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 experimental 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 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 Psychopathology; Emotion Development and Adaptation; 12 hours of elective graduate content courses; 12 hours of directed research; and 6 hours of thesis credit.
The goal of this program is to prepare students for careers in college 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 lifespan training in social, cognitive, 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: Eilers, Erdley, D. Hayes, M. Hayes, LaFreniere).
Congitive and Biological
This Program covers several basic areas of experimental psychology, including cognition, perception, biopsychology, and neuropsychology. Students develop research skills and conduct research 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 directred 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
The social psychology program, by emphasizing both basic and applied research at the Ph.D. level, offers graduate training to prepare future social psychologists for careers in academic institutions and/or applied settings. This program is designed 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 can be applied to comprehend and solve practical problems. Graduate students are trained to think conceptually and to acquire proficiency in social behavior analysis, research methodology, statistics, scholarly writing, oral presentation, and teaching. Faculty research specializations include intergroup relations, stereotyping, social conflict, group dynamics, gender issues, social cognition, political psychology, attraction, relationships, and health. (Faculty: Gold)
The Clinical Psychology Training Program prepares students for the doctorate
(Ph.D.) in psychology and for careers combining clinical practice with research.
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 conducted 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. Students in the general track receive training from a generalist perspective. The developmental-clinical track is described below.
The Psychology Department’s Psychological Services Center serves as the primary
practicum training agency with additional practicum experience 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.
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 Exceptional Child Research Institute and the University Affiliated Program at Eastern Maine Medical Center.
Jeffrey E. Hecker, Ph.D. (Maine, 1986), Professor, Chair. Anxiety disorders, cognitive behavior therapy,
juvenile sex offending.
Alan Cobo-Lewis, Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin, 1992), Associate Professor. Visual perception; language development; statistical and computational methods.
Rebecca 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.
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. Psychological
determinants of development in infancy; sleep state organizations and sleep
habits; mother-infant attachment.
Peter LaFreniere, Ph.D. (Minnesota, 1982), Professor. Director of Child
Study Center. Ethology; developmental psychopathology; attachment and early
peer relations.
Colin Martindale, Ph.D. (Harvard, 1970), Professor. Aesthetics; cognition;
creativity.
Douglas W. Nangle, Ph.D. (West Virginia University, 1993),
Associate Professor. Child and adolescent peer relations; adolescent other-sex social interactions and competence; social skills assessment and intervention.
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, Director of Clinical Training, Graduate Coordinator. 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 Zeman, Ph.D. (Vanderbilt, 1991), Associate Professor. Child-clinical,
emotional development in children; pediatric psychology.
Jeffrey Aston, Ph.D., Clinical Associate
Jonathan Borkum, Ph.D., Faculty Associate
Susanne Carol Duffy, Ph.D., Faculty Associate
Penelope K. Elias, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate and Adjunct Associate
Professor
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
Michael Robbins, Ph.D., Research Associate Professor
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
Graduate School
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