Applications of Psychological Science

I am excited to having you come in this week and giving us a different perspective of applied psychology. I found it interesting you majored in both economics and psychology while at W&L. What led you to this choice? There does not seem to be any overlap with these two areas. Was it difficult having those two areas be your majors? You have had much experience in investment banking and the marketing world. Did an internship earlier on help lead you to this path? And did you do any research or internships as an undergraduate at W and L? How do you think W and L helped prepare you for your career?

Thank you!

Kelly Camus

Your path is very different from the speakers we have heard thus far, and I am interested in your reasons behind pairing psychology with economics. Was it purely for the sake of intellectual curiosity in psychology (or economics) or do you believe that a degree in one or the other helped give you an "edge" in your career? I am very interested in your topic "the concomitant utilization of the scientific method, to common decision-making dilemmas" and how much of your psychological knowledge was relevant to the business world? Did you ever think about going to graduate school to focus on psychology?

Thank you!

I am also excited to get a new perspective on what you can do with psychology. Do you feel that having a degree in psychology has made you a more desirable and successful employee? The chapters that you had us read were very interesting. Do you work with situations like those? Do you think that the characteristics of the people in those chapters is a flaw in human nature or is it what allows our economy/market to succeed? Thanks!

I am interested in hearing your responses to my classmates' questions that have already been posted. More specifically, I'm very interested in learning how consumer insights have impacted your success in the highly volatile industry of finance.

Thanks,
Tori Christmas

Hello,

In relation to the articles you posted, how do you see the "madness of the crowds" playing out in our current economy? Judging by the shark article, it seems like the psychology of the marketing world is used in a manipulative fashion. Would you agree or disagree with this assessment? Have you seen or used this kind of psychology in your career experiences? Do you see it as a necessary force in our economy rather than a negative one? On a more personal note, do you find that your psychology background has helped you in your career? How did you like living abroad and working for an international company? How did you end up back in Lexington?

Thanks!
Liz

From looking over my classmates' questions it seems as though we're all very interested in hearing about similar things. You are an anomaly at this point in the 395 course so I think we're all very excited to hear about your extensive and unique history in the psychology field. Most of my questions have already been asked but I'm curious as well about your time here at Washington and Lee past and present.

I also share many of the same questions that my classmates have already posted. I am also curious as to whether or not, as an undergraduate, you were torn at all between pursuing a career in psychology versus business, or if you knew all along that you wanted a career in the business world that a background supplied by a psychology degree would be helpful in? I don't know very much about the field of business, so I am very much looking forward to hearing about what you have done in your career.

Thanks!
Mary Hipp

Mr. Grigsby -

Both "The $12 Million Stuffed Shark" and "Auction Psychology" imply that psychosocial contests between dealers, auctioneers, and bidders reduce intellectual appreciation for the arts. Thompson writes that "money, lust, and self-aggrandizement of possession" are all "important elements of the world of contemporary art" (7) and that the aesthetic value of art decreases as "rivalry and competition" become the primary focus of those purchasing art (120). Do you think product quality suffers as the result of psychosocial competition between businessmen? In other words, are businessmen and buyers are too preoccupied with quantity rather than quality? And, do you think individuals who are involved in the worlds of economics and art should detach themselves from psychosocial competition in order to preserve and promote product quality? Is this detachment even possible?

Looking forward to hearing your lecture as it will be unlike any we've had thus far! Thanks.

Hannah

Hi Mr. Grigsby,

I would love to learn something more about the psychology of market bubbles. Why do we continue to make so many "bubbles" in markets, from tulips and modern art, to beanie babies and sub prime mortgage? Why don't people ever learn if something seems too good to be true, it is?

Is greed a reason to let free markets run themselves? Or should greed be contained by more government control over our economy?

Thank you and looking forward to your presentation!
Hannah Murphy

Mr. Grigsby,

Like many of the other students in this class, I am very excited to hear about the role that your psychology degree played in your career path. In particular, I am interested to hear your thoughts about the psychology of regret in high stakes business transactions, a topic that was mentioned in "The $12 Million Stuffed Shark." Do you have any suggestions for how to remain clairvoyant in situations that could lead to consumer regret?

In addition to this, I was also interested to learn about your experiences working in Japan and London. What led you to take positions abroad and how were these experiences?

Thank you! I look forward to your presentation.

Brooke

I am very interested in your responses to the questions the other students have already posted. In addition, I was wondering why you went into business with a psychology degree, and how knowing about psychology has helped you in this field. Are there any particular times you found having a psych degree has particularly aided you in your work?

Thanks,
Shannon Williams

Mr. Grigsby,

I am a senior Psychology major who is interested in using my psychology degree in the corporate world. I have not taken any economics classes, and I was wondering if you could give us any advice on entering the business world as a Psych major without business experience?

Thank you,
Diana Burgreen

Good evening/morning,
I hope y'all found today's session useful - it certainly was enjoyable for me - and that our two examples of herd psychology and economic consequences successfully illustrated the breadth and depth of the impact of emotion on cognition. This interaction has given rise to a school of economic thought known as 'behavioral finance'. Based on some of your questions, I hope that the short article below will help reinforce the linkages between the disciplines of psych and economics for you. While the article's immediate theme may be more relevant to those contemplating a business or financial career, its real intent is to demonstrate that formal education in psychological science provides a wealth of career applications - you will have lots of options.....

< http://www.moneyweek.com/investment-advice/how-to-invest/does-our-psychology-move-markets.aspx# >

This is a short, old-ish (2006) article on 'Behavioral Finance' by Simon Wilson of the U.K.'s MoneyWeek magazine, which underscores the intellectual link between psychology and economic behavior. If you're a real gluttoon for punishmnet, the Wikipedia article on 'Behavioral Economics' is also a good primer.

Seperately, given that the flow-of-investment-emotions slide seemed to ring true for other 'bubbles' on your radar, here's it's link:
< http://www.greekshares.com/lemming.php >.
If interested in its author's views on how to avoid getting caught up with the lemmings in bubble-decisions, do look at the 'next page' of the article for some investment disciplines to consider. Of course, I'm delighted to add my comments as you might find interesting.

Lastly, while we didn't really spend any time on this topic today, if y'all have any interest in discussing the personal thrills and challenges of working abroad, please do let me know.

Until tomorrow,
Kind regards,
Ben G.

ps - Perhaps we could also spend a little time talking about the psychology of perception. I know several of you are doing research into taste, and that at least one person is contemplating a food/hospitality career. As it turns out, the wine/ wine restaurant business is one of my many 'distractions', and I'd be happy to table this topic too....

Students: Prior to our meeting on March 11 please take a quick look at www.phawinchester.com and www.forensicpsychologycenter.com
Pay special attention to the "Services" section of each. This will give you an overview of the types of services offered in the clinical psychology and forensic psychology fields.
Looking forward to your questions and meeting with you on the 11th.
Bernie Lewis, Ph.D.

Mr. Lewis,

I am very excited to hear your presentations this week and to meet your daughter. I think that you both have a lot of information to share that will provide us with a new and interesting perspective on having a psychology degree. After reading about the vast differences between clinical and forensic psychology, I am wondering what made you decide to go into forensic psychology? Was it an interest that you have always had or was it inspired by a class or personal experience? Also, what made you decide to get both a Masters and PhD? Do you think that your practice has benefited because of the extra knowledge/experiences that you gained by pursuing both types graduate schools?

Thanks,
Grace

Mr. Lewis,

I am very excited to meet both you and your daughter this week. I think that you will provide us with a very unique and interesting perspective on forensic psychology. I was very impressed with all you've accomplished. I was wondering what all made you decide that you wanted to open your own private practice? And what where the steps that helped get you to that point? And what would you say are the best and the worst parts about your job? And finally, how did you feel W and L prepared you for your career?

I'm very excited to hearing what both you and your daughter have to say!

Kelly Camus

Mr. Lewis,

I am interested in what you have to say about your field of forensic psychology. Would you please describe the typical work that you do in terms of how involved you are in cases? Do you find that it is difficult to do both forensic psychology and therapeutic psychology with your practice? When did you become interested in this field?

Looking forward to your talk on Wednesday!

Hi Mr. Lewis,

I would like to know what is a typical week for you, and how being a forensic psychologist is different than a forensic scientist. Does the nature of your case dictate your flexibility from week to week, or do you make your own schedule? I would also like to know, from your daughter, what are the benefits of studying psychology and law, and why she chose to study both.

I am looking forward to your visit,
Diana Burgreen

PHI BETA KAPPA/SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI CONVOCATION
Schedule of Classes

Thursday, March 12, 2009

A 8:00 a.m. - 8:45 a.m.
B 8:55 a.m. - 9:40 a.m.
C 9:50 a.m. - 10:35 a.m.
D 10:45 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Convocation 11:40 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
E 1:10 p.m. - 1:55 p.m.
F 2:05 p.m. - 2:50 p.m.
G 3:00 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
H 3:55 p.m. - 4:40 p.m.
I 4:50 p.m. - 5:35 p.m.

Click for full detail

digital apollo Burns.pdf Read this second

everyday things Burns.pdf Read this First

Hi Dr. Lewis,
I am really looking forward to meeting you and hearing about your work in forensic psychology. My initial question is if you have ever been an expert witness in court and what that is like? And during the psychological evaluations you conduct on criminals, what are some of the more extreme or shocking individuals and stories you have encountered? Can it be hard to determine if someone is 'competent' to stand trial? Or do you usually find that the answer is pretty apparent? I am interested in how the psychological evaluations are performed and the legal questions are answered.
Thank you!
Hannah Murphy

It seems as though there are many conflicts/controversies within your field of work, is there a part of your job you would deem more difficult than others? Is there a particular portion of your field of work (criminal, civil, family court cases, etc.) that you find most interesting?

I recently looked into how one becomes a CSI (which I realize is a little different than your particular career) mainly because I love both the shows CSI and The First 48. Unfortunately my dreams were quickly squashed when I realized that the most respectable CSIs were those who had previous police experience. Do you work closely with any CSIs and if so can you offer any insight about the possibilities of becoming a CSI without first becoming skilled in hand to hand combat?

Before I read the article that you assigned, I thought that a patient's real therapist would make the best forensic evaluator for his/her case. I had not thought about how different the roles of the two jobs were, especially in their goals and to whom they were responsible and how these differences might cloud a judgement.
One question I did have was if the forensic psychologists deems that the patient-litigant needs therapy after the trial, who should be responsible for this? Since a therapist getting involved in a patient's case can cause problems regarding trust or reliability, should a patient-litigant's previous therapist be given a role such as this? It seems to me that they would know how best to handle and treat the client, but would the fact that they have to report back to the court ruin the relationship in your view?

Dr. Lewis,

After reviewing the websites and your biography, I was wondering, if you could without breaching confidentiality, tell us what was the most interesting/memorable individual case you have ever had to handle.

Also, many of the other presenters described that they had an "ah hah" moment, where they knew they didn't want to keep going on a course, or that that knew what they did want to do. Did this happen to you, or did you fall into this field serendipidously?

Thanks, and I look forward to you and your daughter's visit,
Shannon Williams

Dr. Lewis,

I was very interested to see that you currently work in both clinical and forensic psychology practices. With the reading you gave us in mind, I was wondering if and/or how you deal with the diverging roles of those two types of practice? Going along with that, have you ever had to serve as an forensic expert in a trial regarding someone you had worked with in a clinical/therapeutic setting, or have you compartmentalized your two careers? The article also mentioned that forensic work in criminal cases differs from that of civil litigation - how so?

Thank you - I look forward to hearing from you and your daughter on Wednesday.

Brooke

Hi Dr. Lewis,

When using forensic evaluation techniques relevant to the claims against your patients, is it ever difficult to keep your personal opinions on a patient's sanity or insanity from impacting the outcome? For example, is it difficult when a patient's results deem him/her insane, but your own logic/gut feeling tells you that the patient should be held responsible for a crime?

Also, are your patients sent to you by the legal system?

Also, while I don't foresee a career in forensic psychology for me, I am very interested in learning about opportunities to combine psychology and law, so I'm very glad that you are bringing Rian on wednesday!

Thanks,
Tori Christmas

Hello!
First of all, I am very sorry for the tardiness of my post.
Secondly, I think that your job sounds fascinating! As a lover of crime TV shows, I am sure that I have a very miscontrued idea of a lot of details that the legal system entails, and am looking forward to hear you talk. I was wondering how you decided to enter this field. Have you always had an interest in the interaction between psychology and forensics?

Thank you!
Mary Hipp

Dr. Lewis -

One of the first articles we read this semester in Psych 395 described the development of phrenology and its role in the history of psychology. No doubt, 21st Century forensic psychology utilizes diagnostic criterion far more scientific and legitimate than the shape of one's skull. In your experience, however, have you found that - just as early phrenologists suggested - there is a "criminal profile"? Is there a particular set of traits that predisposes or best predicts one's future involvement in criminal activity?

On a more personal note, I am interested in your thoughts regarding the responsibility of a clinician to protect and heal his patients. Though the Hippocratic Oath requires good intention alone and not necessarily successful treatment - were you ever afraid as a young psychologists that you might fail your patients? Did you fear that you might say the wrong thing or that a simple clinical oversight might cost a patient his or her life? I understand that clinicians cannot be expected to cure or even effectively treat every patient - but how do you personally deal with the pressure associated with clinical psychology and its potential to help those in need? I am hoping to go into nursing upon graduation and often think about (with great anxiety) my future responsibilities to patients.

Looking forward to meeting you tomorrow!
Hannah

Thank you to all of you for making my experience with your class a very pleasant one. Your questions and interest in my field(s) made the two days most enjoyable. Hopefully you have a better understanding of the fields of clinical and forensic psychology. Enjoy the rest of your class. You are in for a treat next week. Good luck with your career paths.

I am really looking forward to your talk this week. With your position as director of hospital services, are you exposed to many of these families that have to make the tough decision of ending their loved one's life? Do you find that these presumptive approaches with next-of-kin to be more effective in following the donor's wishes than previous neutral approaches?

Would you also talk about your degree in Public Health Communications-does this focus on areas that you are involved in now such as the WRTC? How has psychology helped you with this particular degree?

Thank you!

Hi! I am really interested in talking with you this week. I wanted to know whether your work with WRTC personally entails you dealing with who gets a transplant and who doesn't. Is this typically based more on a kind of "first-come-first-serve" basis, or whether the available organ goes to whoever needs the transplant the most or fits the requirements the best? It seems that there are a lot of people who aren't able to get transplants, or at least not for a while. Is this due to the fact that their bodies are not ready for the transplant or that there is a large shortage of available organs. I feel that most people are registered as organ donors, so how can there be a shortage? Lastly, do you find that organ donors are more often the relatives of the recipients or more often strangers? Is there counseling typically provided to both sides, seeing how both are entering into a major life-alternating decision? I look forward to hearing your insights and views on these issues.
Sarah Jenks

I am really looking forward to hear about your unique application of psychology. I am interested in what led you to your work with WRTC and how your interest in organ donations was formed. Are organ donations something you became interested in through personal experience or was it from career work that made you aware of a need to improve an important community/hospital service?
I noticed that you also received your masters in marketing. How did this help you with your career choices? Did you take any marketing classes while you were at Washington and Lee?
Thank you and looking forward to meeting you this week!
Hannah Murphy

I am very interested and excited to having you come in and speak with us this week especially because I do not know much about organ donation and would like to know much more about it.
What all made you become involved in the Washington Regional Transplant Community? And what exactly all does your job as Director of Hospital Services & Professional Education entail? And what would you consider to be the biggests pros and cons to your job? You majored in both Psychology and Biology while at Washington & Lee. How did you transition from where you were then to get to where you are today? And how do you think psychology is an important part of your job?

Excited to meet you this week!

Kelly Camus

Hi, I'm really looking forward to your visit this week! How did your time as an undergraduate at W&L prepare you for your career path? When you were here did you know this was the area in which you wanted to enter? See you Wednesday!

Dear Students and Professor Elmes:
You are invited to the Career Development Class this Tuesday at 12:15 in Career Services, 3rd floor, above bookstore.

We have as our guest Mary Katherine Snead who is directing the Work/Life Balance Inistiative at W&L and has a number of years in the human resources field.

In addtion, guests will be from the field of publishing, teaching and educational administration, and performance engineering.

Each guest wil lshare about 10 minutes of his/her story. There will be plenty of time for questions.

Come join us! Bring your lunch if you like. We provide the beverages.

Dan did his undergraduate honor's thesis on engendering creativity in young students. A couple of years ago he was doing some "flow" research (an important part of positive psychology) with the gruru of positive psychology, Csikszentmilhalyi.

Mr. Birdwhistell,

While reading through your biography and bigsight page, I was struck by how many different things you have done since you graduated from W&L. Could you tell us about how you got involved in these different companies? I stress out about having a plan for my future, but many of the visiting alumni have told us about how serendipity has played such a large role in where they have ended up. Do you feel the same way? Also, which experiences at W&L prepared you for the most for the things that you have done since you graduated?

Thanks and I am excited about your presentations,
Grace

Hey Guys. I'm heading down your way later tonight and looking forward to chatting tomorrow. We'll talk briefly about my general career path (which is a bit atypical), then get in to a few general questions that have either come up along the way or are pressing at the moment.

For example: At the moment, my two roommates (http://bigsight.org/eddie_frederick and http://bigsight.org/warren_konkel) are over at the LivingSocial.com office trying to deal with an app that has just taken over on Facebook. They launched the "Pick Your Five" app two days ago and it's now growing 100K users an hour. The company I'm consulting for now (http://socialcash.com) is running the advertising. Just today they've sent 1.8mm impressions our way. This roughly translates to $4,100.00 in pure profit over a 12 hour period. On their side of things, they are trying to identify a) why the app is working so well and b) how they can sustain it. I'm trying to a) understand which ads are working the best (out of 45 we're running) and then b) what can be done to improve the mix so that the $4,100 figure can double. There are a bunch of interesting factors in play here that we'll talk about a bit tomorrow. It's a pretty good example of a fast-moving situation where very small insights (data driven and otherwise) about psychology can have a huge impact.

One other item: If you want to take bigsight.org for a spin, go to http://bigsight.org/login and hit the "Connect" button. This will instantly create a bigsight page from your Facebook account.

Mr. Birdwhistell,
I was also very impressed by how many companies you have been involved with over the years. What inspired you to create bigsight? I also was interested that you also co-founded a toy company. Can you maybe describe your experiences with that? Your research that you did as an undergraduate at W and L with engendering creativity in students sounds very interesting. Could you elaborate more on your experiences with this research? And several years ago, you did "flow" research. Can you please explain exactly what is "flow" research?

Thank you, and I am very excited to meeting you!

Kelly Camus

I just went to Bird' social cash site. You may want to look up this: http://adsense.blogspot.com/2006/02/ecpm-what-exactly-is-that.html

You seem to have a very interesting and busy life, especially for someone so young! How do you find time to sleep between developing toys, working with bigsight, researching for the QLRC, and doing things like playing in the World Series of Poker? I'm just very interested in what a typical day is like for someone who seems to be involved in so much. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Hello,

Much like the previous posts from my classmates, I am blown away at the diversity of your career experiences up to this point. I was wondering how you manage these various ventures, and what your day-to-day life is like. I worked for a group of entrepreneurs this summer and they emphasized the importance of networking in order to find new opportunities. Would you agree with this? If yes, do you have any advice for building successful contacts? Finally, in regards to your involvement with bigsite, were you always interested in doing things on the internet or did you get involved in another way? Did you have any idea that this, and everything else you are involved in, was something you wanted to do when you were a student?

Thanks and see you tomorrow!
Liz

Drs. Cober, Levy, and Rosen,

First, I was hoping that you could each tell us a little about how you decided to go into the field of Industrial/Organizational Psychology. Also, what were your personal experiences in PhD programs? After reading about the field of I/O Psychology, I think that the three of you probably have a lot of good advice for us (as soon to be employees). The article about misconceptions stressed that intelligence is the main predictor of success. Other than intelligence, what are good qualities to present to potential employers in interview type settings? It obviously doesn't hurt, but how much do employers look for qualities like contentiousness and good values?

Thanks,
Grace

Mr. Birdwhistell,

Like many of the other students that have posted, I am very interested to hear about your diverse career experiences. I was also excited to learn about your interest in positive psychology, and was wondering if you could spend some time discussing this research. I would also like to hear about how you have balanced researching with your current business ventures. Additionally, I noticed that you spent time working abroad. How was this experience for you?

Thanks - I look forward to hearing your presentation.

Brooke

Drs. Cober, Levy and Rosen,

I was interested to see that while you all followed similar academic paths, your careers have taken diverging routes. I would love to hear you discuss the similarities and differences in your day-to-day work experiences. In addition, I must say that I was amazed to read about the breadth of social and cognitive theory that you must be familiar with in the various applications of I/O psychology. How do you all keep up with the current research related to your field, particularly (this is directed at Dr. Cober) when working primarily in the private sector?

Thank you!

Brooke

Mr. Birdwhistell,

I see that you are the founder of several small companies. Statistically, about nine out of ten small companies fail within the first five years. What do you do to ensure success in your companies? Also, do you find that schooling or real life experience is more important in your profession?

I am looking forward to your visit,

Diana Burgreen

Hi Dr. Birdwhistell,

My questions is acutally more of a request. I'm very excited to hear about your career path tomorrow. As a senior with no set plan for next year, I'd love to learn about your thoughts and feelings while on your career journey. I'd love for you to highlight the great and not so great decisions you made pertaining to your career path, as well as any life-changing opportunities that you took or let get away. If you could go back, would you do anything differently?

Thanks,
Tori Christmas

Drs. Cober, Levy, and Rosen,

In another psychology class at W&L, we discussed the importance of emotion regulation in the workforce. A brief course on efficacy in emotion regulation would cover topics such as confidence in voicing opinions and ideas, controlling angry outbursts, and techniques for building solid relationships with others. Would you support mandatory employee training in emotion regulation as part of an I/O consultation?

Diana Burgreen

Like many of the other students, I am interested in your diverse career path. Was there any part that, looking back, was more influential than another? Also, if you had to go back what would you have wanted to spend more time doing? Thanks, and I look forward to you visit!
Shannon Williams

Drs. Cober, Levy and Rosen,

I am very interested in a career in industrial/organizational psychology. Once I graduate from W and L, I am planning on going to graduate school after a year or two off doing research or internships. Would you have any advice about how I can best find out if a career in I/O psychology is right for me? What do you think are the pros and cons to a job in this field? And what sorts of qualities do you think a person should or shouldn't have that would make him/her a good I/O psychologist? How did you all decide that you're most interested in this area of psychology? And since I'm thinking I'm most interested in this area of psychology, what sort of opportunities would you recommend I try to take advantage of to look most appealing to I/O psych graduate programs? Could you tell me about what it was like going through graduate school for I/O psychology? What sort of reasearch is done in an I/O psychology Ph.D. program? Is research still heavily emphasized in an I/O graduate school program? And this question is specifically directed to Dr. Rosen: You earned both a masters and a Ph.D. in I/O psychology. Do you think earning the Ph.D. gave you many more options job and career path wise, and why did you decide to get both degrees?

Thank you! And I am very excited to hear all of your presentations this week!

Kelly Camus

Hello-

I had not previously considered I/O psychology as a way to apply my interest in psychology to a career. I'de like to hear y'alls perspectives on the pros and cons of a career in I/O psychology as opposed to a career in clinical psychology, since I see many differences between the two. For examply, I would imagine that an I/O career would place less emotional stress on the psychologist, since he/she wouldn't be dealing with troubled patients. However, this may be a misassumption, so that's why I'm asking this question. I'm also interested in the amount of research and type of research topics that a student in an I/O grad program participates.

Thanks,
Tori

I look forward to hearing the answers to the questions my classmates have posted, and in addition, I had more specific questions for each of you:

Dr. Cober, What lead you into the hospitalities industry specifically. Has what you do changed in the last 6 months with the economy?

Dr. Levy, What are some of the consulting jobs you have done for the government, for non-profits?

Dr. Rosen, How does having a background in psychology help you with organizational politics/ justice specifically?

Thanks, and I look forward to your visit!
Shannon Williams

First of all, I am so sorry for the tardiness of this post.
I share many of the same questions as my classmates, and am really looking forward to learning all about I/O psychology! I have never before heard of this field, but I saw that all three of you earned Ph.Ds in I/O pyschology. At what poing did y'all become familiar with this subcategory of psychology and what specifically attracted you to earn a Ph.D in it?

Thanks,
Mary Hipp

I am very excited to hear about everyone's work in industrial/organizational psychology and what led you down this career path. I share the same interests and questions as my classmates but also would like to hear some personal advice on the best ways we can be preparing for our search for a career after college and graduate programs. How did each of you spend your summers in college? Did you have any internships or help with research that was concentrated in i/o psychology or some other area of psychology? Or were your summers spent working more with the political/industrial side of the field? Thank you, I'm looking forward to tomorrow!
Hannah Murphy

Hello!
All of your backgrounds are very impressive, and I am really looking forward to learning more about I/O psychology from three different perspectives. I am particularly interested in what Dr. Levy has to say about motivation and coaching. I saw that these are two of your particular research interests, and I would love to hear more about what this research entails. I am very much involved in athletics, and coaching would be a dream job for me (or at least I think it would).
Dr. Cober: I am most interested in the performance management part of your job description. What exactly does this involve? Does this mean that you are responsible for checking up on employee performance?

Thank you!

Folks,
I am really looking forward to my visit to W&L next week. I've enjoyed following the postings in the blog during the term, and I know I have a lot of tough acts to follow -- I can tell that you have learned a lot from the previous visitors.

In case you want more reading (and listening) than what I suggested earlier (seriously!), I have a few fairly recent web-based resources that will give you a sense of what life is like at Bell Labs these days.

Interview with Jeong Kim, Bell Labs President: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/122/mad-scientist.html?page=0%2C0

Podcast with Cheryl Coyle (who worked for me when the podcast was recorded), describing Human Factors at Bell Labs: http://www.podtech.net/home/4916/bell-labs-human-factors

Thoughts on the balance of Research vs. Development by a former Bell Labs guy, John Mashey: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/12/r2-d2-and-other-lessons-from-bell-labs/

There is also a Wall Street Journal article that I think will give their view of the "State of Bell Labs" that should be coming out any day, but it hasn't appeared yet.

I'm looking forward to reading your questions here in the blog over the next few days. And looking forward to meeting you all on Monday!

Mike

Dr. Burns,

I am excited about your visit. I would like to know about your time at NASA Johnson Space Center. I am also curious about how attending graduate affected your career. If you had not attended graduate school, do you feel like you would have the same career opportunities you have now?

Thank you,
Diana Burgreen

Dr. Burns,
I am very interested to hear you speak in a few days. It seems like you have taken a more different and unique path in your career than others similar to your background have done. You majored in Psychology while at W and L and earned your Ph. D. in Cognitive Psychology from UCLA. What factors helped you to decide that UCLA was best for you? More specifically, how did you narrow down your options for graduate school? How do you think that your experiences while majoring in Psychology at W and L have impacted your decisions and the opportinuies with which you have been presented later on? And would you have done anything differently? And how exactly do you think Psychology is incorporated in your job today?

Thank you!!

Kelly Camus

Hello!
I found the article about the Psychopathology of Everyday Things to be very fascinating and eye-opening. It is so interesting, even if overwhelming at times, to really think about the objects that surround us and how overly complicated things can be. Have you always utilized the thought processes involved in the analyses that you use in your career, or do you think that it was more of a developmental learning process, where you learned to navigate them as your career developed?
I look forward to your talks!
-Mary Hipp

Dr. Burns,

I found all of the readings you suggested to be very interesting; in particular, I enjoyed the "Psychology of Everyday Things" and its discussion of the benefits of developing a parsimonious, "visible" cognitive model for the creation and use of modern technological devices. When contrasted with the articles regarding Bell Labs, this reading presents some interesting issues for the development of new technologies in the current economic environment. Given this, I am interested to hear your thoughts on how Bell Labs can continue to develop its R&D to "innovate innovation" as it has recently downsized. What specifically has Bell Labs done to continue their "progressive commitment" to research? Have they collaborated with the government or other private organizations in recent years?

Thank you - I am very much looking forward to your presentation.

Brooke

Hi Dr. Burns,
I really enjoyed reading the articles and the additional listening you provided us. The recording by Cheryl Coyle from the Human Factors group made me realize how much analysis and thought goes behind creating and improving technology for people in a way that adapts to their specific needs. She mentioned her current work on the study of young adults and their interaction with communication technology. For the software that you create, do you target a specific age group as well?
When you are creating your web-applications or software, is your main goal to create a product that is "user-friendly"? How do you monitor the success of your products? Do you do this mainly through direct user feedback?
What are some direct applications of your Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology? Human thoughts and feelings are hard to measure. Do you normally measure consumers' thoughts towards your products through their behaviors? And how do you determine these behaviors?

I am really looking forward to tomorrow, thank you!
Hannah Murphy

Hi Dr. Burns,
I really enjoyed reading the articles and the additional listening you provided us. The recording by Cheryl Coyle from the Human Factors group made me realize how much analysis and thought goes behind creating and improving technology for people in a way that adapts to their specific needs. She mentioned her current work on the study of young adults and their interaction with communication technology. For the software that you create, do you target a specific age group as well?
When you are creating your web-applications or software, is your main goal to create a product that is "user-friendly"? How do you monitor the success of your products? Do you do this mainly through direct user feedback?
What are some direct applications of your Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology? Human thoughts and feelings are hard to measure. Do you normally measure consumers' thoughts towards your products through their behaviors? And how do you determine these behaviors?

I am really looking forward to tomorrow, thank you!
Hannah Murphy

Dr. Burns,

I also enjoyed the extra readings/podcast that you posted for us. I am fairly technologically ignorant so I doubt that I will be going into a field similar to yours. However, I would really like to hear about your undergraduate experience at W&L and your PhD experience at UCLA. Also, how do you use your PhD in cognitive psych in your work at Bell Labs? Lastly, do you have any advice for us about the job search process and how to be a successful employee?

Thanks and I am looking forward to your presentations.
Grace

Hello Mr. Burns!

Sorry this is so late-perhaps you can address my questions on Tuesday. The readings you provided were a great read, and I am very interested to hear about your experiences working as someone who attempts to provide user-friendly products.
I have enjoyed hearing about the previous alums experiences in graduate school and how they chose their program. Did you know about the opportunity to work with companies to create programs that are easy to use? I've never thought about such a position and wondered how you came across it. Does any of your work make it to average people, or is it only for employees of Bell Labs?
Thank you and I am looking forward to your visit!

Hello Dr. Burns,

I was especially interested by the "Psychology of Everyday Things" reading. The topic is something I never thought of as a psychology before, but it really makes so much sense. Do you still use experience design tactics in your current position designing software tools and web-based applications? In regards to the articles about Bell Labs, have you experienced any changes in your field due to the the downsizing? Also, I noticed you have extensive experience in technological industries. Have you always been interested in technology, or did you develop your interest later in life? Finally, which job throughout your career was your favorite, and which was your least favorite?

Thanks!
Liz

Hi Dr. Burns,
All your career choices seem to deal with psychology and its applications, but in which one would you say your background in psychology has proven most useful? Similarly, in which aspect of your life has your time spent at W&L proven most ueful? Looking forward to hearing from you!

Hello Dr. Burns,
I found the "Digital Apollo" article incredibly interesting. I was wondering what you thought about how the interaction of humans and machines has played into psychology research in the last few years. I've recently read countless studies where confederates in experiments are being replaced with digital avatars, or how reseach is being conducted online without experimenter interaction with their subjects, or how computers are being used to read ratio scales at a level of accuracy humans cannot achieve. There is clearly a need for computers in this work, but at what point do we switch from humans and machines interacting as they did in Apollo, to relying on computers too much to where we take the human component out of psychology? Thanks and I am looking forward to your visit,
Shannon Williams