Department of Psychology

Department of Psychology News

February 2022

Successful Match for Clinical Psychology Graduate Students Applying to Internship

With a match rate of 100%, the four internship applicants from the UToledo Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program have each successfully matched with an internship site for the 2022-2023 academic year. Congratulations on this impressive accomplishment!

Justin Leiter-McBeth - VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA
Emily Roemhild - University of Michigan/Rackham Institute, Ann Arbor, MI
Tara Spitzen - Central Western Massachusetts VA Health Care System, Leeds, MA
Ariana Vidaña - VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA

September 2021

Psychology Graduate Student Receives University Fellowship

Emily Jason, a first-year experimental psychology doctoral student (mentor: Dr. Andrew Geers) was recently named a University Fellow by the UToledo College of Graduate Studies. This competitive fellowship is the highest award provided by the College of Graduate Studies and recognizes new doctoral students with exceptional academic records. Congratulations Emily!

May 2021

Psychology Faculty Member Receives R01 NIH Grant

Dr. Andrew Geers in the Department of Psychology received a 3-year RO1 research grant from National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) branch of the National Institutes of Health. This aim of the grant is to identify the psychological mechanisms that cause and prevent the development of fear and anxiety in dental care contexts. This project is in collaboration with Dr. Laura Seligman at the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley.  

Undergraduate Psychology Major Accepted into Diversity Mentorship Program

Margaret Bennekamper, Department of Psychology honors student (Mentor: Dr. Andrew Geers), was recently accepted into the University of British Columbia's Diversity Mentorship Program for the summer of 2021. In this program, she will attend workshops, panels, and meetings to prepare for doctoral admissions in health psychology.

Psychology Graduate Student Wins Department Thesis Award

Experimental Psychology Graduate Student Lizz Gallinari (mentor: Dr. Jason Rose) was awarded the Department of Psychology Meritorious Thesis Award for her thesis, "The Impact of Comparative Thought: Exploring the Similarities and Differences between Social and Counterfactual Comparisons."

April 2021

Psychology Graduate Student Wins Presentation Award

Experimental Psychology graduate student Kelly Clemens (mentor: Dr. Andrew Geers) won first place for the presentation of her poster, "Income Moderates the Relationship between Affect and Open-Label Placebo Expectations and Approach Responses" at the UToledo Interprofessional Health Research Symposium on Social Determinants of Health.

Undergraduate Psychology Major receives department diversity Grant

The Department Diversity Committee is pleased to announce that undergraduate psychology major Merina Varghese (Mentor: Dr. Cin Cin Tan) received the competitive Department of Psychology Chair’s Minority/Underrepresented Research Grant for her research project, "Mindful Feeding and Associations with Parental Stress and Child Eating Behavior." 

Undergraduate Psychology Major Recognized as Outstanding Student of the Year

Faculty in the UToledo Psychology Department have proudly selected Christopher Palmer as their Outstanding Student of the Year. 

Live webinar for undergraduate students on career options for psychology majors

Psychology faculty member, Dr. Kamala London, offered a live webinar on career options for psychology majors. The webinar was sponsored by the Department of Psychology and Psi Chi. You can download the presentation here: https://1drv.ms/u/s!At3pFB16MwgziRh1pwRPofbtSEX8?e=bcFGqV

MARCH 2021

department Diversity Committee Welcomes Guest Speaker

The Department Diversity Committee presents:
Dr. Catherine Sanderson from Amherst College
Merely Bystanders: The Psychology of Courage and Inaction
March 30, 2021 from 4:30pm–6:00pm via WebEx
https://utoledo.webex.com/utoledo/j.php?MTID=mae53fa52e380d929b2d888ccd848f2e2

Successful Match For Clinical Psychology Graduate Students Applying To Internship

With a match rate of 100%, the six internship applicants from the University of Toledo Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program have each successfully matched with an internship site for the 2021-2022 academic year. Congratulations on this impressive accomplishment!

Pallu Babu: Medical College of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Abigail Dempsey: Hershel 'Woody' Williams VA Medical Center, Huntington, WV
Courtney Forbes: Emory University/Psychiatry and Rehabilitation Medicine, Atlanta, GA
Hannah Herc: Medical College of Georgia/Norwood VA Medical Center, Augusta, GA
Emily O'Gorman, Community Reach Center, Commerce, CO
Julia Richmond: Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System, Tulsa, OK

January 2021

Department Of Psychology Graduate Students Receive Department Research Awards

Multiple graduate students in the Department of Psychology received Department of Psychology Meritorious Research Awards. The following students received funding for their proposed research projects:

Evan Clarkson
Raegan Cupp
Lizz Gallinari
Quincy Miller
Sam Oswald
Emily Roemhild
Kayla Scamaldo

Undergraduate Students receive funding from the UToledo Office Of Undergraduate Research

Abigail Ruble and Maggie Bennekamper (mentor: Dr. Andrew Geers) were approved for the 2021 Spring Academic Year Research Program from the UToledo Office of Undergraduate Research. The Academic Year Research Program funds a small number of students to conduct research during an academic semester in coordination with a faculty mentor. 

Abigail Ruble's research project is titled, "Side Effect Information Preferences in Relation to the Nocebo Effect"

Maggie Bennekamper's research project is titled, "Social feedback alters perceptions about anxiety treating OLPs"

December 2020

Undergraduate student featured by the UToledo Office of Undergraduate Research

Undergraduate Psychology Major Emily Jason's (mentor: Dr. Andrew Geers) program of research was featured on the UToledo Office of Undergraduate Research Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/UniversityofToledoOUR).

 

October 2020

Department of Psychology graduate students receive department research awards

Multiple graduate students in the Department of Psychology received Department of Psychology Meritorious Research Awards. The following students received funding for their proposed research projects:

Margaret Baer
Anna Barbano
Kirsten Buckingham
Evan Clarkson
Keith Edmonds
Hannah Herc
Christopher Jurgens
Adam Mann
Emily O'Gorman
Emily Rooney
Noelle Warfford

AUGUST 2020

department of Psychology faculty member receives collaborative grant award

Dr. Matthew Tull received a 1-year College of Nursing – College of Medicine and Life Sciences Collaboration grant to evaluate the mental health of health profession students over time. This project is a collaboration between the department of psychology (Dr. Matthew Tull, Dr. Kim Gratz, Tara Spitzen) and faculty in the College of Nursing (Dr. Kathleen Mitchell) and College of Medicine and Life Sciences (April Lynn Gardner, Dr. Lori DeShetler).

Undergraduate psychology students receive research awards

Psychology faculty member Dr. Andrew Geers had two undergraduate students in his lab receive fall research awards from the UT Office of Undergraduate Research.  

Emily Jason’s project is Message Framing and Perceptions of Generic Medications. 

Buse Kahyaoglu’s project is The Impact of Treatment Names on Illusory Correlations in Healthcare Contexts. 

July 2020

Psychology faculty Member featured in new showtime documentary

Psychology Department faculty member, Dr. Kamala London, is featured in Showtime's new 5-episode documentary, Outcry. From sho.com: "A five-part documentary series examining the gripping story of high school football star Greg Kelley and a quest for truth and justice. Few people experience the momentum that Kelley had going into his senior year in Leander, Texas. That all changed when he was convicted of sexual assault of a four-year-old boy, and sentenced to 25 years in prison with no possibility for parole. But a groundswell of support emerged for Kelley, calling into question the investigation, the prosecution's tactics and ultimately, the validity of the conviction." A preview of the documentary is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSsS7ka8P28

Dr. London was also recently featured in Texas Monthly for her involvement in the documentary. You can read the article here: https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/outcry-showtime-true-crime/

June 2020

Graduate student awarded Grant from the association for behavioral and cognitive therapies

Clinical Psychology graduate student Kelsey Pritchard (mentor: Dr. Peter Mezo) was the recipient of the 2020 Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Research Facilitation Committee Student Research Grant for his dissertation project, “Interpersonal Emotion Regulation in Mood Disorders: Contextual, Biological, and Social Processes.”

April 2020

Undergraduate Student Awarded Diversity Grant from the Department of Psychology

Undergraduate psychology major Andrew Kurtz (mentor: Dr. Matthew Tull) was awarded the competitive Department of Psychology Chair’s Minority/Underrepresented Research Grant. For this grant, Andrew received $500 to conduct his study, “Impact of invalidation following social rejection on risk-taking propensity in gay men.” Congratulations Andrew!

FEBRUARY 2020

Successful Match For Clinical Psychology Graduate Students Applying To Internship

With a match rate of 100%, the five internship applicants from the University of Toledo Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program have each successfully matched with an internship site for the 2020-2021 academic year. Congratulations on this impressive accomplishment!

Alex Buhk: Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA
Nikki Christ: Cincinnati VA Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH
Emily Meadows: Youth Opportunity Center, Muncie, IN
Kelsey Pritchard: Wright State University Ellis Institute, Dayton, OH
Larson Sholander: VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI

graduate students receive meritorious research Grants from the Department of Psychology

Five graduate students were awarded with competitive University of Toledo Department of Psychology Meritorious Research Grants.

• Anna Barbano (Clinical Psychology, Mentor: Matthew Tull, Ph.D.): "Effect of Hormonal Contraception on Trauma Script Reactivity among Individuals with PTSD"
• Kelly Clemens (Experimental Psychology, Mentor: Andrew Geers, Ph.D.): "Illusory Correlations and Treatment Perceptions"
• Noelle Herzog (Experimental Psychology, Mentor: Jason Rose, Ph.D.): "Impact of Polarization in Social Media on Confirmation Bias and Attitudes"
• Kayla Scamaldo (Clinical Psychology, Mentor: Kim Gratz, Ph.D.): "Examining the Impact of Borderline Personality Disorder Pathology on Social Comparison Processes within Romantic Relationships"
• Kristina Todorovic (Experimental Psychology, Mentor: Kamala London, Ph.D.): "Event Memory and Susceptibility to Different Modes of Suggestion in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder"

The Diversity Committee and Chair of the Department of Psychology Announce Availability of the Minority/Underrepresented Research Grant for Undergraduates

In cooperation with the Diversity Committee, the Chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of Toledo is offering a research grant (up to $500) for undergraduate minority/underrepresented students for the 2019-2020 academic year. One $500 award will be offered. Information on the award and how to apply is posted on the Diversity Committee webpage.

January 2020

psychology faculty member nominated for Junior Faculty Enhancement Award program 

Dr. Cin Cin Tan (Director of the UT Family and Child Development Lab @UTFamilyLab) was nominated as one of only two representatives from the University of Toledo for the 2020 ORAU Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards Program. She submitted the grant application in January 2020.

Psychology Faculty Member Awarded International Grant

Dr. Ben Colagiuri at the University of Sydney and UT Psychology Faculty Member Dr. Andrew Geers received a 3-year research grant from the Australian Research Council to study psychological factors responsible for treatment side effects. 

Psychology faculty member participates in uT panel

On January 11, 2020 Dr. Yusef Salaam, one of the exonerated men falsely accused in the Central Park 5 jogger case, spoke at the University of Toledo’s Conference for Aspiring Minority Youth. After being false convicted of rape and assault, the five men served 6-14 year prison sentences and awaited an additional 12 years before being exonerated. Dr. Salaam spoke about social justice, false confessions, and interrogation procedures. However, most powerfully, Dr. Salaam spoke to the power of human resilience in the face of adversity. Dr. Kamala London, professor of forensic psychology, sat on a panel discussing various social justice issues, such as sentencing disparities regarding race and suggestive interviewing with children and adolescents. Dr. London’s graduate students Quincy Miller and Kristina Todorovic also attended Dr. Salaam’s talk.

Undergraduate student receives travel award for conference

Reagan Cupp (Mentor: Dr. Andrew Geers) received a travel award from the UT Office of Undergraduate Research to present at the 2020 Social Personality and Health Network (SPHN) Health Pre-Conference.

October 2019

Diversity committee to host welcome event for undergraduate students

The Department of Psychology Diversity Committee is hosting a get-together for undergraduate students from minority and underrepresented groups on November 1, 2019 (3-5pm, SU2584). Come have coffee, pastries, fruit, and a chat with faculty and graduate students! All majors welcome! You can read more about the event on the Diversity Committee webpage.

Department of Psychology Faculty and Students Participate in the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's Out of the Darkness Walk

The University of Toledo Psychology Clinic and Department of Psychology raised over $5000 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's annual Out of the Darkness Walk in Toledo, Ohio, on October 5, 2019. The University of Toledo Psychology Clinic was again a gold sponsor of the community walk. Thank you for your support!

June 2019

Graduate student receives department award for dissertation

Graduate student Yopina Pertiwi (Mentor: Dr. Andrew Geers) was recognized with the 2018-2019 University of Toledo Department of Psychology Meritorious Dissertation Award for her dissertation, "The Role of Physician Social Identities in Patient-Physician Intergroup Relations."

Graduate Student Receives Department Award For Thesis

Graduate student Christina Perez (Mentor: Dr. Kamala London) was recognized with the 2018-2019 University of Toledo Department of Psychology Meritorious Thesis Award for her thesis, "Narrative Abilities and Resistance to Suggestion in Monolingual and Bilingual Children: Implications for Forensic Interviews." 

Psychology Faculty elected President of Professional Society

Dr. Joni Mihura was elected president of the Society for Personality Assessment (SPA). This is a 6-year appointment. 

Graduate student featured in UT News

Psychology graduate student Margaret Baer (mentors: Drs. Matthew Tull and Kim Gratz) was featured in the University of Toledo news recently for receiving a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. You can read the article here.

April 2019

Undergraduate and graduate students recognized at the second annual psychology department research showcase

On Friday, April 26, the Department of Psychology held the second annual Research Showcase. The goal of the Research Showcase was to highlight the significant and innovative research being conducted within the Department of Psychology by undergraduate and doctoral students. The following undergraduate and graduate students were recognized for their presentations:

Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation Awards 

• Tied for first place: Chloe Beeler (Social and Dimensional Comparison Influence Self-Evaluations and Affect in the Context of Fitness) and Jeffrey Leiter (Children's Language in the Classroom as a Predictor of Testimonial Competency)
• Tied for third place: James Betts (Gender Differences in the Emotional Content of Trauma Scripts in Substance Dependent Patients with PTSD) and KellyAnne Navarre (Perceived Social Support Mediates Mindfulness and Positive Affect)

Graduate Student Data Blitz Awards

• First place: Keith Edmonds (Type and Direction Matter: Testing Dimensional and Social Comparison in a Health Context)
• Second place: Christina Perez (Children's Eyewitness Testimony: The Relationship between Language Skills and Inhibitory Control)
• Third place: Evan Clarkson (Eye Movements and Moral Decision-Making)

graduate students win awards at local research symposium

Psychology graduate students Christina Perez (mentor: Dr. Kamala London) and Evan Clarkson (mentor: Dr. J.D. Jasper) won awards for best student submission at the UT-BGSU-UDM Research Symposium. Christina's presentation was titled, "“Laypeople’s Beliefs about Disclosure Patterns of Child Sexual Abuse” and Evan's presentation was titled, "Hemispheric Differences in Moral Judgment."

graduate student awarded diversity research grant from the american psychological association

Psychology graduate student Christina Perez (mentor: Dr. Kamala London) received a $1000 Diversity in Psychology and Law research grant from the American Psychology-Law Society (APA Div. 41) for a project that will elaborate on her thesis work focused on bilingual children's eyewitness testimony.

Faculty member awarded board certification

Department of Psychology professor, Dr. Joni Mihura, was awarded board certification in Assessment Psychology from the American Board of Assessment Psychology.

graduate student receives competitive award from the national science foundation

Psychology graduate student Margaret Baer (mentors: Drs. Matthew Tull and Kim Gratz) was awarded with a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.

Undergraduate psychology student receives diversity grant for her research

The Department of Psychology Diversity Committee is excited to announce that undergraduate psychology student Megh Kumar was awarded with The Department of Psychology Chair's Minority/Underrepresented Research Grant for her study, "The Roles of Body Image and Self-Esteem in Breast Cancer Treatment Decisions." She will complete this project under the supervision of psychology faculty member Dr. Jason Rose.

Graduate students receive awards at the annual midwestern graduate research symposium

Psychology graduate student Emily Roemhild (mentor: Dr. Sarah Francis) received First Place Oral Presentation at the 2019 Midwest Graduate Research Symposium for her poster, “The role of anxiety control and mindfulness in sports anxiety.”

Psychology graduate student Keith Edmonds (mentor: Dr. Jason Rose) was recognized with the award, “Outstanding Social Sciences Research” at the Midwest Graduate Research Symposium for his presentation, “U there? Online rejection elicits negative thoughts and feelings among those who compare.”

Psychology doctoral student Evan Clarkson (mentor: Dr. J.D. Jasper) received a first place award in the seminar presentation category at the Midwest Graduate Research Symposium for his presentation, “Interhemispheric differences in moral decision-making.” 

February 2019

Successful match for clinical psychology graduate students applying to internship

With a match rate of 100%, the six internship applicants from the UT Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program have each successfully matched with an internship site for the 2019-2020 academic year. Congratulations on this impressive accomplishment!

Xin Lv: Aurora Community Mental Health Center, Aurora, CO
Ben Berry: Baylor College of Medicine-Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Houston, TX
Manali Roy: North Bronx Healthcare Network, Bronx, NY
Susan Doyle: University of Manitoba-Clinical Health, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Shannon Manley: Applewood Centers, Inc., Cleveland, OH
Heather Schultz: Royal Ottawa Health Care Group, Ottawa, ON, Canada

JANUARY 2019

The diversity committee and chair of the department of psychology announce availability of the minority/underrepresented research grant for undergraduates

In cooperation with the Diversity Committee, the Chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of Toledo is again offering a research grant (up to $500) for undergraduate minority/underrepresented students for the 2018-2019 academic year. One $500 award will be offered. Information on the award and how to apply is posted on the Diversity Committee webpage.

DECEMBER 2018

faculty member awarded international research fellowship

Department of Psychology faculty member, Dr. Andrew Geers, was awarded a Science Visiting Research Fellowship at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia for 2019. Through this fellowship, Dr. Geers will travel to UNSW to collaborate with Dr. Kate Faasse on research concerning the social psychology of side effects from medical treatments.

undergraduate students Selected to showcase their research at the 2018 Scholars Celebration

Two undergraduate students in the Department of Psychology were selected to present their research at the 2018 Scholars Celebration. Congratulations Eleanor and Kelsey!

• Eleanor Junkins, “A novel, affective, and temporally framed approach to exercise intervention for college-aged women” (advisor: Dr. Andrew Geers)
• Kelsey O’Brien, “Ideal affect in relation to physical activity: A cross-cultural study" (advisor: Dr. Andrew Geers)

October 2018

faculty member receives grant from the university of toledo office of the provost

Department of Psychology faculty member, Dr. Matthew Tull (Co-Investigators: Dr. Kim Gratz, Department of Psychology; Dr. Tavis Glassman, College of Health and Human Services), received a grant from the University of Toledo Office of the Provost for the Program for Academic Excellence initiative. The project is titled, "Integration of a Coping and Wellness Program in the CAL First Year Experience Program to Improve Academic Success and Retention."

department of psychology faculty and students participate in the american foundation for suicide prevention's out of the darkness walk

The University of Toledo Psychology Clinic and Department of Psychology raised over $4000 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's annual Out of the Darkness Walk in Toledo, Ohio, on October 6, 2018. The University of Toledo Psychology Clinic was a gold sponsor of the community walk this year. Thank you for your support!

undergraduate student receives research award

Undergraduate student Eleanor Junkins (mentor: Dr. Andrew Geers) received funding in the Fall 2018 Academic Year Research Program from the Office of Undergraduate Research. Her project is titled, "A novel, affective, and temporally framed approach to exercise intervention for college-aged women."

AUGUST 2018

psychology department faculty member interviewed about his research on public radio program

Department of Psychology faculty member, Dr. Wesley Bullock, was recently interviewed by Haley Taylor on WGTE-FM Public Radio Rough Draft Diaries about the technology of mindfulness meditation and his work implementing a mindfulness meditation program with prison populations. You can listen to the interview here.

June 2018

Graduate student receives department Award for dissertation

Graduate student Jaclynn Sullivan (Advisor: Dr. Stephen Christman) was recognized with the 2017-2018 UT Department of Psychology Meritorious Dissertation Award for her dissertation, "Extending the Theory of Vicarious Embodied Cognition: Online Learning and Comprehension."

graduate student receives department award for thesis

Graduate student Amy Capparelli (Advisor: Dr. Kamala London) was recognized with the 2017-2018 University of Toledo Department of Psychology Meritorious Thesis Award for her thesis, "Adults' Reports of Positive and Negative Events and Memory Accuracy for Word Lists During Animal Assisted Interviews." 

APRIL 2018

undergraduate and graduate students recognized at the first psychology department research showcase

On Friday, April 20, the Department of Psychology held the first Research Showcase. The goal of the Research Showcase was to highlight the significant and innovative research being conducted within the Department of Psychology by undergraduate and doctoral students.

Undergraduate student Hannah Marshal (Advisor: Dr. Peter Mezo) was recognized as having the top poster presentation. The title of her poster was "Social Support Mediates the Effects of Mindfulness on Depression." Undergraduate student Raghad Hassabelnaby (Advisor: Dr. Kamala London Newton) was selected as the runner-up. The title of her poster was "The Effect of Mock Jurors' Psychopathology on Case Outcomes for a Battered Woman Murder Case." 

Psychology doctoral student Courtney Forbes (Mentor: Dr. Matthew Tull) was recognized as having the top data blitz presentation. Her presentation was titled, "Motives for Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in Major Depression and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder". Psychology doctoral student Keith Edmonds (Mentor: Dr. Jason Rose) was the runner-up. His presentation was titled, "The Role of Self-Efficacy and Physician Engagement in Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence." 

faculty member elected to leadership position in national organization

Dr. Kim Gratz was elected as the new Vice President for the North American Society for the Study of Personality Disorders. She will serve a three-year term.

Recent graduate of the department of psychology doctoral program gives interviews on her program of research

Recent graduate of the Department of Psychology’s doctoral program, Dr. Erin Vogel (Mentor: Dr. Jason Rose), has been giving many high-profile interviews about her research on social media. Dr. Vogel is currently a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California at San Francisco.

• NBC, Do You Have ‘Selfitis’? This Scale Will Tell You
• Marie Claire (2018), I’m in Love with Myself: The Age of Digital Narcissism
• Salon Magazine (2018), A Psychology Researcher Explains How Social Media is Changing Us 

recent notable accomplishments of university of toledo undergraduate psychology majors

Jessica Maras has been selected as the Department of Psychology outstanding senior for 2018. Jessica is an honors student at UT and the title of her honors research project (Mentor: Dr. Andrew Geers) is, “What predicts the relationship between implicit and explicit evaluations of fruit and vegetable consumption by cancer survivors?” Jessica is currently applying for Ph.D. programs in clinical psychology. Her research interest center on the intersection of mental illness and chronic physical illness, such as is experienced by cancer patients and cancer survivors.

Undergraduate Psychology major and honors student Kelsey O’Brien (Mentors: Dr. Jon Elhai and Dr. Andrew Geers) has been selected as a recipient of a 2018 University of Toledo President Club scholarship. This scholarship demonstrates the Presidents Club’s commitment to assist outstanding University of Toledo students. Kelsey has varied research interests including cross-cultural psychology, health psychology, and cyber-psychology.

Undergraduate Psychology major and honors student Kelsey O’Brien will be giving a talk on her thesis research (Thesis mentor: Dr. Andrew Geers) on Friday, April 13^th at 12:00PM in the Eberly Center (Tucker Hall). The talk is part of the Eberly Center’s “Lunch with a Purpose” series. The talk is entitled, “Do positive feelings increase physical activity?: A cross-cultural study." The talk will be web streamed by channel WGTE as part of their Knowledge Stream Series.

graduate students receive the department of psychology meritorious research grant

Psychology doctoral students Alyssa Anderson (Mentor: Dr. Kamala London Newton), Christina Perez (Mentor: Dr. Kamala London Newton), and Julia Richmond (Mentor: Dr. Kim Gratz) were awarded the Department of Psychology Meritorious Research Grant. This grant will provide the students with funding for their research projects:

Alyssa Anderson: "The Effects of Child Race, Child Age, and Defendant Race on Mock Jurors’ Decisions for a Child Sexual Abuse Case"
Christina Perez: "Testimonial Competence in Bilingual Children"
Julia Richmond: "The Role of Emotion Regulation in the Transmission of Borderline Personality Disorder"

graduate student receives honorable mention for NSF graduate research fellowship program application

Psychology doctoral student Courtney Forbes (Mentor: Dr. Matthew Tull) received honorable mention for her National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) research project, "Biobehavioral mechanisms linking emotion and impulsivity: A multimethod investigation." The NSF GRFP is highly competitive. Over 12,000 students applied for the award this year, and only a small proportion received the award or had their applications recognized with honorable mention. 

Psychology department research showcase

The UT Department of Psychology invites graduate and undergraduate students to present research at our upcoming Research Showcase. There will be opportunities for graduate students to present 5-minute "Data Blitz" talks and undergraduate students to present research posters. Light refreshments will be provided. 

Date: Friday, April 20th, 2018
Time: 12:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Location: University Hall 5th floor, Rooms 5130G and 5150F

If you would like to sign up to present research, please visit the following link: http://bit.ly/2pFHkJH

March 2018

undergraduate psychology and biology major awarded competitive department of psychology grant

University of Toledo Psychology and Biology major Taylor Shook (Advisor: Dr. Peter Mezo) was recently awarded the competitive Psychology Chair Minority/Underrepresented Research Grant Application from the University of Toledo Department of Psychology Diversity Committee. This grant provides Taylor with funding to complete her research project that incorporates virtual reality, psychophysiological measures, and self-report measures to examine differences between two types of mindfulness meditation. This project will be completed in Dr. Mezo's Adaptive Regulation and Coping Lab.

FEBRUARY 2018

Successful match for clinical psychology graduate students applying to internship

With a match rate of 100%, the two internship applicants from the UT Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program have each successfully matched with an internship site for the 2018-2019 academic year. Heidi Haenisch will be at the Atascadero State Hospital in Atascadero, California, and Samantha Cain will be at the Henry Ford Health Sciences Center in Detroit, Michigan. Congratulations on this impressive accomplishment!

January 2018

the diversity committee and chair of the department of psychology announce availability of the minority/underrepresented research grant for undergraduates

In cooperation with the Diversity Committee, the Chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of Toledo is offering a research grant (up to $500) for undergraduate minority/underrepresented students for the 2017-2018 academic year. One $500 award will be offered. Information on the award and how to apply is posted on the Diversity Committee webpage.

Psychology Faculty Member Co-Chairs National Conference of Health and Social Behavior

Dr. Andrew Geers in the Department of Psychology is co-chairing (with Dr. Jennifer Howell, UC Merced) a national meeting of social and personality psychologists on the topic of health and medicine. The event is a pre-conference to the annual conference held by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, the largest organization of researcher on these topics. The meeting will include top scholars in psychology whose research examines how social relationships and personality influence health-related actions and involvement to medical care. The meeting will be held in March 1^st, 2018, in Atlanta Georgia. You can obtain more information about the meeting here: http://meeting.spsp.org/preconferences/social-personality-health

Graduate student obtains research award

Psychology doctoral student Yopina Pertiwi (Mentor: Dr. Andrew Geers) received a Graduate Student Association Research Award for Academic Year 2017-2018.

December 2017

graduate student obtains faculty position

Psychology doctoral student Jaclynn Sullivan (Mentor: Stephen Christman, PhD) recently accepted a tenure track Assistant Professor faculty position at Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Congratulations Jaclynn!

diversity committee hosting a get-together for undergraduate students from minority and underrepresented groups

The UT Department of Psychology Diversity Committee cordially invites undergraduate students from minority and underrepresented groups from all majors to "Get Psyched About Psychology." Come have coffee, pastries, fruit, and a chat with faculty members and graduate students! This is a great opportunity to meet other students and faculty members, learn more about psychology, and learn about opportunities in the Department of Psychology.

Date: Thursday, December 7, 2017
Time: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: SU 2584

If you plan to attend, please sign up to let us know you are coming. You can sign up here.

If you have any questions about the event, please contact Dr. Mojisola F. Tiamiyu (Chair, Department Diversity Committee) at mojisola.tiamiyu@utoledo.edu.

November 2017

faculty member gives plenary address at suicide conference

Dr. Kim L. Gratz was invited to give the plenary address for the 9th National Conference on Suicide Research and Prevention in Oslo, Norway. The title of her presentation was, "The Role of Emotion Regulation in the Presence, Maintenance, and Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder and Self-Injury."

faculty members give workshop at suicide conference

Drs. Kim L. Gratz and Matthew T. Tull were invited to give a workshop on targeting emotion dysregulation in the treatment of self-injury using an acceptance-based emotion regulation group therapy at the 9th National Conference on Suicide Research and Prevention in Oslo, Norway.

graduate students win research presentation awards

Psychology doctoral student Yopina Pertiwi received the first place award ($125) in the Student Poster Presentation Award Competition at the Health Psychology Research Symposium, held in the University of Michigan - Dearborn, on October 27th, 2017. Yopina’s poster presentation was entitled "Is It the Way I Look? Investigating the Role of Physicians' Social Identities on Patients' Perceptions and Behaviors toward the Physicians."

Also, psychology doctoral student Ashley Murray received the third place award ($50) at the symposium for her poster presentation entitled "Exploring the Impact of Explicit and Implicit Affect Related to Health Behaviors in Cancer Survivors."

October 2017

faculty member receives small grant award

Dr. Andrew Geers received a small grant award from the University of Toledo Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. The award will fund his research project, "A novel behavioral intervention for preventing the conditioning of chemotherapy-induced nausea in cancer patients."

September 2017

Faculty member's research highlighted in National geographic

Dr. Joni Mihura's seminal meta-analyses on the Rorschach published in Psychological Bulletin (Mihura, Meyer, Dumitrascu, & Bombel, 2013) was cited in a National Geographic story this month.

August 2017

Clinical psychology doctoral program granted full accreditation 

The University of Toledo’s Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, in its regular periodic review, was recently granted full accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association. The program’s next periodic review is scheduled for 2024. The PhD program in Clinical Psychology has been continuously accredited by APA since 1979 and information on its accreditation status can be found here: http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/

faculty member's research highlighted in UT news

A recent study by Dr. Kamala London Newton and her lab was featured in the UT News. 

London, K., Hall, A. K., & Lytle, N. E. (2017). Does it help, hurt, or something else? The effect of a something else response alternative on children’s performance on forced-choice questions. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 23, 281-289.

Faculty member Invited to be keynote speaker at international conference

Dr. Kamala London Newton was invited to be the keynote speaker at the annual conference of the European Association of Psychology and Law. The conference will be held from June 26-29, 2018, in Turku, Finland.

MAY 2017

faculty member is awarded research grant

Dr. Andrew Geers was awarded a Small Research Grant from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. The grant will assist Dr. Geers in conducting a study examining stereotype processes in the context of health care interactions. Data will be collected at the University Health Center, as well as at one or two other student health centers at other universities.

Former graduate student obtains faculty position

Former Clinical Psychology graduate student and member of the Psychological Assessment Lab, Dr. Sandra Horn (primary mentor: Dr. Gregory Meyer), recently accepted an offer for a full-time faculty position (non-tenure track Assistant Professor) in the Department of Psychiatry at Albany Medical College. Congratulations Dr. Horn!

Undergraduate receives recognition from the department of psychology 

Undergraduate student Chantal Crane was named the Department of Psychology 2016-2017 Outstanding Student in the College of Arts and Letters at the University of Toledo. This achievement was recognized at the College of Arts and Letters Honors and Award Ceremony on May 5, 2017.

April 2017

post-doctoral fellow obtains faculty position

Department of Psychology post-doctoral fellow, Dr. Chris Berghoff (mentors: Drs. Kim Gratz and Matthew Tull) will be joining the Department of Psychology at the University of South Dakota as an Assistant Professor in Fall 2017. 

March 2017

Graduate student wins award for education-related research

Experimental Psychology doctoral student, Jaclynn Sullivan (mentor: Dr. Andrew Geers), received an award at the Graduate Student Association's Midwest Graduate Research Symposium. The award for for the best education-related research from the Judith Herb College of Education and the University of Toledo's chapter of Kappa Delta Pi. The title of her oral presentation was "Are We Really Teaching Online."

Undergraduate honors student receives research award from the  University of toledo

Undergraduate honors student, Kelsey O'Brien (mentor: Dr. Andrew Geers), was awarded a $1,000 Alan and Susan Lapp Honors Scholarship from the University of Toledo to conduct her honors thesis research. For this project, Kelsey will be traveling to Ghana to collect data to test a hypothesized cultural difference in the psychological determinants of physical activity. Kelsey will be traveling to Ghana at the end of the spring semester.

Graduate student obtains Award to advance training

Experimental Psychology doctoral student, Fawn Caplandies, was just awarded funds to complete the on-line Data Scientist Tool Box course offered by the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. In this course, she will learn more about data analysis programs such as version control, markdown, git, GitHub, R, and RStudio.

February 2017

Graduate student obtains competitive T32 National institute on drug abuse Postdoctoral Fellowship

Experimental Psychology doctoral candidate Erin Vogel recently accepted a postdoctoral traineeship in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco. Erin will be supported by a T32 institutional training grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health. Under the mentorship of Dr. Danielle Ramo, Erin will conduct research primarily focused on social media-based interventions for substance use. You can read more about Erin’s new lab here. Erin is currently a fifth-year student in the Social area working with Dr. Jason Rose.

graduate student invited to write about her program of research

Experimental Psychology doctoral candidate Erin Vogel was recently invited to write a blog post for Open Forest, a site dedicated to sharing psychological research with the general public. Erin’s post highlights her research on the effects of social comparison on social media sites such as Facebook. She is currently a fifth-year student in the Social area working with Dr. Jason Rose.

graduate student obtains postdoctoral position

Congratulations to Clinical Psychology graduate student John Van Dusen who is currently completing his internship. He recently obtained a postdoctoral position at the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center in Detroit, Michigan.

successful match for clinical psychology graduate students applying to internship

With a match rate of 100%, the four internship applicants from the UT Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program have each successfully matched with an internship site for the 2017-2018 academic year. Brianna Byllesby will be at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center; Meredith Erwin at the Durham VA Medical Center; Joanna Piedmont at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System; and Joe Reed at the Baylor College of Medicine - Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Congratulations on this impressive accomplishment!

Psychology Faculty Member Selected to Provide A Workshop At national convention 

Dr. Kim L. Gratz was just selected to provide a workshop on her emotion regulation group therapy for self-injury in borderline personality disorder at the 2017 National Convention of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in Washington DC. Past workshop presenters include Drs. Marsha Linehan and Alan Fruzzetti.

Psychology Faculty Members establish a collaboration with the university of szeged in szeged, hungary

Through an initiative directed by Dr. Peter Mezo in the UT Department of Psychology, Dr. Marta Csabai, Chair of the Department of Personality, Clinical, and Health Psychology at the University of Szeged, Hungary, visited the Department of Psychology this past January 31 to February 3. A principal reason for her coming was to continue to develop plans with faculty in our department on the establishment of a joint degree in health psychology to be offered at the University of Szeged and to be taught by faculty from both institutions. Her visit included meetings with faculty and tours of departmental labs that conduct research on diverse areas of health psychology. As a result of this productive visit, the structure and content of the proposed program was further clarified and is in a good position for approval. We were delighted to host Dr. Csabai!

January 2017

Psychology Doctoral Student Obtains a postdoctoral fellowship

Experimental Psychology doctoral graduate student Monica Lawson (mentored under Dr. Kamala London) began a postdoctoral fellowship at the William J. Shaw Center for Children & Families at the University of Notre Dame. Monica is working under the mentorship of Kristin Valentino to examine relationships between mother-child communication and children's memory in maltreated and typically developing children. 

Psychology doctoral student obtains A research award from the university of toledo graduate student affairs committee

Psychology doctoral student, Fawn Caplandies (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Andrew Geers) obtained a research award from the University of Toledo Graduate Student Affairs Committee of the Graduate Council. The award will provide funding for a study entitled, "Examining the Role of the Biopsychosocial Model of Threat and Challenge on Coping Strategies."  

december 2016

Psychology doctoral student obtains a diversity support grant

Psychology doctoral student, Manali Roy (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Joni Mihura) was awarded a diversity support grant from the Society for Personality Assessment.  The Society for Personality Assessment offers diversity support grants as a way of promoting and supporting ethnically-diverse representation at their annual convention. The support grant will be used by Manali Roy to attend and participate in the 2017 Society for Personality Assessment Annual Convention in San Francisco, California (March 15, 2017 to March 19, 2017).  

OCTOBER 2016

Psychology Faculty Members publish book on posttraumatic stress disorder

Dr. Matthew T. Tull and Dr. Kim L. Gratz, in collaboration with Dr. Alex Chapman from Simon Fraser University, published a new self-help book for individuals struggling with posttraumatic stress disorder. Published by New Harbinger Publications, the Cognitive Behavioral Coping Skills Workbook for PTSD offers a number of skills from empirically-supported cognitive-behavioral treatments, including prolonged exposure, cognitive processing therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and dialectical behavior therapy. 

September 2016

Psychology Faculty Member is Awarded a Research Grant from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology

Dr. Jason Rose, Associate Professor of Psychology, received funding from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) to conduct research on voter beliefs about the U.S. Presidential Election. The project is entitled: “To Hope was to Expect”: Moderators and Consequences of Wishful Thinking in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election.

Psychology Faculty Members Travel to Sweden as Part of International Research collaboration

Dr. Kim L. Gratz and Dr. Matthew T. Tull traveled to Sweden this fall to continue training clinicians throughout the country in Dr. Gratz's Emotion Regulation Group Therapy (ERGT) for deliberate self-harm in borderline personality disorder, as part of an ongoing collaboration with the Swedish National Self-Harm Project and Stockholm County Council. They are providing both introductory and advanced workshops in Stockholm and Gothenburg as part of an ongoing initiative to provide ERGT throughout Sweden.

ut psychology professors begin data collection on a canadian institutes of health research grant

Dr. Gratz and Dr. Tull recently began data collection on a 5-year prospective grant focused on elucidating the motives for deliberate self-harm funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. This grant is being conducted in collaboration with Dr. Alex Chapman from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

UT Psychology Ph.D. Graduate Joins Faculty at the University of North Texas

Recent UT Psychology PhD graduate, Ateka A. Contractor, has started as Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of North Texas' Department of Psychology in August 2016. She will teach PhD-level and undergraduate courses there, and continue her line of research on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that she started at UT. Contractor graduated with her PhD in Psychology (specializing in Clinical Psychology) at UT in 2015, having worked with Dr. Jon Elhai as her research advisor. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship in August 2016 at the Veterans Administration Boston Healthcare System and Boston University School of Medicine.

UT Psychology Professor Publishes Research on Impact of Computer Technology on Behavior

Professor Jon Elhai recently developed a line of scientific research, examining the impact that computer technology has on people's emotions and behavior (also known as "cyberpsychology"). In one study published this year, Elhai recruited participants from the community, surveying them about worry and anxiety regarding recent internet hacking incidents. He found evidence of unique anxiety about Internet hacking, despite low prevalence of using advanced digital privacy protection to secure one's data. Link: http://bit.ly/1ODHWCH. In another study published this year, Elhai, along with Psychology Department Assistant Professor Jason Levine, recruited community participants and surveyed them about addiction to, and problematic use of, one's smartphone. Elhai and Levine discovered that the reluctance to miss out on exciting news and events from one's social network, or "fear of missing out" (FoMO), was the most potent variable associated with smartphone addiction.
Link: http://bit.ly/2aSWIM0

Psychology Doctoral Student Wins National Diversity Travel Award 

Psychology doctoral student, Yopina Pertiwi, won a prestigious diversity travel award from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. The award will assist attendance at the 2017 national conference of this society. Over 140 graduate students nation-wide applied for the award. At this conference, Yopina will be present her Master’s Thesis research which examined stereotype accuracy in minority and majority group members across cultures. Yopina is a fourth year doctoral student working with Dr. Andrew Geers.

Psychology Faculty Member Co-Chairs National Conference of Health and Social Behavior

Dr. Andrew Geers in the Department of Psychology is co-chairing a national meeting of social and personality psychologists on the topic of health and medicine. The conference will include top scholars in psychology whose research examines how social relationships and personality influence health-related actions and involvement to medical care. The meeting will be held in January 2017, in San Antonio Texas. You can obtain more information about the meeting here: 7th Annual Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) Health Preconference.