Megan Pesek at ASPS Presenting Preliminary Research

Author: Megan Pesek | Major: Psychology, Criminology, and Sociology | Semester: Fall 2024

I’m Megan Pesek, I am in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. I am majoring in Psychology, Criminology, and Sociology with Departmental Criminology Honors. My mentor is Dr. Linsay Ham in the Psychology department. I am a senior in my last semester graduating in spring 2025. I am in my second semester of research (started spring 2024). My future plans include going to graduate school to pursue a master’s in criminology.

I am researching how guilt and shame may be used as a deterrent for drug crime and drug use recidivism. The research is based on John Braithwaite’s theory of Reintegrative Shaming. My research would not only further the literature on the theory, but also ways to reduce drug crimes and drug use. This research is specific to driving under the influence and so my study can further understand drunk and smoking marijuana while driving and what ways can prevent it.

My honors thesis journey started in the second semester of my junior year, so a year ago. I received an email from a previous professor, Dr. Holyfield, asking me why I wasn’t in the honors program. I had always wanted to be in the honors program, but never applied. So, when this opportunity reached me, I had to take it. Luckily, I was already in the Alcohol Research lab with Dr. Ham, and she gladly took up this project with me. Everything fell in place for me. That semester I was in a class called Social Research where we had to create a pilot study. I was inspired by John Braithwaite’s theory of Reintegrative Shaming which I learned about in my Criminological Theory class. When I learned about this theory, Dr. Angton proposed to us a question where in a theoretical scenario we committed a crime, would we rather have everyone know of the crime (including family and future employers) but not serve any jail/prison time, or have no one know of the crime but serve jail/prison time. This question and theory inspired my pilot study where I wrote short vignettes including a drug related crime and asked participants their levels of shame and guilt as well as possible crime recidivism. The pilot study then inspired the current study for my thesis. The basis of the online study is the four vignettes: 2 about drinking and driving, one private ending and one public ending, and 2 about driving under the influence of cannabis, one private ending, and one private ending. After reading the vignettes they are asked their levels of shame and guilt as well as their likelihood of committing the crime again and using the substance again. Creating the study was not a small feat. Of course, I had to start with writing Proposal A which laid the background for my study. The major thing that I learned was the difference between guilt and shame. The majority of the time guilt and shame are used interchangeably. Guilt focuses on the behavior alone (i.e., I did a bad thing), while shame focuses on the behavior and the self (i.e., I did a bad thing, so I am a bad person). In drug rehabilitation, there is a focus on resolving shame because it can be a self-loathing behavior. Rehabilitation is difficult when one does not forgive oneself. So, diving into the differences between the emotions and how they have previously been used for rehabilitation was important moving forward in creating the study. Writing Proposal A, the Research Grant, and the vignettes for the study has made me realize how poor my procrastination is. I have learned that writing all in one day cannot work anymore. Even if I write a little bit each day, that is much more efficient, and I write better than if I write all in one day. That was definitely a challenge of my research, and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my mentor and psychology lab. My mentor is brilliant and has led me through each step. Although my thesis is a blend of psychology and criminology, it is very criminology based, but my mentor has taken that challenge head on. This semester we have met every single week to trial and error the study with its complexities. The members of the Alcohol Research Lab have also helped me along the way. They have taken my study in its infancy to understand its errors. I also have had then read the vignettes in the study to help revise and that has been incredibly beneficial. This year I have also been to the Arkansas Symposium for Psychology Students (ASPS) and presented a poster. That was the first time I had presented my research. Although it was preliminary, feedback from peers was beneficial to furthering my study. Going forward, next semester I will be writing the thesis and defending it. The study will resume once the semester begins and will hopefully get participants quickly so there is optimal time to write. I want to thank my mentor, lab, committee members, and the Honors College for the unwavering support and opportunities.