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Spotlights
Student Spotlight – Vias Nicolaides
By Mary Vongsackda
Undergraduate psychology senior Vias Nicolaides was honored as the Downing Science Scholarship recipient for his final year of studies at CSU Fresno. Vias was selected by the Department of Psychology based on his outstanding academic record and achievements duri
ng his junior year. Currently, he is working on his honors thesis with his mentor Dr. Robert Levine. Vias was interested in replicating Dr. Levine’s “Stranger Study.” In testing his thesis, he conducted three experimental scenarios in five different countries measuring how helpful different types of people are. The five countries that Vias examined included: Greece, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and his home country Cyprus. Vias found it “important for people to know what’s going on in the Middle-East, and how people are in the Middle-East.” Currently, Vias is working on the analyses, after which he plans on presenting it at the Western Psychological Association annual conference. As for his future aspirations and goals, Vias is in the process of applying to graduate school. Vias would like to stay in the United States to finish his studies, but afterwards, Vias says his goals are to go back to Cyprus and “contribute to my country and society as a whole, because I have always wanted to help people.” The opportunities and accomplishments he has already achieved as an undergraduate student are preparing him well for a future career in the field of psychology.
Alumni Spotlight – Ara Norenzayan, Ph.D.
By Elizabeth Savino
One of CSU Fresno’s Department of Psychology graduates, Ara Norenzayan, Ph.D., has made a promising career for himself as an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Norenzayan began CSU Fresno in 1991 and graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1994 with his Bachelor of Arts. Since, he earned his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and went on to a post doctorial fellowship at the École Polytechnique in Paris. When asked about CSU Fresno professors, he recalled both professor Bob Levine and professor Lynnette Zelezny. Dr. Norenzayan remembers Dr. Levine as having “the greatest influence” and inspired him to become a social psychologist. 
Dr. Norenzayan’s research focuses on culture and cognition, the psychology of widespread cultural beliefs, supernatural beliefs and religious cognition, and cultural evolution. At the University of British Columbia, Dr. Norenzayan is the Director of the Culture and Cognition Lab. In this lab graduate and undergraduate students look at the interaction between individual cognition in relation to culture. Recently, he has been working on the relationship of religion to violence and martyrdom. He has published numerous articles in various journals and even the New York Times Magazine. Furthermore, Dr. Norenzayan states that currently his favorite article is one of his most recent in which he and one of his graduate students illustrate that “subtle reminders of supernatural concepts increases generosity towards strangers.” This exciting paper is part of a grant the two are working on titled “God Concepts and Prosocial Behavior.”
CSU Fresno is honored to announce that Dr. Norenzayan has agreed to speak here sometime in April 2008. Psi Chi, the psychology honors society, is thrilled by his acceptance and is already beginning arrangements. Keep reading your newsletters and the CSU Fresno psychology website for additional details.
Professor Spotlight – Jennifer Ivie, Ph.D.
By David Lewis
Dr. Jennifer Ivie is one of the newer faculty members in the Department of Psychology at CSU Fresno beginning her tenure in the Fall of 2006. She is a recent graduate of the University of Kansas where she graduated with a Ph
.D. in Quantitative Psychology. Currently, she teaches courses on statistical analysis and scientific methodology. Dr. Ivie has quickly become one of the most well liked and most well known people in the department among the faculty and students, due to her approachability and persistent good nature.
Dr. Ivie loves to teach, making this department a great fit for her. Her classes typically include a lot of interactivity. As an avid proponent of student participation in the classroom, she will routinely get the entire class involved in discussions and activities. This seems to work well, for many of her students have gained a new interest in statistical theory. In fact, Dr. Ivie has already become a mentor to many of her previous students and is currently helping them with their research projects and theses.
Dr. Ivie’s love for education has influenced her research greatly. She is currently studying critical thinking in high schools, spatial and mathematical reasoning, and test taking strategies. To this extent, she has worked with organizations such as Educational Testing Services and the Kansas Center for Educational Testing and Evaluation. Specifically, subjects that have shown trends of gender differences are of interest to her. The stereotype that men are better at mathematical and spatial reasoning tasks is quickly becoming a myth with her around.
Overall, Dr. Ivie is fitting in nicely. She’s enjoying her time here and is persistently looking forward. She feels that though there have been a lot of changes lately in the department and the campus, things just keep getting better, and will continue to do so.
Emeriti Spotlight – Thomas Breen, Ph.D.
By Mary Vongsackda
Professor emeritus of psychology, Dr. Thomas Breen, has been teaching in the Department of Psychology at Fresno State for over forty years. Even after retirement, he is still teaching two courses for the Department. Dr. Breen has had several memorable moments while teaching at Fresno State including Psi Chi honoring him by attaching his name to the annual Psi Chi/PSU Outstanding Professor Award. “What a wonderful compliment,” stated Dr. Breen. He especially loves teaching because of those moments when students come back after taking one of his courses and tells him that he has touched their lives in an important way. According to Dr. Breen, teaching is of the essence “when you get feedback that you’ve touched a life.” Dr. Breen has also stated that he will keep on teaching as long as he is having fun and as long as the Department of Psychology needs him.
Dr. Breen’s other passion is music. He is a founding board member of the non-profit organization, JazzFresno, whose mission is to promote jazz in the Central San Joaquin Valley through education and performance. Early next year, Dr. Breen and his wife plan to go to Argentina as part of one of Fresno State’s criminology courses. Dr. Breen team taught with Dr.Skrapec of the Department of Criminology a graduate seminar titled the “biopsychosocial determinants of violent criminal behavior.” As a retired professor, Dr. Breen still has a busy schedule but he is content living “everyday as fully and as consciously as you can.”