Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Two Domains: College Student Success and Negative Judgment Processes

Ashley Hansen-Brown (Bridgewater State University), Matt Brubaker (Springfield College), Mikala Grimaldi (Bridgewater State University), & Holly Grant-Marsney (Bridgewater State University)

This symposium focuses on impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the domains of college student success and negative judgment processes. Dr. Hansen-Brown and Dr. Brubacker will begin the symposium by discussing their research on college students’ sense of belonging in remote online courses and college students’ memory and attention in face-to-face vs. remote synchronous courses. Because the switch to remote online learning due to the pandemic caused severe disruptions for both faculty and students alike, these research findings can help inform our understanding of the effects of the pandemic on students. Of course, the pandemic did not only affect college students; thus, Mikala Grimaldi and Dr. Grant-Marsney will discuss their research on the impact of pandemic-related stress on negative judgments of others and prejudice against Asian Americans. This research topic is particularly important because of the rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans throughout the course of the pandemic, as well as the general negative effects of COVID-19 on people’s well-being and judgment. This symposium is intended for an audience of students, professors, and any other interested individuals; because everyone has lived through the pandemic and been affected by it in some way, we believe this topic will be widely interesting to NEPA attendees.