The Department of Psychology offers graduate study leading to the M.A. and Ph.D.
degrees in experimental psychology and the Ph.D. degree in clinical psychology.
Candidates for admission are expected to meet the general requirements of the
Graduate School and to have had fundamental courses in psychology as undergraduates,
including a laboratory course in research methods of psychology and a course in
basic statistics. Applications for all programs are due Dec. 31 for a September
admission.
The program leading to the M.A. in experimental psychology requires a minimum
of 30 credit hours. This requirement includes six credit hours for the writing
of an acceptable thesis based on empirical research, six credit hours of directed
research, the first graduate statistics course, and fifteen credit hours of graduate
content courses chosen by the student and his/her committee.
The programs leading to the Ph.D. in experimental psychology and clinical psychology
have a residence requirement as specified in the general section of the catalog.
However, the time required to complete course work and a thesis based upon an
original investigation ordinarily is longer than that required for residence.
The Department believes the best graduate education involves close working relationships
between faculty and students. Thus, a high faculty to student ratio and small
class size characterize our graduate programs. Every incoming student is expected
to work with a faculty member as a means of gaining valuable teaching, research,
and professional experience. There also are opportunities for individualized study
and experience in directed readings, research, and supervised teaching. A faculty
committee, selected to represent the student’s interest, will assist the student
in planning an appropriate graduate program.
Basic program requirements for all doctoral students are a minimum of 60 hours
consisting of Scientific Inquiry; History and Systems; Advanced Statistics &
Methods I; Advanced Statistics & Methods II; five courses selected from Social
Development in Children or Cognitive Development in Children; Advanced Physiological
Psychology or Biological Bases of Infancy and Development; Advanced Perception;
Advanced Social Psychology; Advanced Cognitive Psychology; Advanced Developmental Psychopathology;
Emotion Development and Adaptation; 12 hours of elective graduate content courses;
12 hours of directed research; and 6 hours of thesis credit.
Experimental Psychology Program
The goal of this program is to prepare students for careers in teaching and research.
All students will be expected to demonstrate a high level of competence in one
of the specialty areas listed below. Students also will be expected to demonstrate
competence in statistics and experimental design, and in several areas of general
psychology outside their specialty area. Competence will be assessed in terms
of performance in courses, research projects, teaching, and a comprehensive examination.
The comprehensive exam is given at the end of the second year of graduate study
or at the end of the first year for students entering with a master’s degree from
another university. The Department offers the following specialty areas within
experimental psychology:
Developmental
The program offers training in social, cognitive, emotional, and psychobiological
development. With children and adolescents, concentrated study is available in
the areas of play, communicative competence, emotional development, friendship
evolution, peer relations, learning, and information processing. Students are
expected to become well-versed in developmental theory and methodology, as well
as actively involved in research. Besides offering applied experience with preschool
children in the Department’s Child Study Center, the program provides opportunities
to work with developmentally disabled children at the Eastern Maine Medical Center.
(Faculty: Cobo-Lewis, Eilers, Erdley, D. Hayes, M. Hayes, LaFreniere, Zeman).
Cognitive and Biological
This program covers several basic areas of experimental psychology, including
cognition, perception, biopsychology, and neuropsychology. Students develop research
skills and conduct in at least one specialty area. Students also become familiar
with areas of general psychology outside their specialty, and with statistics
and experimental design. Students work closely with a research advisor, and begin
research involvement in the first year. There are many opportunities for individualized
study and directed readings. Opportunities for teaching are available to advanced
graduate students. Applicants should write to faculty members in their area of
interest, with whom they might want to do research. (Faculty: Cobo-Lewis, Elias,
Farthing, Martindale, Robbins, Rosenwasser, Smith {Coordinator}.
Social
By emphasizing basic and applied research at the Ph.D. level, the social psychology
program aims to produce well-rounded academicians and practitioners by fostering
in students a solid understanding of theory and research in social psychology,
as well as knowledge of how social research may be applied to solve practical
problems. The program operates on an apprenticeship model by which students work
closely with faculty members on theory-driven research. Students are trained to
think conceptually and to acquire proficiency in research methodology, statistics,
scholarly writing, oral presentation, and teaching. Faculty research specializations
include stereotyping and prejudice, personal and social identity management, social
cognition, political attitudes, and attraction. (Faculty: Eidelman, Gold).
Clinical Psychology Program
The Clinical Psychology Training Program prepares students for the doctorate
(Ph.D.) in psychology and for careers combining research and clinical practice.
Students earn a master’s degree (M.A.) on the way to earning their doctorate.
There is not an M.A. program in Clinical Psychology. The program is accredited
by the American Psychological Association and adheres to the scientist-practitioner
model.
An academic core provides the foundation of knowledge in the areas of general
and experimental psychology as well as psychotherapy, psychopathology, assessment,
professional issues and ethics, and clinical research methods. Clinical training
is centered around course work, individual tutorials in research, and clinical
experiences supervised by professional models actively engaged in careers in those
areas. Students are given increasing responsibility for the content and emphasis
of their training by being encouraged to sample a wide variety of training opportunities
at the University and in the community. They are encouraged to articulate career
objectives early in training, and to contribute to modifications in the program
to meet their goals. Applicants are urged to match their interests with those
of the clinical or developmental psychology faculty and to specify areas of compatibility.
There are two tracks within the program. Students in the general track receive
training from a generalist perspective. The developmental-clinical track focuses
on children and adolescents and is described below.
The Psychology Department’s Psychological Services Center serves as the primary
practicum training agency with additional practicum experiences available at inpatient,
outpatient, community, and hospital settings elsewhere in Maine. Core training
in the traditional areas of clinical psychology is supplemented with opportunities
for innovative approaches to psychotherapy and community involvement; geographic
considerations permit special attention to rural problems.
Ph.D. training culminates with the doctoral dissertation and a full-year internship
in an approved clinical setting. (Faculty: Hecker, Nangle, Sigmon, Thorpe, Zeman)
Developmental-Clinical Track in the Clinical Program
The developmental-clinical track offers joint training in developmental and clinical
psychology. Students complete core programs in clinical and developmental psychology,
in addition to the practicum, internship, and dissertation requirements of the
traditional clinical program.
Research Facilities
Facilities for experimental and clinical research include laboratories for the
study of animal behavior, social psychology, cognitive psychology, depression,
emotion regulation, peer relations, and anxiety disorders. There are also rooms
designed for observation and audio-visual recording of behavior, as well as an
electrically shielded room for psychophysiological recordings. The department
also operates a pre-school Child Study Center for instructional and research purposes.
Research opportunities are also provided through faculty affiliation with the
Eastern Maine Medical Center.
Graduate Faculty
Jeffrey E. Hecker, Ph.D. (Maine, 1986), Professor, Chair. Anxiety disorders, cognitive behavior
therapy, juvenile sex offending.
Alan B. Cobo-Lewis, Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin, 1992), Associate Professor. Visual perception;
language development; statistical and computational methods.
Scott H. Eidelman, Ph.D. (University of Kansas, 2004), Assistant Professor. Stereotyping, social
cognition, political attitudes, and personal and social identity.
Rebecca E. Eilers, Ph.D. (University of Washington, 1972), Professor. Language development, bilingualism.
Merrill F. Elias, Ph.D. (Purdue, 1963), Professor. Neurobiological correlates of hypertension,
age, and cardiovascular disease; behavioral-cardiovascular epidemiology and aging.
Penelope K. Elias, Ph.D. (University of Rochester, 1974).
Cynthia A. Erdley, Ph.D. (University of Illinois, 1992), Associate Professor. Social development,
children’s peer relationships, children’s social-cognitive processes.
G. William Farthing, Ph.D. (Missouri, 1969), Professor. Decision-making, risk-taking behavior, intrinsic
motivation.
Joel A. Gold, Ph.D. (Colorado State, 1966), Professor. Interpersonal attraction (love, equity,
jealousy); authoritarianism.
Donald S. Hayes, Ph.D. (Iowa, 1975), Associate Professor. Mass media effects in children; children’s
memory functioning; children’s friendships.
Marie J. Hayes, Ph.D. (Northeastern, 1979), Associate Professor, Director of Child Study Center.
Psychological determinants of development in infancy; sleep state organizations
and sleep habits; mother-infant attachment.
Peter J. LaFreniere, Ph.D. (Minnesota, 1982), Professor. Ethology; developmental psychopathology;
attachment and early peer relations.
Douglas W. Nangle, Ph.D. (West Virginia University, 1993), Associate Professor, Director of Clinical
Training. Child and adolescent peer relations; other-sex social interactions and
psychological adjustment; social skills assessment and intervention.
Michael A. Robbins, Ph.D. (University of Maine, 1985), Research Associate Professor of Psychology.
Neurobiological correlates
Alan M. Rosenwasser, Ph.D. (Northeastern, 1980), Professor. Biopsychology and behavioral neurosciences;
mechanisms and functions of circadian and other biological rhythms.
Sandra T. Sigmon, Ph.D. (North Carolina at Greensboro, 1989), Associate Professor. Seasonal affective
disorder; depression; coping with cyclical stressors; gender issues in psychopathology.
Laurence D. Smith, Ph.D. (New Hampshire, 1982), Associate Professor. History and philosophy of
psychology; psychology of science; intuitive statistics; perception of graphs.
D. Alan Stubbs, Ph.D. (George Washington, 1967), Professor. Teaching interests: perception,
animal behavior, and learning. Research interests: picture perception, perception
of graphs, multimedia.
Geoffrey L. Thorpe, Ph.D., ABBP (Rutgers, 1973), Professor. Cognitive-behavior therapy; cognitive
assessment.
Janice L Zeman, Ph.D. (Vanderbilt, 1991), Associate Professor, Graduate Coordinator, Developmental/Clinical
Coordinator. Emotional regulation and socialization in children; developmental
psychopathology.
Associate Graduate Faculty
Jeffrey Aston, Ph.D., Clinical Associate
Jonathan Borkum, Ph.D., Faculty Associate
Susanne Carol Duffy, Ph.D., Faculty Associate
Margaret Fernald, Ph.D., Clinical Associate
Christine Fink, Ph.D., Clinical Associate
Bruce Hale, Ph.D., Cooperating Professor
Jerold Hambright, Ph.D. Clinical Associate
Jonathan Heeren, Ph.D., Clinical Associate
Anne Hess, Ph.D., Clinical Associate Professor
Keith Houde, Ph.D., Clinical Associate
Gina Kenney, Psy.D., Clinical Associate
Larissa Mead, Ph.D., Clinical Assistant Professor
David Mills, Ph.D., Faculty Associate
Karen Mosher, Ph.D., Clinical Associate
Philip S. Pierce, Ph.D., Clinical Associate
Kevin Polk, Ph.D., Clinical Associate
Lucy Quimby, Ph.D., Clinical Associate
Susan Righthand, Ph.D., Clinical Associate
Robert Riley, Ph.D., Clinical Associate
Raymond C. Russ, Ph.D., Faculty Associate
Laura Santilli, Ph.D., Clinical Associate
Susanne Stiefel, Ph.D., Clinical Associate
Cristin Sullivan, Ph.D., Clinical Associate