This is me.  I'm not really angry.  The sun is in my eyes!

On this webpage you will be able to access various types of information.  Just click on any of the buttons in the table below to link to that piece of information.  The links on courses taught will send you to a brief description of that course.  If you click on the highlighted item in that description, that will send you to that course's homepage with more detailed information.
 
 

I am a Professor of Psychology at Clarion University of Pennsylvania and have been here since 1988.  At about the time I started teaching college students, Belenky and her colleagues (Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, & Tarule, 1986) made a distinction between teachers who help students draw knowledge out of their own heads and teachers who deposit knowledge in students' heads.  My approach to teaching is a combination of these two, thereby encouraging active learning.  While I do some traditional lecturing, I, like Belenky, believe that students possess some latent knowledge that they can contribute to the classroom experience. Thus, although I am the expert in the classroom and share my knowledge, I believe that students also have knowledge and experiences to contribute to the course.  Similarly Belenky notes that this type of teacher contributes when necessary but that s/he does not depend solely on her/his knowledge.  Rather, s/he also relies on the knowledge of his/her students.

I teach a wide variety of courses.  The following is a listing and short description of the courses I have taught.  If you click on the highlighted "syllabus" terms you will be able to browse through the most recent syllabus for that course.  If you click on the highlighted "homepage" terms you will be able to link to a homepage for that particular class which, in turn, allows you to link to other pages containing information relevant to that class.

Human Sexuality.  This course is designed to provide the student with an overview of the area of human sexuality.  It begins with an explanation of how human sexuality is studied.  Other topics discussed include sex roles; the biological division of males and females; and the physiologgy of the human sexual response cycle.  Sexual behavior is discussed as well, including topics such as homosexuality, sexual coercion, and sexual dysfunctions.  On a more practical level, health issues such as sexually transmitted diseases, birth control, pregnancy, and childbirth are also covered. Click here to link to the Human Sexuality Homepage.

Psychology of Women.  This course is designed to give the student an overview of the psychological issues central to women.  It will include such topics as the biological structure of women; various explanations of the sex role of women; and issues that are primarily the concern of women, such as rape, battering and sexual harassment.  However, it will be demonstrated that these issues are also the concern of men. A sex roles approach will be taken in the presentation of material, meaning that men, as well as women, will be discussed throughout the semester and will serve as a source of comparison.  Both men and women are encouraged to register for the class.  Click here to look at a syllabus.

Social Psychology.  Social Psychology is the scientific study of social behavior and therefore this course studies interpersonal relationships.  We discuss such topics as interpersonal attraction, behavior in groups, prosocial (helping) behavior, and aggression.  Other topics covered include:  how we percieve other people, attitudes, and stereotyping.  Applied social psychology topics such as health psychology and environmental psychology are also discussed.  Click here to look at a syllabus.

Personality.  The study of personality has been of concern throughout the development of scientific psychology.  In this course we will review several of the major theories of personality development and structure from the classic ideas of Freud and Jung to the current cognitive theories of Bandura.  Trait approaches and humanistic approaches are also covered.  Click here to look at a syllabus.

Health Psychology.  Health psychology is a sub-area of psychology that is concerned with the interaction between biological, psychological, and social factors that influence people's health and susceptibility to illness.  This course will discuss health promotion and illness prevention from a biopsychosocial perspective.  Such topics as the relationship between stress and illness are of focus but other topics such as medical complicance, Type A personality, and patient-physcian interactions are also discussed.  This course is not currently offered.

Senior Seminar. This is the capstone course in psychology.  My approach to the senior seminar is to use the CORAL (Collaborative On-line Research and Learning) model. In this course students are required to work as teams with other Clarion students as well as students from West Chester University.  Students complete a number of assignments collaboratively using the Internet and video conferencing to communication with their teammates.  The topics emphasized during this seminar include group processes and other social psychological processes.  For more detailed information see http://coral.wcupa.edu.  Click here to look at a syllabus.

Research: My most recent focus of research has been on the functioning and collaboration of groups using Internet techology tools.  See the CORAL homepage for more information:  http://coral.wcupa.edu.

Other areas of research in which I have been interested are gender studies and sexuality.  In these areas I have primarily conducted research on the sexual attitudes, knowledge and behaviors of college students.  Much of this research has been on safer sex behaviors.

I am willing to supervise students on their own research projects.  If you would like to conduct research with me, however, you will be required to sign up for individualized instruction for PSY 499, Research Seminar.  I recommend allowing two semesters to complete a research project even though you will be signed up for Research Seminar for only one semester. For most students, this experience should take place beginning in their junior year (after they have taken Research Methods) in order for them to complete their project by Fall of their senior year so they can include that experience on their resumes or graduate school applications.  Completion of the project at this time is also useful if a student wants to submit their project to a conference such as the one sponsored by the Eastern Psychological Association for presentation.  The deadline for submissions is usually in the  Fall, as is true fo other conferences.  Feel free to stop by and talk to me about your research ideas.

Letters of Recommendation: If you would like me to write a letter of recommendation for you, please be sure that I know you enough to do so.  If you think I do know you well enough, contact me about your request.  If I do write you a letter of recommendation, I will need to know about it a month in advance and will need a resume, as well as information about which classes you took with me.  Please give me this information along with addressed, stamped envelopes.

Advisement: If you are one of my advisees feel free to stop by during my office hours or make an appointment to discuss matters of concern to you.  At pre-registration time sign up for an appointment on my office door a day or two before you are actually scheduled to register.  We can then discuss your upcoming semester's schedule.  (Seeing me too early before you register is not a good idea because classes close out.)
 
 

If you would like more information about Clarion University of Pennsylvania or the Psychology Department at Clarion please click on one of the following links: