Letter from the Editors

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 spring issue at the Applied Psychology Undergraduate Research Conference once again. In the past, OPUS submissions were limited to literature reviews, research proposals, case studies, and empirical papers. For this issue, we extended writing positions to include a wider array of academic pieces, such as film critiques and opinion articles, to make the journal more inclusive and diverse. In addition, this issue features interviews with two professors in the Applied Psychology department, Dr. Joshua Aronson and Dr. Elise Cappella, as well as the abstracts of our students’ independent research projects and honors theses.

The articles featured in this issue reflect our undergraduates’ passion for psychological theory, research, and practice. Several authors coupled their fieldwork experience with classroom knowledge to produce two empirical research studies: one that investigates leadership styles and team members’ satisfaction, and one that examines the influence of teacher feedback on preschool children’s behavior. Others explored their clinical interests through literature reviews focused on postpartum depression and borderline personality disorder. Continuing with this theme, this issue showcases an opinion piece about managing mental health in the primary care sector, and two writers critically analyzed the portrayal of mental illness in film.

We would like to thank our talented writers for their contributions, as well as Julia Imperatore and Shirley Wu, the OPUS administrative staff, for their hard work and commitment to the journal. We are also grateful to Dr. Erin Godfrey, the interim 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 whom this issue would not be possible.

Best wishes and thank you for reading,