Maya Aloni, Ph.D.

I earned my Ph.D. in Social-Personality Psychology from the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, and my Bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Philosophy from the University of Toledo. My research interests are in the areas of close romantic relationships and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. In the area of close relationships I focus on people’s impressions of romantic partners in the context of dating. In another line of research I study people’s purchasing preferences following romantic rejection. I also conduct research related to teaching and learning. This research has focused on teaching strategies for improving the quality of discussions both within the classroom and in online discussion boards. To learn more about my research you can visit my lab website: https://sites.wcsu.edu/relationshipresearch/

I teach Introductory Psychology, Social Psychology, Psychology of Personality, Advanced Personality-Social Psychology, The Psychology of Close Relationships and the Orientation to the Psychology Major course.

Daniel W. Barrett, Ph.D.

I earned my Ph.D. in Social Psychology at Arizona State University and served as a post-doctoral fellow in health communication at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.  My primary research interests are persuasion, social influence, and cross-cultural psychology.  I investigate how people assess the validity of persuasive messages (i.e., why do we accept or reject messages?), how norms impact behavior, and how cultural affects the social influence process.  I recently published a social psychology textbook Social Psychology:  Core Concepts and Emerging Trends with Sage Publications.  I co-edited a book on social influence and culture called The Practice of Social Influence in Multiple Cultures.  At WCSU I have taught Introduction to Psychology, Personality Psychology, Social Psychology, Cross-Cultural Psychology, Social Psychology and the Law, Psychology of Persuasion, Psychology of Good and Evil, and the Advanced Seminar in Social Psychology.  In my spare time I dabble in art and woodworking.

Nicholas T. Gallucci, Ph.D.

My area of specialization is clinical psychology and my areas of interest include psychological assessment, substance abuse counseling and assessment, sport psychology, and gifted children. I welcome student participation in my research projects in these areas.

Among the courses that I teach are Community Psychology and Substance Abuse Counseling: Applied Counseling. These courses have practicum requirements and interested students should plan their schedules to accommodate these placements.

Bernard P. Gee, Ph.D.

I earned bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Biology at San Jose State University, and received my doctorate in Neuroscience at the University of Rochester. Courses routinely taught at WCSU are Introduction to Psychology and Brain and Behavior. My research focuses on investigating the brain circuits and cognitive processes related to vision. Specific studies address various aspects of visual experience, including perception, learning, memory, and eye movements.

Robin Gustafson, Ph.D.

I have a Ph.D. in Human Cognition and Learning from Columbia University. I usually teach Psychology of Cognition, Experimental Psychology, and Applied Multivariate Statistics.

My research interests include instructional media effects, math learning, the ecological and embodied context of cognition, and the relationship between neural network and algorithmic learning strategies in humans and machines.

I completed my graduate training in experimental/cognitive psychology with specialties in attention, reasoning, problem solving, statistics, human factors, and human computer interactions. My research interests are in thinking, reasoning, problem solving, and visual and auditory perception. I teach Introductory Psychology, Research Methods in Psychology, Psychological Statistics, Experimental Psychology, Psychology of Perception, Psychology of Cognition, and Senior Seminar. My interests outside of school include music, audio equipment, photography and video, bad cartoons and movies, traveling, fantasy books, and science fiction books.

Jess Kraybill, Ph.D. I have a Ph.D. in Developmental and Biological Psychology from Virginia Tech. My research interests include examining individual differences in executive functioning abilities during the transition from more external (i.e., parent-based) to more internal means of regulating behavior in early childhood. I teach Introductory Psychology, Research Methods in Psychology, Psychological Statistics, Developmental Psychology, and Adolescent Psychology. In the classroom, I aim to be the sort of professor that I would want to have – engaged, inspired, authentic, and passionate. I love introducing students to new ideas and experiences and especially enjoy helping students learn more effective and efficient ways of studying.

Tara Kuther, Ph.D. 

I earned a PhD Developmental Psychology from Fordham University. My research examines social cognition in adolescence and adulthood, specifically, influences on risky activities. I have researched and written about the effects of exposure to violence, moral reasoning, and ethical issues that arise in applied developmental science and teaching.

I write textbooks in developmental psychology (Lifespan Development: Lives in Context, Child and Adolescent Development: Lives in Context, and others) and professional development books for psychology students. (The Psychology Major’s Handbook, Careers in Psychology: Opportunities in a Changing World, and others). 

I teach Child Development (PSY210), Adolescent Development (PSY211), Adult Years (PSY322), Moral Development (PSY346), and Advanced Developmental Psychology (PSY412).

I received my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Rutgers University, completed my post-doc at the Medical University of South Carolina, and was the Head of Sport Psychology at the United States Olympic Committee from 1987 to 1994.  I am interested in individual, community, social and global health and performance, and at WCSU I have created courses in health psychology, sport psychology, and the psychology of sustainability.

An active writer in the field of sport psychology, I have written and edited a number of books on sport psychology, including the Oxford handbook of Sport and Performance Psychology, Sport Psychology Interventions, and The Sport Psych Handbook. I serve as Graduate Coordinator for the WCSU M.S. in Addiction Studies. I welcome students who would like to receive mentoring in therapy interventions, substance use counseling, research and literature review

My research interests in the last 12 years have focused on applying the principles of learning to the classroom, specifically statistics.  Recently, I broadened this scope, focusing on college completion rates. Despite enormous investments by institutions of higher education to provide academic support for their students, 4 out of 10 new 4-year-college students do not graduate within 6 years.  College completion rates are even lower for students of color, first-generation college students, and students from low-income backgrounds. Many of the students who do not complete a college degree report that they studied but cannot pass course exams, others state that it is hard to make friends, a few indicate that they don’t feel they “belong,” and still others describe being on prolonged academic probation without being able to return to good academic standing.  My research now focuses on designing effective interventions to bolster the student experiences of psychology majors as these events can directly affect their academic outcomes.