Faculty Research and Teaching
Dr. Aisha Adams earned her PhD from the University of Georgia. Her research focuses on identifying factors influencing a phenomenon called "Boundary Extension", in which memory for an image consistently contains more information than was actually shown. She serves as Faculty Advisor for both the Psi Chi International Honor Society and the Psychology Club, and has supervised the attendance of over a dozen psychology majors to regional psychology conferences. Dr. Adams works to promote equality and diversity among the faculty and student body. Dr. Adams teaches courses in General Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Human Memory, Research Methods, and other selected topics in psychology. She actively supervises student research.
Dr. Tiffany Berzins earned her PhD from the University of Texas at San Antonio, with concentrations in Social Psychology and Quantitative Research Methods. After earning her degree, she went on to complete a postdoctoral fellowship in the Social-Health Psychology program at Kent State University. Her training and interests lie in interpersonal relationships and behavioral medicine, particularly the roles of dyadic relationship processes (parental support, romantic partner undermining) and day-to-day health decisions (sustain exercise, drink less alcohol) in disease prevention and management. She is also interested in how contextual factors, such as military service and physical symptoms, affect family functioning and health outcomes. Dr. Berzins teaches courses in General Psychology, Health Psychology, Social Psychology, Research Methods, and other selected topics in psychology. She actively supervises student research.
Dr. Stephanie da Silva earned her PhD from West Virginia University. Her research focuses on the effects
of past experiences on current behavior. She attempts to understand processes underlying
learning in both humans and animals. She studies behavior ranging from choice to honesty.
The findings are used to develop new methods in educational and treatment settings,
such as the development of new teaching strategies in classrooms, new interventions
for populations with mental disabilities, and new behavior-modification techniques
for maintaining healthy behavior, pro-social behavior, and self-control in general
populations. Dr da Silva teaches courses in General Psychology, Behavior Analysis,
Psychology of Eating, Research Methods, and other selected topics in psychology. She
actively supervises student research.
Dr. Diana Riser earned her PhD from Virginia Tech. Her research program encompasses several areas including gender studies, parenting, developmental psychopathology, childhood maltreatment, inter-generational transmission, risk, resilience, and sexual assault. She has studied the role of parents' history of maltreatment on parenting and their children's development. Dr. Riser has extensive data analysis expertise and teaches courses in Developmental Psychology, Psychology of Aging, Risk and Resilience, Research Methods, and other selected topics in psychology. She actively supervises student research and externships.
Dr. Mark Schmidt earned his PhD from the University of Georgia. His research addresses aspects of brain function, perception, and cognition in humans and non-human animals. He has conducted studies of number perception and the effects of pharmaceuticals on memory, attention, and recovery of function. He is currently investigating electrical activity of the brain during number perception and perception of emotional stimuli. Dr. Schmidt teaches courses in Biological Psychology, Sensation and Perception, Animal Behavior, History of Psychology, and Psychology as a Major and Career. He actively supervises student research and internships.
Dr. Brandt Smith earned his PhD from the University of Texas at El Paso. His research interests include the causes and cessation of inter-group conflict, and the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder on learning and memory. Secondary interests include the use of alternative quantitative methods for data analysis. He is engaged in several veterans' causes through his research and membership in veterans' organizations. Dr. Smith teaches courses in General Psychology, Social Psychology, Evolutionary Psychology, Research Methods, and other selected topics in psychology. He actively supervises student research.
