Mar 29, 2024  
2021-2022 Catalog 
    
2021-2022 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

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, negative implications for intergroup relations of “positive” stereotypes of groups, prejudice reduction through interpersonal confrontation.
Delker, Brianna, PhD, psychology of trauma and abuse perpetrated within close relationships, social and cultural contexts of trauma, developmental psychopathology.
Devenport, Jennifer, PhD, legal psychology, jury decision-making, factors influencing erroneous eyewitness identifications.
Du Rocher Schudlich, Tina, PhD, developmental psychopathology, marital conflict and children, parent-child emotion regulation.
Fast, Anne A., PhD, cognitive development; development of prosocial behavior; motivations for prosocial behavior; development of socio-moral reasoning; perceptions of intellectual property infringement; gender cognition and identity development.
Finlay, Janet M., PhD, behavioral neuroscience, biological basis of psychiatric illness.
Gonzalez, Antonya, PhD, cognitive development.
Graham, James M., 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.
Kaplan, Joshua, PhD, behavioral neuroscience.
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.
Mallinckrodt, Brent, PhD, attachment in adults, affect regulation, the counseling relationship as a catalyst for client change, social support, training students for social justice advocacy.
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.
McCabe, Jennifer, PhD, women’s wellness.
McLean, Kate, PhD, adolescent identity development.
Riggs, Anne E., PhD, social cognition, cognitive development, educational pyschology.
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.
Smith, Aaron, PhD, treatment of psychological trauma and the causal mechanisms of posttraumatic growth; veteran mental health.
Sowell, Shaun, PhD, school counselors’ advocacy role, training school counselors with social justice focus, school counselor professional identity development.
Symons, Lawrence, PhD, perception.

Program Advisor: Dr. Barbara Lehman, Academic Instructional Center 178.

Program Description

The experimental psychology program provides an excellent preparation and foundation for students wishing to enter a psychology PhD 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’s 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 MS program must have completed classes in introductory psychology, 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.

Note: See department website for temporary Covid-related admission policies.

Program Requirements: (46 credit minimum)


Retention


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 students closer to completing their 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 students being notified as to what they need to do to bring their 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).

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