Three Covenant College psychology students published an article on Facebook usage in the spring 2009 volume of Modern Psychological Studies, a journal of undergraduate research published by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Claudia Canales, Brooke Wilbanks, and Anna Yeoman conducted their research for the article, which studied Facebook usage in relation to personality and academic performance, for a psychology class taught by professor Phil Wright. By surveying 61 college students, they found that students who use Facebook more often generally have lower GPAs and tend more toward extraversion and neurosis (associated with anxiety, anger, depression, and impulsivity) than those students who use Facebook less.

In the spring of 2009, Canales, Wilbanks, and Yeoman presented their research at the Southeastern Psychological Association (SEPA) conference in New Orleans. 

“This is the first time in my memory that psychology students have published research while still studying for their degrees at Covenant,” said Wright. “The Facebook study is important because it adds to the growing literature on the psychological impact of social networking.”

Associate professor of psychology Kevin Eames adds, “It is doubly significant that their research was accepted at SEPA and solicited for publication.”

Canales, Wilbanks, and Yeoman wanted to study the growing impact social networking has on culture today. “Impersonal relationships are being established through Facebook,” says Canales. “There has not been enough time to analyze what is going on with ourselves while technology keeps growing—we just kind of catch on. That’s why it’s important to study Facebook.”

Eames added, “It is possible that Facebook usage exacerbates rather than alleviates the behaviors associated with neurotic personality traits. It may be one of the voices that suggest that ‘social networking’ is in fact a form of anti-social networking. Since communication and social interaction are fundamental aspects of how we image God, we need a better understanding of the benefits and drawbacks from social networking.”