Psychology Research - Kendall College of Arts and Sciences

Psychology Research

Students are encouraged to pursue research in collaboration with faculty to develop their skills and gain experience. In our state of the art laboratories and interdisciplinary institutes, psychology faculty conduct research in a wide variety of areas such as personality influences on workplace accomplishment, personality assessment, treatment and prevention of trauma and its effects, reducing the effects of occupational stress and exploring factors that can influence one’s perception of pain. From undergraduates to doctoral students, there is place for you to not only research but also publish your findings. Explore your many research opportunities.

“TITAN is easily the best thing that has happened to me in college. I’ve gotten so much experience that I would have never imagined myself getting as an undergrad.” – Jessica LaPlant, Psychology Sophomore 

  • Exposure, Relaxation, & Rescripting Therapy (ERRT) for Chronic Nightmares

    Exposure, Relaxation, & Rescripting Therapy (ERRT) is a cognitive behavioral treatment for trauma-related nightmares. The treatment consists of 4-5 sessions and runs for 60-120 minutes depending on whether an individual or group therapy format is utilized.  Components of treatment include psychoeducation about trauma, PTSD, and nightmares, relaxation training, modification of sleep habits, written and verbal exposure to the nightmare, rescription of the nightmare based on trauma-related themes (i.e., power, trust, intimacy, esteem, safety), and rehearsal of the rescripted dream each night prior to going to sleep.

    Meet the Director of ERRT Joanne Davis.

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  • Institute for Biochemical and Psychological Study of Individual Differences

    The Institute for Biochemical and Psychological Study of Individual Differences is an interdisciplinary institute that analyzes the structures and signals of the major adaptive emotional systems. We focus on human individual differences in the systems that control the seeking of reward opportunities, the avoidance of dangers, risk-taking, risk analyses, and an individual’s capacity to build realistic cognitive models of external reality.

    Meet the Director of IBPID Allan Harkness.

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  • Individual Differences Lab (IDL)

    The Individual Differences Lab is a branch of the Institute for Biochemical and Psychological Study of Individual Differences (IBPID) at TU. Our lab focuses broadly on measurement and application of individual differences, such as our research on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF). Specifically, lab advisors, Drs. Allan Harkness and John McNulty have created a five-factor personality model (known as the Personality Psychopathology Five; PSY-5) using the MMPI-2-RF. More recent projects have focused on applying individual differences science to adaptive psychological systems. Our current focus has been interdisciplinary collaboration on a project using multiple personality measures collected over multiple days to create richly assessed individuals.

    Meet the Lab Advisors: John McNulty and Allan Harkness.

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  • Psychophysiology Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience (PLAN)

    Research in the PLAN laboratory broadly spans the area of affective neuroscience with a specific focus on the interface of emotion and pain processing. The laboratory uses a variety of psychophysiological assessment techniques (e.g., electromyography, skin conductance, electrocardiography, electroencephalography) to assess pain, nociceptive responding, and other potentially related reactions (e.g., startle response). The eventual goal of this research is to identify mechanisms that contribute to and/or maintain chronic pain conditions, and to develop non-invasive methods for assessing individuals at risk for developing chronic pain.

    Meet the Director of PLAN Jamie Rhudy.

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  • Study of the Prevention, Adjustment, and Resilience to Trauma and Adversity Lab (SPARTA)

    The SPARTA Lab conducts research that addresses the prevention and treatment of psychological trauma that can be experienced in response to adverse life experiences. Associate Professor of Psychology Lisa Cromer is passionate about social justice and works to build human resilience to adversity in at-risk and disadvantaged populations. Much of Cromer’s prevention work is focused within systems. She has worked with college athletes, first generation college students, trauma-informed schools, students and student athletes transitioning to college and with military families preparing for deployment. Her expertise extends to the prevention of the intergenerational transmission of trauma and fostering healing from historical trauma. Cromer’s work is applied in the sense that she actively works to improve outcomes for the people with whom she works. Her prevention work is based in attachment, self-regulation, and empowerment.

    Meet the Director of SPARTA Lisa Cromer.

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  • Teams, Attitudes & Climates Lab (TACL)

    group of studentsRecent work conducted by the Teams, Attitudes & Climates Lab (TACL) includes various projects.

    Dr. Narayan and members of the TACL lab organized a climate assessment with a non-profit organization in Tulsa to assess the reward and recognition climate, employee effectiveness, attitudes, and organizational citizenship behavior.

    In order to develop a diversity program that stresses both the instrumental and terminal values of diversity, Dr. Narayan and members of the TACL lab have partnered with a local university. With the same organization, the TACL lab conducted a training needs analysis for a global community staff development project.

    Meet the Director of TACL Anupama Narayan.

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  • Treatment and Assessment Center for Traumatic Stress (TACTS)

    The mission of the Center is to conduct research on the assessment, treatment and prevention of the subsequent effects of traumatic stress injury. Besides research, members are involved in educating the community on issues regarding trauma and mental health. The lab values and endorses high ethical integrity and the need to combine scholarship with practice.

    Meet the Director of TACTS Elana Newman.

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  • The University of Tulsa Institute of Trauma, Adversity, and Injustice (TITAN)

    TITAN is an interdisciplinary research institute that engages scholars, scientists, professionals and students. We are a center for foundational knowledge about trauma and adversity that is informed by diverse perspectives. We conduct and support scholarship and research, and we facilitate innovative exchanges across disciplines. We disseminate knowledge through publication, education and consultation. We impact students, scholars, law and policy makers and practitioners.

    Students can participate in research projects on an array of topics: chronic nightmares, interpersonal violence, reducing incarceration of substance-abusing women, mental health profile of student athletes and much more. Students share how TITAN has not only shaped their academic interested but also their careers.

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  • The Trauma Research, Assessment, Prevention and Treatment Center (TRAPT)

    The Trauma Research, Assessment, Prevention and Treatment Center allows both undergraduate and graduate students to participate in several unique research projects: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia, Exposure Relaxation and Rescripting Therapy for Bipolar, Time to Report Rape and many more. Students receive hand-on training in data collection, working within a group and writing for academic publications.

    Meet the Director of TRAPT Joanne Davis.

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  • Research Lab for the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma

    The University of Tulsa contains the Research Lab for the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. This lab completes psychological and interdisciplinary research on trauma on journalists, traumatic media and the public, and trauma reporting and victims. It consists of clinical psychology researchers from the TACTS lab and industrial-organizational psychology researchers.

    Dr. Jennifer Ragsdale and Dr. Bradley Brummel have participated in DART projects.

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  • Perinatal Psychobiology Lab

    Research in the Perinatal Psychobiology Lab broadly spans the fields of health psychology, developmental psychobiology, and neuroscience. Our current interdisciplinary, cross-institutional research projects include multi-method assessment of mental and physicalhealth markers, behaviors, and outcomes with families from historically under-resourced communities and/or those at risk for health inequities. Our primary focus has been on investigating maternal pre- and postnatal health in relation to infant/child developmentand biopsychosocial processes underlying these relations. We hope to highlight risk and resiliency factors that may inform prevention and intervention to improve the health, well-being, and quality of life for women and their children.

    Our additional collaborative projects have included examination of social factors that influence responses to health messages, neurocognitive assessment and treatment barriers with individuals diagnosed with chronic illnesses (e.g., HIV and Hepatitis C), benefitsof integrated care in underserved samples, relations between diet and mental health in Division 1 women athletes, and the prevalence and predictors of women’s sexual health difficulties in primary care settings across the world.

    Meet the Lab Director Dr. Nicki Aubuchon-Endsley.

    The Perinatal Psychobiology Lab is currently looking for undergraduate research assistants. Email amg5038@utulsa.edu for more information.

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