Jessica Hanba, a Hope College senior psychology student from Reed City, will receive a Psi Chi Regional Research Award on Friday, May 3, during the annual Midwestern Psychological Conference in Chicago, Ill.

Hanba has been working for the last two years with Dr. Lorna Hernandez Jarvis, associate professor of psychology, investigating language development in young children. Her research project, "Is a Japple an Apple? How Phonological Similarity Overrrides the Mutual Exclusivity Principle," was one of the best 10 projects selected from more than 250 studies conducted this year at different institutions in the Midwest.

Hanba is a biology and psychology double major who intends to pursue a doctorate in cognitive psychology, focusing on memory and suggestibility with respect to eyewitness testimony. She hopes to become a professor at a liberal arts institution.

She is a member of the Psi Chi psychology honorary society, and during the college's Honors Convocation on Thursday, April 25, received a Senior Sigma Xi Research Award in psychology. Her activities at Hope have included the biology and psychology departmental clubs, and the Environmental Issues Group.

Hanba is a 1998 graduate of Reed City High School. She is the daughter of Dr. Frank and Joann Hanba of Reed City.