Health and Human Services News

Student on the Street: Josh Horsey

by

Josh Horsey is a psychology student at Missouri State University. Horsey is from Springfield, Missouri, and attended Glendale High School.   

His favorite course has been Memory and Cognition.   

“I found it especially interesting since we were learning about how the brain processes and stores information. I found it easy to relate these concepts I was learning to my own life,” Horsey said.   

For Horsey, the best part of being a Bear has been the instructors he has had.   

“The instructors here at MSU do a great job of keeping classes simultaneously entertaining and informative,” he said.  

Upon graduation from MSU, Horsey plans to enroll in graduate school to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology. 

“I am excited to continue my education and continue to learn more about how the brain works and operates.” 

Learn more about the psychology department 

Should I base my personality off a Buzzfeed quiz?

by

Answering 10 questions to determine which woodland creature you most identify with can be fun. But how accurate are what we consider to be more in-depth personality tests?

Some of the most popular ones are the Myers-Briggs test, the 5 Love Languages quiz and the Enneagram test.

“I’m all for people taking assessments, but they must know what the assessment is primarily used for, and if it’s a good one or a bad one,” said Dr. Amber Abernathy, associate professor in Missouri State University’s psychology department.

Abernathy, who specializes in conscientious psychology, suggests taking the NEO PI-R. This is the standard questionnaire measure of the Big Five personality test, also known as the Five Factor Model.

Abernathy recommends using the International Personality Item Pool Representation (IPIP). It is almost identical to the original NEO PI-R, but it is free.

Abernathy uses this version for her psychology classes.

The Big Five

The Big Five consists of these personality traits:

  • Extroversion.
  • Openness.
  • Conscientiousness. 
  • Agreeableness. 
  • Neuroticism. 

The test results give users an assessment that shows their varying levels of each personality trait and what that means overall.

What will work best for me?

Choosing the type of personality assessment to take will largely depend on what you are using the results for.

Abernathy likes the Myers-Briggs test more than others, stating “what’s unique about Myers-Briggs is that there’s a chart that tells you who you would work well with. That can be incredibly beneficial.”

Even with these benefits, you should use the Myers-Briggs test generally, not to unravel your true personality.

Often results will differ for all mainstream personality tests if you take them more than once.

“For personality assessments, we want high levels of reliability and validity. If you have to take it again, then it isn’t a good personality test. Statistics show that the Myers-Briggs test doesn’t have good reliability,” Abernathy said.

“Popular personality tests have their place. Their use should be limited primarily to determining a field of work.”

Learn more about the psychology department

Feeling the love… or the lack thereof

by

Love isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. 

What happens to you when you fall in love? What about being dumped? How does self-love compare? 

Being in love usually means that we adopt rose-colored glasses and a sunny disposition—while heartbreak can cause us to feel depressed and adopt a negative outlook.  

Are we crazy or is there any substance to these drastic feelings and personality changes? 

Dr. Amber Abernathy, associate professor of psychology, details the effects that love and heartbreak have on someone’s brain and overall personality in the newest episode of the “Health Queries” podcast.   

“Romantic love is what we typically think of when we think about love, which translates to infatuation. With infatuation being much more short-term, there is still a lot that’s happening in the brain during this time,” Abernathy remarks. “There’s a lot of ups and downs happening with a variety of chemicals in your brain.” 

Unlock the secrets of L-O-V-E

Celebrating a young alumna

by

Always an overachiever, ‘21 alumna Emily Bruinsma couldn’t choose just one area to study in college.

Bruinsma earned bachelor’s degrees in psychology and gerontology, with minors in biomedical sciences and diversity studies.

“While at Missouri State, I was very involved in Phi Eta Sigma and served in many different roles,” Bruinsma said. “It allowed me to get involved on and off campus and serve the local Springfield community.”

After graduation, Emily enrolled in the Doctoral program in Occupational Therapy at the University of South Dakota.

After graduating from MSU, Bruinsma was awarded the Thomas Arkle Clark Scholar of the Year Award.

About the award

The award, named after the first national president of Phi Eta Sigma, was established in 2006.

The $10,000 Clark Award is presented annually to the applicant who, in the judgment of the scholarship committee, best exemplifies the ideals of Phi Eta Sigma.

“The award is based on service, leadership and academic achievement,” Bruinsma said. “I was able to achieve success in all of these areas at Missouri State which helped me earn this scholarship.”

Future plans

After graduate school, Emily is hoping to get a job as an occupational therapist specializing in pediatrics.

“I am leaning toward working in an out-patient setting right now, but that could change after my clinicals,” said Bruinsma.

Learn more about the psychology department