Director: Eric R. Dahlen, Ph.D.
Congratulations to Our Newest PhDs
12/16/22 About
Our graduating class of doctoral students was smaller than usual in 2022, with only three students from Counseling Psychology. Here are Drs. Savannah Merold, Michael Lester, and Philip Stoner shortly before the beginning of the commencement ceremony. Philip and Savannah are our two newest lab alumni, and it was great to catch up with them. Congratulations, graduates!
Savannah Merold Defends Dissertation
09/14/22 Aggression
Savannah Merold, an advanced doctoral student who recently completed her predoctoral internship at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, MO, successfully defended her dissertation this week. Savannah's dissertation, "The role of mate seeking motives, status acquisition motives, and dark personality in predicting responses to an aggression-provoking situation," synthesized research from evolutionary and personality psychology. She used vignettes designed to activate social motives thought to be relevant to aggression (e.g., mate seeking, status acquisition), assessed dark personality traits, and examined participants' responses to an aggression-provoking scenario.
Although Savannah found evidence that the vignettes activated the intended motives for women, this was not the case for men. The smaller number of men in the study and some methodological limitations resulted in insufficient statistical power to detect these effects in men. Overall, hypotheses about social motives and dark personalty traits interacting with gender to predict aggressive responses were not supported. Future research in this area is likely to benefit from using much larger and more diverse samples that will permit more extensive examination of gender main effects and interactions.
Congratulations to Savannah on accomplishing this important milestone!
Although Savannah found evidence that the vignettes activated the intended motives for women, this was not the case for men. The smaller number of men in the study and some methodological limitations resulted in insufficient statistical power to detect these effects in men. Overall, hypotheses about social motives and dark personalty traits interacting with gender to predict aggressive responses were not supported. Future research in this area is likely to benefit from using much larger and more diverse samples that will permit more extensive examination of gender main effects and interactions.
Congratulations to Savannah on accomplishing this important milestone!
Lab Welcomes Summer Steely
08/22/22 About
The Anger and Traffic Psychology Lab is happy to welcome our newest doctoral student: Summer Steely. Summer was admitted to the Counseling Psychology Doctoral Program at the University of Southern Mississippi and joined us in the Fall of 2022. She completed her bachelor's degree in Psychology at Wheaton College (IL). Summer obtained research experience at Georgia State University and the University of Wisconsin.
Summer discovered an interest in both research and clinical interventions while working in a residential treatment program for women. She is interested in working with forensic populations as part of her career, and her research interests include antisocial behavior, pathological personality traits, and aggression.
Congratulations to Summer on her admission to the doctoral program! We are looking forward to working with her.
Summer discovered an interest in both research and clinical interventions while working in a residential treatment program for women. She is interested in working with forensic populations as part of her career, and her research interests include antisocial behavior, pathological personality traits, and aggression.
Congratulations to Summer on her admission to the doctoral program! We are looking forward to working with her.
Jacqueline Strowd Completes Master's Project
07/25/22 Personality
Jacqueline Strowd successfully completed her master’s project and is now working on her dissertation proposal. Jacq’s master’s project examined a number of personality traits with either theoretical or empirical significance as possible predictors of academic dishonesty among college students. While most of the predictors she examined were positively related to academic dishonesty, psychopathic and Machiavellian personality traits were the only significant predictors in her regression model. Her secondary analyses identified one component of psychopathy and another of Machiavellianism that accounted for most of these relationships.
Jacq did a great job with her master’s project, and is planning to continue this line of research in her dissertation. Congratulations on finishing this project and moving on to the next step!
Jacq did a great job with her master’s project, and is planning to continue this line of research in her dissertation. Congratulations on finishing this project and moving on to the next step!
Alison Poor Defends Dissertation
06/28/22 Aggression
Alison Poor, an advanced doctoral student about to begin her predoctoral internship at the Southeast Louisiana Veteran’s Healthcare System in New Orleans, successfully defended her dissertation yesterday. Ali’s dissertation, “Predictors of relational aggression in women across adulthood,” extended the literature on relational aggression among women by testing a moderated mediation model based on social information processing theory (Crick & Dodge, 1994) and comparing 3 developmental groups of women between 18 and 65.
Ali found that the relationship between relational victimization and relational aggression was partially mediated by anger rumination and hostile attribution bias and that normative beliefs about relational aggression moderated some of these relationships. Overall, her findings support the continued relevance of relational aggression among women through middle adulthood.
Congratulations to Ali on an impressive dissertation defense!
Ali found that the relationship between relational victimization and relational aggression was partially mediated by anger rumination and hostile attribution bias and that normative beliefs about relational aggression moderated some of these relationships. Overall, her findings support the continued relevance of relational aggression among women through middle adulthood.
Congratulations to Ali on an impressive dissertation defense!
Erica Van Overloop Proposes Dissertation
05/01/22 Aggression
Erica Van Overloop, a doctoral student working in the lab, successfully proposed her dissertation last week. Erica’s dissertation will explore the connection of peer victimization to mental health and well-being among college students. Trauma symptoms are a primary area of focus. She plans to examine experiences of peer victimization during college as well as those which occurred prior to college. She’ll also examine perceived social support as a moderator of these relationships. She will use some newer measures of peer victimization, so testing their factor structure will be an important part of her analyses.
Congratulations to Erica on a successful dissertation proposal!
Congratulations to Erica on a successful dissertation proposal!
Summer Boggs Proposes Thesis
03/09/22 Aggression
Summer Boggs, a doctoral student working in the lab, successfully proposed her master’s thesis earlier this week. Summer’s thesis aims to advance the literature on relational aggression among college students by focusing on the fear of negative evaluation component of social anxiety, as suggested by Andrews and colleagues’ (2019) application of Social Information Processing theory. She plans to test hostile attribution bias as a mediator and to include empathy as a moderator of at least one predicted relationship. The literature is filled with conflicting findings about the relationship between social anxiety and relational aggression, so we hope that Summer’s project can help to clarify it.
Congratulations to Summer on her successful thesis proposal!
Congratulations to Summer on her successful thesis proposal!
Riley Davis Defends Dissertation
03/04/22 About
Riley Davis, an advanced doctoral student in her final year before internship, successfully defended her dissertation this week. Riley was an active member of Dr. Ashley Batastini’s Correctional & Forensic Psychology Lab before Dr. Batastini took a position at the University of Memphis, and Dr. Batastini has continued to supervise Riley’s dissertation work. Riley’s dissertation, “Race, risk, and confinement: An examination of offender race on post-conviction placement and mandated treatment decisions within the context of an actuarial violence risk assessment,” was an ambitious study on which Riley did an outstanding job. After finalizing her dissertation for submission to the Graduate School, Riley is looking forward to submitting it for publication.
Congratulations to Riley on an impressive defense and on completing this important milestone!
Congratulations to Riley on an impressive defense and on completing this important milestone!
Alison and Riley Matched for Internship
02/18/22 About
We have two advanced doctoral students in the lab who applied for predoctoral psychology internship sites this year, and both successfully matched. Alison Poor will be completing her internship at the Southeast Louisiana Veteran’s Healthcare System in New Orleans, LA. Riley Davis will be completing her internship at the Federal Correctional Complex Allenwood in Allenwood, PA.
Congratulations to Riley and Ali on the successful match!
Congratulations to Riley and Ali on the successful match!
Philip Stoner Defends Dissertation
02/11/22 Personality
Philip Stoner, an advanced doctoral student currently completing his predoctoral internship at the Federal Correctional Complex in Petersburg, VA, successfully defended his dissertation today. Philip’s study utilized structural equation modeling to test key components of Hooley and Franklin’s (2018) benefits and barriers model for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). Using a sample of college women, he found that adverse childhood experiences predicted NSSI and that this relationship was partially mediated by self-esteem, peer-bonding motivation, and shame. Philip followed this analysis with invariance testing to examine the moderating influence of both grandiose and vulnerable narcissism. His findings have many interesting implications that should be helpful for mental health professionals working with college students.
Congratulations to Philip on a very impressive defense!
Congratulations to Philip on a very impressive defense!