Department of Psychological Sciences

Heather House sitting at the Cuyahoga Falls boardwalk overlooking the Cuyahoga River.

Heather House is a senior Honors College student graduating with a major in psychology with a concentration in child psychology and a minor in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Originally from Tallmadge, Ohio, Heather credits the Honors College for helping her find opportunities that related to her professional interests. The Honors College faculty and staff informed Heather about the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) program.

Ryan Moranelli, Kent State Honors College graduating senior.

Ryan Moranelli is an upcoming spring 2021 graduate of the Kent State Honors College. He is also a member of the 2020 induction class of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s most prestigious academic honor society, founded in 1776.

Image of a book and notebook laid out on a table in front of a bookcase.

Kent State University has recently received a flurry of grants totaling more than $3 million in funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), which will support research and innovation in a wide range of fields within the College of Arts and Sciences. 

Division of Research & Economic Development
A graphic of Earth wearing a mask on a yellow background

As the COVID-19 pandemic approaches a one-year mile marker, the temptation and opportunity to socialize, party, and indulge in public events grows increasingly stronger. Associate Professor Clarissa Thompson received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences to reinforce the dangers of the virus to the public.

Photo of the necks of beer bottles lined up at an angle

While it's no secret that many college students drink alcohol, how COVID-19 affected these behaviors and patterns is the focus of recent research published in the journal Addictive Behaviors by the collaboration of William Lechner from the Department of Psychological Sciences and Deric Kenne from the College of Public Health. The pair sought to study the effects that a major stressor such as the pandemic could have on addictive behaviors and how vulnerabilities such as anxiety and depression played a part in the coping process of college students. 

Image of a silhouette with a missing puzzle piece in the mind and a hand holding it.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, MMPI, is a standardized psychometric test that was first published by the University of Minnesota Press in 1943 and quickly became the gold standard for assessing psychopathology. Kent State University has played a key role throughout the history of this test and a Kent State faculty member led the revision for the recently published and updated 2020 MMPI-3. 

Cat in a car carrier at a veterinary clinic

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has selected two Kent State University College of Arts and Sciences faculty members, along with two community clinicians, for Clinical Scholars, an initiative that will provide funding and leadership training to the four team members. Their plan is to implement a project that will help veterinary professionals in Northeast Ohio address mental health stigmas they experience in their lives and provide usable techniques that can be incorporated into their veterinary practices.

Two People Standing in Forest, Photo by Magda Ehlers

The National Institute of Health granted additional funding to Kent State University researcher Karin Coifman, Ph.D., bringing her total award amount to more than $3 million to support her research on mental well-being and coping after traumatic injuries in individuals aged 65 and older. 

Students studying in a classroom

The “C” in “college” might as well stand for “cramming.”
Studies show students are notoriously bad at adopting and adhering consistently to high-impact study habits that help them retain knowledge long-term.
Researchers and faculty at Kent State University, however, are collaborating on a new project to put a modern technological twist on a tried-and-true study tactic.