Our Scholars and Mentors

Research Interests

Our world is in a constant and rapid state of change. As changes occur, those affected by them must learn to adapt. There are many aspects of one's life that can change. One very critical aspect is a career or job. When a worker deals with some type of change in the workplace, there is an inevitable response. Whether or not the response is positive or negative is an issue, but regardless of its nature, it is automatic.

The intent of this study is to survey workers in a real work setting. I will be distributing questionnaires to workers in the graduate school who underwent technological changes about eighteen months ago. I will have them answer questions such as what are the benefits and drawbacks of their procedural changes in the workplace. I will also be using the Daily Hassles scale by Folkman and Lazarus (1988) to see if perhaps the responses are related to a person's everyday perceptions of hassles and uplifts.

This study will provide reactions to look for when procedures within the workplace are being changed or redistributed. It will provide warning signs for both the employee and employer. Currently, there is an awareness that change in the workplace affect workers. What has not yet been fully explored is the nature of those effects, as well as to what extent they occur. With this study, the outcome can help us gain an understanding of how workplace change affects performance, reactions, and perceptions.

In the fall, I hope to go into the workplace setting and do passive observations and personal interviews as a follow up study. This will hopefully help to confirm the results that I will be analyzing for my summer project as well as providing more in depth results.

"Worker Response to Change in the Workplace"
The purpose of this study is to begin to understand how workers react to changes in everyday work procedures. In this study, employees in an on-campus administration unit were surveyed for their responses to the change from Macintosh to the IBM computing system. Three underlying themes were extracted from the employee responses. These themes consisted of a long period of learning time, a false consensus bias, and complexity issues.

Brief Biography
As a young African American woman, I am currently striving to pursue a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. I entered college with the aspirations of receiving a B.S. in Microbiology and continuing on to medical school to become an Obstetrician. However, after taking an introductory course in the field of Psychology, I noticed that this was an area of interest for me. I have always been considered by others to be an insightful person. In large groups I seem to be somewhat of an observer, trying to depict characteristics about individuals to rationalize why they interact with others in the way that they do. It just made sense that I now pursue a field that would allow me to use my natural talents and build on them to gain more knowledge.

My main motivation behind becoming a doctor was to help others. In the process of pursuing other options, I realized that I/O Psychology could still allow me to do so. I want to impact lives and the workplace is where many spend majority of their day. Therefore, it seemed only logical that through this field I could still help others, just in a different facet of everyday life.
I have been blessed to have a loving and stable family who continually supports my decisions and future endeavors. I am the older of two children and my parents are still together after twenty-two years of marriage. My parents always talked about college by stating, ÐWhen I go to collegeá¼ rather then Ð If I go to collegeá¼ From a very young age, it was instilled in me that college was an automatic step, as high school is to middle school. The difference between the tow words when and if began the foundation for my determination to succeed. Continuing my goals to pursue a Ph.D. seems to be the next natural step.

I have always been interested about learning about the brain and why people think the way that they do. That is why my introductory psychology course, in my sophomore year, was so intriguing. Then, the summer between my sophomore and junior years, I had the opportunity to intern at Puget Sound Energy, a gas and electric company. It was a company that had recently merged, creating an overwhelming amount of changes in the workplace. I watched the frustrations of the workers and managers as they tried to remedy the stressful situation of job descriptions being changed. This led me to believe that there perhaps might have been ways to make the transitions easier, if they had had someone with the knowledge and background in such a situation. From that internship, my interest in I/O Psychology, particularly, developed. When I returned to Washington State University, I began to research faculty with I/O background. Through my personal research and the McNair scholars program, I was introduced to Dr. Craig Parks, a professor in the department of psychology with an I/O background. Dr. Parks is a true mentor in the sense that he has opened my eyes to may topics and options in the I/O field. He is very encouraging and his knowledge and passion for the field has helped elevate my interests to a whole new level.

Extracurricular Activities
In the fall of 1997, I began attending Washington State University. I became active in ASWSU Senate, Black Women”s Caucus, and Cougar Connections. I then realized that government was getting too political and decided to do something different. So, for the next two years I was a Resident Advisor. I am currently a Hall Director Assistant in Rogers Hall. I enjoy helping others help themselves. I truly believe that it is the best gift anyone could offer to another. I am now the president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., an organization committed to sisterhood, scholarship, and service. At the end of my sophomore year, I decided to change my major to Psychology with the hope of continuing my education at the graduate level in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. I look back on my life and realize that I have learned so much, but there are so many more experiences to have and knowledge left to obtain. I am here, ready, and willing to explore new things.