Psychology - Experimental, Thesis, MS

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College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Graduate Faculty

Bedi, Robinder P., PhD, counseling relationships/process/outcomes, substance abuse and dependence, depression.
Byrne, Christina, PhD, psychological trauma and intimate partner violence.
Czopp, Alexander M., PhD, negative implications for intergroup relations of “positive” stereotypes of groups, prejudice reduction through interpersonal confrontation.
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, physiological psychology, biological basis of psychiatric illness.
Forgays, Deborah K., PhD, adolescent development, women’s health issues, women and anger across development.
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.
Lewis, Arleen C., PhD, school counseling, sexual orientation and mental health issues.
Mana, Michael, PhD, physiological psychology, 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.
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. Kate McLean, Academic Instructional Center 180.

Program Description

The Experimental Psychology program provides a solid preparation and foundation for students wishing to enter a psychology Ph.D. program. Students who obtain a terminal Masters degree in Experimental Psychology may use their graduate training to become community college instructors, statisticians, research assistants, or use the degree in other settings.

Goals

The graduate curriculum leading to an MS degree in experimental psychology is designed to provide in-depth research experience within specific domains of psychology: cognitive, social, developmental, and neuroscience. This goal is accomplished through a balance of required content and research courses.

Prerequisites

Introductory psychology, statistics, and a minimum of one course in each of three of the following concentration areas: social, cognitive, abnormal, developmental, and physiological/behavioral neuroscience. Research experience is strongly recommended.

Application Information

Deadlines: Program faculty will begin reviewing application materials after February 1 and will continue to review materials until the enrollment limit is reached or June 1, whichever comes first. Because maximum student enrollment in the program is limited, all applicants are strongly encouraged to submit application materials by February 1.

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

Specific Test Requirements: Graduate Record Examination, General required; subject test in psychology recommended; no test scores are required if an applicant holds an advanced degree.

Program Requirements: (48 credit minimum)

❑ All students must complete the following courses:
PSY 509 - Proseminar
PSY 512 - Correlation Methods and Data Analysis
PSY 513 - Experimental Methods and Data Analysis
❑ Three courses from:
PSY 501 - Behavioral Neuroscience
PSY 503 - Cognition
PSY 504 - Lifespan Psychological Development
PSY 505 - Social Psychology
❑ Three seminars from 532-546 (students must take seminars with at least two different numbers; seminars 541 and 543-546 are repeatable under different topics, with permission); or course substitutions under advisements
PSY 582 - Practicum in Research in Psychology (2 to 12 credits across two quarters)
PSY 690 - Thesis (6 to 12 credits)
Elective courses under advisement
❑ A minimum of one research presentation at 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 515, 516, and 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).