Social-Personality
SOCIAL–PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY
An emphasis in social-personality psychology was first introduced to Oklahoma State University in 1967 by Mark MacNeil, a student of the esteemed social psychologist Muzafer Sherif. Social-personality psychology is the scientific study of the how people think, behave, and feel about themselves and others. Social-personality psychologists examine how the social situation and the individual’s personality interact to influence a wide range of topics, including prejudice, motivation, aggression, conformity, group behavior, and social perception. The principal aim of graduate training in the social-personality psychology track is to develop a strong theoretical and research competence in the field; the ultimate goal is to prepare students for productive careers in research and/or teaching. Graduate students in the social-personality psychology track work in a close mentoring relationship with a social-personality psychology faculty member. Current research by faculty members in the social-personality psychology track includes work in motivation, self-regulation, prejudice and stereotyping, persuasion, social cognition, personality assessment, and mortality salience.
Numerous students have earned doctoral degrees from our program. These students have chosen academic careers in colleges and universities throughout the United States (e.g., Kansas State University, University of Central Arkansas), have arranged post-doctoral training (e.g., University of Maryland), or have worked for the government or private industry as research consultants.
Faculty:
Affiliated Faculty:
Robert Baron, Ph.D., University of Iowa (1968),
Professor, Chair in Entrepreneurship - Cognitive and social factors in entrepreneurship, bridging of psychology and entrepreneurship
John M. Chaney, Ph.D., Psychology Department, Clinical Program
Professor – Native American stereotypes and sports mascots, implicit racial bias
Stephanie N. Mullins-Sweatt, Ph.D., University of Kentucky (2009),
Assistant Professor - Conceptualization of personality disorders using general personality models, clinical applications of personality models
Required Courses:
PSYC 5813 – Lifespan Cognitive Development
PSYC 5913 – Lifespan Social Development
PSYC 6913 – Multilevel Modeling in Psychology
Recommended Track Courses:
PSYC 4333 - Personality
PSYC 6563 - Advanced Social Psychology
PSYC 6130 - Ethnic and Cultural Diversity
- The cognitive, comparative-neurobiology, developmental and social-personality tracks are all housed under the general Experimental Psychology program. Our program adopts the perspective that psychology is a very broad and dynamic discipline. The central focus of psychology is on the understanding, prediction, and enhancement of individual behavior, from a variety of perspectives. These perspectives can range from cognitive neuroscience; to the biological and physiological bases of behavior; to behavior in social environments; to the assessment of individual differences in personality; to the developmental changes that impact behavior; to the quantitative modeling of individual performance. To accommodate this broad spectrum, our program examines the biological, cognitive, developmental, social, and personality factors that affect behavior.
- When applying to the Experimental Psychology program, each potential graduate student applies directly to one of these four tracks, depending on their interests and career goals. In general, students will be “housed” in a particular track and within a particular laboratory, but it is also possible to collaborate with faculty and students in other tracks or laboratories, especially during the later years of graduate training.
- To learn more about the Experimental Psychology Program and its associated tracks, please click here.
- Please apply using the new graduate college online application: https://grad.okstate.edu/apply/
- For more information about the Experimental Psychology Program and its tracks, contact the program director Dr. Jennifer Byrd-Craven at jennifer.byrd.craven@okstate.edu.