GSW Department of Psychology & Sociology

08/05/2026

Dr. Sally Merritt received a Presidential Challenge Coin from Jeslyn Olson. Congratulations to Dr. Merritt and Jeslyn!

(Each year freshmen students receive a silver challenge coin from GSW President Dr. Michelle Johnston at their Freshman Convocation, an event signifying the beginning of their college journey. She challenges them to make the most of their experience at Georgia Southwestern and upon graduation, to give the silver coin to someone who has made a difference or impacted them during their college journey. Students will receive a gold coin in its place at graduation.

At GSW, we value the relationships formed on and off campus. Giving away the silver challenge coin is one of the most meaningful ways to thank someone for their encouragement and support.)

08/05/2026

Congratulations to all of our Spring 2026 Graduates! We are so proud of you and all that you have accomplished.

30/04/2026

Dr. Sally Merritt, Assistant Professor of Psychology, received the Faculty Excellence in Advising award today at the annual Faculty and Staff Awards Luncheon. Congratulations Dr. Merritt, we appreciate all you do for our students!

24/04/2026

On Tuesday (4/22), Dr. Yongwon Cho's Experimental Psychology class held a mini-in-class academic conference, with a poster session and oral presentations

24/04/2026

Yesterday (4/24), in the Student Academic Awards Ceremony, Hanae Colquitt was awarded Excellence of Psychology, and Jeslyn Olson was awarded Excellence of Sociology. Stanley Henry (not pictured) won 3rd place in the “Creative Writing” category of the Dolores Capitan Awards. We are proud of Hanae, Jeslyn, and Stanley's achievements!

17/04/2026

Three Psy/Soc students gave presentations at the undergraduate research symposium. Hanae Colquitt won first place in the poster division for her research on self-efficacy and academic achievement. Raelyn Porter's poster was about campus involvement differences between on-campus and commuter students. Kiawanna Thomas presentation addressed how normalization of substance abuse might influence drug use among high-school students. Alisha Kumar gave an oral presentation on the correlation between cultural background and moral sensitivity.

09/04/2026

Brandon Blue a recent psychology graduate will begin his dream job as a Psychology Instructor at Gwinnett Technical College, April 16th. He is currently working on his PhD in Psychology, almost 1 year into the program and is slated to finish in 2029.
Congratulations Brandon! We are very proud of your achievements.

09/04/2026

Kandice Nixon is a recent psychology graduate who is working towards her MA degree in clinical mental health counseling. She recently received certification in drug and alcohol counseling. In May, she will begin a practicum that will lead to being a fully licensed, dual clinician. Congratulations Kandice! We are very proud of your achievements.

Graduates: Get in touch with us if you have a story to share. We are glad to celebrate your achievements.

08/04/2026

Gary Fisk (Professor of Psychology) recently published an invited commentary article in the journal Integrative Psychology and Behavioral Sciences. The article contributes towards increasing scientific understanding of consciousness. The focus is unconscious sensory processing.

Masking priming research into unconscious perception has a long history of ambiguous findings and controversies. Tsikandilakis and colleagues (2025) offer

06/04/2026

Dr, Debaleena Ghosh (Associate Professor of Sociology) attended the Midwest Sociological Society's annual conference held in St. Louis, Missouri.

She presented on a paper entitled, "Contextual and Intersectional Approach to Understand the 'Color of Success': Experiences of Asian Faculty in United States Higher Education"; She also participated as a panelist in an author-meets-critics session featuring the book "Just the Facts: Entangling Contradicting Claims" by sociologist, Joel Best.