Holy Cross College Students to Attend International Psychology Congress

As part of their Summer Session class, “PSYC 497, Special Topics in Psychology,” psychology majors at Holy Cross College in Notre Dame, Indiana attended the Twenty-Ninth International Congress in Psychology in Berlin, Germany July 20 through July 25. Led by Dr. Doris Van Auken, Associate Professor of Psychology, HCC students joined over 8,000 psychologists, researchers and students from around the world attending this international scientific event.

Holy Cross students took part in educational symposia presented by leading psychologists as well as poster sessions and lectures. They also had the opportunity to attend a series of “debates” on controversial topics in psychology such as the role of “tracking” and “diversity” in education, the importance of neuroimaging in the cognitive sciences, and whether “culture” exists in chimpanzee social groupings.

Students attended a week of pre-departure classes to prepare for what they would encounter at the Inter-national Congress then flew to Berlin. While there, students journaled the events they attended and then wrote a research proposal for their senior Capstone project based on a topic of interest.

According to Dr. Van Auken, “this was a rare opportunity for our students to learn from some of the mostinternationally respected and renown experts in the field of psychology as well as making acquaintances amongst professional psychologists including potential employment and/or graduate school contacts. At Holy Cross we try to incorporate experiential learning opportunities into our classes whenever possible.”

Students also got the opportunity to explore regional highlights including the Holocaust Memorial, Berlin Zoo, and other sites within the city as well as the Buchenwald Concentration Camp, Dora tunnel system where Nazi slave laborers built the V1/V2 rockets, and the Goslar UNESCO World Heritage site which holds the largest collection of medieval timber frame buildings in Europe.