The goal of the College of Santa Fe MBRS Program is to provide theoretical and applied research experience for students from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in research careers. Two research sub-projects from diverse areas will constitute the research program. The first subproject will be a series of investigations of the effects of genetics, early experience and their interaction on avoidance learning, open field activity, turnover of the monoamine neurotransmitters, regional densities of neurotransmitter receptors and adrenal cortex response to stress in inbred mice. The second project will consist of a study aimed at delineating the relationship between Hispanic or Anglo ethnicity and psychological distress. A number of variables suggested by the literature as being possible mediators of this relationship will be examined. These variables include: age, gender, socioeconomic status, social support systems and attributional style. Qualified students representative of the predominately Hispanic and Native American student body will participate in all aspects of the proposed subprojects, including long term planning, evaluation of progress, design and data analysis and research presentation and reporting. Students will also receive instruction in substantive areas of the subprojects and in research design at weekly meetings and seminars. The proposed research in the first subproject has been developed specifically as a cooperative effort between an isolated four-year liberal arts college and a major university with full research resources available to the participating students.
