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Do birds of a feather flock together, or do opposites attract?

This was just one of the many questions about relationships posed to audience members at a lively and interactive Psychology Day, hosted by 91吃瓜网鈥檚 on April 11, 2016.

In what has become an annual tradition, Adelphi students, faculty and alumni鈥攎ost of them from the Derner Institute鈥攇athered to delve into topics related to psychology study and practice.听 The event鈥檚 overarching goal is to show undergraduates the depth and breadth of Derner鈥檚 offerings and the range of opportunities in the field. This year鈥檚 event, held at Adelphi鈥檚 Angello Alumni House, focused on relationships and covered a lot of ground.

James Coan, Ph.D., gave the keynote address at the Derner Institute’s Psychology Day.

Among the highlights were a 鈥渉ot topics鈥� panel discussion with Derner faculty and students and a keynote by award-winning research psychologist James Coan, Ph.D.

The Mental Health Association of Nassau County听offered some improvisational theater. The day opened with an appreciation breakfast for supervisors from Derner鈥檚 undergraduate internship facilities and closed with a career roundtable and dessert reception with alumni.

鈥淓veryone comes together to celebrate psychology and learn from each other, and I think that is such a wonderful thing,鈥� said Fallon Kane, an Adelphi senior who is majoring in psychology and criminal justice and was recently admitted to Derner鈥檚 program.

During the lunchtime panel, faculty and students shared interesting findings from their studies of relationships鈥攅verything from online dating and infidelity to why relationships make us happy and how age influences motivation. Faculty speakers included Katherine Fiori, Ph.D.,听Laura Brumariu, Ph.D., M. Joy McClure, Ph.D., Lawrence Josephs, Ph.D., and Dominic Fareri, Ph.D.

The panelists also polled audience members on a variety of questions, including whether opposites really attract. (Research says no.)

A capacity crowd packed the room for the keynote talk by Dr. Coan, associate professor of clinical psychology and director of the听Virginia Affective Neuroscience Laboratory听at the University of Virginia, who spoke about social relationships and our brains鈥攕pecifically the psychological benefits of social support. Through in-depth MRI studies, he has shown that in stressful situations, people feel less anxious when they hold hands with someone else鈥攅specially a romantic partner.

鈥淲e regulate each other,鈥� Dr. Coan said. 鈥淲hen we are in each other鈥檚 presence we cause our body and our brain to behave differently.鈥�

He is now听examining the neurological mechanisms behind this phenomenon.

Carolyn Greenblatt, a Derner Ph.D. candidate, described Psychology Day as 鈥渁 wonderful opportunity鈥� to learn about new developments in the field and 鈥渢o take stock of where we鈥檝e been, where we are now and where we are going.鈥�