Department of Psychology

Faculty and Fields of Interest

Brian Ayotte health psychology, interpersonal relationships, cognition, and problem solving in older adults

Rowland Barrett autism disorders, child development, clinical techniques

R Thomas Boone (Chairperson) nonverbal communication of emotion, developmental social processes, cooperative processes, communication of trustworthiness

John K. Conboy Emeritus

Donald P. Corriveau Emeritus

Cindy de Frias Health Psychology, Quantitative Psychology, Cognitive Psychology

Paul A. Donnelly Emeritus

Jennifer Fugate categorization of faces and role of language

Matthew Hall theory of language, language development in the deaf, cognition

Barry Haimson Emeritus

Patrice Hartnett lifespan development (child and adolescent), comparative cognition

Mahzad Hojjat conflict, forgiveness, satisfaction in romantic relationships/friendships, inter-ethnic romantic relationships, positive psychology of love

Mary Kayyal cross cultural understanding of emotion, child development

Trina Kershaw skill learning and transfer, problem solving, individual differences

Robin Locke Arkerson developmental psychopathology, emotional development, biological psychology

Josh Masse childhood externalizing disorders, evidence-based treatments, clinical training, treatment dissemination and implementation

Aminda O’Hare emotion and cognition, individual differences, anxiety, cognitive bias, and event-related potentials (ERPs)

Gary Pace acquired brain injuries, antecedent interventions, the development and maintenance of behavioral systems, and the assessment and treatment of severe behavior problems, Applied Behavior Analysis, efficacy in ABA

Teal Pedlow health psychology, women’s health, HIV/AIDS, alcohol/substance abuse, clinical research

Theodore E. Powers clinical training, personality, motivation

Andrew J. Revell lifespan human development, neuropsychology of aging, health risk indicators, multivariate measurement, gerontology

Elizabeth F. Richardson health psychology, adolescent and young adult risk behaviors, clinical research Amy M. Shapiro human learning and memory, educational technology, memory errors Judith E. Sims-Knight cognitive development, adult reasoning, human-computer interaction, instructional psychology.

The focus of psychology is the scientific study of behavior. Psychology is studied as a science with the implication that there is a commitment to rational thinking and empirical analysis of the problems encountered in describing and explaining human behavior.

An integrated 4-part curriculum provides students with a broad introduction to the field, emphasizing the understanding and design of research. Depth of study is offered in the junior and senior years. A wide range of subfields of psychology are offered from courses that emphasize our biological heritage (e.g., physiological psychology, perception) to those that examine basic human functioning (e.g., cognition, learning, personality, social) and those that have a distinct applied orientation (e.g., counseling, behavior modification). There are also opportunities for students to engage in independent research and honors research projects and to participate in internships in various clinical settings. The curriculum can be structured to prepare students for graduate education or to include applied clinical coursework and experiences that would allow graduates to seek employment in a variety of human services agencies.

Students who major in psychology find primary employment opportunities in personnel management, elementary and secondary high school education, social work, software and other product development. Higher level psychological professions, such as counseling psychotherapy, university instruction, psychological research (in industry, universities, and research centers) and various administrative mental health positions generally require a master’s degree or preferably a doctorate in psychology. The department also offers a graduate program in psychology leading to a Master of Arts degree with distinct Clinical and Research options, as well as Applied Behavior Analysis.

Student Learning Outcomes

Our department has adopted the Student Learning Goals as described in APA Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major, V2. http://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/about/psymajor-guidelines.pdf

Goal 1: Knowledge Base in Psychology
Goal 2: Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking
Goal 3: Ethical and Social Responsibility in a Diverse World
Goal 4: Communication
Goal 5: Professional Development