Cup of Gold
The answer is “papillae.” The question is “What is the name for the protrusions on the top of the tongue that contain taste buds?”
UNH psychology major Courtney Stevens answered the question correctly, boldly, at the first annual Psych Cup competition, held by the New Hampshire Psychological Association (NHPA) at their annual student convention in April. Undergraduate students from New Hampshire colleges and universities were invited to compete, in teams of four, in a Jeopardy-like game of questions taken from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) in psychology. Five teams, two hailing from Colby-Sawyer, host of this year’s convention, and one each from Southern New Hampshire University, Plymouth State, and UNH took the floor to compete for the golden trophy or “Psych Cup,” which the winning team has the honor of displaying in its psychology department for the year. UNH won the gold.
Team member Liz Weber took a break from writing her neuro-psychology paper (22 pages long and counting) to discuss the event. “The competition was close at the beginning, but we pulled away in the second half and were able to relax and just answer the questions,” says Weber. Weber’s team member, Megan Yee, admits that the competition was stiff at points but found her own hand in the air often enough. “I was excited to answer a question about learned helplessness because it directly relates to my honors thesis,” says Yee, “and I was also pretty proud to come up with an answer about the Yerkes-Dobson effect.” Not parsing words, the team’s coach, Dr. Joan Glutting, lecturer in psychology, contends that the UNH team “clobbered the competition.”
While winning the Cup is an achievement and honor for the team and UNH, the NHPA convention as a whole might have the more lasting impact on the students who attended. During the day-long event, students attended seminars on graduate school, discussed career options in the field, participated in a research poster competition, listened to a keynote address, and met professionals and academics in psychology from across the state.
The UNH team members found the convention a valuable experience, even “surprisingly fun,” according to Yee. The poster session provided good practice for the students in preparation for the Undergraduate Research Conference at UNH. Students were also able to establish contacts in the professional arena. As Stevens points out, “just like in any line of work, the more connections you can make, the better.” The convention provided an unusual and rich opportunity for UNH students to interact with others in their field beyond the bounds of Durham.
This year’s convention turned out to be particularly fruitful for UNH students. In the end, UNH won all three awards on offer. Adding burnish to the Psych Cup is the “best poster” award, won by Courtney Stevens, and the “best research” award, won by Liz Weber. Though the convention was about more than competing for awards, it’s sure nice to sweep. Go UNH.
—Susan Dumais
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