Department of psychology

Graduate Program
Cognitive Psychology

About the Cognitive Psychology Program

The cognitive psychology program at Kent State University is comprised of an active and collaborative group of faculty and students whose research focuses on higher level cognitive processes such as learning and memory, automaticity, cognitive aging, cognitive and language development, reading and spelling, text comprehension, and metacognition.  These research efforts include studies of normative cognitive functioning as well as attempts to understand how cognitive processes change with development across the lifespan, and how they are affected by brain injury and traumatic stress. A key theme is the generation of basic knowledge about cognitive processes and the application of that knowledge to real world issues and situations, such as the reliability of eyewitness memory and methods for improving learning in the classroom. 

The cognitive program maintains active laboratories with state of the art equipment for research and graduate training. Our newly renovated facility includes ample office and laboratory space for graduate students. Laboratory facilities include a Dual Purkinje eyetracker for studying online processing during reading, multimedia work stations for presenting stimuli and collecting data, computer-controlled experimental stations for testing participants, and interview rooms for testing adults and preschool children.  Faculty and students conduct a sizeable amount of research with the Psychology Department’s large pool of student participants.  Many other studies are conducted with special populations such as children, older adults, and patients with cognitive disorders as a result of brain injury or trauma.

Research Training in Cognitive Psychology

The cognitive program is designed to train students in conducting and communicating high-quality psychological research.  As a graduate student in the cognitive program, you will have an opportunity to collaborate closely with one or more faculty members in ongoing research projects, from conception to publication.  In the first year, students begin a research project under the supervision of one of the cognitive faculty. Often, this first year research project broadens into the topic of the masters’ thesis.  As students progress through the graduate program, they are encouraged to pursue additional collaborative and independent research projects, culminating in a dissertation project that often reflects the students’ unique interests and expertise.

In the first two years, graduate students also take a number of graduate courses and seminars that cover current research in cognitive psychology, cognitive development, cognitive neuropsychology, research methods, and statistical analyses.  Students in the cognitive program may elect to gain additional training by pursuing a quantitative minor.

In addition, faculty and students in the cognitive program meet twice a month for the “cognitive brown-bag”.  In the brownbag, students and faculty present research ideas and learn about current research trends, attend research presentations by guest speakers from other institutions, and discuss issues relevant to professional and career development.

Graduate Courses in Cognitive Psychology

• Cognitive Psychology
• Cognitive Development
• Cognitive Neuropsychology
• Memory and Cognition
• Reading Processes
• Seminar: Automaticity and Skill Acquisition
• Seminar: Memory and Memory Distortion
• Seminar:  Metacognition
• Seminar: Language Comprehension Processes
• Seminar: Working Memory
• Seminar: Cognitive Aging

Current Cognitive Graduate Students

• Robert Ariel (Dunlosky lab)
• Julie Baker (Dunlosky lab)
• Angie Jones (Folk lab)
• Quin Chrobak (Zaragoza lab)
• Marissa Hartwig (Dunlosky lab)
• Kim Linetsky (Merriman lab)
• Amanda Lipko (Merriman lab)
• Stacy Lipowski (Merriman lab)
• Zach Moore (Merriman lab)
• Tammi Patterson (Folk lab)
• Mary Pyc (Rawson lab)
• Heather Roth (Dunlosky lab)
• Nic Wilkins (Rawson lab)

Recent Cognitive Ph.D.’s

• Bonnie Angelone, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor, College of New Jersey)
• Melissa Beck, Ph.D. (Postdoc, U. of Maryland; Assistant Professor, Louisiana State University)
• Stephanie Buchert, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor, Longwood College)
• Jessica Hanba, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor, Kalamazoo College)
• Lesley Hathorn, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor, Metropolitan State College of Denver)
• Isabel LaCruz, Ph.D. (NTT Assistant Professor, Kent State University)
• Dianne Learned, Ph.D. (Visiting Assistant Professor, Western Washington University)
• Nausheen Momen, Ph.D. (Research Psychologist, Naval Aerospace Medical Research Lab)
• Kristie Payment, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor, Ohio Northern University)
• Mike Serra, Ph.D. (Postdoctoral Fellow, Columbia University)
• Yukari Takare, Ph.D. (Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Pittsburgh)

Faculty with Related Interests

• Dr. Nancy Docherty (Adult Psychopathology) studies emotional and cognitive dysfunctions in major mental illness.
• Dr. Stephen Fountain (Biopsychology) studies concept formation and knowledge representation in neural networks.
• Dr. John Gunstad (Assessment) uses neuropsychological tests to study factors that limit test validity and the effects of age and disease on cognition.
• Dr. Larry Melamed (Emeritus) develops neuropsychological diagnostic instruments for determining visual processing deficits associated with right hemisphere brain lesions.
• Dr. David Riccio (Biopsychology) studies animal models in of memory and amnesia.
• Dr. John Updegraff (Social-Health) studies cognitive and emotional processes involved in well-being and adjustment to stress; how to present health information in ways that effectively promotes health behavior change.