Connections Fund

In 2011 Dean David Rudd decided to broaden the reach of funds received from CSBS alumni and friends. For years, contributions have been used to provide scholarships to CSBS students. While providing scholarship support will remain paramount, Dean Rudd would like to offer support to students who may have financial need to complete research, and/or applied learning or service learning projects.

The fund, now named “The Connections Fund,” supported six students who presented research at the Western Psychological Association Conference in Los Angeles in the spring.

The students presented on three projects. One project, completed with the help of the Living Aquarium in Salt Lake City, examined consumer attitudes in paying more for a gain or paying less for a loss. The students created and conducted a survey of Living Aquarium customers as they entered and left the facility. The team’s research upheld the theory that consumers want more compensation for a loss. The theory stayed true across gender and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Paul Hatch, the senior presenter for the group, compared attending and presenting at the conference to a Kung Fu competition. “It was like going to a Kung Fu competition—some good, some very good but most lacking,” Hatch said. “We got an opportunity to compare our research and analytical skills with others. We found that our Kung Fu skills are very good.

“We worked on the projects for months and sometimes wondered if all the hard work was worth it; but to present research collected and analyzed over several months in front of your peers and many others who know the analysis—and to do it well—was a thousand times worth it.”

Look for a story in each Connections Newsletter profiling recipients of “The Connections Fund.”