Diversity and Inclusion

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Our Psychology Department is committed to making students from all backgrounds feel welcome at Siena. Siena’s Psychology faculty and students explore a wide-range of topics related to diversity and inclusion in their research and courses. Below is a sample of recent course offerings, presentations, and publications that explore these topics in more depth.

Student Spotlight: Sarah Ahmed-Weidman

Hometown: Ballston Spa, NY

Major: Psychology

Minors/Certificates: Health Studies; Biology;Community Development

Year: Junior

Hi everyone, my name is Sarah Ahmed-Weidman and I am the Psychology department’s diversity liaison. I assist with developing ways to promote diversity within the psychology department and showcase the diversity and diversity related research projects students and professors have conducted. I am also a Bonner Service Leader on campus so I work with a non-profit that focuses on disassembling the stereotypes against minority populations and promoting the inclusion of POC and those in the LGBTQI+community.

Student Spotlight: Sadiyah De La Rosa

I transferred to Siena College in Spring of 2020 right before Covid-19 sent us all home. Despite that life altering experience, I was thankfully able to be a part of various clubs on campus. I was Secretary of the Asian Students Association, Treasurer for the Muslim Student Association, a Women’s Center Leader and also the Women’s Center’s Representative on the Senate Diversity Board. More recently, I am the active Parliamentarian for the Commuter Student Association and I am also a Damietta Advocate. My absolute favorite aspect of being a student leader on campus is facilitating discussions and panels, as a Damietta advocate I was able to lead a discussion during an event called Breaking Bread. Also, while I was Treasurer of MSA, our club hosted, in collaboration with the Women’s Center, a discussion on Muslim Women in America which I facilitated with a group of wonderful women.

Student Spotlight: Sarah Perez

Hi everyone, my name is Sarah Perez. I am a senior in the Psychology department, with a minor in Health Studies. I am the Vice President of the American Red Cross here on campus, and the Treasurer of the Psychology Club. I am also a WCA, which is known as a Wellness Community Assistant, for our residents. Hobbies that I have are video games, and painting, specifically cartoons!

Student Spotlight: Jadhan Pierre

My name is Jadhan Pierre but I go by Jay and I am a Psych Major Social work Minor! I am a Wellness Community Assistant in Hines Hall and I am also the Social Media Representative for the Women’s Center! Outside of my Academics I enjoy Shopping and doing fashion, Watching Tv Shows, Playing Video Games and Photography!

Student Spotlight: Elham Malik

My name is Elham Malik, and I am a Senior Psychology major here at Siena. I am currently a NExT Fellow through ACE working on a project with the Healthy Capital District Initiative to provide equitable access to preventive oral healthcare in the capital region. My interests lie in creating spaces for people of color and underserved communities in healthcare and beyond. I’ve been involved in Student Government, the Damietta Cross-Cultural Center, and ACE during my four years at Siena.

student-led research

Alex, N.* & Simon, S. (2019, April). Social Perceptions of the #MeToo Movement: Examining how social beliefs and gender beliefs predict people's support. Poster presented at Siena College’s annual Academic Excellence Celebration, Loudonville, NY.

Fattorusso, S.*, Tinucci, F.*, Simon, S. (2019, April). Is caring about injustice girly? How conceptions of manhood may inhibit men’s willingness to confront racial prejudice. Poster presented at Siena College’s annual Academic Excellence Celebration, Loudonville, NY.

Fattorusso, S.*, Murnane, C.*, & Simon, S. (2018, April). Exploring the gender gap in Economics: What stereotypes are associated with the economics field? Poster presented at Siena College’s annual Academic Excellence Celebration, Loudonville, NY.

Kmack, K. (2021, May). The Female Autism Experience: A Literature Review. Poster presented at Siena College’s annual Academic Showcase, Loudonville, NY.

Massicott, K.* (2020). Nurture Beats Nature: An Adlerian Approach to the School-to-Prison Pipeline. [Bachelor’s honor’s thesis, Siena College].

Ocasio, T.*, Johnston-Bloom, R. & Heller, N. A. (2019) “Influence of Gender Socialization on Reaction to Gender Norms.” Eastern Psychological Association annual conference. New York, NY.

Pelkey, T.* & Simon, S. (2021, May). Perceptions of organizational justice in cases of gender discrimination. Poster presented at Siena College’s annual Academic Showcase, Loudonville, NY.

Shaw, M. T.* & Heller, N.A. (2019) “Psychosocial Resources and Parenting Stress in Patients Receiving Medication-Assisted Treatment.” Eastern Psychological Association annual conference. New York, NY.

Taylor, J* (2019). Academic Resilience in African Americans Attending Higher Education Institutions. [Bachelor’s honor’s thesis, Siena College].

Note: * indicates student researcher, bold indicates faculty researcher

FACULTY RESEARCH

Amadio, D. M. (2006). Internalized heterosexism, alcohol use, and alcohol-related problems among lesbians and gay men. Addictive Behaviors, 31, 1153-1162.

Amadio, D. M., Adam, T.*, & Buletza, K.* (2008). Gender differences in alcohol use and alcohol related problems: Do they hold for lesbians and gay men? Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services, 20, 315-327.

Amadio, D. M., & Perez, R. M. (2008). Affirmative counseling and psychotherapy with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender clients. In C. Negy (Ed.), Cross-cultural psychotherapy: Toward a critical understanding of diverse client populations (2nd ed.) (pp. 363-399). Reno, NV: Bent Tree Press.

Chung, Y., Szymanski, D. M., & Amadio, D. M. (2006). Empirical validation of a multi-dimensional model for assessing sexual orientation. Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling, 1 (3), 3-13.

Daigle, K. M., Heller, N. A., Sulinski, E. J., Shim, J., Lindblad, W., Brown, M. S., ... & Hayes, M. J. (2020). Maternal responsivity and oxytocin in opioid dependent mothers. Developmental Psychobiology, 62(1), 21-35.

Heller, N. A., Logan, B. A., Morrison, D. G., Paul, J. A., Brown, M., & Hayes, M. J. (2017). Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: Neurobehavior at 6 weeks of age in infants with or without pharmacological treatment for withdraw. Developmental Psychobiology, 59(5), 574-582.

Hogan, J. (in progress). The prevalence of weight stigma in developmental psychology textbooks.

Hotaling, J.*, Amadio, D. M., Rotondo, D.*, & Breimer, E. (2011, May). The validity of an implicit association test to measure internalized heterosexism [Poster presentation]. 23rd Annual Convention of the Association for Psychological Science, Washington, DC, District of Columbia.

The Motherscholar Collective, Azim, K., Campbell Obaid, M., Eilert, M., Heller, N. A., Ho., H., Lim, S., Noell, B., Pennell, S., ® Richardson, I. (accepted chapter). Collective Perspectives: The Formation of a Motherscholar Pandemic Research Collaborative. Scholars in COVID Times. Ed. Melissa Castillo Pianas & Debra Castillo. Cornell University Press

Simon, S., Magaldi, M., & O’Brien, L. T. (2019). Empathy vs. evidence: Does perspective-taking for a discrimination claimant bias judgments of institutional sexism?. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/1368430218818731

Simon, S., Shaffer, E., Neel, R., & Shapiro, J. (2018). Exploring Blacks’ perceptions of Whites’ racial prejudice as a function of intergroup behavior and motivational mindsets. Social Psychological and Personality Science. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/1948550618778584

Simon, S., Moss, A. J., & O’Brien, L. T. (2017). Pick your perspective: Racial group membership and judgments of intent, harm, and discrimination. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/1368430217735576

Hoyt, C. L. & Simon, S. (2016). The role of social dominance orientation and patriotism in the evaluation of racial minority and female leaders. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 46, 518-528.

Lai, C. K., Skinner, A. L., Cooley, E., Murrar, S., Brauer, M., Devos, T., Calanchini, J., Xiao, Y. J., Pedram, C., Marshburn, C. K., Simon, S., Blanchar, J. C., Joy-Gaba, J. A., Conway, J., Redford, L., Klein, R. A., Roussos, G., Schellhaas, F. M. H., Burns, M., Hu, X., McLean, M. C., Axt, J. R., Asgari, S., Schmidt, K., Rubinstein, R., Marini, M., Rubichi, S., Shin, J. L., & Nosek, B. A. (2016). Reducing implicit racial preferences: II. Intervention effectiveness across time. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 145, 1001-1016

Simon, S., & O’Brien, L. T. (2015). Confronting sexism: The effect of moral credentialing on interpersonal costs of target confrontations. Sex Roles, 73, 245-257.

Thorpe-Moscon, J., Simon, S., Buchanan, B., & Brassel, S. (2021, April). Sexual harassment: How do race and sexual orientation shape women’s experiences of it and how can we create more inclusive workplaces? Panel discussion at the annual meeting of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, New Orleans, LA/Virtual.

Simon, S., Fattorusso, S.*, Tinucci, F.*, Murnane, C.*, & Hoyt, C. (2019, February). What stereotypes are associated with the economics field? Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, New York, NY.

Note: * indicates student researcher, bold indicates faculty researcher

COURSE OFFERINGS

Children and Media Seminar
This course explores the role of media in child/adolescent development using theories and primary sources from the developmental psychology sub-discipline and related fields. Special attention is devoted to diverse populations and topics including race/ethnicity/culture, gender, LGTBQ+, body positivity, and socioeconomic status.

Psychology of Gender Seminar
This course takes a scientific approach to answering psychological questions about gender, reviewing and analyzing psychological theory and empirical research related to gender norms, gender roles, gender stereotypes, and power differentials in society. Topics include historical and theoretical perspectives on gender, gender similarities and differences, masculinity/femininity, stereotypes, sexism, leadership, romantic relationships, and aggression/violence. Discussions in this course also center around gender issues important to contemporary society such as sexual orientation, transgender identities, and how gender intersects with race, class, age, and sexuality to influence identity.

Psychology of Diversity Seminar/Topics Course
This course explores a range of topics related to interactions among people from diverse social and cultural backgrounds. From a social psychological perspective, the course provides an in-depth analysis of topics including: stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination, social identities, social stigma, and intergroup relations. This course focuses on how these topics shape experiences of people from a range of social groups including race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and religion. Human Sexuality We explore psychological conceptions of erotic desires and behaviors, as well as the personal, social, and historical forces that create, channel, and subvert those constructions. Early pioneering research and current findings on sexual physiology and behaviors ground our study as we explore the diversity of gender identities, sexual orientations, and erotic communities. Throughout, we consider important theoretical frameworks for understanding sex and give particular attention to the social injustice that is the consequence of oppression of dissident bodies, identities, and pleasures.

Diversity and Inclusion in Psychology