Associate Professor of Psychology; Psychology Department Chair
Psychology / Academic
- Office:
- Hopkins Center 327
- Mailbox:
- 61596
- Phone:
- 903.813.2471
Education:
B.A., Utah State University
M.S., Western Illinois University
Ph.D., The University of Oklahoma
Faculty Bio:
I joined the faculty of Austin College as an Assistant Professor of Psychology in the of Fall 2014 and was promoted to Associate Professor of Psychology in the Spring of 2020. I received a B.S. in psychology from Utah State University, a M.S. in experimental psychology from Western Illinois University, and a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Oklahoma. My primary teaching responsibility is to oversee the Psychology Department’s statistics sections. I also teach Research Methods, Psychology of Gender, Social Psychology, Advanced Social Psychology, and Interpersonal Relationships. Additionally, I currently serve as the Chair of the Psychology Department, and as the Director of Summer Term at Austin College.
Courses Taught:
- Psychology 120: Statistics for Psychologists
- Psychology 201: Research Methods
- Psychology 235: Psychology of Gender
- Psychology 240: Social Psychology
- Psychology 341: Interpersonal Relationships
- Psychology 350: Advanced Social Psychology
Research Interests:
My research broadly focuses on two topics: 1) interpersonal relationships and 2) self-control. Regarding interpersonal relationships, I have examined the factors that promote romantic relationship maintenance, and examined how satisfactory romantic relationships influence subjective well-being. My research looking at self-control has attempted to understand the underlying mechanisms involved in self-control failure, as well as how self-control affects various life outcomes. I have also published work that extended the measurement of self-control to a broad, geographic level. Additionally, I have served as Co-PI on two NSF grants: ACESS/SSTEM and IUSE. Currently, I am serving as the external evaluator on the NSF funded IRES grant.