Hope College senior Elizabeth Mickalich of Shelby Township has been chosen to receive one of only four undergraduate research awards being presented nationwide by Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology, in August.

The national honor will follow major regional recognition from Psi Chi for four other student researchers in psychology in early May.

Mickalich will receive a Psi Chi "Undergraduate National Convention Research Award" during the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, being held in New Orleans, La., on Thursday-Sunday, Aug. 10-13. She is being recognized for her project "Who Nurtures Children's Concepts of Mother, Father, and God?," conducted with Dr. Jane Dickie, professor of psychology and director of women's studies.

The Midwestern chapter of the Psi Chi national honors society will present Jason Blout, Andrew Bredow, Kelly Charland and Erin Poll with "Psi Chi Regional Research Awards" during the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, being held in Chicago, Ill., on Thursday-Saturday, May 4-6. The Hope recipients' projects have earned two of only 20 of the awards being given by the chapter.

Several Hope students have received national Psi Chi recognition for research through the years, most recently in the summer of 2003. In addition, this year marks the seventh consecutive year that Hope students have been named winners of regional awards.

Blout and Bredow are being honored for their work "Differential Effects: Acculturation, Ethnic Identity and Acculturative Stress Among Latino Subgroups." They have conducted their research with Dr. Lorna Hernandez Jarvis, associate professor of psychology.

Charland and Poll are being recognized for their project "Attachment and Children's Concepts of God." In addition to the regional award that they are receiving, they have been chosen to make one of only 12 Psi Chi poster presentations during the national convention in August. They have conducted their research with Dickie.

In addition, Charland and Poll have been chosen to make a poster presentation during the national convention concerning their research, and Mickalich's research will be one of four Hope projects featured during poster presentations scheduled in conjunction with the regional event.

Mickalich is a senior psychology and chemistry major. She is a 2002 graduate of Eisenhower High School and the daughter of Albert and Mary Mickalich of Shelby Township.

Blout, a member of the Class of 2006 who completed his degree requirements last year, is a psychology major from Holland. He is a 2001 graduate of Thornton High School in Colorado, and the son of Marcus and Elizabeth Blout of Holland.

Bredow is a senior classical studies and psychology dual major from Greenville. He is a 2002 graduate of Rockford High School and the son of Gordon and Suzanne Bredow of Greenville.

Charland is a senior psychology major from Naperville, Ill. She is a 2002 graduate of Neuqua Valley High School and the daughter of Michael and Frances Charland of Naperville.

Poll is a senior psychology major from Holland. She is a 2002 graduate of Holland High School and the daughter of Robert and Ivy Poll of Holland.

In addition to Mickalich, five Hope seniors will be making poster presentations during the regional meeting in May. Dana Long of South Lyon will present "Parental Discipline Styles: Do Parents' Gender, Child's Gender, and Ethnicity Play a Role?," research conducted with Dr. Lorna Hernandez Jarvis. Laurelin VanGinhoven of Zeeland will present "Enlarging Caucasians' Definitions of Racism by Perspective Taking," research conducted with Dr. Mary Inman, associate professor of psychology. Jeffrey Vandlen of Kalamazoo, Justin Blazek of Portage and William Guy of Adrian will present "The Prevalence of Weight Discrimination Among Top Executives in Fortune 1000 Firms," research conducted with Dr. Patricia Roehling, professor of psychology and chairperson of the department.

The Psi Chi national honor society was founded in 1929 to encourage, stimulate and maintain excellence in scholarship, and advance the science of psychology. Psi Chi has chapters at more than 1,000 senior colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. Since its founding, the honor society has registered more than 500,000 members.

Psi Chi chapters are grouped within six regions: Eastern, Midwestern, Rocky Mountain, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western. The Midwestern Region includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Hope's chapter of Psi Chi was chartered in 1965.