Table of Contents
Page
The Department of Psychology................................................... 3
The Ph.D. Program in Psychology................................................ 4
Graduate Student Life .................................................................... 5
Cognitive & Neural Science Ph.D. Program.............................. 8
Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Program...........................................11
Developmental Psychology Ph.D. Program...........................16
Social Psychology Ph.D. Program..............................................19
Interdisciplinary Research............................................................22
Additional Information on the Web
All application requirements and forms • FAQs for Prospective Graduate Students • Housing Info • Links for International Students
Ph.D. Placement Info • Graduate Handbook (pdf ) • Area Requirements and Handbooks • Faculty Web Pages and Lab Info
Faculty Search Function • Interdisciplinary Research Pages • More Detailed Contact Information • Diversity Resources
380 South 1530 East, Room 502 • Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-0251 • (801) 581-6124
www.psych.utah.edu
Dr. Carol Sansone, Chair
The Department of Psychology
The Department of Psychology at the University
of Utah offers a rigorous, stimulating, researchoriented program of graduate training. The
graduate program is primarily designed for students
seeking careers in psychological research, teaching,
or clinical practice, but our graduates have also
pursued a range of other careers, such as community
service and public policy. Most students enter the
program with a Bachelors degree, but students with
Master’s degrees are also welcome. All students are
expected to pursue a Ph.D. Although students may
elect to receive a Master’s in Psychology during the
course of their study (usually after two years), we
do not admit students who are seeking only the
Master’s degree.
Students apply to and enroll in one of four
department areas: Clinical Psychology, Cognitive
and Neural Science (CNS), Developmental
Psychology, or Social Psychology (see Figure
1). A unique feature of our program is the
highly collaborative environment that exists
among researchers within areas and across
areas, which provides students with the ability
to see connections among different facets of a
psychological phenomenon. Faculty and students
frequently collaborate across traditional disciplinary
boundaries. A cross-area program exists in health
that draws from each of the four administrative
areas. These four areas provide a “home base” for
faculty members and graduate students, however,
students move easily across these areas pursuing
research interests and projects at the interface
(e.g., sexuality self-regulation, developmental
psychopathology). Further, students regularly tailor
their master’s and dissertation committees to fit
their individual research interests, drawing from
faculty members across the areas as well as faculty
outside of the department. This cross training
prepares students for conducting research at the
cutting-edge of the future of psychology and
allows for unique collaborations among teams of
faculty and students.
The Psychology Department has excellent
research facilities in the Social and Behavioral
Sciences Building, conveniently located adjacent
to the Marriott Library, which houses an extensive
collection of behavioral science materials. Our
facilities include a microcomputer laboratory
dedicated to research-related activities for
graduate students. Through this laboratory,
students have access to a variety of statistical and
word-processing packages. Students also have
access to a wide range of faculty laboratories
that are equipped for everything from real-time
video-taped observational research connected
to physiological assessment, computer-based
information-processing tasks, a driving simulator,
and fMRI.
Many of the faculty and students in the
Psychology Department collaborate with other
departments and centers within the University
of Utah. Our extensive interdisciplinary research
collaborations are matched by our extensive
collaborations with over 40 faculty members in
departments such as Anesthesiology, Computer
Science, Education, Family and Consumer Studies,
Neurosurgery, Pharmacology, Radiology, and the
interdisciplinary programs of Neuroscience and
Gender Studies. Numerous faculty members also
take advantage of the on-campus facilities of the
Primary Children’s Hospital, Veterans Administration
Hospital, University Hospital, and the Huntsman
Cancer Institute. In addition, collaborations exist
with the Children’s Behavior Therapy Unit, the
Utah State Industrial School in nearby Ogden, the
Juvenile Detention Center, local school districts,
and local community mental health centers.
The University of Utah
The University of Utah is the flagship university
in the state system of higher education, with an
enrollment of over 29,000 students. Its 1,500acre campus is located on the eastern edge of
Salt Lake City at the base of the magnificent
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Wasatch Mountains. The University is perhaps best
known for pioneering discoveries in biomedical
engineering and human genetics, and the
Psychology Department is one of its largest and
most productive departments. The University
provides a center for community culture, with
recognized research institutes, museums, concerts,
intercollegiate athletics, and community service
programs. Faculty members and graduate students
are drawn from all over the United States and many
foreign countries.
strongly encouraged to consult the faculty research
interests page (see the link on the Psychology home
page), along with the following pages of this brochure, prior to applying to ensure a good match of
research interests.
Note that the requirements of the Clinical area are
more extensive than those of the other three areas
because Clinical students receive training not only in
academic research, but also in clinical practice (i.e., the
provision of therapeutic services). Students who are
interested in the clinical program have the option of
having a research advisor outside of the clinical area; a
separate clinical advisor supervises the clinical training.
The Clinical Training Program is fully accredited by the
American Psychological Association and entails extensive supervised clinical experience in family therapy, cognitive therapy, and psychodynamic approaches, among
others. In addition to research and coursework, students
undertake a full year of internship training, preferably at
an APA-approved training installation.
More information on graduate program requirements can be found in the departmental and university Graduate Student Handbooks, both of which can
be accessed from www.psych.utah.edu.
The Ph.D. Program in Psychology
The highly collaborative nature of graduate training
sets our program apart from other graduate programs.
Faculty members collaborate extensively within and
across areas and students are actively involved in these
collaborative research teams. Interdisciplinary teams
develop in response to new developments in the field,
jointly submit grant proposals, and work on funded
research. An integrative colloquium series in the
department attended by faculty and students fosters the
development of these new interdisciplinary teams.
The University operates on a semester calendar.
During the first three years, all students are required to
take two graduate core courses from different core areas
in psychology (biological, cognitive-affective, social, and
individuals bases of behavior), and to complete a yearlong statistics sequence covering univariate and multivariate techniques. The four administrative areas in the
department (Clinical, CNS, Social, and Developmental)
havetheirownrequirementsregardingcoursework,doctoral qualifying examinations, and doctoral qualifying
research projects (for more information, see the Clinical,
CNS, Social, and Developmental web pages, all of which
are linked to the Psychology home page,). In addition, the
Health cross-area program also has its own requirements.
Beyond these departmental and area requirements, each
student works with a faculty supervisory committee to
develop an individualized program of supplementary
coursework and research tailored to his or her research
interests. This tailored program can serve to integrate
the cross-area interests of individual students.
Students are also expected to begin conducting
research under the direction of a faculty member as
soon as possible in their first year. Students regularly
are involved in research with a secondary advisor as
well as their primary advisor. Our academic program
places heavy emphasis on research training (even for
students who plan to pursue careers in clinical practice), and this is therefore a core component of graduate study. For this reason, potential applicants are
Available Funding
Four years of financial support during autumn and
spring semesters are typical for all students in good
standing in their graduate program (most students
also receive summer funding). This support may be
provided in a number of different ways, including
University-sponsoredfellowships,researchandteaching
assistantships, Veterans Administration training
stipends, and part-time clinical and research positions in
the community. The college and the department offer
several additional research fellowships and professional
development awards to advanced graduate students.
All forms of financial support include a tuition
waiver (meaning that graduate students need not pay
tuition) and a stipend to help defray living expenses.
The majority of students also receive summer funding
through teaching or research assistantships. Applicants
totheprogramareautomaticallyconsideredforfinancial
assistance, and need not submit any additional forms to
qualify. Students who are accepted into the program will
receive detailed information about their sources of support when they are notified of their acceptance.
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Graduate Student Life in Salt Lake City
“One of the perks of living in Salt
Lake City is that outdoor recreation
opportunities abound. For outdoor
enthusiasts, it’s a great place to be.
I spend almost all of my free time
exploring the surrounding canyons
and trails. The rock climbing, skiing,
and hiking are top-rate, and easily
accessible.”
– Jonathan Wade Amburgey
Social Psychology Ph.D. Graduate 2010
Numerous graduate students in Psychology find
that the pleasures of living in Salt Lake City — and
Utah in general — are an unexpected“bonus”to graduate study at the University of Utah. Salt Lake combines the amenities of a large metropolitan area with
the ease of a small town. Its symphony, ballet, theatre,
and film scenes (don’t forget the world-renowned
Sundance Film Festival) delight audiences year-round.
In addition to the traditional NCAA sports (football, basketball, etc.) the university proudly sponsors
the Lady Utes Gymnastics team: Professional sports
fans enjoy minor-league hockey, AAA baseball, and
professional basketball and soccer.
There are restaurants, bistros, and cafes to suit
practically any taste, and numerous clubs offer dancing and live entertainment. During the summer and
fall, Salt Lake City hosts a variety of festivals offering
food, fun, and entertainment, such as the Arts Festival
(featuring artwork, crafts, music, and dance from local
artists), the free SLC International Jazz Festival, the
Living Traditions Festival (celebrating the vast diversity of ethnic and cultural traditions represented in
the Salt Lake area), and the famous Greek Festival, the
largest celebration of Greek food and culture in the
western United States. Several more music and art festivals take place in nearby Park City, and the campus
is host to dozens of concerts, plays, and lectures each
year.
Then, of course, there are our world-famous outdoor opportunities. During the Olympics, many got
an in-depth look at the stunningly beautiful moun-
tains and valleys that make this area so unique. Salt
Lake City sits in a large valley surrounded by the
Wasatch Range of the Rocky Mountains to the east and
the Oquirrh Mountains to the west. Forming the backdrop to the U. of U. campus, the Wasatch Mountains
boast a network of hiking, biking, and running trails a
few minutes from campus.
Then there is the world-famous skiing. Seven of
the area’s 14 winter resorts are less than an hour’s
drive from campus, and offer not only downhill and
cross-country skiing, but also snowboarding and
snow-shoeing. Students get discounts to local ski
resorts, including both day and season passes, making it possible for students to take advantage of Utah's
world-renowned skiing, even on a student budget.The
University offers numerous classes in outdoor activities for beginners and those who want to brush up on
their skills, as well as equipment rentals for skiing and
other recreational activities. And then there are the
five national parks and seven national monuments, all
within a day’s drive from campus — Zion National Park
and Bryce Canyon are particular favorites, both in winter and in summer.
An additional "perk" for students is the Field House,
right across the street from the Psychology building,
where students and faculty can take advantage of a
wide range of athlectic and recreational opportunites.
Gym facilities are free for all members of the University
community, and those who want to take advantage of
special classes and training opportunities ()yoga, aerobics, etc.) can do so for just a few dollars a week.
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Another unexpected “bonus” to graduate study at
the University of Utah is Salt Lake City’s relatively low
cost of living. Housing in particular is readily available and fairly inexpensive. Students can choose from
a wide variety of apartments and houses for rent near
the university, and many students rent and share small
houses. University-sponsored single and married student housing is also available. There is excellent public
transportation in Salt Lake, and many students get
along fine without a car. In fact, student, faculty, and
staff ID cards serve as free passes to the entire bus and
light-rail system. The TRAX rail system runs directly
to campus (very close to the Psychology Department)
and continues to the medical school and other North
Campus buildings. For further information concerning on-campus housing, contact the Office of
Residential Living. More information on current housing costs and finding an apartment is linked to the
“Graduate Student Life” section of our website
All students enrolled at the University have the opportunity to enroll in a variety of elective courses that
give them opportunities to experience Utah's incredible natural resources. Even if you have never set foot on
a mountainside in your life, these courses make it easy
to take that first step. They also make it much more affordable! To learn more about the university's outdoor
recreation program visit their website at: http://web.
utah.edu/campusrec/outdoor_rec/index.html
Diversity in Psychology
Ethnic minorities and women are strongly encouraged to apply for graduate study in psychology at the
University of Utah. During the past 35 years, members
of the Department of Psychology have taken a leading
role in promoting the concerns of ethnic minorities and
women on campus. Since 1967, a diversity committee
has been in place within the department to promote
awareness of diversity issues and to facilitate the recruitment and retention of minority students and faculty.
In 1998 the department was awarded the University of
Utah Diversity Award in recognition of its long-term
commitment to and success in these endeavors.
Over the last 10 years, approximately 10% of our Ph.D.
graduateshavebeenethnicminorities,andtheycurrently
hold positions as psychologists in universities, government agencies, hospitals, and clinics. Opportunities for
research focusing on cross-cultural, ethnic minority, and
gender issues are prevalent in the department, as well as
in the university at large. For example, the University
sponsorsteachingassistantshipstosupportgraduatestudents who want to pursue additional training in designingandteachingcoursestargetedtodiversepopulations,
or courses that focus on diversity issues. The University
sponsors numerous fellowships to support graduate students from underrepresented groups, and our students
have been consistently successful competitors for these
awards. In addition, the department sponsors its own inhouse grants to support research on diversity issues.
Campus and Community Resources
Nate Medeiros-Ward and David Strayer enjoying their time
together in Grand Teton National Park.
The University of Utah and the larger Salt Lake
City metropolitan area have active and visible
minority populations that represent a wide variety
of cultural and religious traditions. The University
is committed to diversity and is making considerable efforts to increase the representation of ethnic
minorities and women in the student body and
faculty. The campus features thriving Ethnic Studies
and Gender Studies programs, a well-established
Women’s Resource Center, a Lesbian, Gay, and
Bisexual Resource Center, a Center for Ethnic
Student Affairs, a Center for Disability Services, the
Office of the Associate Vice President for Diversity
and Faculty Development, and a multitude of other
minority student organizations. Throughout the
year, programs are held on campus to celebrate
diversity and to heighten awareness of these issues.
Examples include the Martin Luther King Week celebration, Native American festivals, Women’s Week,
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and Disability Awareness Week. Throughout the year, nationally recognized scholars and policy makers speak
on campus, and numerous events are held that feature the dance, music, art, and literature of diverse groups.
For more information on diversity issues in the department, Salt Lake City, or the University, contact Dr. Paul
White at paul.white@psych.utah.edu.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
Transgender Issues
The University - and Salt Lake City - have an active lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. The
University's LGBT Resource Center, www.sa.utah.edu/lgbt, sponsors a wide variety of social and educational programming throughout the year, including an annual Pride Week celebration attended by students, faculty, and even local
officials. The greater Salt lake City area boasts a thriving Utah Pride Center, www.glccu.com, which sponsors a diverse
range of events and programs, and serves as a "hub" for the larger LGBT community across the Wasatch Front. LGBT
issues are also well-represented at the level of department and University-wide scholarship. Utah's Department of
Psychology has become one of the top destinations for students conducting research on sexuality and LGBT issues,
given the combined expertise of Dr. Don Strassberg, Dr. Lisa Diamond, and Dr. Dave Huebner. Psychology students
and faculty also collaborate across the Utah campus to sponsor University-wide conferences and programming on
LGBT and other sexuality-related issues, joining forces with a diverse range of faculty members and students from
the departments of English, Law, History, Social Work, Educational Psychology, Nursing, and Health Promotion and
Education. For more information, contact Dr. Lisa Diamond at diamond@psych.utah.edu
In most psychology departments, students are
lucky to find one faculty member studying these
topics. The University of Utah boasts three: Dr.
Don Strassberg (standing right center) studies
functional, dysfuncional, and deviant human
sexual behavior; Dr. Lisa Diamond (standing
center) studies the development of sexual
orientation and identity over the lifespan; Dr.
David Huebner (standing left center) studies HIV
prevention and health risk behaviors among
lesbian, gay, and bisexual adolescents. They are
pictured here with students (seated l. to r.) Kelsey
Sewell, Janna Dickenson, Brian Thoma, and Ryan
MacKinnon, (standing l. to r.) Laura Graham,
Larissa McGarrity and Kendrick Allen who are
studying sexuality-related topics.
Disability Issues
The University of Utah and the Department of Psychology are fully committed not only to the letter, but
also to the spirit of all policies designed to facilitate equal access for people with disabilities to programs, services, and activities. The department is wheelchair accessible. Salt Lake City and the University of Utah were
host to the Paralympic 2002 Winter Games. As a result, many new facilities were built throughout the area,
and the success of the games has increased visibility for people with disabilities. For more information about
resources, student groups, and events on campus, please visit the Center for Disability Services website at
disability.utah.edu or call (801) 581-5020. Please direct questions concerning disability issues in the department to Graduate Director, Dr. Lisa Diamond, diamond@psych.utah.edu.
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aged within the area, with other areas in the department, and outside the department with programs such
as Neuroscience and Engineering. Please see the CNS
website for more information: www.psych.utah.edu/
researchareas/cns/.
Cognitive Neuroscience
Using a high-fidelity driving simulator, Drs. Strayer and Drews find that
cell phone use decreases visual awareness of objects.
Cognitive and Neural Science Ph.D. Program
The Cognitive and Neural Science (CNS) program places a strong emphasis on merging basic brain
and cognitive science with applied domains. The
program contains two focus or sub-areas, Cognitive
Neuroscience and Applied Cognition. Significant
synergism results from the fact that many of the faculty identify with both areas. The research outcomes
from the CNS area are on the cutting edge of the field,
and the interdisciplinary and translational approach
to selected applied problems makes our program
nationally and internationally distinctive. The applied
cognition emphasis uniquely blends basic laboratory
research and theory with research designed to deal
with real-world phenomena and problems.
Our program uses a mentor system that permits
new students to join an ongoing program of research
in a particular laboratory. Students are trained for
careers in both academia and industry; the curriculum
is therefore designed to help students gain expertise
in basic research techniques, theory development, and
teaching skills. All students are encouraged to present
their research at national scientific conferences and to
publish their research in professional journals.
Because of the many overlapping interests of CNS
research programs, students and faculty in different
laboratories regularly engage in collaborative projects
that integrate physiological, cognitive, and applied
research approaches. Collaborative research is encour-
We use a wide range of approaches to study the
relationship between neural and cognitive processes.
Research methods include human and animal cognitive analysis, neuropsychological patient studies,
pharmacological, electrophysiological and neuroanatomical animal studies, event-related potentials (ERPs),
and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
Established connections to the interdisciplinary graduate program in Neuroscience, the Neurology, Psychiatry,
and Radiology Departments in the University of Utah
Medical School, the VA Medical Center, and the Brain
Institute allow students to add breadth and depth to
their cognitive neuroscience training. Current faculty
and student research interests include basic and applied
cognitive studies of attention; cognitive and neuroimaging approaches to studying space perception and
spatial cognition; the study of the influence of human
bodily states on perception; behavioral, neuropsychological, and neuroimaging studies of cognitive control;
Dr. Stefanucci's lab studies visual and spatial cognition in real and virtual
environments. In this photo, a participant judges his stepping capabilities in a study about how people with low or impaired vision navigate
environments.
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CNS Faculty and Their Research Interests
Creem-Regehr, Sarah H.,
The graduate training I received from the
University of Utah offered excellent preparation for my postdoctoral position at UCSD. The
faculty provided a cooperative and supportive
atmosphere for developing my skills as an academic researcher. The structure of the program
and emphasis on quality research experience
motivates productive research, which results
in graduates who are very competitive for academic positions.
Associate Professor and CNS
Area Coordinator. Ph.D., 2000,
University of Virginia. Visual
perception, visual cognition,
and visuomotor control; spatial cognition in real and virtual environments; functional
neuroimaging.
Creem-Regehr, Neil, J. A., & Yeh, H.J. (2007). Neural correlates of
two imagined egocentric spatial transformations. Neuroimage,
35, 916-927.
Paul E. Gilbert, Ph.D.
Associate Professor,
San Diego State University
Creem-Regehr, Willemsen, P., Gooch, A. A., & Thompson, W. B.
(2005). The influence of restricted viewing conditions on egocentric distance perception: Implications for real and virtual
environments. Perception, 34, 191-204.
and animal and human studies of memory tasks and
associated neural structures. Parallel projects involving
animals, human neuropsychological populations, and
neuroimaging methods hope to provide new insights
into systems of perception, memory, and executive
functioning. Participating CNS faculty in the Cognitive
Neuroscience focus include Sarah Creem-Regehr, Fran
Friedrich, Ray Kesner, David Strayer, Jason Watson, and
Jeanine Stefanucci.
Drews, Frank., Assistant
Professor. Ph.D., 1999,
Technical University of Berlin.
Visual attention, cognition
in context, medical decisionmaking, human error in
medicine, human factors in
visualization.
Applied Cognition/Engineering Psychology
Drews, F., Zhang, Y., Westenskow, D., Foresti, S., Agutter J.,
Bermudez, J., Blike, G., & Loeb, R. (2002). Effects of integrated
graphical displays on situation awareness in anesthesiology.
Cognition, Technology, and Work, 4, 82-90.
Our program in applied cognition/engineering psychology uses a variety of approaches to study how the
principles derived from basic cognitive research apply to
real-world situations (and vice versa). Instead of focusing
solely on basic laboratory studies or on purely applied
research, our approach emphasizes a blend of the two.
Thus, our laboratory research has implications for applied
issues, and our applied research provides information
that can be used to refine theories of human cognition.
For example, our faculty apply basic research in perception, attention, memory, decision-making, language, and
expertise to real-world applications like driving, medical
cognition,spatialnavigationandlocomotion,neurosurgical
planning, and on-line education. Applied cognition students are trained so that they are competitive for positions
in both academia and industry. An exciting aspect of the
applied cognition focus is that it fosters collaboration with
researchers in other areas within (e.g., Developmental,
Clinical/Health, Social) and outside the department
(e.g., Computer Science, Anesthesiology, Neurosurgery).
Participating faculty include Sarah Creem-Regehr, Frank
Drews, Tom Malloy, David Strayer, Jason Watson, and
Jeanine Stefanucci.
Syroid, N., Agutter, J., Drews, F., Westenskow, D., Bermudez, J.,
Albert, R., Strayer, D., Prenzel, H., Loeb, R., & Weinger, M. (2002).
Development and evaluation of a graphical anesthesia drug
display. Anesthesiology, 96, 565-75.
Friedrich, Frances J.,
Associate Professor. Ph.D., 1980,
University of Kansas. Attentional
processes in word recognition and visuospatial tasks; task
switching and executive functions; cognitive neuropsychology.
Friedrich, F.J., Egly, R., Rafal, R.D., &
Beck, D. (1998). Spatial attention deficits in humans: A comparison of superior parietal and temporal-parietal junction lesions.
Neuropsychology, 12, 193-207.
Filoteo, J. V., Friedrich, F. J., & Rabbel, C. (2002). Visual perception without awareness in a patient with progressive
posterior cortical atrophy: Impaired explicit but not implicit
processing of global information. Journal of the International
Neuropsychology Society, 8, 461-472.
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Kesner, Raymond P.,
Watson, Jason M., Assistant
Professor. Ph.D., 1965,
University of Illinois. The theoretical and applied aspects
associated with the neurobiological basis of learning and
memory in both animals and
humans; the development
of animal models paralleling
mnemonic symptomatology
in brain-damaged patients.
Kesner, R. P., & Hunsaker, M. R. (2010). The temporal attributes of
episodic memory. Behavioural Brain Research, 215, 299-309.
Kesner, R.P., & Goodrich-Hunsaker, N.J. (2010). Developing
an animal model of amnesia: The role of the hippocampus.
Neuropsychologia, 48, 2290-2302.
Stefanucci, Jeanine,
Professor. Ph.D., 2001,
Washington University.
Illusions of memory; individual
and age differences in cognitive control; functional neuroimaging of language, memory,
and cognitive control; word
recognition; brain-behavior
relations.
Watson, J. M., & Strayer, D. L. (2010). Supertaskers: Profiles in
extraordinary multitasking ability. Psychonomic Bulletin &
Review, 17, 479-485
Seegmiller, J. K., Watson, J. M., & Strayer, D. L. (2011). Individual
differences in susceptibility to inattentional blindness. Journal
of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,
37, 785-791
.
Assistant Professor. Ph.D.,
2006, University of Virginia.
Research focuses on understanding how people’s
bodily states modulate their
perception of spatial layout.
Research elucidates new
avenues for treatment of
phobic and anxiety-disordered populations.
Stefanucci, J. K., & Proffitt, D. R. (2009). The roles of altitude
and fear in the perception of heights. Journal of Experimental
Psychology: Human Perception & Performance, 35, 424-438.
Stefanucci, J. K., & Storbeck, J. (2009). Don’t look down:
Emotional arousal elevates height perception. Journal of
Experimental Psychology: General, 138, 131-145.
Strayer, David L., Professor.
Ph.D., 1989, University of
Illinois.
Visual attention; skill acquisition, training and expertise;
applied cognition; engineering
psychology; human factors in
transportation.
Strayer, D. L., Drews, F. A., & Johnston, W. (2003). Cell phone
induced failures of visual attention during simulated driving.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 9, 23-52.
Strayer, D. L., & Johnston, W. A. (2001). Driven to distraction:
Dual-task studies of simulated driving and conversing on a cellular phone. Psychological Science, 12, 462-466.
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Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Program
The goal of this clinical science program is to
train psychologists who are expert in the development and application of knowledge aimed at
understanding and improving human functioning.
Students receive rigorous training in research as
well as in the direct application of that research
through carrying out evidence-based practice with
clients. Our students develop a substantial background in research design, methodology, and associated empirical techniques and maintain active
involvement in research through their participation
in research laboratories as well as their own independent research (link here to list of recent student
publications and conference presentations). The
faculty of the program all maintain active research
laboratories and contribute to the field in a variety
of ways within their respective areas of interest in
clinical psychology. In addition to the core training
in adult psychopathology, students may elect for
training in one of our areas of specialization, including Clinical Health/Behavioral Medicine, Clinical
Neuropsychology, and Clinical Child and Family, as
well as the interest group in Human Sexuality. Our
graduate students also have considerable flexibility
in tailoring their plan of study to their own specific
interests and are encouraged to bridge areas within
our highly collaborative department.
Under the supervision of Dr. Tim Smith, clinical area student
Catherine Caska prepares to study cardiovascular reactivity to
marital discord in military veterans with PTSD and their spouses..
During the first two years, students complete
basic courses in psychology (e.g., statistics) and
begin a sequence of clinical core courses. Topics
include adult and child psychopathology, psychological assessment, psychotherapy theory and research,
ethics, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and research
methods in clinical psychology. After completing
this core, students continue their clinical training
by selecting from a variety of clinical practicum
and clerkship offerings. These combined classroom
and supervised clinical experiences are offered in
assessment (e.g., interpretation and integration;
neuropsychological assessment), as well as in a
range of specific intervention approaches including
cognitive therapy, interpersonal therapy, psychodynamic approaches, and behavioral medicine, among
others. Most of these clinical training experiences
are offered in allied clinical and health care facilities
providing students with invaluable mentored experiences in “real-world” clinical settings with a variety
of populations. Thereafter, the student and faculty
advisor jointly develop a coherent specialized training curriculum by selecting clinical methods courses,
seminars, and practicum and clerkship experiences.
From the outset of their training, clinical students affiliate with a research group and are actively engaged in ongoing research activities. Clinical
students can select a research advisor from a different area, a separate clinical advisor supervises clinical training. During the first year, students select a
general topic for study and prepare a prospectus
that serves as a basis for their Master's thesis, which
The Clinical Training Program is fully accredited
by the American Psychological Association and is
administered by the Director of Clinical Training in
conjunction with a committee composed of clinical faculty and four student representatives. The
program provides students with the opportunity
to be exposed to a broad range of evidence-based
theoretical orientations. Students also have considerable flexibility in developing their curriculum and
may opt to bridge areas within the department. The
goal of this clinical science program is to train psychologists who are expert in the development and
application of knowledge aimed at understanding
and improving human functioning. Students develop a substantial background in research design,
methodology, and associated research techniques
and maintain active involvement in research
throughout the program, as well as receiving the
direct application of clinical skills (assessment and
intervention).
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is typically completed during the second or third
year. Students further develop their research skills
and interest areas through their doctoral dissertation.
After completing all basic clinical coursework
and the Master's degree, students undertake their
doctoral preliminary examination projects, which
consist of both a research (e.g., review paper, grant
proposal) and a clinical component. The clinical
component involves one or more clinical cases (i.e.,
psychological assessment and/or interventions)
discussed from the perspective of empirically-based
practice in psychology. After successfully completing these projects and proposing the dissertation
research, students undertake a full year of predoctoral clinical internship training, preferably at an
APA-approved training site. An oral dissertation
evaluation is usually the final step in completing the
doctoral degree.
Dr. Sheila Crowell's research lab assistants (from left to right) Daniel
Bride and graduate students, Caitlin O'Connor and Chloe Skidmore,
try out some new lab equipment. The Crowell lab is conducting a
study on the emotional effects of 3D films.
Areas of Specialization
Clinical students are expected to develop a
coherent set of specialization courses and experiences that serve to solidify their professional development. This may be done in conjunction with
individual faculty who have well-defined interests
and resources in the student’s interest area (e.g.,
severe psychopathology, human sexuality), or by
completing the requirements of one of three more
formal specializations detailed below. In all cases,
students may work with other departmental faculty
members and are free to sample different orientations useful to their professional development.
Child Clinical and Family. The Child Clinical and
Family Program is designed to train developmental psychopathologists/clinicians to conduct academic work or pursue clinical practice focusing on
children, adolescents, and families, and provides
important opportunities for cultural diversity training relevant to working with minority youth and
families. The CCF program emphasizes a crossdisciplinary approach, with the specific nature of
a student’s research and clinical training depending on his or her particular interests. In addition
to the classes required of all clinical students, CCF
students take a number of developmental classes
and receive additional specialized training in theory, methods, and clinical skills relevant to child and
family issues. Recent CCF students have obtained
research and/or clinical apprenticeships in the
following areas: risk and resilience among adolescent parents, clinical interventions with homeless
youth, the assessment and treatment of autism,
the treatment of conduct disorder and substance
abuse among adolescents, the assessment and
treatment of child abuse, family processes and
coping strategies among adolescents with juvenile-onset diabetes, and the development of antisocial behavior.
Clinical Health Psychology. The Clinical Health
Psychology Specialization trains psychologists
who are experts in theory, research, and the
application of health psychology (see p. 19 for
a full description). Students learn basic psychological theory and research, and learn how to
integrate this with current biomedical knowledge
in order to work effectively in medical settings.
Clinical students pursuing this specialization gain
extensive training with health-care professionals, working as part of interdisciplinary teams,
and conducting psychological assessments and
interventions with a variety of medical patients.
Opportunities for supervised training are available in hospital-based, inpatient, and outpatient
health care (e.g., rehabilitation, anesthesiology,
sleep medicine, internal medicine, family practice
and primary care). Completion of the internship
year in an appropriate accredited program with
an emphasis in behavioral medicine is a requirement for clinical-health students.
Clinical Neuropsychology. Our program is carefully designed to provide training that is in accordance with the principles and guidelines set forth
by the Houston Conference on Special Education
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and Training in Clinical Neuropsychology. Students
begin their training by taking courses that cover
the so-called generic psychology core (e.g., statistics, social psychology, developmental psychology)
and the generic clinical core (e.g., psychopathology, psychometric theory, professional ethics).
In addition to this basic training, students obtain
specialized training in brain-behavior relationships,
foundations of the practice of clinical neuropsychology, and research methods in clinical neuropsychology.
Sommer Thorgusen, a graduate student in the Neuropersonality
concentration, is performing a computerized task that examines
the interface between cognitive and emotional processes.
Clinical Faculty and Their Research Interests
Alexander, James F.,
Research Professor.
Ph.D., 1968, Michigan
State University. Change
mechanisms research with
evidenced-based family
interventions. Progenitor
with B. V. Parsons of
Functional Family Therapy
(FFT), an empirically demonstrated intervention model
for juvenile delinquents, oppositional, conduct-disordered, and substance-abusing youth.
Crowell, Sheila, Assistant
Professor. Ph.D., 2009,
University of Washington.
Focus is on mechanisms
underlying risk for suicide
and severe psychopathology among self-injuring
adolescents; biological
vulnerabilities for emotion
dysregulation and impulsivity
and understanding how they interact with environmental experiences across development.
Crowell, S.E., Beauchaine, T.P., & Linehan, M. (2009).A biosocial
developmental model of borderline personality: Elaborating
and extending Linehan's Theory. Psychological Bulletin, 135,
495-510.
Robbins, M. S., Turner, C. W., Alexander, J. F., & Perez, G. A.
(2003). Alliance and dropout in family therapy with drug using
adolescents: Individual and systemic effects. Journal of Family
Psychology, V17(4), 534-544.
Crowell, S.E., Beuchaine, T.P., McCauley, E., Smith, C.J., Vasilev,
C.A., & Stevens, A.L. (2008). Parent-child interactions, peripheral
serotonin, and self-inflicted injury in adolescents. Journal of
Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76, 15-21.
Alexander, J. F., Pugh, C., & Parsons, B. V. (1998). Functional
Family Therapy. In D. S. Elliot (Series Ed.), Blueprints for
Violence Prevention (Book 3). Boulder, CO: Center for the Study
and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science,
University
Himle, Michael, Assistant
Benjamin, Lorna, Professor.
Professor. Ph.D., 2007,
University of Wisconsin.
Research focuses on behavioral & cognitive-behavioral
approaches to understanding & treating childhood
psychological/behavioral
disorders: emphasis on
anxiety disorders, obsessivecompulsive/"spectrum" disorders, especially Tourette
Syndrome and Trichotillomania.
Ph.D., 1960, University of
Wisconsin. Structural Analysis
of Social Behavior (SASB).
Interpersonal diagnosis and
treatment of individuals, couples, and families. Personality
disorders and severe psychopathology.
Benjamin, L. S. (1996). Interpersonal diagnosis and treatment of
personality disorders, (Second edition). N.Y.: Guilford. Reissued
in paperback, 2002.
Himle, M.B., & Franklin, M.E. (2009). The more you do it, the
easier it gets. Exposure and response prevention for OCD.
Cognitive & Behavioral Practice, 29-39.
Benjamin, L. S. (2003). Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy:
Promoting change in nonresponders. New York: Guilford.
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Rudd, David, Professor and
Dean of College of Social &
Behavioral Sciences. Ph.D.,
1987,University of Texas-Austin.
Suicide, clinical suicidology,
depression, therapeutic alliance and relationship, cognitive therapy and treatment
outcome, ethics, licensure,
and regulatory issues in professional psychology.
Freeman, J.F., Garcia, A.M., Coyne, L., Ale, C., Przeworski, A.,
Himle, M.B., Compton, S., Leonard, H.L. (2008). Early childhood
OCD: Preliminary findings from a family-based cognitive behavioral approach. Journal of the American Academy of Child &
Adolescent Psychiatry, 47, 593-602.
Huebner, David, Associate
Professor. Ph.D., 2002, Arizona
State University. Impact of
discrimination on physical and
mental health; HIV prevention;
Health risk behaviors among
gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents.
Huebner, D. M., & Davis, M. C. (2007). Perceived anti-gay discrimination and physical health outcomes. Health Psychology,
26, 627-634.
Huebner, D. M., Rebchook, G. M., & Kegeles, S. M. (2004). A longitudinal study of the association between treatment optimism
and sexual risk behavior in young adult gay and bisexual men.
Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, 37, 15141519.
Jobes, D.A., Rudd, M.D., Overholser, J.C., & Joiner, T. E. (2008).
Ethical and competent care of suicidal patients: Contemporary
challenges, new developments, and considerations for clinical
practice. (The fluid nature of suicide risk: Implications for clinical practice).Professional Psychology: Research & Practice, 39,
405-413.
Bryan, C.J., Corso, K.A., Rudd, M.D., & Cordero, L. (2008).
Improving identification of suicidal patients in primary care
through routine screening. Primary Care & Community
Psychiatry, 13 (4), 143-147.
Smith, Timothy W., Professor
and Coordinator of Health
Psychology program. Ph.D.,
1982, University of Kansas.
Personality and social factors in the development of
physical illness; psychological
aspects of chronic physical
illness; and cardiovascular psychophysiology.
Kerig, Patricia, Professor,
Director of Clinical Training.
Ph. D., 1989, University of
California - Berkeley. Research
focuses on the processes
that contribute to the development of—or protection
against—psychopathology.
On the side of risk: trauma,
maltreatment, violence, and
the triangulation of children
in their parents’ conflicts are studied. On the side of
resilience: emotional and relational capacities as buffers against stress.
Smith, T.W., Uchino, B.N., et al., (2009). Conflict and collaboration in middle-aged and older married couples: II: Age, sex, and
task context moderate cardiovascular reactivity during marital
interaction. Psychology and Aging, 24, 274-286.
Smith, T.W., Uchino, B.N., et al., (2008). Self-reports and spouse
ratings of negative affectivity, dominance and affiliation in coronary artery disease: Where should we look and who should we
ask when studying personality and health? Health Psychology,
27, 676-684.
Strassberg, Donald S.,
Professor. Ph.D., 1975, George
Peabody College for Teachers,
ABPP (Clinical), 2002. Cognitive
factors in functional, dysfunctional, and deviant human
sexual behavior, objective personality assessment (emphasis
on the MMPI-2), and Rational
Emotive Behavior Therapy.
Kerig, P. K., & Becker, S. P. (2010). From internalizing to externalizing: Theoretical models of the processes linking PTSD to
juvenile delinquency. In S. J. Egan (Ed.), Posttraumatic stress
disorder (PTSD): Causes, symptoms and treatment. Hauppauge,
NY: Nova Science Publishers.
Kerig, P. K., & Becker, S. P. (in press). Trauma and girls’ delinquency. In S. Miller, L. Leve, & P. K. Kerig (Eds.), Delinquent girls:
Context, relationships, and adaptation. New York: Springer
Books
Israel, E. & Strassberg, D.S. (2009). Viewing Time as an Objective
Measure of Sexual Interest in Heterosexual Males and Females.
Archives of Sexual Behavior, 38 (4), 551-558.
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Strassberg, D. S. & Perelman, M. A. (2008). Sexual Dysfunctions,
in P.H. Blaney & T. Millon (Eds.), Oxford Textbook of
Psychopathology (2nd Ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Suchy, Yana, Associate
Professor. Ph.D., 1998,
University of Wisconsin,
Milwaukee. Clinical neuropsychology with the focus on
neurocognitive underpinnings
of behavioral, emotional, and
mental control. Clinical interests are in the area of neuropsychological assessment of
adults with brain dysfunction.
Suchy, Y. (2011) Clinical neuropsychology of emotion. New York:
Guilford Press.
Suchy, Y., & Kraybill, M. (2007). The relationship between motor
programming and executive abilities: Constructs measured by
the Push-Turn-Taptap task from the BDS-EV. Journal of Clinical
and Experimental Neuropsychology, 29 (6), 648-659.
Williams, Paula G., Associate
Professor. Ph.D. 1995,
University of Utah. Individual
differences in risk and resilience for adverse mental and
physical health outcomes. Of
particular interest are interrelations among personality,
gender, cognitive (especially
executive) functioning, and
psychophysiological factors
that predict stress regulation, insomnia, and healthrelated and generalized anxiety.
Williams, P. G., Suchy, Y., & Rau, H. K. (2009). Individual differences in executive functioning: Implications for stress regulation.
Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 37, 126-140.
Williams, P. G., Rau, H. K., Cribbet, M. R., & Gunn, H. E. (2009).
Openness to experience and stress regulation. Journal of
Research in Personality, 43, 777-784.
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Developmental Psychology Ph.D. Program
The developmental psychology program specializes in research on the development of social and
interpersonal processes from infancy through late
adulthood. Our faculty seek to understand developmental changes in individuals’ thoughts, feelings,
and communication within real-life situations like
families, schools, and relationships. Within these
contexts, faculty examine diverse issues, including
lifespan changes in emotions, communication, sense
of self, and social cognition; how mental representations influence problem solving; the formation,
maintenance, and dissolution of peer relationships;
how socio-moral and interpersonal conflicts are
understood and resolved from different perspectives; social influences on mental and physical wellbeing at different stages of life; biological processes
underlying attachment bonds; how narratives in
conversation regulate development; how people
and their families cope with chronic health problems
within their social worlds; the prevention of behavioral disorders in childhood; and the development of
sexuality and sexual identity.
Our program offers broad training in developmental psychology, methodology, and allied disciplines
(especially clinical, social, cross-cultural, and health
psychology, gerontology, gender studies, and education). Our goal is to provide students with a solid
background in theoretical issues and in the design and
conduct of research. Students are encouraged to tailor
their program to suit their career goals through coursework, specialized projects, and individual work with
faculty members.
Students receive training in a variety of laboratory and field research methods for investigating
lifespan development across multiple contexts. We
have strengths in several approaches. Our faculty
have a strong emphasis on methods for studying
interpersonal processes, including interactions
between parents and children, peers, and dating
or married couples. There is also a strong emphasis
on assessments of individuals’ thinking about social
issues and everyday problems. Taken together,
these emphases expose students to both quantitative and qualitative approaches to developmental
research, as well as ways of examining change both
within the individual and within social groups.
Furthermore, the faculty interests span the entire
human lifespan, allowing students to ground their
training in an appreciation for infancy, childhood,
adolescence, and adulthood.
The developmental area has extensive research facilities. Multiple state-of-the-art laboratories are available
for video-recording dyadic and group communication, studio-quality splicing and computer-coding of
interaction, and psychophysiological recording. Mobile
equipment is available for collecting data off campus.
Our training program is characterized by a mentor system where students work closely with a faculty advisor
and additional faculty members. This model provides a
very supportive and productive environment with individualizedprogramsforstudents.Studentsareintegrated
intocohesiveresearchgroupsinvolvingafacultymember
and individuals at different levels of training (e.g., postdoctoral, graduate, undergraduate). Many students and
Former graduate students Drs. Debbie
Palmer and Katie Fortenberry return
in the summer for an annual writing
retreat with Drs. Cindy Berg and Deb
Wiebe and their research group for
a fast-paced approach to preparing
manuscripts from ADAPT (Adolescents
with Diabetes and Parents Together).
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The training I received was exceptional. I left the program with extensive
research and teaching experience. Most
importantly, I came out of the program
with a real sense of what to expect and
how to deal with many issues I face in
an academic career.
– Sean Meegan, Ph.D.
Senior Research Associate
Intermountain Healthcare
faculty participate in more than one research team, as
there are productive areas of overlap between different
researchgroups.Studentsareactivelyinvolvedinpublishing and presenting at national conferences.
Several aspects of our developmental psychology
program are unique. First, extensive collaboration exists
across different research areas within the department
(see Cross-Area Specializations, pp. 18-20). Multiple
faculty members have long-standing collaborations that
cut across traditional disciplinary boundaries. Students
may pursue interdisciplinary research informally, for
example by completing research and coursework in
both developmental and social psychology, or they may
undertake a formal cross-area specialization, such as
Clinical-Developmental or Developmental-Health. Both
routes offer students a unique opportunity to expand
their training in new directions and to become involved
incutting-edgecollaborations.Second,thelifespanfocus
of our training is a particular strength, and significantly
enhances students’ potential for subsequent academic
positions. Third, students can make the most of their
graduatetrainingbytailoringcourseworkandresearchto
serve their particular interests, background, and goals.
Developmental Faculty
and their Research Interests
Berg, Cynthia. A., Professor.
Ph.D., 1987, Yale University.
Research focuses on collaborative everyday problem
solving among adolescents
and parents and married
couples, everyday problem
solving, and how interpersonal relationships may assist or
derail problem solving dealing with chronic health
stressors (diabetes, prostate cancer, cardiovascular
disease).
Berg, C. A., Skinner, M., Ko, K., Butler, J., Palmer, D., Butner,
J., & Wiebe, D. J. (2009). The Fit Between Stress Appraisal and
Dyadic Coping in Predicting Perceived Coping Effectiveness for
Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes. Journal of Family Psychology,
23, 521-530.
Berg, C. A., Wiebe, D. J., Bloor, L., Butner, J., Bradstreet, C.,
Upchurch, R., Hayes, J., Stephenson, R., Nail, L., Patton, G.
(2008). Collaborative coping and daily mood in couples dealing
with prostate cancer. Psychology and Aging, 23, 505-516.
Diamond, Lisa M., Associate
Professor. Ph.D., 1999, Cornell
University.
Psychological and biobehavioral processes underlying affectional bonds in
adolescence and adulthood;
emotion regulation in close
relationships and its effects
on mental and physical health; social development
among sexual-minority youth; development of sexual orientation and identity.
Diamond, L. M., Hicks, A. M., & Otter-Henderson, K. A. (2008).
Every time you go away: Changes in affect, behavior, and physiology associated with travel-related separations from romantic partners. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 385-403.
Diamond, L. M. & Fagundes, C. P. (2008). Developmental
perspectives on links between attachment and affect regulation over the lifespan. Advances in Child Development and
Behavior, 36, 83-134.
Dr. Monica Tsethlikai along with her research assistants hold
some of the materials that are used in her research with children
in the Dynamics of Positive Child Development Lab.
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Fogel, Alan, Professor. Ph.D.,
Tsethlikai, Monica,
1976, University of Chicago.
Assistant Professor. Ph.D.,
2006, University of Kansas,
Lawrence.
Social and emotional development in early childhood;
sociocultural contexts of
development; relationships
and development; practices
that enhance somatic selfawareness in children and
adults.
Cognitive processes that
underlie self-regulation and
positive development; cultural
and cognitive aspects of positive development in American
Indian communities; and links between constructive
memory processes and well-being in children.
Fogel, A. (2009). The psychophysiology of self-awareness:
Rediscovering the lost art of body sense. The Norton Series on
Interpersonal Neurobiology. NY: W. W. Norton.
Fogel, A., Garvey, A., Hsu, H., & West-Stroming, D. (2006).
Change processes in relationships: A relational-historical research
approach. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Tsethlikai, M. (2011). An exploratory analysis of American Indian
children’s cultural engagement, fluid cognitive skills, and standardized verbal IQ scores. Developmental Psychology, 47 (1),
192-202..
Dr. Fogel is not taking new graduate students as primary
advisees. He is available to serve on student committees and
consult on student research.
Tsethlikai, M. (2010). The influence of a friend’s perspective on
American Indian children’s recall of previously misconstrued
events. Developmental Psychology, 46 (6), 1481-1496.
Pasupathi, Monisha,
Wainryb, Cecilia, Professor.
Associate Professor. Ph.D.,
1997, Stanford University.
Ph.D., 1989, University of
California, Berkeley.
The development of autobiographical memory, self, and
social/moral reasoning from
childhood through old age;
especially focused on relations
between storytelling and the
development of moral and
collective identities. lab website: http://www.psych.
utah.edu/lab/pw/index.php
Social and moral development;
how children further their
moral understandings through
their everyday experiences,
and how these developments
are shaped by violence, war,
and injustice. lab website: http://www.psych.utah.
.
edu/lab/pw/index.php
Wainryb, C., & Pasupathi. M. (2010). Political violence and
disruptions in the development of moral agency. Child
Development Perspectives, 4, 48-54.
Pasupathi, M. Mansour, E., & Brubaker, J. (2007). Developing
a life story: Constructing relations between self and experience in autobiographical narratives. Human Development, 50,
85-110.
Wainryb, C., Brehl, B., & Matwin, S. (2005). Being hurt and hurting others: Children's narrative accounts and moral judgments
of their own interpersonal conflicts. Monographs of the Society
for Research in Child Development, 70 (3).
Pasupathi, M. (2001). The social construction of the personal
past and its implications for adult development. Psychological
Bulletin, 127, 651-672.
The Social Development Lab,
under professors Wainryb
and Pasupathi, spend a night
communing with nature and
each other before classes
started in the fall. With three
new graduate students, it
was a great opportunity for
14 members of the lab and
their families to get to know
each other, strolling around
beautiful Mirror Lake, Utah.
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Social Psychology Ph.D. Program
The interests of the seven faculty in the Social Psychology Ph.D. program encompass a number of topics
in the areas of social influence, motivation, health, and interpersonal relationships. In most of our research,
we study the intra- and interpersonal processes that underlie behaviors in these different domains. We also
emphasize the generation of basic social psychological theory and the extension of such theory to real-world
problems.
Our modal student-faculty ratio is 2 to 1. We employ the mentorship approach in which students typically
work closely with one faculty member but also must complete at least one research project with a second
faculty member. Faculty collaboration is frequent, and research opportunities for students are readily available. The social area has extensive and varied laboratory space. A large participant pool is also available for
graduate student research.
Particular strengths of our program include 1) a focus on theory-driven research in several important areas
of application, such as education, environmental change, cancer prevention, and aging, 2) advanced training in such methods as social psychophysiology and advanced statistical techniques (e.g., hierarchical linear
modeling, longitudinal data analysis) necessary to understanding how complex social processes unfold and
change over time, 3) a strong history of both faculty and student collaboration with colleagues from other
programs and departments (e.g., School of Computer Science, Huntsman Cancer Institute, the University’s
Office of Sustainability), 4) a cohesive and collegial program atmosphere. We also have a strong record of
Ph.D. placement (http://www.psych.utah.edu/researchareas/social/where.php).
Students first receive strong training in basic social processes and methods. Through advanced seminars
and research, students may also develop specialized expertise in such topics as social cognition and the self,
environmental psychology, prejudice and stereotyping, motivation, self-regulation, attitudes and persuasion,
social neuroscience, group processes and performance, diversity and health. Students are encouraged to
extend their research and coursework to applied topics such as health promotion, medical compliance, environmental attitudes and behaviors, on-line learning, and intergroup conflict reduction.
Social students may also supplement their program of study through the Health Psychology specialization
(see p. 21). Those who do so typically develop a research focus in social-health psychology and enroll in additional seminars in Health Psychology offered by the department.
Faculty from the social program organize and host the Social Psychology Winter Conference each January
in Park City. This conference brings 20-25 prominent social psychologists together to discuss their latest
research. The sessions are broad-ranging and draw participants from all areas of social psychology. This informal forum provides graduate students the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with conference participants.
In the Social Area Research Group (SARG), students and faculty meet biweekly to perfect their snacking
skills and to discuss ongoing research projects and proposals, as well as professional issues.
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Sanbonmatsu, David,
Professor. Ph.D., 1988, Indiana
University.
Judgment and decision
making; attitudes and behavior; attitude familiarity and
relationships; the minority
experience.
Social Faculty and Their Research Interests
Aspinwall, Lisa G.,
Associate Professor and Social
Area Coordinator. Ph.D., 1991,
University of California, Los
Angeles.
Self-regulatory processes,
future-oriented thinking and
health (optimism, proactive
coping, preventive health
behavior, psychological
responses to genetic testing).
Sanbonmatsu, D. M., Posavac, S. S., Vanous, S., & Ho, E. A. (2005).
Information search in the testing of quantified hypotheses: How
"all", "most", "some", "few", and "none" hypotheses are tested.
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, 254-266.
Sanbonmatsu, D. M., Posavac, S. S., Vanous, S., Ho, E. A., & Fazio,
R. H. (2007). The deautomatization of accessible attitudes.
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43, 365-378.
Sansone, Carol, Professor.
Ph.D., 1984, Columbia
University. Intrinsic motivation; interest and performance trade-offs in
self-regulation; gender differences in motivation for math
and science; self-regulation of
motivation in online learning.
Aspinwall, L. G. (2011). Future-oriented thinking, proactive coping, and the management of potential threats to health and
well-being. In S. Folkman (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Stress,
Health and Coping. New York: Oxford University Press (pp. 334365).
Aspinwall, L. G., & Tedeschi, R.G. (2010). The value of Positive
Psychology for Health Psychology: Progress and pitfalls in
examining the relation of positive phenomena to health.
Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 39, 4-15.
Sansone, C., & Thoman, D. B. (2005). Interest as the missing
motivator in self-regulation. European Psychologist, 10, 175186.
Butner, Jonathan, Associate
Smith, J. L., Sansone, C., & White, P. H. (2007). The stereotyped
task engagement process: The role of interest and achievement
motivation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99, 99-114.
Professor. Ph.D., 2002, Arizona
State University.
Dynamical Systems Theory,
regulation, quantitative
methods for longitudinal data
structures.
Uchino, Bert N., Professor.
Ph.D., 1993, Ohio State
University.
Social Neuroscience: Role of
social factors (e.g., social support, stress) on physiological
and psychological processes
and health outcomes.
Butner, J., Pasupathi, M., Vallejos, V. (2008). When the facts just
don’t add up: The fractal nature of conversational stories. Social
Cognition, 26, 670-699..
Butner, J., Diamond, L., & Hicks, A. (2007). Attachment style and
two forms of emotion co-regulation between romantic partners. Personal Relationships, 14, 431-455.
Uchino, B.N., Birmingham, W., & Berg, C.A. (2010). Are older
adults less or more physiologically reactive? A meta-analysis
of age-related differences in cardiovascular reactivity to laboratory tasks. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences., 65B,
154-162.
Uchino, B.N. (2009). Understanding the links between social
support and physical health: A lifespan perspective with
emphasis on the separability of perceived and received support. Perspectives in Psychological Science, 4, 236-255.
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Werner, Carol M., Professor.
Ph.D., 1973, Ohio State
University. Environmental/
Social psychology. Research
examines social and psychological factors in conservation
behaviors, such as wastereduction recycling, and use
of mass transit.
Werner, C. M., Brown, B. B., & Gallimore, J. (2010). Light rail
use is more likely on “walkable” blocks: Further support for
using micro-level environment audit measures. Journal of
Environmental Psychology, 30, 206-214..
Werner, C. M., & Stanley, C. P. (in press). Guided group discussion and the reported use of toxic products: The persuasiveness
of hearing others’ views. Journal of Environmental Psychology
(2011) 1-12. Doi: 10.1016.j.jenvp.2011.08.003
White, Paul H., Associate
Professor. Ph.D., 1993,
Northeastern University.
Research examines nonmessage factors in persuasion; social/group influences
on performance; intergroup
relations.
Thoman, D. B., White, P. H.,
Yamawaki, N., & Koishi, H. (2008). Variations of gender-math
stereotype content affect women's vunerability to stereotype
threat: Sex roles. A Journal of Research, 58, 702-712.
Fleming, M. A., Petty, R. E., & White, P. H. (2005). Stigmatized
targets and evaluation: Prejudice as a determinant of attribute
scrutiny and polarization. Personality and Social Psychology
Bulletin, 31, 496-507.
Watcharaporn (Watch) Pengchit completed her PhD thesis on optimists' cognitive and affective responses to persuasive messages
about health threats (advisor, Lisa Aspinwall). Watch received a scholarship from our Technology Assisted Curriculum Center to develop
an online class on attitudes and persuasion, and she has worked
with researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute to develop persuasive
messages to promote cancer screening in rural communities. She
has now returned to her faculty position at Chulalongkorn University
in Bangkok, Thailand.
Jonathan Butner illustrates the structural differences between networks built randomly and "small-world" networks built by adding
one node at a time. These two processes produce very different networks both in form and behavior. Many social phenomena -- for
example, those involving social influence in on-line networks -- likely function in the small-world manner.
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Interdisciplinary Research
One of the unique strengths of our program is the
extent to which both students and faculty collaborate
across traditional disciplinary boundaries to conduct cutting-edge research. For example, many of the
active grants in the department have co-investigators
from different programs, such as Social and Health,
Developmental and Health as well as across departments, such as CNS and Computer Science, and CNS
and Anesthesiology. It is also quite common for graduate
students to pursue coursework and conduct research
with faculty in different areas, and faculty often co-teach
graduate seminars with colleagues in different areas.
The strengths of this approach to graduate training are
numerous. As the field of psychology becomes increasingly sophisticated, the most successful researchers
are those who rigorously integrate diverse theories and
methods, bringing a fresh perspective to familiar questions and producing findings that are relevant to the
field as a whole, not just a select niche. Pursuing crossarea research gives you these opportunities.
One of our cross-area specializations — Health
Psychology — has become so well-established over the
years that it has been granted status as a full-fledged program, with its own set of formal requirements. In other
cases, students can pursue interdisciplinary research and
theories more informally, simply selecting the cross-area
coursework and research opportunities that suit their
interests and meet their intellectual needs. The choice
depends on students’ career goals. For example, those
planning on becoming practicing child psychologists
might want their degree to reflect an official specialization in De velopmental Psychopathology. Those planning on a research career bridging social and health
psychology might simply collaborate with faculty in both
areas,allowingtheircross-areaexpertiseandpublications
to speak for themselves, or may complete the formal
requirements of the health program. If you are consideringcross-arearesearch,westronglyencourageyoutocontact the faculty members you are interested in working
with, and we can help you determine what type of joint
specialization is most appropriate for your career goals.
We also encourage you to contact current and former
graduate students, who can give you first-hand accounts
of their experiences with cross-area research here.
Former graduate student, Wendy Birmingham, now a post doc
at Huntsman Cancer Institute, and McKenzie Carlisle, a graduate
student, demonstrate the ambulatory blood pressure monitoring
equipment (small box on waist, cuff on arm) used in studies of
psychosocial risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Formal Program
Health Psychology
This program provides in-depth training in research,
clinical psychological services (e.g., assessment, intervention, consultation), and teaching relevant to health
issues, populations, and settings. Emphases within
the specialization include personality, relationships
and health, developmental and lifespan approaches,
self-regulation, adaptation to chronic disease, and
psychophysiology. The department has been training
students in this concentration for more than 25 years,
and graduates have gone on to successful careers in
research, teaching and clinical service in a variety of
university academic departments, medical schools, and
hospital settings. Currently, 17 students from various
home areas of the department are actively engaged in
research projects, theses, or dissertations in Health
Psychology
Formal Ph.D. Specialty Programs
Clinical • Cognitive and Neural Science • Developmental • Social • Health Psychology
www.psych.utah.edu/crossareas/
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Utahattractedmefortheopportunitytodoresearch
with other areas in the department. My research
projectincludedfacultyfromClinical,Developmental,
andSocial.Thisallowedmetopursuemyinterestin
personalrelationships andhealthfroma life-span
developmental perspective.
– Nancy Henry, Ph.D. - Clinical, 2009
Health Psychology students supplement the requirements of their primary area (i.e., Clinical, CNS, Social,
or Developmental) with coursework and research in
Health Psychology. A regularly offered series of seminars provides the core didactic training, and students
are encouraged to take additional related courses in the
School of Medicine, College of Health, and elsewhere
on campus. Students and affiliated faculty participate
in a biweekly Behavioral Medicine Research Group
for the presentation and discussion of ongoing and
proposed research, as well as recent developments in
the field. Most students also gain independent experience teaching the undergraduate course in Health
Psychology, supervised by Health Psychology faculty.
All clinical students pursuing the Health Specialization
receive supervised clinical training in hospital-based,
inpatient and outpatient health care in one or more
settings (e.g., rehabilitation, anesthesiology, sleep medicine, internal medicine, family practice, and primary
care). Completion of the internship year in an appropriate accredited program with an emphasis in behavioral medicine is a requirement for Clinical/Health
students.
Students in the Health Psychology specialization
work under the supervision of one or more participating faculty members (Aspinwall, Berg, Diamond,
Huebner, Smith, Uchino, and Williams). The Health
Psychology faculty include several fellows of the
Society of Behavioral Medicine and APA’s Division of
Health Psychology (38), and one of the Past Presidents
of Division 38. Two of our past health graduate students have gone on to receive the distinguished APA
Early Career Award in Health Psychology (Division 38)
and Pediatric Psychology (Division 54). The Health
Psychology faculty maintain active laboratories with
facilities for psychophysiological and social interaction
recording. Clinical training and research opportunities
are available in several on-campus and nearby medical
facilities, including the University of Utah Medical
Center, Veterans Administration Medical Center,
Huntsman Cancer Institute, and Primary Children’s
Medical Center. These facilities are home to many
world-renowned programs in medical research and
patient care. Health Psychology faculty members have
ongoing research projects in collaboration with medical
researchers at these sites, and established relationships
with psychologists, other health-care professionals, and
biomedical researchers provide rich opportunities in
research and training.
Dr. Lisa Diamond's lab examines whether same-sex and oppositesex romantic couples show different patterns of cardiovascular
and neuroendocrine reacivity to conflict.
Professor Bert Uchino presents his recent findings on relationship quality and cardiovascular health.
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Cross-Area Emphases
One of the unique strengths of the University of Utah Psychology Department is its thriving climate of interdisciplinary collaboration. Students and faculty in each of the formal areas -- Clinical, Developmental, CNS, and
Social -- routinely join forces with students and faculty in other areas to work on common projects reflecting shared
research questions:
A cross-area interest exists between clinical and developmental, with overlapping research interests in trauma,
executive function, and parent-child relationships. A second cross-area interest in the biological bases of behavior
occurs drawing across all areas of the department. A third cross-area interest exists in sexuality, which includes
research on sexual development, sexual dysfunction, sexual health and behavior, and the experiences of sexual-minority populations (such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals).
Dr. Lisa Diamond, Associate Professor of Developmental Psychology (L), along with Dr. Lisa Aspinwall, Associate
Professor of Social Psychology (R), extend their congratulations to Watch Pengchit, Ph.D. graduate in Social
Psychology, at graduation ceremony.
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Brochure design: Vito Rontino.
Department of Psychology logo by Michael J. Klekas.
© Department of Psychology, University of Utah, September 2010.
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