Graduate Research

The department adopts a mentorship model of graduate education in which students work closely with a faculty advisor during their two years in our program.  Typically there is a 2:1 graduate student:faculty ratio that provides the student with individualized attention and, therefore, superior training.  Students conduct both a first year research project and a thesis.

We admit students into the program rather than to work with individual faculty members. Nonetheless, we do our best to match students with their preferred advisor whenever possible, and thus having a good match with one or two faculty members is an important part of the admission decision.  Thus, we encourage you to highlight at least one or two professors who might be good matches to your interests.  If your interests are still broad, that’s fine, but provide us with some indication of the type of research you are interested in doing.

Most faculty begin working with one new student each year; however, the faculty available to take new students in their lab varies from year to year for various reasons (e.g., sabbaticals, number of openings in a lab, etc.). You are welcome to contact a faculty member to see if she or he anticipates taking a student – please see the department’s faculty web page for research interests and contact information.

2021-22 Academic Year 
First Year StudentsAdvisor
Ben HardinFleeson
Heather HawkinsMasicampo
Zheqi HuBuchanan
Rowan KemmerlyJayawickreme
Conor LaceyCole
Colin LiBrady
Xuanyu LyuGarrison
Jaret PhilipsKammrath
Cat SeitzSali
Lindsay StallPetrocelli
Ryan WheatFurr
Lindsey WilsonPratt
Second Year StudentsAdvisor
John BennettMasicampo
Stephanie BossertJayawickreme
Alex ConnollyPetrocelli
Yoo Ri HwangGarrison
Marcus MinkoDagenbach
Adam L. PaulBrady
Marquis SchieberWaugh
Elayna SeagoSali
Fanyi ZengKammrath
2021 GraduatesAdvisorTitle of thesis
Lauren BalesJenningsNot all media multitasking or media multitaskers are equal: The relationship between cognitive demand, self-regulation, and media multitasking
Vanessa GillSaliTrait anxiety and trait worry are not associated with visual working memory updating effectiveness
Rebecca SmithFleesonTalking across the aisle: Can deliberation reduce partisan bias?
Anne SomervilleMasicampoHold the meat but pass the disgust: Disgust as an instrumental negative emotion
Keyu WuBradyHow does perceived social status influence health and well-being?*
Ye Dam YiStoneAn investigation of the emotion account of self-other differences in decisions under risk
Natalie FryeDagenbachCommunity organization of resting-state functional connectivity in the depressed brain
Lauren LathamJenningsA process-oriented approach to understanding verbal fluency performance in amnestic mild cognitive impairment
Lindley SlipetzColeThe robustness of ebic glasso to distributional misspecification
Valeriia VlasenkoWaughTemporal anchoring of positive reappraisal
Fei XieBestAcademic cultural mismatch and the adaptation of chinese international students in the united states
Yitong ZhaoKammrathToo late: Perceiving rejection in delayed support
*In progress
2020 GraduatesAdvisorTitle of thesis
Allison CarneyPrattStimulation of nucleus accumbens 5-HT6 receptors increases both appetitive and consummatory motivation in an effort-based choice task
Molly EspenanBlumenthalStartle as an interrupter: The relationship between the startle response and working memory
Finn LübberMasicampoMotivational based performance trade off in sequential tasks and the role of mind[1]wandering
Logan MartinFurrA social-personality perspective on people’s preferences to hear the truth
Ryan MincheyMasicampoImmoral bonding: How shared unethical acts influence people’s decisions, perceptions, and interpersonal closeness
Andrew RakhshaniFurrA prospective longitudinal study of the reciprocal effects of personality and stress
Samantha ShangPetrocelliDetecting bullshit: The roles of response latency and topic complexity
Mariana StavigKiangThere’s no “I” in “team”: Social support and college persistence among minority athletes and non-athletes at a predominantly white institution
2019 GraduatesAdvisorTitle of thesis
Erika BaileyDagenbachPredicting working memory performance from resting and task state functional connectivity
Kelly BuchananBestAnxiety symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder and implications for family life
Michele ChanKiangMultiracial identity development: Predicting the integration of ethnic racial identities in multiracial Asian Americans
Mona CliftonKammrathLet’s agree to agree: An exploration of agreeing support and its moderators on well-being
Leah EmeryFleesonThe course of remission in borderline personality disorder: The relationship between symptoms, age, and functioning over time
Bridget HayesStoneMaking information count: Highlighting discrepancies between risk perception and risk communication in combined description/experience settings
Megan MischinskiJayawickremeHistorical knowledge and social identity: Appeasing identity threat among high-identity majority group members through prospective-taking
Zac Pierce-MessickPrattImpulsivity and limited access to palatable foods in rats
Jessica RiversWaughDistraction and avoidance: An investigation into underlying mechanisms
Kate SamsJenningsCharacterizing task-switching performance in adults with ADHD
Ryan SmoutStoneThe role of shoulds in self-other differences in decision making
2018 GraduatesAdvisorTitle of thesis
Nicole CapobiancoBestUnderstanding School Readiness: The Interacting Roles of Executive Function and Teacher-Child Relationship Quality
Hannah CarlsonPrattThe Behavioral Effects of Temporary Inactivation of the Lateral Habenula on Free Feeding
Michele ChanKiangMultiracial Identity Development: Predicting the Integration of Ethnic Racial Identity in Multiracial Asian Americans
Alex FaunceBlumenthalAnxiety and Initial Value Dependency in Startle Habituation
Bridget HayesStoneMaking Information Count: Highlighting Discrepancies Between Risk Perception and Risk Communication in Combined Description/experience Settings
Sarah HeuckerothFurrExploring Personality Pathology: A Person-Centered Approach to the DSM-5’s Alternative Model of Personality Disorders
Dillon LukeFleesonAn Examination of Agreement and Disagreement in Perceptions of the Morally Exceptional
Olivia ReynoldsDagenbachPredicting Individual Differences on Two Episodic Memory Measures Using Resting-State Functional Connectivity Data
Kate SamsJenningsCharacterizing Task-Switching Performance in Adults with ADHD
Lauren SongWaughThe Effects of Positive Emotion on Cognitive Reappraisal
Mikaela SpruillSetaChallenging the Status Quo: System Justification Theory and Impressions of Activists
Sarah VolzMasicampoThe Use of Instrumental Emotions in Implementation Intentions and Changing Eating Behaviors
Corinne ZachryJayawickremeRandomized Controlled Trail of Interventions to Promote Intellectual Humility
2017 GraduatesAdvisorTitle of thesis
Leah BrownBlumenthalExamining the Relationship Between Mindfulness, Anxiety, and the Startle Response
Lauren CollierFurrTowards the Development of a Belief in Moral Relativism Scale
Michelle FrancisKammrathSeeking the Support That We Want: Goal Matching in Social Support Outcomes and Supporter Selection
Ayat HamzaFleesonAre the Morally Exceptional Consistently Moral?
Laura HixJayawickremeThe Social Function of Redemption Narratives
Kathryn HowardMasicampoA Public Affair: The Effects of Perceived Morality on the Expression of Negative Group Directed Attitudes and Behaviors
Mat JonesKiang*
Rachel MarshallPetrocelliReconsidering Counterfactual Potency to Improve Affect: Towards an Intervention
Jonathan ParilloStoneExploring Graphical Display Effects in the Context of Processing and Decision-Making Styles
Angelica PuzioBestThe Socialization of the Adolescent Voice: Self-Silencing as an Expression of Culture and Context
Kyle St. HilaireJenningsThe Pretesting Effect: How Question-Type and Structure Building Ability Impact Learning
Zi YangWaughNeural Correlates of Stress Recovery in a Positive Emotional Context
*In progress
 2016 GraduatesAdvisorTitle of thesis
Everett AltherrPrattThe Behavioral and Pharmacological Effects of Caffeine on the Consumption and Hedonic Evaluation of Sucrose Solutions
Savannah BradleyFurrShared Understanding and Perception of Stressors and Symptoms
Caitlin BushBestThe Socialization of Emotion Through Negative Emotional Reminiscing with Children
Ricky DavisKiangReligious Coping by Mothers of Children with Autism
Jared HesseDagenbachSubcortical Network Properties in Parkinson’s Disease
Andrew RayMasicampoIntention Perception and Meaning
Emily StagnaroPetrocelliMental Simulation and Perceptions of Probability: How Counterfactually Reflecting upon the Past Alters Perceptions of Meaning
Adam TarterKammrathMental States and Abilities: What Do We Learn About Someone Over Time?*
Tim ValshteinSetaHow Imagined Futures Become Real Pasts
Kassidy VelasguezFleesonAltruistic Behavior and Subjective Well-Being: A Meta-Analytic Perspective
*In progress
 2015 GraduatesAdvisorTitle of thesis
Taylor BoltDagenbachFunctional Localization of Brain Activity in the Iowa Gambling Task Using Graph-Theoretical Methods
Kelly EricksonWoodStates of Awareness and Their Associations with Well-Being
Stephanie GuslerKiangThe Role Of Attributions in the Connection Between Authoritarian Parenting and Peer Victimization
Emily HansonJayawickremeExamining the Role of Well-Being in Government
Stephanie McKeeMasicampoThe Effects of Group Membership on Judgments of Moral Purity Violations
David MendrygalFurrPatterns of (Dis)agreement Among the Emotional Reports of Borderline Personality Disorder Individuals and Their Informants
Asher RubinPetrocelliThe Detection of Stimulus Bias and the Role of Counterfactual Thinking
Hannah StroupWaughThe Role Of Attachment in the Use of Positive Emotion Regulation After Stress
Brandon WeissFleesonInvestigating the Role of Daily Personality in Borderline Personality Disorder
 2014 GraduatesAdvisorTitle of thesis
Rajen AndersonMasicampoThe Tree of Knowledge: Children’s Knowledge and Their Perceived Morality
Maxwell BarrantiFurrImpression of Moral Considerations and Actions: An Agreement Approach
Bradley AveryWaughThe Relationship Between Emotion-Related Thoughts and Emotional Recovery from Stress
Julia BrintonKammrathStrain-Based Work-Home  Conflict: Examining the Relative Contribution of Exhaustion and Negative Affect in the Association Between Work Demands and Home Behaviors
Elizabeth ComitzBlumenthalSensory Gating Ability in Combat Veterans from Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom with and without PTSD
Cory CostelloWoodDoes the Motive Matter? The Role of Intended Effects in Characterizing Actions and Inferring Personality Traits
Alexandra DeLoneBestEmotion Regulation, Executive Functioning, and Understanding of Intentionality in Children with a History of Pediatric Cancer
Ryan HamptonDagenbachCombined Aerobic and Cognitive Training Effects on Complex Brain Networks in Older Adults
Stephanie KomoskiStoneSelf-Regulation in Decisions for the Self Versus Others
Stephen MartinMasicampoReligion and Science: Seeking Meaning in High and Low Construal-Level Theory
Kelly MiskewiczFleesonThe Moderating Effects of Personality Traits on Stressor-Symptoms Contingencies in Borderline Personality Disorder
Joshua PrasadJenningsConnecting the Dots Between N-Back, Operation Span, and Raven’s Progressive Matrices
Emily SimpsonKiangComfortable Exploration: An Examination of the Link Between Attachment Anxiety and Emerging Adult Religious Belief
Stephanie ThomasPetrocelliCounterfactual Viewpoints: How Our Viewpoint of Undoing the Past Shapes Our Future Expectations and Performance
Jessica WashingtonBlumenthalExamining the Interaction Between Startle and Response Inhibition
 2013 GraduatesAdvisorTitle of thesis
Xia AllenFurrLanguage Use Patterns Associated with Borderline Personality Disorder Pathology: A Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis
Benjamin ArmstrongKammrathWhat Predicts Support Selection: Examining Personality and Gender
Melissa BeaulieuBestDo Self Determination Theory Premises Apply to the Disadvantaged?
Sarah CarperSetaThe American Dream: The Effect of Meritocracy Beliefs of Women on Future Expectations of Sexism
Michael CroweWoodManipulation of Positive Perceptions of Others Through Cognitive Bias Modification
Shivani DesaiBestEffect of Socialization of Ethnic Identity Formation While Participating in an Ethnic Social Organization
Alicia JenkinsKammrathThe Moral Value and Self-Regulation of Relational Goals
Peagan LinPrattDissociating Roles for the Nucleus Accumbens Core and Shell in Priming-, Cue-, and Stress-Reduced Reinstatement of Food-Seeking Behavior
Brett MajorWaughThe Role of Positive Emotions in Facilitating the Regulation of Emotion in Response to Negative Stressors
Paul MoonSchirilloFractals in Pupillary Oscillation Patterns: From Gray Images to Jackson Pollock Paintings
Paige RosemanDagenbachResting-State Functional Connectivity in Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Combat-Exposed Control Veterans: A Graph Theory Based Network Analysis
Melanie WhitmirePetrocelliAttitude Certainty as a Subjective Feeling State: Misattributions of Emotion Decoding Affect Attitude Certainty and Response to Persuasion