New York University’s Applied Psychology Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies, also known as OPUS, was established in 2009. OPUS provides Applied Psychology undergraduate students with a forum for sharing their independent work. This publication is entirely written, edited, and designed by Applied Psychology undergraduates, and is one of the only undergraduate psychology journals in the United States.
We are thrilled to present our Fall 2018 issue. The themes of the Fall 2018 issue reflect the diverse clinical and research interests of our contributing writers and senior staff writers, and demonstrate a desire to understand the nuances of psychological phenomena in order to improve the lives of a range of groups, thus embodying the ethos of Applied Psychology.
Our issue this semester begins with a piece by Eleanor Harrison discussing the ways in which equine-assisted activities affect the development of individuals in key physical, cognitive, and socioemotional arenas. We also have two pieces in this issue focusing on children and developmental areas of psychology. First, Kerry Luo’s literature review examines the development of storybook sharing styles and language proficiency of Latinx children within the U.S. schooling system. Additionally, Shira Richards-Rachlin explores how parental behavior may either exacerbate or alleviate some of the symptomatology of children with selective mutism.
This issue of OPUS also has multiple pieces examining criminal justice. Anastasia Knight’s literature review dissects the ways in which racial implicit biases affect the decisions made through a central part of the criminal justice system known as the plea bargaining process. Further, Khirad Siddiqui’s piece focuses on the framework of community policing and its implementation in different communities through its core mechanisms, such as the use of inclusive language and shared information.
We would like to thank our enthusiastic and talented writers for their scholarly contributions, as well as Sophia Wang, Sydney Liang, Grace Park, Alyce Cho, and Freya Chen, the OPUS administrative staff, for their hard work and commitment to the journal. We are also grateful to Dr. Gigliana Melzi, the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Applied Psychology, and Judson Simmons, the OPUS advisor, for their continuous support of OPUS. Finally, we would like to thank Dr. Adina Schick, our faculty mentor, for her guidance and dedication to OPUS, without which this issue would not be possible.
Best,
Rachel Lim, Alexa Montemayor, & Khirad Siddiqui
Click here to return to the Fall 2018 Issue Contents page.