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Washington State University's Psychology Honor Society


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About Psi Chi

Psi Chi is the National Honor Society in Psychology, founded in 1929 for the purposes of encouraging, stimulating, and maintaining excellence in scholarship, and advancing the science of psychology. Psi Chi is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies and is an affiliate of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Association for Psychological Science (APS).
Visit the National Psi Chi Org for more information!

A History of Psi Chi at Washington State University

          Washington State University has had a chapter of Psi Chi since the creation of the fraternity in 1929. In fact, WSU (then the State College of Washington) is one of the eleven founding schools of Psi Chi.

          Psi Chi was formed at the University of Kansas in 1928. Students there had formed Beta Chi Sigma, a local psychology fraternity, and felt that a national psychology fraternity was needed. Letters of inquiry were sent to all colleges and universities in the country, asking whether support for such a fraternity existed. There was sufficient interest that a committee was created to develop a constitution, and a letter of invitation was sent to all schools that had expressed support for the fraternity, inviting them to send a representative to the 1929 meetings of the International Congress of Psychology to sign the constitution. WSC, along with ten other schools (Kansas, UCLA, Ohio University, Iowa State, Wittenberg, Southern Cal, Nebraska, Rutgers, and University of Chicago) sent a representative, faculty member Carl Erickson, and on September 4, 1929 the fraternity, officially called Sigma Pi, came into existence. Each of the ten schools signing the constitution was officially designated a "charter member." Ten other schools, all of whom affiliated with Sigma Pi by January 1, 1930, were also accorded charter status (an eleventh, Penn State, was later given charter status by special vote), but the original eleven have always been specially designated as the founding institutions. Thus, WSU is recognized by PsiChi as a founding school. Sigma Pi changed its name to Sigma Pi Sigma In December 1929, after it was discovered that another national fraternity was using the Sigma Pi name. The name changed again six months later, when it was learned that Sigma Pi Sigma was the name of a physics fraternity. The preference was for Psi Chi, though it was immediately discovered that Psi Chi was the name of a fraternity at Oregon State University (then College). That fraternity had coincidentally decided to affiliate with a larger national fraternity, and graciously agreed to cede the name "Psi Chi" to the psychology fraternity.

          The first roster of members at WSC showed five members: Genette Brockhausen, Ruth Buchanan, Stanley Evatt, Elaine Ritchey, and Catherine Ross. There were also three alumni members: Consuelo Gilliland, Zeno Katterle, and Marjorie Shaw, listed because they had been instrumental in bringing in Psi Chi to WSC, but had graduated by the time the constitution was ratified. Dr. Erickson was the faculty advisor, and would remain so for the next 21 years. Later, the chapter officially recognized Buchanan, Gilliland, Katterle, Shaw, and Erickson as the "founding members" of WSC Psi Chi.

          The contribution of Ms. Shaw is especially notable, because she was to soon play an important part in the development of social psychology. While in graduate school in the early 1930's, she conducted a study on the problem-solving ability of individuals versus groups, and demonstrated that groups were generally better than individuals at solving mental tasks. This was the first time that such a comparison had been made, and (though her conclusions were later modified by other researchers) today her study is regarded as one of the most important in the history of social psychology. Possibly the peak year for WSU Psi Chi was 1970. In that year, two of the three Psi Chi Research Awards, given for the best undergraduate research proposal, were given to WSU students, and the chapter's faculty advisor, Dr. Francis Young, served as the national president of Psi Chi.


Email us for more information, or visit our MySpace Page to check out what we're up to!
WEBSITE COMING SOON!

The Benefits of Membership

  • Members receive a membership card, certificate, and lapel pin, and, through chapter mailings, copies of Eye on Psi Chi. (Following graduation, members may subscribe to Eye on Psi Chi.)
  • The WSU Psi Chi chapter activities can provide you with valuable opportunities to develop one-on-one relationships with professors and graduate students who can stimulate your interest in psychology, help get you involved in research projects in the department, and write meaningful letters of recommendation for you.
  • Regional Conventions


Becoming a Member (APPLICATION DEADLINE FRIDAY FEB 15, 2008)

Membership is open to graduate and undergraduate men and women who are making the study of psychology one of their major interests, and who meet the minimum qualifications. Become a member by joining the chapter at WSU! Together they select and induct the members and carry out the goals of the Society. The total number of memberships registered at the National Office is now over 500,000 lifetime members, many of whom have gone on to distinguished careers in psychology.

  • The Psi Chi Constitution requires that undergraduate student applicants to Psi Chi:
    • Must be enrolled as a student at WSU
    • Must have established a GPA at WSU
    • Must be at least a second-semester sophomore
    • Must be enrolled as a major or minor in a psychology program or a program psychological in nature that is equivalent to a psychology major
    • Must have completed at least 9 semester hours or 14 quarter hours of psychology courses at WSU
    • Must have an overall GPA that is in the top 35% of your class based on rankings within sophomore, within junior, and within senior classes (if the cut-off for the top 35% is below 3.00, the applicant must have an overall GPA of at least 3.00 on a 4-point scale)
    • Must have a psychology GPA that is at least 3.00 on a 4-point scale
    • Undergraduate students who have transferred to a new institution and are interested in becoming a Psi Chi member must meet the requirements listed above, plus complete one semester at the new institution to establish a GPA and complete 9 hours of psychology courses at the new institution.


Spring 2008 WSU Psi Chi Officers

  • President: Frederick J. Schoepflin
  • Vice President: Marylynne Kostick
  • Secretary: Andrea Mendoza
  • Treasurer: Richard Wheeler
  • Activities Chair: Jessica Ann Rogers
  • Public Relations Chair: Lindsey Lee Ann Phillips
  • Community Service Chair: John Hinrichs
  • Fundraising Chair: Kate Clara Hibbard
  • Webmaster/Historian: Angela Leigh Atwood
  • Faculty Advisor: Samantha Swindell, PhD
  • Graduate Student Advisor: Jean Sumner, MS


GET INVOLVED!!

Volunteer Opportunities We Love

Cougar Pride Days

Get your hands dirty to beautify the building where we work and learn -- Johnson Tower


Palouse Kids Judge! Seeking Volunteers!

  • Volunteers are needed for the Kids Judge! Neuroscience Fair hosted by the WSU Neuroscience Program. In this exciting event, Neurophysiology students create a science fair project that demonstrates a function of the brain. Fifth graders from all over the Palouse are “judges” and spend the day discovering the importance of the brain through hands-on activities and then vote on the best project. Kids Judge! takes place Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at Beasley Coliseum.
  • Psi Chi is going to volunteer as a group to help with set up and tear down March 3rd & 4th, and to guide small groups of fifth graders through the exhibits.
  • No science background is needed. Contact your Community Service Rep John Hinrichs for more information or to sign up.


Women's Transit

  • Women's Transit-- Angelais now accepting names to volunteer as drivers or dispatchers for an upcoming date


Center for Civic Engagement (CCE)


The President's Commission on the Status of Women


Palouse Discovery Science Center (PDSC)!

  • New Center Location: 950 NE Nelson Court in Pullman (next to Schweizer Engineering)
  • "Women in Neuroscience" Program:
    • The Palouse Discovery Science Center and the Psi Chapter of Graduate Women in Science has just received a grant from the National Girls Collaborative Project for a co-sponsored Program, "Women in Neuroscience" (WIN) during the Spring/Summer of 2008. The purpose of the WIN Project is to get regional high school girls excited about science by: 1) introducing them to the neurosciences (during March - Brain Awareness Week), 2) providing mentoring opportunities from local undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty members interested in brain sciences, 3) encouraging leadership and expertise by training them to become "explainers" of the Brain Power exhibits currently on display, and 4) educating them about future career opportunities in the brain sciences/neurosciences.
    • women: interested in becoming mentors for the project? if you ladies would like to volunteer your time to work with high school girls interested in the brain sciences, contact Jean Sumner, President of Graduate Women in Science.
  • Family Science Saturdays
    • Family Science Saturday presentations are part of the PDSC's "Brain Power" project, most of which was funded by MetLife Foundation's Partnership for Intergenerational Learning program, whose purpose is to increase educational opportunities across the age spectrum and encourage exhibitions that promote a better understanding of aging, brain health and healthy lifestyles. Funding for the Family Science Saturdays portion of the project is provided by the J.A. & Kathryn Albertson Foundation Education Fund in the Idaho Community Foundation, whose mission is “to enrich the quality of life throughout Idaho." The PDSC is collaborating with the Washington State University Neuroscience Program and the University of Idaho Graduate Program in Neuroscience to present the series.
    • The next Family Science Saturdays are scheduled for February 16 when families will learn “Why We Sleep” and February 23 when the topic will be “Biofeedback: Connecting Mind and Body”. The Family Science Saturday series will continue through June and will be posted on [www.palousescience.org the science center’s website].
    • Interested in volunteering to help with Family Science Saturdays? Call the PDSC at 332-6869 and ask for Katia Rossi, email volunteer@palousescience.org, or visit the VOLUNTEER page at PDSC for more information!

Research Experiences for Undergrads

Resources

Careers in Psychology

Careers in Psychology: WHAT'S HOT?

Professional Associations in Psychology and Related Sciences

Getting in: Graduate School in Psychology

Networking and Support

  • The Psychology Club
  • The Psi Chapter of Graduate_Women_in_Science at WSU -- We welcome student affiliate members!
  • Neuroscience Club (currently collaborating with Psi Chi and GWIS in the Women in Neuroscience Program at PDSC)
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