OU-C students place highly at university student research activity expo

Two teams of Ohio University-Chillicothe student researchers placed highly in the recent Ohio University Student Research and Creative Activity Expo, which was held on the Athens campus. Jessika Holmes and Paul Fairbanks placed second among undergraduate psychology presenters for their research poster, “The Effect of Morality and Social Capital on Retributive Justice.” They are determining the effects a person’s morals and perceptions of safety have on that person’s desire to punish another for criminal behavior, defined by the term retributive justice. Decisions about retributive justice are based on two main influences: one’s social capital and moral foundation, Holmes and Fairbanks noted. Shawna Barr and Krystal Payne placed second among regional campus presenters for their poster, “Emotions Used to Better Understand Sarcastic Comments.” The project is about how miscommunication can influence cooperative behavior. Often, in electronic communication, miscommunication seems to lead to reductions in cooperation when used badly. “I am extremely proud of these students. They are undertaking research that is of an extremely high quality and complexity for undergraduate students,” said OU-C Assistant Professor of Psychology Ann Rumble, who mentored the students. “They have done an outstanding job of understanding and presenting topics that are very complicated.” Their posters will be exhibited in the bulletin board case on the second floor of Bennett Hall. The students previously had their posters accepted for display at the Midwestern Psychological Association meeting in Chicago. Barr is a junior, while Fairbanks, Holmes and Payne are seniors.