Coms Students Present at CSU Research Symposium

The Communication Studies Department is enormously proud of our students who recently presented their original research at the 45th Annual CSU SSRIC Social Science Student Symposium.  Although originally planned to take place in San Bernardino this year, the symposium was conducted in an online format via Zoom on May 7, 2020. 

First, Alayna Short & Sophia Minhas were honored to win 2nd place in the McCall Award for Best Undergraduate Paper, which includes a $300 stipend!  Their research project was called “The Effects of Corporate Giving Marketing on Brand Image and Purchase Intention” and this study was conducted in collaboration with fellow coms students Jordan Bernal and Yasminh Lu.  Their primary results showed that a brand’s level of corporate giving had no significant impact on consumer’s perceptions of the brand’s image or of their reported purchasing intentions.  This suggests that corporate giving by itself may not always be the most effective marketing strategy. 

Second, Karlie McGillis, Christina La Vine, Nolan Taylor, & Grace Trotta presented their research titled “The Effect of Similarity on Interpersonal and Task Attraction.” As a unique component of their presentation, the entire team was able to collaborate and participate equally in sharing their work with the wider campus community. Their primary results showed that individuals were more attracted to those who appeared similar to them themselves; both in dimensions of interpersonal and task attraction.  This suggests that more effort may be needed in helping others to appreciate diversity in social and professional contexts.  

In addition, Julianna Quihuiz presented her research titled “The Influence of Pronouns on Competence, Expectedness, and Willingness to Interview.” This study was conducted in collaboration with fellow coms students Jade Sigmund, Katherine Cannatella, and Jessica Meza-De Luna. Their results showed that personal pronoun identification did not have any negative impact on perceptions of message senders in the areas of perceived competence and willingness to interview. This suggests that personal pronoun identification and alternative gender identities are becoming more expected in society demonstrating a positive step toward gender equity. 

These three projects were conducted during Dr. Aubrie Adams’ Research Methods class during the winter 2020 quarter.  Students in this class designed an experimental project, gathered data, interpreted statistical analyses, and wrote up their findings in a report suitable for a conference presentation. The symposium represents a CSU-wide research competition for students organized by the Social Science Research and Instructional Center.