Research & Laboratories

Sona Information

Research Labs

The Department offers numerous opportunities for students to engage in research under the direction of a faculty member. Each semester, approximately 40 undergraduates participate in supervised research opportunities. Students are encouraged to look for opportunities that match their area of interest. Undergraduate students may do so either for credit (up to six hours) or on a volunteer basis. Involvement in research is highly recommended for students planning to pursue graduate study. Below is a list of facutly research lab and their research foci. Additional information about faculty research can be found on the Faculty & Staff page.

Anxiety Research Laboratory
Lab Director(s)	Joshua J. Broman-Fulks, Ph.D. (bromanfulksj@appstate.edu)
Research Focus	The Anxiety Research Laboratory conducts translational research focused on the identification, prevention, and improvement of problems in living associated with anxiety. A primary focus of the Anxiety Research Laboratory is examining the effects of various modifiable lifestyle factors, such as physical activity, mindfulness practice, and acceptance-based interventions, on anxiety and relevant functional living outcomes.
Lab Website	https://psych.appstate.edu/research-labs/anxiety-research-lab

Appalachian Adult ADHD (AAA) Lab
Lab Director(s)	Will Canu, Ph.D. (canuwh@appstate.edu)
Research Focus	The Appalachian Adult ADHD Lab (AAA Lab) is devoted primarily to investigating the assessment, features, course, consequences, comorbidities, and treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, with a special focus on adult populations. An emerging secondary theme in the lab is a focus on rural clinical issues, including differential outcomes related to rural conditions, access to services, and treatment delivery.
Lab Website	https://adhd.appstate.edu/

Applicant Decision-Making (ADM) Lab
Lab Director(s)	Yalcin Acikgoz, Ph.D. (acikgozy@appstate.edu)
Research Focus	Applicant Decision-Making Lab investigates the process through which an employment relationship begins from the applicants' perspective. Specifically, we examine issues surrounding applicants in job search, employment testing, and offer evaluation process including, but not limited to, their reactions to organizational practices and how they evaluate job offers.
Lab Website	https://iohrm.appstate.edu/admlab

ASC School Mental Health Lab
Lab Director(s)	Kurt Michael, Ph.D. (michaelkd@appstate.edu), JP Jameson, Ph.D. (jamesonjp@appstate.edu)
Research Focus	Child and adolescent psychopathology, School mental health, Suicide prevention, Rural service delivery, Depression and anxiety, Substance abuse disorders, Meta-analysis, Psychotherapy outcome
Lab Website	https://psych.appstate.edu/faculty-staff/kurt-d-michael https://psych.appstate.edu/faculty-staff/john-paul-jameson

Behavioral Neuroscience Lab
Lab Director(s)	Mark Zrull, Ph.D. (zrullmc@appstate.edu)
Research Focus	All behavioral Neuroscience Lab research projects are aimed at investigating the relationship between brain and behavior: how activity across neural systems and circuits produces behavior, and how behavior influences activity across neural circuits and structures. We are particularly interested in experience, preference, social and stimulus-guided behavior, and neural plasticity as well as mechanisms of sound-induced seizures in adolescent animals.
Lab Website	https://psych.appstate.edu/faculty-staff/mark-c-zrull

Fat Talk Lab
Lab Director(s)	Denise Martz, Ph.D. (martzdm@appstate.edu)
Research Focus	Body image, eating disorders, fat talk, body snarking and how interpersonal violence and bullying affect psychological disorders.
Lab Website	https://psych.appstate.edu/faculty-staff/denise-m-martz

HR Science Team
Lab Director(s)	Shawn Bergman, Ph.D. (bergmans@appstate.edu) Yalcin Acikgoz, Ph.D. (acikgozy@appstate.edu)
Research Focus	Now more than ever, organizations recognize the competitive advantages that HR analytics provide their companies. In order to help organizations harness this potential, HR Science Team conducts research on how to best utilize data in making HR decisions.
Lab Website	https://iohrm.appstate.edu/hr-science-research-team

Morality and Social Cognition (MaSC) Lab
Lab Director(s)	Andrew Monroe, Ph.D. (monroeae1@appstate.edu)
Research Focus	My lab studies how people make, revise, and express moral judgments in everyday life.
Lab Website	moralminds.com

Personality and Romantic Relationships Lab
Lab Director(s)	Chris Holden, Ph.D. (holdencj@appstate.edu)
Research Focus	Our lab investigates how personality influences the ways in which people approach and maintain their romantic relationships. In doing so, we often focus on self-esteem, contingent self-esteem, and mate retention behaviors.
Lab Website	http://www.christopherjholden.com/

SLAP (Students of Law and Psychology) Lab
Lab Director(s)	Twila Wingrove, JD, Ph.D. (wingroveta@appstate.edu)
Research Focus	We study the intersection of psychology and the legal system. Currently, we are focusing on understanding how juries make decisions in sexual assault cases.
Lab Website	https://psych.appstate.edu/faculty-staff/twila-wingrove

Smith Lab
Lab Director(s)	Andrew Smith, Ph.D. (smithar3@appstate.edu)
Research Focus	My team conducts research focusing on how social and motivational factors influence how people perceive themselves and others, and how these factors influence their behavior.
Lab Website	https://psych.appstate.edu/faculty-staff/andrew-smith

Videogame, Media & Bullying Lab
Lab Director(s)	Mary Ballard, Ph.D. (ballardme@appstate.edu)
Research Focus	We examine the impact of videogame play on a variety of physiological and behavioral outcomes, including bullying. We sometimes incorporate other media, such as the news, in our studies. Some of our studies also focus on the risks for LGBT people, including bullying, risk behavior, and sleep disruption.
Lab Website	https://agelabs.appstate.edu/labs/video-game-lab

Department of Psychology