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Students
may enroll in PSYC 2999 or PSYC 4999 for research
credit. Below is the list of our faculty members and
their areas of research specialization. Please directly
contact the professor whose research you are interested
in.
Dr. ADVOKAT
is conducting research in Psychopharmacology, specifically,
drugs used in the treatment of psychiatric or behavioral
disorders. There are currently two studies in progress:
One concerns the effectiveness of the new, “second
generation”, antipsychotic drugs in hospitalized
schizophrenic patients. This involves analyzing the
records of patients in state psychiatric facilities
over the past 10 years, to see if the new drugs have
advantages over the older agents with respect to helping
the patients stay out of the hospital, or spending
less time in the hospital if they relapse. Another
study concerns the legal and illicit use of stimulant
drugs, prescribed for the treatment of Attention /
Deficit / Hyperactivity / Disorder, by college students.
However, any aspect of psychopharmacological treatment
would be considered for a research project. Students
would be expected to conduct library searches, distribute
surveys, collect data from hospital charts, input
data to statistical spreadsheets, and perhaps instruct
research participants in the performance of some computer-based
tests of attention. For further information, contact
Dr. Advokat in room 215 Audubon Hall, 578-8500.
cadvoka@lsu.edu .
Dr. BECK
conducts research on visual memory and attention.
Current research employs techniques such as tracking
participant's eye movements as they search for a visual
target or try to detect visual changes in a display.
Dr. Beck is also interested in people's beliefs about
how their visual system works and how the inaccuracy
of these beliefs influences perception. Students interested
in working in Dr. Beck's laboratory should send an
e-mail to mbeck@lsu.edu,
call 578-7214, or stop by 209
Audubon Hall.
Dr. BRANTLEY
is conducting research on psychological aspects of
physical illness. Current research involves studies
to investigate psychological factors that may promote
long-term adherence with chronic medical conditions
such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity. Students
will be required to perform library work, data collection,
and data coding and input. Specific duties vary with
each research project. For further information, contact
Dr. Brantley in the Behavioral Medicine Laboratory
at Pennington Biomedical Research Center,
763-2629. BrantlPJ@pbrc.edu
.
Dr. CHERRY
is interested in adult development and aging. She
is conducting research on memory processes in older
adults. Current research projects involve interdisciplinary
studies of healthy aging in the oldest old. Students
will be responsible for library research, stimulus
development, testing participants, data scoring and
analysis. For more information, contact Dr.Cherry
in room 219 Audubon Hall, 578-4099
or 236 Audubon Hall, pskatie@lsu.edu.
Dr. COHEN
condusts research in severe mental illness. Current
projects are aimed at better understanding symptoms
in individuals with schizophrenia and those at risk
for developing psychotic-spectrum disorders. Students
can serve a number of duties, including data-coding,
computerized analysis of patients' behavior, literature
searches and assisting with data-collection. Responsible
students interested in severe mental illness are encouraged
to contact Dr. Cohen in room 206 Audubon Hall,
578-7017, acohen@lsu.edu
Dr. COPELAND
is conducting research in stimulant use, primarily
nicotine dependence and smoking cessation. She is
presently interested in identifying how mood and beliefs
about smoking affect ongoing smoking, smoking cessation
and relapse(Alchohol Study). Student responsibilities
include interviewing subjects, data scoring, data
entry, and library work. Interested students should
contact Dr. Copeland in room 33 Johnston Hall,
578-4117, copelan@lsu.edu
Dr. ELLIOTT
has a primary research interest in memory, working
memory, attention, and the development of attention
and memory in children. One current line of research
includes an investigation of how people perform in
the presence of sounds that are irrelevant to the
main task. For more information, contact Dr. Elliott
in room 228 Audubon Hall, 578-7460.
eelliott@lsu.edu
Dr.
GEISELMAN is conducting research designed
to determine how the body's physiological response
to nutritional factors control appetite, hunger motivation,
food intake, and body weight. Dr. Geiselman is currently
conducting the following research in humans: investigation
of the roles of taste, food preference and female
sex hormones in the control of appetite, food intake,
and body weight; studies of the effects of varying
levels of dietary fats and carbohydrates on taste,
food preference, food choice, total caloric intake,
and hunger; and investigation of the relationship
between eating patterns and the control of appetite,
hunger motivation, and satiety. Students will be responsible
for preparing test stimuli and collecting data. For
more information,
contact Dr. Geiselman at the Pennington
Biomedical Research Center, 763-2695. geiselpj@pbrc.edu
Dr. GOUVIER
is conducting research on the post concussion syndrome,
forensic neuropsychology, and the social experience
of having sustained a brain injury or other neurological
disorder. For further information, contact Dr. Gouvier
in room 220 Audubon Hall, 578-4138.
wgouvie@lsu.edu .
Dr. GRESHAM
conducts research which involves the use of data-based
decision making in schools using a problem-solving
model of consultation for children and youth experiencing
academic and social behavioral difficulties. He is
interested in social skills assessment and training
for children at-risk for emotional and behavioral
disorders as well as the use of applied behavior analytic
strategies for teaching positive replacement behaviors
for at-risk children. He is also interested in psychometric
theory and its uses in test development and construction.
He is the co-author of the Social Skills Rating
System; a widely used multirater, norm-referenced
measure of social skills and competing problem behaviors.
His interests also lie in the use of response to intervention
as a basis for determining which children may or may
not be eligible for special education and related
services under the categories of specific learning
disabilities or emotionally disturbance. For further
information, contact Dr. Gresham in room 119
Audubon Hall, 578-4663. gresham@lsu.edu .
Dr. GROBMAN
conducts developmental psychology research into how
we solve problems in our everyday lives, from the
origins of problem solving during infancy to creative
problem solving efforts of pre-schoolers and adolescents.
He also examines our conceptual development, including
how we understand perplexing situations and how we
look back on our own development into adulthood. Lab
members participate in every aspect of conducting
studies, such as: recruiting participants, coding
data, entering data, and making experimental materials.
Whenever possible, lab members can get involved in
running studies, designing experiments, and analyzing
the results of our work. Undergraduates who remain
with the lab for multiple semesters can assume the
most sophisticated roles in our research projects.
Serious students who would like to learn more about
conducting developmental research are encouraged to
apply, even as freshman and sophomores. Contact Dr.
Grobman in room 232 Audubon Hall, 578-4142.
grobman@lsu.edu .
Dr. HAWKINS
is conducting research along two lines. One line concerns
the behavioral effects of chemical stimulation of
the brain in animals. A particular focus has been
the effects of pharmacological agents on behaviors
evoked by stress. The research involves having the
student perform duties such as neurosurgery, microinjection,
data collection and analysis, and animal care. A second
line of research investigates the psychophysiological
correlates of learning and behavior in humans. Student
will assist in data collection, library research,
and data entry and analysis. Acknowledgment of a student
in published material will depend on the
student’s contribution. Dr. Hawkins can be reached
in room 203 Audubon Hall, 578-4112.
pshawk@lsu.edu.
Dr. HICKS
is conducting research in the general area of human
memory. Current research involves the investigation
of factors that influence recognition memory (did
I experience that?), source memory (from which of
the two or more sources did a memory originate?),
and prospective memory (remembering to fulfill delayed
intentions). Duties will vary depending on the particular
project and the student's motivation, but will usually
include developing stimuli, conducting experiments,
scoring data, entering data into computers, etc. Interested
students must have an overall GPA of 3.0 or better.
For further information, contact Dr. Hicks in room
208 Audubon Hall, 578-4109. jhicks@lsu.edu.
Dr. KELLEY
is conducting research in methods of increasing children's
academic performance through parental involvement.
Additionally, Dr. Kelley is conducting a number of
studies on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
in children and adolescents. Data collection occurs
in the schools, at LSU, and at LSUHSC-EKL. Students
will assist with library work, data collection, data
entry, and will attend research meetings. Students
with serious interest in doing research and attending
graduate school in clinical psychology should
contact Dr. Kelley in room 227 Audubon
Hall, 578-4113. mkelley@lsu.edu.
Dr. LANE
is interested in how memory and cognitive processes
are deployed in complex real-world events. He is particularly
interested in factors that affect how people remember
eyewitness situations and other autobiographical events.
His current research examines 1) eyewitness suggestibility,
2) metacognition (e.g., how is memory controlled?),
and 3) the effect of technology on the cognitive performance
of medical personnel. His work also involves applying
the results of basic research on cognition to legal,
educational, and medical settings. Depending on the
project, undergraduates can be involved in developing
materials, conducting lab and field experiments, scoring
data, and library research. Interested students should
contact Dr. Lane in room 214 Audubon
Hall, 578-4098. slane@lsu.edu.
Dr. MATHEWS
is interested in how nonconscious knowledge guides
and controls our behavior. One line of research focuses
on processes by which people discover unknown relationships.
His research suggests that both conscious problem
solving processes and, nonconscious, or implicit learning
processes interact synergistically in the discovery
process. A second line of research focuses on the
role of implicit processes in self-control (e.g.,
changing habits) and decision making (e.g., preference
for risky vs. conservative choices). His current research
is aimed at determining the nature and capabilities
of implicit learning processes and how they interact
with conscious choices to control our behavior. His
research includes both laboratory studies and work
in the field (e.g., examining doctors’ decision
making in a hospital). In past projects, undergraduates
have helped in all stages of research: experimental
design, collecting and analyzing data and library
research. Dr. Mathews is especially interested in
students who are interested in taking independent
study for two consecutive semesters (therefore allowing
enough time to complete a project). Dr. Mathews may
be contacted in his office, room 210 Audubon
Hall, 578-4114. psmath@lsu.edu.
Dr. MCDONALD
investigates how people (children and adults) acquire
and comprehend language. She is interested in factors
(e.g. age of acquisition, working memory capacity,
amount and type of exposure) that determine the mastery
of the structural aspects of language. Research projects
include investigating language mastery in elementary
school- aged children, in native speaking adults under
different learning and testing conditions, and in
second language learners. Students with interest in
linguistics, cognitive processing, and second language
learning (especially if you are fluent in two or more
languages) are encouraged to contact Dr. McDonald
in room 223A Audubon Hall, 578-4116.
psmcdo@lsu.edu.
Dr. NOELL
is conducting research on interventions for children’s
behavioral, educational, and social/adaptive concerns.
His work focuses on preschool and elementary aged
children. His research examines ways of identifying
effective treatments, varying treatment options, and
ways to assure that interventions are implemented.
For more information, see Dr. Noell in room 233
Audubon Hall, 578-4119.
gnoell@lsu.edu.
Dr. RIZZUTO’s
research interests include the acceptance and training
processes related to new technology implementation
among individuals and organizations, the role of training
media and technology in organization change, and the
impact of automation on employees’ perceptions
of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and
perceived job security. Secondary interests are time
perceptions and coordination in work tasks, and computer-based/web-based
media in research and training. Interested students
should contact Dr. Rizzuto. trizzut@lsu.edu.
Dr. WILLIAMSON
is conducting clinical research on obesity, eating
behavior, and eating disorders. This research involves
studies of the treatment and prevention of obesity
in children and adults. Also, studies of the assessment
of human eating behavior are being conducted. These
studies are funded by: the National Institutes of
Health, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Department
of Defense. For further information, contact Dr. Williamson
at the Pennington Biomedical Research
Center, 763-3122.
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