Lifespan Developmental Psychology

In Brief about the Program:

• Flexible curriculum; design a plan of study that fits your needs and goals. 
• Choose relevant courses from other departments such as Statistics and Human Development and Family Science.  
• Our faculty works with you to achieve your goals. We expect all of our students to earn their degrees. 
• We fund all of our students with grants, assistantships, full out-of-state tuition waivers, and partial waivers of general fees.  
• The Department is currently in a growth mode. We have several graduate slots available. Now is the time to invest in your career - - take the next step toward becoming a developmental psychologist.

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General Information

The program in Lifespan Developmental Psychology is a true lifespan program that has three primary goals: instruction in content areas of developmental psychology, training in research methodology and quantitative analysis, and preparation for teaching and/or research on applied topics.

The Lifespan Developmental Psychololgy program faculty conduct research in a variety of areas across the lifespan, including infant neurobehavioral development, attentional changes in early childhood, children’s social development, comparative approaches to behavioral analysis, cognitive aging, language processing, the role of media in human behavior, memory in older adults, personality, retirement planning, and theoretical models of cognitive processes. Students typically work with a primary research advisor in accordance with an apprenticeship model of graduate training.

All students are required to complete a master’s thesis and doctoral research. Students are expected to participate in research activities throughout their graduate training. Research experience is complemented by course work in statistics and research methodology and design. All students also take a practicum course in the teaching of psychology, and most gain experience as instructors. In addition, students in the Lifespan Developmental Psychology program are encouraged to develop applied skills to enhance their job market potential.

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Current Students

I am Lynn Michaluk and I work with Dr. Thomas. I received my B.A. in Psychology at Oakland University in Rochester Hills, MI in 2000 and my M.S. in Lifespan Developmental Psychology at OSU in 2005. Dr. Thomas’ lab is currently working on several projects examining the relationship between spatial variables, velocity, and temporal perception. In addition to research, I enjoy teaching and mentoring students.

I am Mike Bowers and I work with Dr. Shelia Kennison. My undergraduate training was in psychology and biology. My master’s level training was in Linguistics. Currently, I am working on projects that involve the semantic memory organization in bilinguals, hemispheric processing of language, and reading studies using eye tracking.

I am Jeff Anderson and I work with Dr. Page. I am interested in the effects of child obesity in the developmental process. I have conducted research as a U.S. Army Captain with Test Command and also with Dr. Thomas at Oklahoma State University.

I am Jeff Seger and I work with Dr. Richard Potts. I am interested in researching the influences of media on psychological processes and I completed my undergraduate right here at Oklahoma State University.

I am Adelina Longoria and a 5th year graduate student. I work under the supervision of Dr. Shelia Kennison. My research interests include understanding the relationship between self-image and consumer behavior. I was a co-principal investigator for a training grant awarded by the American Psychological Association’s Committee on Ethnic and Minority Affairs. I recently served as a Presidential Intern for the American Red Cross National Head Quarters in the Training and Leadership Development department, and has previously interned at the National Science Foundation. Currently I am the Data Manager for the Families and Schools for Health Project, and am helping develop and run the Inclusion Leadership Program sponsored by the OSU VP for Institutional Diversity.

I am Angel Belden and I work with Dr. Page. My dissertation project involves media and body image. I received an M.S. here at OSU under the supervision of Dr. Potts in 2004 with a project entitled, “Development of an Adult Retrospective Recall Measure of Childhood Television Viewing.” I received an M.A.P. from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2000 with a thesis project entitled, “Cognitive Preferences of Young Adults.” I am off campus teaching at Eckerd College in FL.

I am Stefanie Dorough and I am a second year student working with Dr. Grice. My background is in existential-phenomenological/depth psychology. I am currently pursuing research, using George Kelly's Personal Construct Theory, on the relationship between anxiety and implicative dilemmas, a kind of cognitive conflict.

I am Sondra Nolf and I work with Dr. Charles Abramson. My undergraduate training was in counseling and biology. My master’s level training was in Counseling also.

I am Jessica Parker and I work with Dr. Melissa Burkley. I received a B.S. in Psychology at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia. Research in our lab primarily focuses on stereotypes. My primary research interests include gender differences in commitment of romantic relationships and infidelity. By identifying changes in sociocultural factors, as well as changes in the sexual “double standard” toward men and women, I hope to develop a model which identifies changes in behavior within a relationship that may lead one’s partner to be dissatisfied and unfaithful, which many times leads to divorce.

I am James Vaughn and I work with Dr. Kennison. I have my master’s from UCO. My main interest is in human development especially in relation to aging among the GLBT population. I am also very interested in the study of the adaptive nature of human behavior resulting in my great interest in evolutionary psychology and human ethology. I have also in recent years developed an interest in linguistics particularly the adaptive nature of language.

I am Paul Stermer and I work with Dr. Melissa Burkley. I received my B.S. from Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Oklahoma. My research interests focus on the influence video games have on attitudes toward women and ethnic minorities. Although my primary interest is video games, I am interested in the influence all types of media.

I am Stephanie Grant and I work with Dr. Thomas. My psych undergrad and first masters (counseling) were done at Southern Nazarene University, where I presently teach. My current research interests include nutrition deprivation effects on infant/child cognitive development and faith development throughout the lifespan. I am also interested in attachment theory and early empathy constructs.

I am Jim Anderson and I work with Dr. Grice. I earned a bachelor's in business administration from Evangel University and a Master's in counseling from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. My research interest is in personality theory.

I am Lisa A. Curb and I work with Dr. Charles I. Abramson. I received my master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma. I am involved in the study of learning and memory and influence of pesticides on honey bees, planarians and fish. I am interested in continuing my bee research with the ethanol model and developing teaching materials for children. My projects include introducing psychology as a science, determining different ethnicities’ perspectives and training in entomology, and reviewing the financing of journal articles. Other interests include using my successful experience with mentor programs to develop a unique one for an underprivileged population, comparing the learning curves of children and adults, and matching each individual’s personality with a pet for animal-assisted therapy.

I am Daniel Hornyik and I earned my BA at the University of Kentucky, Lexington and just completed an MA in Social Psychology at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. For my master thesis I investigated how the affective value of the environment shapes whether people preferentially attend to positive or negative stimuli, while for my bachelor thesis I did research on the role of social comparison in attitude change. I am primarily interested in desires: how we come to have them, how they guide our behavior and, especially, how we can resist them.

Recent Graduates

Brenda McDaniel, Ph.D., Human Development and Family Science Post-doctoral Fellow, OSU-Tulsa and           OSU.
Elaine Fernandez, M.S., Instructor at Cy-Fair College in Cypress, TX
Joy Jacobs-Lawson, Assistant Professor, Graduate Center for Gerontology, University of Kentucky
Blain Browne, Assistant professor of Psychology at Valdosta State University, GA
Adam Lawson, Post Doctoral Fellow, Behavioral Science, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky
Daniel Benbassat, Assistant professor of Psychology at Ohio Northern University
Nikki Yonts, Assistant professor of Psychology and Education at Lyon College, AR
Sherril Stone, Research Assistant Professor at the Oklahoma State University Center for Health           Sciences, Tulsa
Najm-Briscoe, Adjunct Instructor at Sonoma State University and Laney College, both in the Bay Area
Margaret Letterman, Assistant professor of Psychology at Eastern Conneticut State University 
Dolores Mize, Ph.D., Associate Vice Chancellor for the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education

If you would like to contact the program director directly, call, write, or email:

Melanie Page, Ph. D.
Lifespan Developmental Psychology Program Director 
116 North Murray 
Stillwater, OK 74078 
Telephone: (405) 744-7334
melanie.page@okstate.edu

Application Deadline: January 15

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