Psychology — Experimental, Thesis, MS

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Department of Psychology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Graduate Faculty

Byrne, Christina, PhD, psychological trauma and intimate partner violence.
Carroll, Jeffrey B., PhD, behavioral neuroscience, molecular basis of metabolic dysfunction in Huntington’s Disease.
Ciao, Anna C., PhD, risk factors for developing eating and weight concerns, eating disorder and obesity prevention and early intervention, barriers to seeking psychological treatments, dissemination of evidence-based interventions.
Czopp, Alexander M., PhD, stereotypes, prejudice.
Devenport, Jennifer, PhD, legal psychology, jury decision-making, factors influencing erroneous eyewitness identifications.
Dinnel, Dale L., PhD, school and home environment and achievement motivation, personality correlates of happiness and well-being.
Du Rocher Schudlich, Tina, PhD, developmental psychopathology, marital conflict and children, parent-child emotion regulation.
Finlay, Janet M., PhD, behavioral neuroscience, biological basis of psychiatric illness.
Goodvin, Rebecca, PhD, early socioemotional development, self-concept, parent-child attachment and communication.
Graham, James, PhD, adaptive processes in romantic relationships, romantic love, measurement, multivariate statistics.
Grimm, Jeffrey W., PhD, animal models of drug taking and drug seeking, neurobiology of drug taking and drug seeking.
Gruman, Diana, PhD, school counseling, child and adolescent development, educational psychology.
Haskell, Todd, PhD, language, visual and auditory perception, cognition.
Hyman, Ira, PhD, memory, cognitive psychology, social cognition.
Jantzen, Kelly J., PhD, behavioral and cognitive neuroscience, human environment interactions.
Jantzen, McNeel Gordon, PhD, speech perception, speech production, phonological learning, neural reorganization of language.
King, Jeff, PhD, cross-cultural psychology, healing processes, ethnic identity.
Lehman, Barbara, PhD, childhood family environment and social/psychological health, research methods and statistics.
Lemm, Kristi, PhD, implicit attitudes.
Mana, Michael, PhD, behavioral neuroscience, electrophysiological activity in the locus coeruleus, effects of chronic stress on the central nervous system, development of tolerance to drugs.
Manago, Adriana, PhD, adolescent and emerging adult development in the context of culture change and the Digital Age, Latino youth in the U.S. and indigenous Maya youth in Mexico, peer relations, gender and sexual development.
McLean, Kate, PhD, adolescent identity development.
Purgason, Lucy, PhD, school counseling, social media influences on school adjustment, ethnic identity development and refugee youth.
Riggs, Anne E., PhD, social cognition, cognitive development, educational pyschology.
Riordan, Catherine A., PhD, social and organizational psychology, with particular focus on leadership and change in organizations.
Rose, Jacqueline K., PhD, molecular mechanisms of learning, memory, and plasticity.
Sampaio, Cristina, PhD, mechanisms and processes of memory, representations, memory errors, metacognition.
Sattler, David, PhD, natural disasters, social dilemmas, small group research.
Symons, Lawrence, PhD, perception.
Trimble, Joseph E., PhD, social, cross-cultural.

Program Advisor: Dr. Alex Czopp, Academic Instructional Center 180.

Program Description

The Experimental Psychology program provides an excellent preparation and foundation for students wishing to enter a psychology Ph.D. program. Our graduate program is based on a mentorship model in which each incoming student is paired with a faculty member with similar scholarly interests who will advise and mentor the student on his/her academic progress and scholarly activities. Graduates will have a solid background in research design, quantitative methods, and expertise in a specific research area.

Goals

The experimental psychology graduate curriculum provides in-depth research experience within specific domains of psychology; cognitive, social, developmental, and neuroscience. This goal is accomplished through a combination of coursework and research experience.

Prerequisites

Applicants for the experimental psychology M.S. program must have completed classes in introductory psschology, statistics, research methods, and a minimum of one course in three of the following concentration areas: cognitive, social, developmental, and physiological/behavioral neuroscience. In addition, the following criteria are not required but are preferred: depth of coursework (e.g., multiple courses within a domain, upper-level courses) in at least one of the above areas, and research experience.

Application Information

Application Deadlines: Faculty will begin reviewing application materials on February 1 and will continue to review materials until the enrollment limit is reached or March 15, whichever comes first. Because student enrollment in the program is limited, all applicants are strongly encouraged to submit application materials by February 1.

Teaching Assistant Deadline: To be considered for a graduate teaching assistantship, applicants must submit their application materials by February 1.

Specific Test Requirements: Applicants should submit test scores for the General Graduate Record Examination; no Graduate Record Examination scores are required if an applicant holds an advanced degree.

Program Requirements: (46 credit minimum)

❑ PSY 501 - Behavioral Neuroscience Credits: 5
❑ PSY 503 - Cognition Credits: 5
❑ PSY 504 - Lifespan Psychological Development Credits: 5
❑ PSY 505 - Social Psychology Credits: 5
❑ PSY 512 - Correlation Methods and Data Analysis Credits: 5
❑ PSY 513 - Experimental Methods and Data Analysis Credits: 5
❑ PSY 584 - Research Design Credits: 3
❑ PSY 585 - Scholarship & Communication 1: Presenting Research Credits: 3
❑ PSY 586 - Scholarship & Communication 2: Writing Research Credits: 3
❑ PSY 690 - Thesis Credits: 1-12
❑ 5 credits of electives from any of the following combination:
PSY 517 - Advanced Multivariate Modeling Credits: 5
PSY 582 - Practicum in Research in Psychology Credits: 1-12
Courses under advisement
❑ A minimum of one research presentation (e.g. at a professional conference/Psychfest) or a public colloquium as part of the thesis defense is required.
An optional concentration offered to all experimental psychology graduate students is Measurement, Evaluation and Statistical Analysis (MESA). In addition to the above requirements, students take the following: PSY 517 and PSY 554.

Retention Requirements

The department has requirements affecting retention in the MS Experimental Psychology Program which are in addition to the Graduate School scholarship standards. Students in the Experimental Psychology program must be making satisfactory progress in their research to remain in the program. Satisfactory progress in research is defined as being actively engaged in research activities that are moving the student closer to completing his or her thesis and is determined by the student’s advisor and the Experimental Psychology program advisor (or the Experimental Psychology program advisor and the general graduate program advisor, if the student does not have an advisor). One quarter of unsatisfactory progress will result in the student being notified as to what he or she needs to do to bring his or her research progress up to satisfactory standards. Two quarters of unsatisfactory progress in research are grounds for dismissal from the Experimental Psychology program. Students may appeal any decision through the formal appeal process outlined in the WWU Catalog (Appendix F).