Psychology

Chair, Professor of Psychology: Randy Larsen Administrative Assistant: Cheryl B. Casanova

Home Page: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~psych/default.htm Email: psych@artsci.wustl.edu Telephone: (314) 935-6565

The Department of Psychology in Arts & Sciences in ranked among the leading graduate and undergraduate psychology programs in the nation. Psychology is one of the two most popular majors at Washington University and the department graduates about 180 majors each year, including about 80 graduate students. The department has four primary research programs: Aging and Development, Clinical Psychology, Behavior Brain & Cognition, and Social and Personality Psychology. Scroll down this page for more information on the department and its research.

News Stories & Tip Sheets:

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Double-edged Sword Historical movies help students learn, but separating fact from fiction can be challenge Aug. 4, 2009 -- Students who learn history by watching historically based blockbuster movies may be doomed to repeat the historical mistakes portrayed within them, suggests a new study from Washington University in St. Louis. Findings suggest showing popular history movies in a classroom setting can be a double-edged sword when it comes to helping students learn and retain factual information in associated textbooks.

Minding your meds A silly pat on the head helps seniors remember daily med, study suggests July 28, 2009 -- Doing something unusual, like knocking on wood or patting yourself on the head, while taking a daily dose of medicine may be an effective strategy to help seniors remember whether they've already taken their daily medications, suggests new research from Washington University in St. Louis.

Ring-nesia Cell phone ringtones can pose major distraction, impair recall May 28, 2009 -- A flurry of recent research has documented that talking on a cell phone poses a dangerous distraction for drivers and others whose attention should be focused elsewhere. Now, a new study in the Journal of Environmental Psychology finds that just the ring of a cell phone may be equally distracting, especially when it comes in a classroom setting or includes a familiar song as a ringtone.

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Faculty Experts:

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Renee Cunningham-Williams visiting associate professor of social work Renee Cunningham-Williams Download Cunningham-Williams' expertise centers on the comorbidity of mental health disorders, particularly those relating to behavioral addictions, risk taking, and antisocial behaviors. Expertise: gambling addiction, substance abuse, risk taking, antisocial behaviors, crisis intervention Direct contact: (314) 935-4563 / williamsr@wustl.edu

Henry L. "Roddy" Roediger III James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor Roediger Download Roediger is an internationally recognized scholar of human memory function and the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor. He served as chair of the Department of Psychology in Arts & Sciences from 1996-2004, when he was named dean of academic planning in Arts & Sciences. Roediger's ... Expertise: human memory, memory, learning, retention, false memory Direct contact: (314) 935-4307 / roediger@artsci.wustl.edu

John Baugh Director of African and African American Studies John Baugh Download John Baugh, Ph.D., is able to provide perspective on the historic 2008 presidential race and issues related to the first African American candidate from a major party to run for the office. Baugh, author of Beyond Ebonics: Linguistic Pride and Racial Prejudice, a significant piece of work on the Ebonics ... Expertise: Race and politics, linguistics, linguistic profiling Direct contact: (314) 935-5690 / jbaugh@wustl.edu

John Stern Professor Emeritus of Psychology in Arts & Sciences Stern Stern, a professor emeritus of psychology, is a pioneer in the integrative and emergent science of psychophysiology. His main field of interest is human psychophysiology applied to human factors problems and major concern is with using the eye and eyelids as indicants of aspects of information processing ... Expertise: psychophysiology, biometrics, lie detection, stress monitoring, eye blinks, fatigue, drowsy drivers Direct contact: (314) 935-6535 / jastern@artsci.wustl.edu

Richard Abrams Professor of Psychology in Arts & Sciences Abrams conducts research on aspects of perception, attention, and motor control. His work addresses questions about the mental mechanisms that underlie overt movements of the eyes and limbs and covert movements of visual attention. One ongoing project examines the link between eye movements and movements ... Expertise: attention, eye movements, mental mechanisms, motor control, perception, visual attention Direct contact: (314) 935-6538 / rabrams@artsci.wustl.edu

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Related News Clips:

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Show More Clips

Sleep helps reduce errors in memory United Press International and 4 others Sept. 15, 2009 -- Researchers at Michigan State, Chicago, and WUSTL says sleep may reduce mistakes in memory for both the young and the old. They studied the presence of false memory in groups of college students. Previous research has shown that sleep improves memory, but this study address errors in memory. The study was published in the journal Learning & Memory.

Young Animals May Be Able to Erase Bad Memories U.S. News & World Report online and 5 others Sept. 8, 2009 -- New Swiss research published in Science suggests that young animals may have a mechanism that allows them to jettison traumatic memories, but experts say it's unclear whether humans of any age can do the same. Includes comments by WUSTL psychology professor and memory specialist Mark McDaniel.

Movies enhance recall if facts are correct United Press International and 1 others Aug. 7, 2009 -- WUSTL psychology doctoral student Andrew Butler said students who learn history through watching blockbuster movies may be doomed to repeat history. ". . . when information in the film directly contradicted the text, people often falsely recalled the misinformation portrayed in the film." The findings are published in the journal Psychological Science.

Please silence your phone -- NOW! Los Angeles Times online June 3, 2009 -- A new study that shows that a cellphone ring, more than just being annoying, can pose the kind of distraction that can impair learning or derail someone's train of thought. Study author and WUSTL psychology postdoctoral research scholar Jill Shelton comments.

The culture of failure The Boston Globe June 1, 2009 -- If at first you don't succeed, tell the world about it -- because Web culture has become obsessed with "failure videos," mostly on YouTube. Whatever the reason, the sharing of personal missteps has become a part of today's e-culture. WUSTL psychology professor Don Fitz comments.

Established in 1924, the Department of Psychology at Washington University has graduated about 650 Ph.D.'s and thousands of psychology majors. In the early 1990s, Washington University targeted psychology as an area of excellence and growth. As part of its commitment, the University constructed a new $28 million psychology building, which opened in 1996. The department is currently engaged in an ambitious effort to double in size through an aggressive faculty recruitment campaign; it has added more than a dozen new faculty since 2000.

The Department has four primary research programs: Aging and Development, Clinical Psychology, Behavior Brain & Cognition, and Social and Personality Psychology.

The Aging and Development program dates back to the 1950s, when we received our first training grant. This program has been continually funded since that time. Although research on older adults has become increasingly prominent at a number of universities, we have a long history of excellence and continue to be a leader in this important scholarly endeavor.

The Clinical Psychology program, fully accredited by the American Psychological Association, trains students according to a scientist/practitioner model emphasizing clinical research. Three specializations within the clinical program are clinical aging, clinical neuropsychology, and health psychology. Recent students in this program have consistently received their top choice of outstanding internships.

The Behavior, Brain & Cognition program includes researchers studying attention, language, and memory, as well as animal learning and behavior. Cognitive neuroscience is a current emphasis, as we have recruited five researchers who use functional brain imaging in their research.

The Social/Personality program emphasizes both basic and applied research in such topics as stereotyping, the development of self-concept, racial dynamics, mood regulation and happiness, and decision-making related to health, careers, and relationships.