Education

  Master of Arts in Research, in progress
     Department of Psychology
     California State University, Long Beach

  Bachelor of Arts, 2005
     Department of Psychology
     California State University, Long Beach

Research Experience

  Thesis, in progress
     Currently doing a literature review for my thesis on mate selection and creativity,
     as well as developing the design for the experiment. I have read extensively on evolutionary
     psychology and sexual selection. I will use metaphors as indicators of creativity and
     measure whether females will select a mate for either short-term or long-term relationships
     based on these indicators.

  Discussion Group, Spring 2006
     During the semester between the commencement of my undergraduate career and the
     beginning of graduate study, I regularly attended a discussion group with Dr. Dan Chiappe
     to closely examine the concept of Machiavellian Intelligence. We read both volumes on the
     topic over a one year period and met weekly to discuss each chapter. We subsequently began
     reading a book called Animal Innovation but are currently on hiatus while I complete my thesis
     project.

  Smiling & Flirtation Study, Fall 2005
     Gained experience in social psychology while working with Dr. Dale Jorgenson
     on a study that examined the interpretations of smiles from the perspectives of males, females,
     and females pretending to be males to determine gender differences in interpretations as well as
     whether smiling in different environments creates expectations that could possibly lead to sexual
     assault. I worked in the lab, running subjects three days per week for one semester during my
     undergraduate career. Since returning to the graduate program, I have returned to the lab to work
     on a related experiment that manipulated style of dress and its effects on the attribution of guilt
     in sexual assault cases.

  Metaphor Study, Fall 2004 – Fall 2007
     Collaborated with Dr. Dan Chiappe on an experiment that studied the nature of fluid intelligence and its
     contribution to the creation of new knowledge through metaphors. I ran subjects three days per week
     for two semesters, as well as coded data and wrote a research report that has been presented at the
     Psychonomic Society meeting in Toronto, Canada, and the Western Psychological Association Conference
     in 2006. I presented the research at the Western Psychological Association conference in Vancouver,
     British Colombia, in May 2007. I continued to code data for Dr. Chiappe on a voluntary basis
     after my independent study credits were exhausted.

  Cooperation vs. Cheating Study, Summer 2004
     Assisted Dr. Dan Chiappe in coding data for a study which investigated an
     evolutionarily adapted mechanism to detect cheating behavior.

Paper and Poster Presentations

  Pierce, R., Stute, C., Fraser, T., Rifi, M., Ubides, E., and Chiappe, D. (2007). Working memory and the production of
     metaphors. Poster to be presented at the 48th annual meeting of the American Psychonomic Society.

  Chiappe, D., Pierce, R., and Stute, C. (2007). Working memory and verbal knowledge predict quality of metaphors produced.
     Poster presented at the 87th annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association, May 3, 2007.

  Chiappe, D., Stute, C., Hohl, J., Cyrus, N., McCulloch, K., and Chambers, V. (2006). Executive functions of working
     memory predict quality of metaphors produced. Paper presented at the 86th annual meeting of the
     Western Psychological Association, April 29, 2006.

  Chiappe, D. Chambers, V., Stute, C., McCulloch, K., Nelson, D., and Melendrez, J. (2005). The role of working memory
     functions in metaphor production. Poster presented at the 2005 meeting of the American Psychonomic Society.

Professional Affiliations

     Human Behavior and Evolution Society, 2006 – present

     Western Psychological Association, 2007 – present

     Society for Personality and Social Psychology, 2007 - present

     Psychology Student Association, Fall 2006 – present

     International Society for Human Ethology, 2007 - present

Honors

     President’s List, Fall 2006 - present
     National Dean’s List, Fall 2005 - present
     National Society for Collegiate Scholars, Fall 2001 – present
     Psi Eta Sigma – Alpha Lambda Delta, Fall 2001 – present
     Learning Alliance, Fall 2001 – Spring 2003

Volunteer Experience

     Santa Ana Zoo, July 2007 - present
     Los Angeles Festival of Books, 2006
     Heal the Bay, 2006
     Long Beach Clean-Up, 2006

Business Experience

  California State University, Long Beach
  September 07 - December 07
  Graduate Assistant

     Graduate Assistant for Intermediate Statistics Course. Responsible for attending lecture and laboratory class
     as well as holding office hours for student assistance. Duties include: grading homework and exams,
     maintaining records of student progress, and addressing student problems with course material.

  National Water Research Institute
  May 07 – August 2007
  Summer Internship

     Communications and Outreach Intern at a non-profit organization (NWRI) that funds
     water and wastewater-related research. Responsible for researching and conducting interviews with
     water and wastewater industry representatives to write a biannual newsletter, e-mail newsletter, as
     well as a newsletter for a partner organization; grant-writing for funding to support NWRI activities.

  California State University, Long Beach
  September 06 - May 07
  Student Assistant

     Student assistant for two professors each semester for a total of 20 hours per week. Responsibilities included
     grading and recording scores of exams and papers for Psychology 100 students, proctoring exams and answering
     student questions.

  Further History of Business Experience Available Upon Request