My research lies at the intersection of social psychology, affective science, environmental psychology, and political psychology. I examine the affective, cognitive, and social processes that shape judgments and decisions in environmental and political contexts . That is, I examine how the mind works to shape people's thoughts and feelings about the world that surrounds them. My lab examines broad interdisciplinary questions such as how socio-political groups and identities influence people's stances toward climate policy and perceptions of political polarization. We also examine basic psychological processes such as how attention intensifies emotion and perceptions of environmental risk. We use laboratory experiments, national surveys, field studies, and archival data to understand such pressing topics as climate policy, political polarization, and well being.
keywords
Emotion, Judgment and Decision Making, Social Psychology, Political Psychology, , Environmental Psychology, Behavioral Economics
PSYC 4011 - Senior Thesis
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018 / Spring 2019 / Fall 2019
Critically reviews some aspect of psychological literature, scholarly analysis of a major psychological issue, and/or empirical research project. See the psychology honors director for further information.
PSYC 4136 - Judgment and Decision Making
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018 / Spring 2020 / Fall 2020 / Spring 2022
Introduces the study of judgment and decision making processes (estimation, prediction and diagnosis, choice under certainty, and risky decision making) and the methods that have been developed to improve these processes (statistical modeling, decision analysis, and expert systems).
PSYC 4606 - Advanced Topics in Social Psychology
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2019
In-depth study of selected topics in social psychology. Particular section content each semester is determined by the instructor. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credit hours, provided the topics vary.
PSYC 5541 - Special Topics in Psychology
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2022 / Spring 2023 / Fall 2023 / Spring 2024 / Fall 2024
Studies and analyzes special interest topics from the broad and diversified field of psychology. Particular section content is determined by instructor. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours, provided the topics vary. Instructor consent required for students outside of the department.
PSYC 5606 - Proseminar: Social-Personality Psychology
Secondary Instructor
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Fall 2020
Provides a thorough introduction to methods and theories in social psychology concerned with topics such as the self, social cognition, judgment and decision making, attitude formation and change, small group processes, inter-group relations, health and social psychology, and others. May be repeated up to 12 total credit hours.
PSYC 6606 - Professional Issues in Social Psychology
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2021 / Spring 2022
Covers a range of topics important for professional development in social psychology, including preparation and delivery of research presentations, preparation of grant proposals and manuscripts, and peer review of manuscripts. Intended to prepare students for careers as research scientists. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours.
PSYC 7536 - Personality and Social Psychology
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2019 / Spring 2024
Selected topics in the area of social-personality psychology. Students may register for more than one section of this course within the term and/or within their graduate career. These seminars may be on one of the following topics: stereotyping and prejudice, social neuroscience, person perception, social psychology and the self, health and social psychology, race and ethnic identity, or social cognition. May be repeated up to 8 total credit hours.
