Psychology students might be interested in joining Central’s Psychology Club or Psi Chi (national honor society of the American Psychological Association).

Study Abroad

Students are encouraged to study abroad with one of Central’s eight international programs to enhance their development as global citizens, or with Central’s Chicago program and the Washington, D.C., program. Learn more about Central’s study abroad programs.

Internships are available to students who study in Yucatan, London and Wales, or on the Chicago Metropolitan Center program including::

Yucatán, Mexico

Public schools, Mérida businesses, or village schools.
ProNatura (peninsula-wide environmental organization)

London, England

Amnesty International
The Bayswater Family Centre
Family Planning Association (sexual health agency for the U.K.)
Field Land Homeless Family Centre
Riverside Mental Health Centre
Shelter, National Campaign for the Homeless

Bangor, Wales

Bangor Dyslexia Unit, University of Wales, Bangor

Leiden, the Netherlands

Care of the Mentally Handicapped
De Krullevaar (nursery school)

Service-Learning

Service-learning is a teaching strategy that engages students as volunteers at local agencies and organizations and having them reflect on their experiences in ways that enhance their learning of course material. Examples include:

General Psychology — volunteer for Central Service Day each spring to work alongside faculty, staff and other students on one-day projects.
Child and Adolescent Development — volunteer weekly to assist with after-school programs, day care, reading with children, tutoring, community art center activities and mentoring.
Adult Development and Aging — volunteer weekly to spend time with residents in assisted living and long-term care facilities and adult day care programs by reading, visiting, playing games, leading activities and helping with activities of daily living.
Fundamentals of Statistics — volunteer in teams to analyze and interpret program evaluation data and write research reports for community partners that do not have the expertise or time to do this on their own.
Independent Study Modules — volunteer to help community partners who have needs for assistance on special projects such as organizing fundraising events, surveying junior high and high school students about use of tutoring programs, entering and analyzing data from a statewide school climate survey, and interviewing children about program services.

Professional Presentations by Students

All psychology majors present the results of their advanced research in psychology projects at the Central College Psychology Symposium, held in the spring of each year.
During the first weekend in May the psychology faculty and a group of 15-20 psychology students attend the Midwestern Psychological Association convention in Chicago, where Central College students make poster session presentations based on the advanced research in psychology projects or on research done in other classes.

Sample Psychology Student Presentations at the Midwestern Psychological Association from 2007-10

2010

Lawrenza Bishop, The Military Uniform's Effect on College Students' Response Toward the War in Iraq, Poster Presentation (Keith Jones, faculty adviser)

Justine Celoni, Kelsey Westenberg, Jory Houser & Marshall McElhinney, Religiosity as a Predictor of Sexual Behavior and Sexual Attitudes in College Students, Poster Presentation (Ed Willis, faculty adviser)

David Counts, The Effect of Violent Print Media on Aggression, Poster Presentation (Keith Jones, Faculty Advisor)

Eva Downes, Effects of Plaintiff and Defendant Physical Attractiveness in Sexual Harassment Trial Judgments, Poster Presentation (Ed Willis, faculty adviser)

Kassie Holcomb, Aaron Jones, Andrea Clark & Kiley Lythberg, Actual and Ideal Gender-Role Perceptions: A 30 Year Comparison, Poster Presentation (Ed Willis, faculty adviser)

Peter Fegley, Stacia Leonard & Allyse Vander Plaats, Defendant Race and Juror Decisions in a Breaking-and-Entering Case, Poster Presentation, (Ed Willis, faculty adviser)

Morgan A. Vincent, Katie McKim, Hannah Martin & Jacob Clark, Birth Order and Attitudes about Relationships, Love, and Jealousy, Poster Presentation (Ed Willis, faculty adviser)

2009

Laura Bade, Rachel Garner, Nick Phillips, & Amanda Veenstra, Priming Cues in TV Commercials and Gender Attitudes, Poster Presentation (Ed Willis, faculty adviser)

Eva Downes, Matthew Ness, & Alainna Swenson, Cognitive Biases, Context, and Relativity in Judgment and Decision Making, Poster Presentation (Ed Willis, faculty adviser)

Eric Speer, Effects of Hints and Problem Similarity on Analogical Problem Solving, Poster Presentation (Peggy Fitch, faculty adviser)

Emily Steuckrath, Keeley Carson, & Trevor Nelson, Role of Situational Factors and Self-Construal in Big Five Personality Ratings, Poster Presentation (Ed Willis, faculty adviser)

Sarah Vandenberg, The Relationship Between Religion and Coping Skills for Stressful Life Events in College Students, Poster Presentation (Peggy Fitch, faculty adviser)

Eric Weismantel, Kelli Hancock, Joellen Poot & Ashley Ballard, Influence of Free Will and Determinism Beliefs on Cheating Behavior, Poster Presentation (Ed Willis, faculty adviser)

2008

Carran Calderwood, The Effects of Race on Facial Recall, Poster Presentation (Peggy Fitch, faculty adviser)

Donna Goering, Does Lady Justice Peek if You Are Arab? The Influence of Race on Guilt and Punishment, Poster Presentation (Ed Willis, faculty adviser)

Donna Goering, The Influence of Music Tempo on Reading Comprehension for 10th Grade Standard English Students, Poster Presentation (Keith Jones, faculty adviser)

Trent Griggs, Support for Same-Sex Marriage Law Based on Multiple Factors, Poster Presentation (Keith Jones, faculty adviser)

Amanda Grittmann, Social and Non-social Misinformation and Conformity in Eye Witness Accounts, Poster Presentation (Peggy Fitch, faculty adviser)

Jeremy Hinkel, The Effects of Analogies and Hints on Problem Solving, Poster Presentation (Ed Willis, faculty adviser)

Molly Lehr, Using the Response Bias Scale to Detect Malingering in Mild Head Injured Litigants, Poster Presentation (Ed Willis, faculty adviser)

Molly Lehr, Attribution of Guilt and Punishment Based on Physical Attractiveness and Smiling: A Replication, Poster Presentation (Ed Willis, faculty adviser)

Adam Livengood, Perceived Discrimination and Mental Health: The Moderating Role of Ethnic Identity, Poster Presentation (Soo Uhm, faculty adviser)

Whitney Longnecker, Austin Munoz, Hillary Baehr, Is Brown the New Black? Racial Differences and Helping Behavior, Poster Presentation (Ed Willis, faculty adviser)

Melissa Stewart, Evaluating the Influence of Volunteering on Happiness, Poster Presentation (Keith Jones, faculty adviser)

2007

Douglas Bermingham, Treatment Decision Participation and Personal Control: Predictors of Quality of life in Alzheimer's Disease Populations, Poster Presentation (Keith Jones, faculty adviser)

Douglas Bermingham, Intergenerational Contact and Modification of Student Death Attitudes, Paper (Peggy Fitch, faculty adviser)

Kristi Bermingham, Attribution Among College Students in Sexual Harassment Situations, Poster Presentation (Peggy Fitch, faculty adviser)

Serenity Groenenboom, Impact of Television Violence on Aggressive and Escape Though Accessibility, Poster Presentation (Ed Willis, faculty adviser)

Mary Naomi Landgren, The Effects of Appearance-Related and Nonappearance-Related TV Commercials on Body Image and Appearance Schema Activation, Poster Presentation (Ed Willis, faculty adviser)

Angela R. Schnedler, Effects of Media-Literacy Intervention Programs on Media Literacy, Paper (Peggy Fitch, faculty adviser)

Mark Trullinger, Catharsis, Rumination, Distraction, Anger, and Aggressive Responding, Poster Presentation (Ed Willis, faculty adviser)