Intercultural Minds

Examining the world’s psyches in nontraditional ways

November 10, 2009

Seniors, from left: Meredith Hershenson, who did a psychology internship in London; Christine Engelhardt, who studied in the Norwich Science Program; Meg Tobias, who studied in Australia, and Susanne Miller, who studied child development in Denmark.

Psychology is a discipline that plumbs the mysteries of the human mind and cross-cultural experiences are especially important in understanding people's behavior in a global society. That is why 60 percent of Dickinson psychology majors took advantage of the department’s study-abroad program last year.
Teresa Barber, associate professor of psychology, says that the department’s faculty members realize this full well.

“We don’t ask students if they are going to study abroad. We ask them where they’ll be going,” says Barber. “We have one faculty member in charge of study abroad. This allows us to start working with students in their first year.”

That advisor is Greg Smith, associate professor of psychology, who spent a recent lunch hour introducing psychology-department-supported study-abroad opportunities to first- and second-year psychology majors. By planning ahead, and by selecting from pre-approved courses, he told the students, they can be sure that they will receive full credit for upper-level study-abroad courses in their major.

While this is true of students all across campus, Dickinson’s strong commitment to study-abroad experiences for science and social-science majors is especially noteworthy. According to Barber and Smith, Dickinson psychology majors who study abroad have unusually seamless academic experiences.

“The psychology department has invested a lot of time in getting to know the people, the programs and the courses available in countries around the world, so we can better advise students how to select the best courses,” explains Smith, the man behind that effort. “There’s no mystery in the process.”

The psychology department, in fact, supports approximately 40 courses at the University of Queensland, 32 courses at the University of Toulouse in France and about 20 classes in the University of East Anglia science program in England. Other Dickinson programs or partner programs are open to psychology majors.

Smith notes that students in these programs can take courses that may not be available at Dickinson, such as sports psychology. “They can really individualize their academic experience,” he says.

Hands-on experience

Meg Tobias ’10 maximized that opportunity. Tobias fulfilled requirements for a 300-level and a 400-level psychology course and took a five-day trip to the Great Barrier Reef while studying Aboriginal culture and marine sciences in Australia. “I was totally immersed in the culture,” says Tobias, who lived in a community of mostly Australian students.

Susanne Miller '10 took several psychology courses at the 400 level while studying child development at a child-care center in Copenhagen. She chose the program because it was “unique, it focused on psychology, and it was very hands-on.”

Meredith Hershenson ’10 also liked the idea of a hands-on psychology experience. She took a psychology internship in London because it offered a chance to work in the counseling field. “This gave me the opportunity to see whether I feel equipped—whether I am strong enough—to do clinical work. It was a test,” says Hershenson, who helped run group-therapy sessions, among other tasks, in an eating-disorder clinic for children. “I was very apprehensive at first, but it was worth it. I got to see the progress of children I worked with. It was the best experience of my life.

“I also got to see how [the English] run an eating-disorder clinic, and I want to see how different it is in a clinic here,” she says.

This makes sense to Jesse Weinstein ’12, who hopes to gain different perspectives while studying in both Brisbane and Norwich next year. “Psychology is the study of human behavior, and behavior differs across cultures,” he observes. “It would be interesting to go to both places and learn the differences between them.”

Miller believes that such intercultural experiences can only enhance a career in psychological research. “My experiences exposed me to different ways of thinking about childhood. I think that will make me a better parent and a better researcher,” she says.

Smith agrees, explaining, “If a student addresses a question from multiple directions, he or she is more likely to get at the truth.”