ºÚÁÏÍø

Abstract

This study looked at how students at Chadron State College self-reported their concerns on a variety of psychosocial instruments. The instruments specifically assessed their concerns and the concerns of others in the areas of temperament, personality traits, social perception, emotional intelligence, memory loss/difficulty, and intelligence. Students compared their self-perception of these traits to the concerns of persons with traumatic brain injury two times. This investigation asked students in an introductory psychology course, PSYC 131 � Introduction to Psychology (3 sections), as well as an advanced psychology class, PSYC 430-Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience (2 sections) class to report the degree to which they have experienced concerns in each of the identified psychosocial areas (emotionality, personality/temperament, social perception/emotional intelligence, and memory/forgetting). Following the students� self-report and perceptions of others (TBI person), the students viewed a PowerPoint which described the psychosocial concerns of individuals who had sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury. After viewing the educational material, students again described their psychosocial concerns as well as the concerns of persons with brain injury for each of the six instruments. The study aided students in the identification of their own psychosocial concerns, as well as educated students about the problems faced by persons with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Many college students will at some time, either sustain a brain injury or know someone who have been injured. Education on this important disability is essential for all students in psychology, as they come to know themselves and the world around them.

Biography

Laura Gaudet is a Professor of Counseling and Psychological Sciences at Chadron State College (CSC). She has been at CSC since 1998 and has served as the Chair of the Department of Counseling, Psychological Sciences and Social Work since 2003. She received her BS from the University of Texas-Austin (Regular Education K-6, Special Education K-12), MEd (School Counseling K-12) from Antioch University, post- MEd Certification (Mid-Management Administration and Principalship) from Texas State University, and her PhD (Educational Psychology) from the University of Northern Colorado