Letter from the Editors
Preface
- Washington Square Rorschach
- The Political Bystander Effect: Evidence for Further Investigation
- Perceptions of Womanhood: A Discourse on Female Genital Mutilation
- The Elephant in the Classroom: A Policy Proposal for Bilingual Education in California Public Schools
- Literacy Practices and Book Reading Styles in Bilingual Head Start Classrooms
Welcome to the second issue of NYU Applied Psychology OPUS!
OPUS is a student-initiated and student-led online publication, based in the undergraduate program in Applied Psychology at NYU. Its mission is to present undergraduate students’ exemplary psychological research and reflections to a larger community. This issue reflects such mission very well. It includes empirical work, policy and position papers, and several creative and opinion-editorial reflections. The contributing authors each take a unique approach to the integration of hands-on experiences, scholarly research, and personal positions. The result is a thoughtful set of interdisciplinary, multi-faceted, and culturally-aware discussions that contribute in important ways to the ever-changing field of psychology. Moreover, the papers in this issue echo the broader focus on culture, education, and human development that is the hallmark of the Applied Psychology Department and Steinhardt School. By allowing undergraduate students a channel through which to begin a dialogue previously restricted to graduate students and professors, students are provided with an opportunity to be passionately immersed in psychological work and the larger scholarly community of NYU.
As members of the undergraduate Applied Psychology department, students are encouraged to think critically about issues that are core to the field of psychology and society at large, and this issue reflects their dedication to both. As in the past, this second issue demonstrates the enormous dedication and hard work of the undergraduates who constitute the editorial staff of OPUS, as well as that of the contributing authors. It has been inspiring to watch the process of the initially submitted student pieces being transformed into a set of high quality, thought provoking scholarly papers through students’ diligence and commitment to excellence. We hope that the discussions presented in this issue will incite continued conversations beyond its borders. The continued exchange of ideas represents the engine of scientific progress and is necessary for students and researchers at all levels of their education. As the two faculty mentors to OPUS, we are honored to have had the opportunity to work with students on the papers contained in this issue, and we are sure you will agree that they inspire respect for the talents and critical eye of undergraduates in Applied Psychology at Steinhardt.
Diane Hughes, Ph.D
Professor of Applied Psychology
Catherine Tami-Lemonda, Ph.D
Professor of Applied Psychology