Office
Uhler Hall 216
Office Phone
724-357-2426
How I became Interested in Psychology
I took a class in high school that really fascinated me, so I pursued psychology as a major in college. I fell in love with the science very quickly because I had wonderful professors in my undergraduate education.
Areas of Interest
Developmental Psychology, Familial Estrangement, Social Media, Grief
Current Research and Professional Projects
Most of my research involves working with undergraduate and graduate students on projects that address some aspect of my primary areas of interest. Some previous projects on familial estrangement have examined forgiveness and reconciliation, mental health outcomes of estrangement, and reasons for estrangement. Some previous projects on social media have addressed social comparisons, parental mediation of social media use, and outcomes (e.g., addiction) of social media use. Projects on grief have examined disenfranchised grief, ambiguous losses, and grief as a result of estrangement.
Degrees/Schools
BA, 2002, Lebanon Valley College
MS, 2005, West Virginia University: Developmental Psychology
PhD, 2006, West Virginia University: Developmental Psychology
Courses Taught
PSYC 101 (General Psychology), PSYC 200 (Research Design and Analysis), PSYC 215 (Developmental Psychology), 245 (Learning and Cognition), 298 (SOAR into Psychology), 313 (Elder Abuse), 378 (Death and Dying), 480 (Honors Seminar)