Psychology | Today at Elon | �þ��

Psychology students and faculty present research at North Eastern Evolutionary Psychology Society meeting

Jordann Brandner — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 13:20:46 +0000

�þ�� and faculty from �þ��’s Department of Psychology recently presented research at the annual meeting of the North Eastern Evolutionary Psychology Society (NEEPS), an organization dedicated to advancing research and education on human behavior from an evolutionary perspective.

Despite starting as a regional conference, NEEPS has grown to include scholars from 12 different countries and 23 different states in 2026.

Caroline Niedermeyer, Andrea Perez and Madeleine Pettis each presented individual research posters developed through collaborative research with faculty mentor Jordann Brandner, assistant professor of psychology, and with support from the Elon Undergraduate Research Program and the Sinclair Endowed Grant.

Pettis, Perez, and Niedermeyer presenting their posters.

Niedermeyer presented work she completed during her 2025 Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE). Her poster, titled, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want: Exploring the Relationship Between Self-Perceived Mate Value and Tolerance for Compensatory Traits,” explored how individuals navigate trade-offs in relationship partner selection. The study tested whether self-perceived mate value affects willingness to accept partners with offsetting high and low traits. Niedermeyer was awarded the Gordon Bear Best Student Poster Award, recognizing the top �þ�� or graduate student poster presentation at the conference. The award, which includes a $100 prize, is one of the meeting’s most competitive student honors and highlights the quality and impact of her research.

Perez’s poster, “Pride and Preference: Perceived Sex Ratios and Women’s Online Dating Choices,” examined how features of dating apps may shape users’ perceptions of available partners and influence women’s selectivity. Using an app that she co-developed with Pettis, the experiment tests whether different ratios of male and female profiles affect how frequently people accept or reject potential matches, contributing to understanding how modern digital environments influence mating strategies. This research was funded by a Sinclair Endowed research grant, which is awarded to student research in the social and behavioral sciences.

Pettis’ poster, “Thank You, Next: Examining the Effects of Sex Ratio and Number of Choices in Mate Choice,” investigated how the total number of available partners influences partner decisions. Using the same dating app, participants evaluate different numbers of profiles to determine whether making more choices affects a person’s pickiness. The experiment offers insight into how decision-making processes operate in online dating, where people make many choices in succession. This research was also supported by a Sinclair Endowed grant.

In addition to student presentations, Brandner led a workshop titled “Teaching a Balanced Evolutionary Social Sciences Course: A Teaching Workshop,” which focused on strategies for integrating diverse perspectives within evolutionary social science curricula. This work was funded by the �þ�� Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL) Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Dissemination grant.

All three students will present their work again at the upcoming Spring Undergraduate Research Forum (SURF) on April 28th, 2026.

Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences, launches new mission, vision and core values

sdarmelio — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 15:13:11 +0000

Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences, introduced a new mission statement, vision statement and core values during its spring faculty meeting following a year and a half-long process led by Dean Hilton Kelly.

Since his 2023 arrival at Elon, Kelly has hosted a ‘listening tour’ and spent time with each department to hear directly from faculty and staff about what they value. Kelly said that common themes soon emerged from those conversations and the new statement reflects dozens of discussions.

Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences new vision statement reads: “The Heart of an Elon Education: Ignite Curiosity, Engage Challenges, Transform Worlds.”

The mission statement then declares:

“Upholding the centrality of the liberal arts, we explore and apply disciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge for inquiry, creativity, discovery and problem solving in a complex and changing world.”

The statement lists core values that include accessibility, belonging, critical thinking, diversity, equity and inclusion, integrity, intellectual curiosity, problem-posing and respect for human dignity.

Community Reflections

“There were several opportunities for different groups, departments, branches, interdisciplinary programs, to discuss versions on the table. It was in those conversations where we might learn how a word or phrase was heard within and across disciplines; where we found convergence, deeper awareness, and respect. The both-and of this process modeled what we value and genuinely captures our shared identity as Elon College.” – Caroline Ketcham, associate dean of Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences and a professor of exercise science
“It was always important to us that this wasn’t a process where faculty were just asked to weigh in at the end, after the real decisions had already been made. From start to finish, it was grounded in listening to what faculty across the college say we do well and what values they believe guide our shared work. Our task wasn’t to invent a mission, vision and values, but to clearly articulate what faculty are already living and leading with. I think that’s why faculty can so readily see themselves and their departments represented in the final statements.” – David Buck, associate dean of Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences and an associate professor of psychology
“Having shared goals and articulated values helps everyone in the college feel connected as a community, value each other’s work and prioritize our energies on initiatives that matter to us.” – Shannon Duvall, interim associate dean of Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of computer science
“I appreciated the collaborative nature of it all, not just between the dean’s office and department chairs, but also extending to faculty members across Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences. It really did involve all of us. What particularly stood out to me were the conversations in our chairs’ meetings with the dean where we came to agreements on core values. It’s inspiring to see that distinctly different types of disciplines uphold the same core values.” – Joel Karty, chair of the Department of Chemistry and �þ��’s Sydney F. & Kathleen E. Jackson Professor of chemistry
“I appreciated being part of a process that felt genuinely collaborative. Our participation was not merely symbolic. It felt meaningful, and I experienced the dean’s office as truly listening. The process itself was also inspirational, and I feel bolstered in leading my own department through similar work. It was powerful to see such a broad, collective effort take shape into something tangible.” – Samantha DiRosa, chair of the Department of Art and a professor of art and environmental studies
“The process of creating a new vision statement, mission statement and core values for Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences was both thoughtful and deeply collaborative. Over many months, department chairs worked together to reflect on what makes us distinctive and how best to express those qualities in guiding statements. The process intentionally sought input from across departments, ensuring that everyone in the college had the opportunity to contribute their perspectives. Personally, the time spent reflecting with fellow chairs on what makes each of our departments special fostered a deeper sense of shared purpose and collective commitment.” – Carrie Eaves, chair of the Department of Political Science and Public Policy and associate professor of political science and public policy

Kelly said he was pleased the final language resonated with the faculty in the college.

“The true measure of a successful attempt to lead a group or an organization towards a renewed vision, mission and core values is whether the words and sentiments ‘sound like us’,” he said. “When I heard that some faculty believed my presentation of our vision, mission and core values at our spring faculty meeting ‘sound like us,’ I knew that our work together in small and large group settings was a huge success. It means that stakeholders were heard and that the words resonate so much so that the tune or melody is familiar. The vision, mission and core values reflect truly who we are and where we are going with much intention.”

Gendle and Tapler lead conversation at NCCE PACE conference to promote equity in community-based learning

mgendle — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 14:04:30 +0000

Mathew Gendle, director of Project Pericles and professor of psychology, and Amanda Tapler, associate director of Project Pericles and associate �þ�� professor of public health, co-led a community conversation at the 2026 North Carolina �þ�� Engagement PACE conference, hosted by �þ�� on Feb. 11.

Titled “Disrupting power structures to promote equity in community-based learning,” this conversation championed ways in which relational power dynamics between academic institutions and community partners can be equitably reformed. This session was guided by two overarching questions: 1) How might we engender robust self-examination around the question of whether academic programs are operating in equitable or paternalistic ways? and 2) What can academic practitioners do to break down barriers to true equity in community partnerships and meaningfully enhance equity in program design, execution, and evaluation?

Best practice models in community-based learning, such as Fair Trade Learning, emphasize that academic practitioners must equitably co-create programs with community partners. While many practitioners agree with these aspirational standards, bringing them to life poses challenges. Communities that have been historically subject to colonialism and exploitation may not feel empowered to lead. Community partners may not consider it possible to co-create because of deeply rooted assumptions that academic institutions lead and community partners follow.

Academic programs often approach partners to seek their approval for complete/nearly complete memorandums of understanding, project plans, and course syllabi. This can happen intentionally or be the product of assumptions about the default way of doing things. Such approaches do not display equitable co-design through collaboration. Embedded and presumed imbalances in power dynamics that exist between academic institutions and community partners need to be acknowledged and comprehensively explored. Partnership outcomes must focus on mutual benefit instead of primarily privileging student benefits and outcomes. And the senior leadership and counsel’s offices of academic institutions must understand that it is healthy to cede significant components of control over partnerships while, at the same time, doing everything required to keep students and community partners safe.

Eleven Elon seniors and alumni named semifinalists for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program

Nicole Galante — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 19:39:24 +0000

Eleven Elon students and alumni have been recommended as semifinalists for the 2026-27 Founded in 1946, the Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. State Department designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.

Fulbright grantees are not just funded to teach or research—they are expected to serve as valuable cultural ambassadors in their respective host countries, both representing the United States and learning about their new communities.

Fulbright grants are awarded on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. As semifinalists, these Elon students and alumni have been recommended by the National Screening Committee of the Institute of International Education for final consideration by review panels in their respective host countries. Semifinalists will be notified of their final award status this spring, beginning in late March, barring any delays or disruptions at the federal level.

This year’s Fulbright semifinalists are:

Azul Bellot ’26

Psychology and Sociolinguistics
Semifinalist for a Fulbright English �þ�� assistantship to Spain

Jo Bogart ’26

Creative Writing and Classical Studies
Semifinalist for a Fulbright study/research grant to the United Kingdom

Anya Bratić ’26

International & Global Studies and Public Policy
Semifinalist for a Fulbright English �þ�� assistantship to Vietnam

Rony Dahdal ’26

Computer Science, Math, and Philosophy
Semifinalist for a Fulbright study/research grant to Sweden

Jubitza Figueroa ’21

Political Science
Semifinalist for a Fulbright English �þ�� assistantship to Spain

Alex Fleischmann ’26

Psychology
Semifinalist for a Fulbright English �þ�� assistantship to South Korea

Rebecca Lovasco ’26

Psychology
Semifinalist for a Fulbright study/research grant to Taiwan

Caroline Mitchell ’26

Middle Grades Math and Special Education
Semifinalist for a Fulbright English �þ�� assistantship to Bulgaria

Molly Moylan ’26

Biochemistry
Semifinalist for a Fulbright English �þ�� assistantship to Spain

Madison Powers ’25

Journalism
Semifinalist for a Fulbright English �þ�� assistantship to Spain

Aryanna Vindas ’25

Dance Performance & Choreography
Semifinalist for a Fulbright English �þ�� assistantship to South Korea

Elon students and alumni interested in the Fulbright Program or other nationally competitive fellowships are invited to contact the National and International Fellowships Office. To begin the Fulbright application process, please visit the Fulbright Application Process page to register for one of the following virtual Fulbright information sessions during the spring semester:

Wednesday, March 11 at 4 p.m.
Thursday, April 9 at 4:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 21 at 12 p.m.

Elon psychologist explores the impact of social media on teen anxiety and well-being

Avery Craine Powell — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 16:40:50 +0000

Professor of Psychology Bilal Ghandour

�þ�� psychology professor Bilal Ghandour is turning his clinical experience toward one of the most pressing issues facing families today: the effects of social media on teens’ mental health.

Over the past several years, Ghandour, a clinical psychologist, has noticed anxiety in young people through his practice. It has led to his new line of research, in its early stages, involving social media and teens, with plans to conduct his first study by the end of next summer.

Ghandour has been sharing his insights with schools, advocacy groups and parent organizations across the country. Most recently, he presented to educators and parents in Pennsylvania about how families can guide their children toward healthier online habits. His message to parents is simple: take back control.

“They feel that somehow social media is completely different than anything else, and they don’t know how to direct it,” he said. “I remind them that it’s just like any type of behavior. You can put parameters that place you in charge. Once you give them these specific guidelines, it gives them some real relief.”

He points to national data showing rising rates of anxiety and depression among teens since 2015, a trend that coincides with the explosion of smartphone use.

“Everything kept constant, the only significant change that has occurred is the use of social media,” Ghandour said. “Teenagers report six, eight, even 10 hours spent on their smartphones. That impacts concentration, focus and relationships.”

While Ghandour sees this topic firsthand, he received a request in 2022 from Keegan Lee, a Burlington High School student looking to examine her own social media use. Lee reached out to several Elon faculty in the hopes of publishing a book based on her journaling of the experience. The book, “60 Days of Disconnect,” alternates between Lee’s journal entries on abstaining from social media for two months and Ghandour’s psychological reflections.

“Every response that she has in her journal entry, I provide an equivalent psychological explanation of what she goes through,” Ghandour said. “It explains the principles she experiences backed by specific instances of events that I responded to based on my expertise.”

Professor of Psychology Bilal Ghandour, right, with Keegan Lee

Now his future work is expected to move beyond just documenting the negative effects of screen time.

“My first focus is going to be on trying to tease out the effects, the positive effects from the negative effects,” he said. “What value do we gain from accessing this information? What is important and meaningful, and what is just a waste of time or addiction-related behavior?”

Ghandour’s goal, both in his talks and forthcoming research, is to help teens and adults develop awareness of their own media habits.

“It’s absolutely imperative that all of us, whether we are in the classroom, staff, or faculty, be mindful of the way we use our machines,” he said. “They can be incredibly useful, but because they’re so present and available, we fail to recognize how we use them. Try to document your own use so that you have healthy habits instead of something that gets away from you.”

In the spring, Ghandour will return to Pennsylvania as a keynote speaker for a statewide conference of non-public high schools, continuing his mission to blend psychological research with practical advice for families navigating the digital age.

“We can’t wish social media away,” he said. “But we can learn to use it, instead of letting it use us.”

Vandermaas-Peeler presents her research on ‘The Good Childhood’ in Naples, Italy

Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler — Thu, 13 Nov 2025 18:43:57 +0000

Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler, director of the Center for Research on Global Engagement and professor of psychology, was invited to present her research on “The Good Childhood,” at the Giornate Educazione Ambiente 2025 in Naples, Italy in October.

The presentation, entitled “Se un bambino americano, uno scandinavio e uno italiano …” included an Italian moderator, Dr. Maria Francesca Freda, a clinical psychologist at the Universita’ Degli Studi di Napoli.

Vandermaas-Peeler’s research, a continuation of her spring 2024 sabbatical project, represents an international collaboration with colleagues in Denmark and the Netherlands to study young children’s perspectives on a good childhood through drawing, photography, and stories.

Vandermaas-Peeler and colleagues present at AAC&U Global Learning conference

Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler — Thu, 13 Nov 2025 18:43:10 +0000

Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler, director of the Center for Research on Global Engagement and professor of psychology, presented at the virtual AAC&U Global Learning conference with Dawn Whitehead, vice president of the Office of Global Citizenship for �þ��, Community and Careers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), and three directors of �þ�� research at DIS, Study Abroad in Scandinavia, Susana Dietrich, Jeanette Erbo Wern, and Polina Smiragina-Ingelstrom.

The presentation, entitled “Crafting a successful education abroad research experience: Professional development for mentoring �þ�� research in global contexts (MUR-GC),” features an on-going collaboration between Whitehead and Vandermaas-Peeler, a senior fellow at AAC&U, to study MUR-GC.

The DIS collaborators have written a chapter on their MUR-GC model for a forthcoming CEL open access book on MUR-GC edited by Vandermaas-Peeler and Whitehead.

Bilal Ghandour featured in ‘The Sentinel’ for research on teen mental health and social media

Avery Craine Powell — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 14:31:50 +0000

Bilal Ghandour, associate professor of psychology

Bilal Ghandour, associate professor of psychology, was highlighted by “The Sentinel” in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, for his research on how constant digital engagement shapes adolescent well-being.

The story follows a presentation Ghandour delivered for the Tuscarora Intermediate Unit 11, “a regional educational service agency meeting the needs of the public and nonpublic schools, personnel and students in Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata and Mifflin counties” in Pennsylvania.

During the presentation, Ghandour shared research-based strategies for parents and educators navigating the challenges of raising and �þ�� in the smartphone era.

Ghandour, who specializes in adolescent mental health, described the rise in screen time as “a fundamental and massive issue.” He noted that many teens now spend eight to ten hours daily on their phones, time that can displace the face-to-face interactions essential for healthy development.

“The major downside I see is the lack of a stable formation of yourself and your confidence level,” Ghandour said. “When you are bombarded with images and comments of people who are trying to one up each other, it becomes very easy to be cast aside or to want to imitate. So, you end up imitating a person or a look or a mindset that’s really not you, but you’re just so tempted to copy someone in order to get approved, get acceptance, get ahead.”

The article also spotlighted Ghandour’s collaboration with Keegan Lee, a student at the Burlington School, who reached out to the professor because of her own social media use. Lee unplugged from social media for 60 days and journaled her experience, which Ghandour was able to both analyze and offer feedback on. Lee turned those journal entries and Ghandour’s research into a book called “60 Days of Disconnect,” co-authored with Ghandour.

In his presentation, highlighted by “The Sentinel,” Ghandour also addressed how today’s digital environment accelerates emotional development.

“In the 21st century, our children are growing up faster, and it puts them in danger in numerous ways,” he said.

Read the full article in “.”

Gendle and Elon alum publish research on relationships between eating behaviors, body dysmorphia, exercise dependency and decision making

mgendle — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 17:29:09 +0000

Mat Gendle, professor of psychology and director of Project Pericles

Mathew Gendle, director of Project Pericles and professor of psychology, and alum Georgia Daniel ’24 have published research appearing in the most recent issue of the “American Journal of Psychology.”

Titled “Relationships Between Orthorexia, Exercise Dependency, Body Image, and Decision-Making in University Undergraduates”, this manuscript discusses research that provides two significant new conclusions.

First, individuals self-reporting traits linked to orthorexia nervosa, body dysmorphia and/or exercise dependency do not demonstrate altered decision-making strategies like those associated with substance use disorders. This is a critical finding that calls into question the common, everyday use of terms like “exercise addiction” and the equivalence that is frequently implied between excessive exercise behaviors and substance dependencies.

Second, heightened levels of fitness-related social media engagement are significantly correlated with increased behaviors related to exercise dependence and body dysmorphia. However, the cause-and-effect relationship between these variables remains unknown. Does engagement with certain types of social media drive behaviors linked to exercise dependence and body dysmorphia, or are individuals who engage in these behaviors drawn to social media content that mirrors what they are already experiencing? Future research will need to directly assess this question.

While at Elon, Daniel was an Elon College Fellow. She is currently completing a Master of Social Work at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Psychology professor and student mentee present infancy research at an international conference in Czech Republic

Sabrina Perkins — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 17:37:57 +0000

Sabrina Perkins, associate professor of psychology and director of the , traveled with psychology major and student researcher Anna Grace Gilbert ’27 to attend and present infancy research at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) (ICDL) in Prague, Czech Republic.

is the world’s largest technical professional organization and is dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. IEEE’s ICDL is a unique meeting of researchers from computer science, robotics, psychology, neuroscience and other disciplines to share and discuss research on how humans and other animals learn and develop and how this can inform and be informed by robotics and machine learning systems. The conference was held at the faculty of electrical engineering, at the Czech Technical University.

Gilbert presented a co-authored poster with Perkins and collaborator (University of Tennessee Knoxville) titled, “Play by Play: Interacting with Targets from Crawling to Walking.” The work, which is still ongoing, uses network analyses to capture infants’ shifts from one target to another during free play sessions across the first two years of life.

Travel to the conference was supported by Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Undergraduate Research Program, and the Psychology Department. Mentored students in the Infant Development Lab come from a variety of diverse backgrounds and go on to graduate and professional programs. The Infant Development Lab focuses on understanding how infants acquire postural and locomotor skills such as sitting, reaching, crawling and walking in the first two years of life.

This research is an extension of on how motor development affects infants’ interactions with their wider environments.

Psychology | Today at Elon | �þ���