UNE Students and Faculty Present Two Research Studies at the 97th Annual Eastern Psychological Association Conference in Boston
Jennifer Stiegler-Balfour, Ph.D., professor and interim director in the University of New England’s School of Psychology and Brain Sciences, presented two studies with a team of student researchers at the 97th annual Eastern Psychological Association (EPA) conference on March 7 in Boston.
EPA is dedicated to advancing psychological science and the profession through the dissemination of professional research. Its annual meeting serves as a platform for members — including clinicians, neuroscientists, experimental psychologists, and applied psychologists — to showcase their latest studies and network with colleagues from across the discipline.
Research Assistants Sabrina Packer (Psychology, ‘29) and Jadyn Stevens (Psychology, ‘27) presented research conducted with Stiegler-Balfour on the use of audiobooks in educational settings to enhance accessibility for diverse learners. Their study investigated comprehension differences across three modalities —reading, listening, and reading-while-listening (RWL) — while also assessing the levels of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) among college students.
A moderation analysis in the study demonstrated that ADHD levels influence the relationship between reading comprehension and presentation mode, suggesting that individuals with higher ADHD levels benefit from RWL over reading or listening alone.
Research assistants Ella Murthi (Medical Biology, ‘26), Natalie Higgins (Psychology, ‘28), and Trinity Huff (Psychology, ‘26) presented an extension of the audiobook study. Their study examined how ADHD symptoms and working memory capacity predict reading comprehension across three presentation conditions.
Participants showed the highest comprehension when reading, followed by RWL and the lowest while listening. Multiple regression analyses revealed that working memory capacity significantly predicted recognition scores demonstrating that listening and RWL may impose greater demands on working memory than reading alone. Overall, the results highlighted the central role of working memory in modality-based differences in comprehension.
Travel to the conference was made possible through the generous support of the Undergraduate Student Government (USG).
For Stevens, her third time attending the EPA conference provided another valuable networking opportunity rich in career-ready training.
“Through these conferences, I have gained valuable presentation and networking skills. I have grown as a student and researcher,” Stevens said.
The UNE team’s participation at EPA highlights the university’s commitment to fostering undergraduate research and preparing students for future careers in psychology and related fields. Their contributions exemplify the quality of the scholarship being conducted at UNE and underscore the importance of engaging students in meaningful, hands-on research experiences.
“Attending the EPA conference was such an amazing experience,” Packer said. “It was very interesting to see all the different studies that other students in the psychology field are working on. I am so grateful for this opportunity.”
