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 Students
Advisor
Ben Hardin
Fleeson
Heather Hawkins
Masicampo
Zheqi Hu
Buchanan
Rowan Kemmerly
Jayawickreme
Conor Lacey
Cole
Colin Li
Brady
Xuanyu Lyu
Garrison
Jaret Philips
Kammrath
Cat Seitz
Sali
Lindsay Stall
Petrocelli
Ryan Wheat
Furr
Lindsey Wilson
Pratt
Second Year Students
Advisor
John Bennett
Masicampo
Stephanie Bossert
Jayawickreme
Alex Connolly
Petrocelli
Yoo Ri Hwang
Garrison
Marcus Minko
Dagenbach
Adam L. Paul
Brady
Marquis Schieber
Waugh
Elayna Seago
Sali
Fanyi Zeng
Kammrath
2021 Graduates
Advisor
Title of thesis
Lauren Bales
Jennings
Not all media multitasking or media multitaskers are equal: The relationship between cognitive demand, self-regulation, and media multitasking
Vanessa Gill
Sali
Trait anxiety and trait worry are not associated with visual working memory updating effectiveness
Rebecca Smith
Fleeson
Talking across the aisle: Can deliberation reduce partisan bias?
Anne Somerville
Masicampo
Hold the meat but pass the disgust: Disgust as an instrumental negative emotion
Keyu Wu
Brady
How does perceived social status influence health and well-being?*
Ye Dam Yi
Stone
An investigation of the emotion account of self-other differences in decisions under risk
Natalie Frye
Dagenbach
Community organization of resting-state functional connectivity in the depressed brain
Lauren Latham
Jennings
A process-oriented approach to understanding verbal fluency performance in amnestic mild cognitive impairment
Lindley Slipetz
Cole
The robustness of ebic glasso to distributional misspecification
Valeriia Vlasenko
Waugh
Temporal anchoring of positive reappraisal
Fei Xie
Best
Academic cultural mismatch and the adaptation of chinese international students in the united states
Yitong Zhao
Kammrath
Too late: Perceiving rejection in delayed support
*In progress
2020 Graduates
Advisor
Title of thesis
Allison Carney
Pratt
Stimulation of nucleus accumbens 5-HT6 receptors increases both appetitive and consummatory motivation in an effort-based choice task
Molly Espenan
Blumenthal
Startle as an interrupter: The relationship between the startle response and working memory
Finn Lübber
Masicampo
Motivational based performance trade off in sequential tasks and the role of mind[1]wandering
Logan Martin
Furr
A social-personality perspective on people’s preferences to hear the truth
Ryan Minchey
Masicampo
Immoral bonding: How shared unethical acts influence people’s decisions, perceptions, and interpersonal closeness
Andrew Rakhshani
Furr
A prospective longitudinal study of the reciprocal effects of personality and stress
Samantha Shang
Petrocelli
Detecting bullshit: The roles of response latency and topic complexity
Mariana Stavig
Kiang
There’s no “I” in “team”: Social support and college persistence among minority athletes and non-athletes at a predominantly white institution
2019 Graduates
Advisor
Title of thesis
Erika Bailey
Dagenbach
Predicting working memory performance from resting and task state functional connectivity
Kelly Buchanan
Best
Anxiety symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder and implications for family life
Michele Chan
Kiang
Multiracial identity development: Predicting the integration of ethnic racial identities in multiracial Asian Americans
Mona Clifton
Kammrath
Let’s agree to agree: An exploration of agreeing support and its moderators on well-being
Leah Emery
Fleeson
The course of remission in borderline personality disorder: The relationship between symptoms, age, and functioning over time
Bridget Hayes
Stone
Making information count: Highlighting discrepancies between risk perception and risk communication in combined description/experience settings
Megan Mischinski
Jayawickreme
Historical knowledge and social identity: Appeasing identity threat among high-identity majority group members through prospective-taking
Zac Pierce-Messick
Pratt
Impulsivity and limited access to palatable foods in rats
Jessica Rivers
Waugh
Distraction and avoidance: An investigation into underlying mechanisms
Kate Sams
Jennings
Characterizing task-switching performance in adults with ADHD
Ryan Smout
Stone
The role of shoulds in self-other differences in decision making
2018 Graduates
Advisor
Title of thesis
Nicole Capobianco
Best
Understanding School Readiness: The Interacting Roles of Executive Function and Teacher-Child Relationship Quality
Hannah Carlson
Pratt
The Behavioral Effects of Temporary Inactivation of the Lateral Habenula on Free Feeding
Michele Chan
Kiang
Multiracial Identity Development: Predicting the Integration of Ethnic Racial Identity in Multiracial Asian Americans
Alex Faunce
Blumenthal
Anxiety and Initial Value Dependency in Startle Habituation
Bridget Hayes
Stone
Making Information Count: Highlighting Discrepancies Between Risk Perception and Risk Communication in Combined Description/experience Settings
Sarah Heuckeroth
Furr
Exploring Personality Pathology: A Person-Centered Approach to the DSM-5’s Alternative Model of Personality Disorders
Dillon Luke
Fleeson
An Examination of Agreement and Disagreement in Perceptions of the Morally Exceptional
Olivia Reynolds
Dagenbach
Predicting Individual Differences on Two Episodic Memory Measures Using Resting-State Functional Connectivity Data
Kate Sams
Jennings
Characterizing Task-Switching Performance in Adults with ADHD
Lauren Song
Waugh
The Effects of Positive Emotion on Cognitive Reappraisal
Mikaela Spruill
Seta
Challenging the Status Quo: System Justification Theory and Impressions of Activists
Sarah Volz
Masicampo
The Use of Instrumental Emotions in Implementation Intentions and Changing Eating Behaviors
Corinne Zachry
Jayawickreme
Randomized Controlled Trail of Interventions to Promote Intellectual Humility
2017 Graduates
Advisor
Title of thesis
Leah Brown
Blumenthal
Examining the Relationship Between Mindfulness, Anxiety, and the Startle Response
Lauren Collier
Furr
Towards the Development of a Belief in Moral Relativism Scale
Michelle Francis
Kammrath
Seeking the Support That We Want: Goal Matching in Social Support Outcomes and Supporter Selection
Ayat Hamza
Fleeson
Are the Morally Exceptional Consistently Moral?
Laura Hix
Jayawickreme
The Social Function of Redemption Narratives
Kathryn Howard
Masicampo
A Public Affair: The Effects of Perceived Morality on the Expression of Negative Group Directed Attitudes and Behaviors
Mat Jones
Kiang
*
Rachel Marshall
Petrocelli
Reconsidering Counterfactual Potency to Improve Affect: Towards an Intervention
Jonathan Parillo
Stone
Exploring Graphical Display Effects in the Context of Processing and Decision-Making Styles
Angelica Puzio
Best
The Socialization of the Adolescent Voice: Self-Silencing as an Expression of Culture and Context
Kyle St. Hilaire
Jennings
The Pretesting Effect: How Question-Type and Structure Building Ability Impact Learning
Zi Yang
Waugh
Neural Correlates of Stress Recovery in a Positive Emotional Context
*In progress
2016 Graduates
Advisor
Title of thesis
Everett Altherr
Pratt
The Behavioral and Pharmacological Effects of Caffeine on the Consumption and Hedonic Evaluation of Sucrose Solutions
Savannah Bradley
Furr
Shared Understanding and Perception of Stressors and Symptoms
Caitlin Bush
Best
The Socialization of Emotion Through Negative Emotional Reminiscing with Children
Ricky Davis
Kiang
Religious Coping by Mothers of Children with Autism
Jared Hesse
Dagenbach
Subcortical Network Properties in Parkinson’s Disease
Andrew Ray
Masicampo
Intention Perception and Meaning
Emily Stagnaro
Petrocelli
Mental Simulation and Perceptions of Probability: How Counterfactually Reflecting upon the Past Alters Perceptions of Meaning
Adam Tarter
Kammrath
Mental States and Abilities: What Do We Learn About Someone Over Time?*
Tim Valshtein
Seta
How Imagined Futures Become Real Pasts
Kassidy Velasguez
Fleeson
Altruistic Behavior and Subjective Well-Being: A Meta-Analytic Perspective
*In progress
2015 Graduates
Advisor
Title of thesis
Taylor Bolt
Dagenbach
Functional Localization of Brain Activity in the Iowa Gambling Task Using Graph-Theoretical Methods
Kelly Erickson
Wood
States of Awareness and Their Associations with Well-Being
Stephanie Gusler
Kiang
The Role Of Attributions in the Connection Between Authoritarian Parenting and Peer Victimization
Emily Hanson
Jayawickreme
Examining the Role of Well-Being in Government
Stephanie McKee
Masicampo
The Effects of Group Membership on Judgments of Moral Purity Violations
David Mendrygal
Furr
Patterns of (Dis)agreement Among the Emotional Reports of Borderline Personality Disorder Individuals and Their Informants
Asher Rubin
Petrocelli
The Detection of Stimulus Bias and the Role of Counterfactual Thinking
Hannah Stroup
Waugh
The Role Of Attachment in the Use of Positive Emotion Regulation After Stress
Brandon Weiss
Fleeson
Investigating the Role of Daily Personality in Borderline Personality Disorder
2014 Graduates
Advisor
Title of thesis
Rajen Anderson
Masicampo
The Tree of Knowledge: Children’s Knowledge and Their Perceived Morality
Maxwell Barranti
Furr
Impression of Moral Considerations and Actions: An Agreement Approach
Bradley Avery
Waugh
The Relationship Between Emotion-Related Thoughts and Emotional Recovery from Stress
Julia Brinton
Kammrath
Strain-Based Work-Home Conflict: Examining the Relative Contribution of Exhaustion and Negative Affect in the Association Between Work Demands and Home Behaviors
Elizabeth Comitz
Blumenthal
Sensory Gating Ability in Combat Veterans from Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom with and without PTSD
Cory Costello
Wood
Does the Motive Matter? The Role of Intended Effects in Characterizing Actions and Inferring Personality Traits
Alexandra DeLone
Best
Emotion Regulation, Executive Functioning, and Understanding of Intentionality in Children with a History of Pediatric Cancer
Ryan Hampton
Dagenbach
Combined Aerobic and Cognitive Training Effects on Complex Brain Networks in Older Adults
Stephanie Komoski
Stone
Self-Regulation in Decisions for the Self Versus Others
Stephen Martin
Masicampo
Religion and Science: Seeking Meaning in High and Low Construal-Level Theory
Kelly Miskewicz
Fleeson
The Moderating Effects of Personality Traits on Stressor-Symptoms Contingencies in Borderline Personality Disorder
Joshua Prasad
Jennings
Connecting the Dots Between N-Back, Operation Span, and Raven’s Progressive Matrices
Emily Simpson
Kiang
Comfortable Exploration: An Examination of the Link Between Attachment Anxiety and Emerging Adult Religious Belief
Stephanie Thomas
Petrocelli
Counterfactual Viewpoints: How Our Viewpoint of Undoing the Past Shapes Our Future Expectations and Performance
Jessica Washington
Blumenthal
Examining the Interaction Between Startle and Response Inhibition
2013 Graduates
Advisor
Title of thesis
Xia Allen
Furr
Language Use Patterns Associated with Borderline Personality Disorder Pathology: A Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis
Benjamin Armstrong
Kammrath
What Predicts Support Selection: Examining Personality and Gender
Melissa Beaulieu
Best
Do Self Determination Theory Premises Apply to the Disadvantaged?
Sarah Carper
Seta
The American Dream: The Effect of Meritocracy Beliefs of Women on Future Expectations of Sexism
Michael Crowe
Wood
Manipulation of Positive Perceptions of Others Through Cognitive Bias Modification
Shivani Desai
Best
Effect of Socialization of Ethnic Identity Formation While Participating in an Ethnic Social Organization
Alicia Jenkins
Kammrath
The Moral Value and Self-Regulation of Relational Goals
Peagan Lin
Pratt
Dissociating Roles for the Nucleus Accumbens Core and Shell in Priming-, Cue-, and Stress-Reduced Reinstatement of Food-Seeking Behavior
Brett Major
Waugh
The Role of Positive Emotions in Facilitating the Regulation of Emotion in Response to Negative Stressors
Paul Moon
Schirillo
Fractals in Pupillary Oscillation Patterns: From Gray Images to Jackson Pollock Paintings
Paige Roseman
Dagenbach
Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Combat-Exposed Control Veterans: A Graph Theory Based Network Analysis
Melanie Whitmire
Petrocelli
Attitude Certainty as a Subjective Feeling State: Misattributions of Emotion Decoding Affect Attitude Certainty and Response to Persuasion