Psychology is the scientific study of behavior, cognition and emotion. The Santa Clara psychology department believesactions, thoughts and feelings are best understood as the result of psychological, neurological, developmental, social and cultural influences. The composition of the faculty reflects this broad approach, with members who specialize in clinical psychology, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, educational psychology, health psychology, industrial/organizational psychology, learning, neuropsychology, and social psychology.
The psychology department places a strong emphasis on empirical methods of inquiry. All faculty members have active research programs, and we encourage undergraduates to get involved. Each year a large number of our majors present papers at professional conferences, and many students co-author articles in professional journals. Permanent laboratories maintained by the department include a health psychology lab, an animal lab, and a sleep lab.
Submissions from 2010
The Santa Clara strength of religious faith questionnaire: assessing faith engagement in a brief and nondenominational manner, Thomas G. Plante
Effects of perceived fitness level of exercise partner on intensity of exertion, Thomas G. Plante, Meghan Madden, Sonia Mann, and Grace Lee
Conclusions and Next Steps, Thomas G. Plante and A. Raz
Introduction: Contemplative Practices in Action, Thomas G. Plante, A. Raz, and D. Oman
The effects of feature-label-order and their implications for symbolic learning, Michael Ramscar, Daniel Yarlett, Melody Dye, Katie Denny, and Kirsten Read
The moderation of mindfulness-based stress reduction effects by trait mindfulness: Results from a randomized controlled trial, Shauna L. Shapiro, Kirk Warren Brown, Carl Thoresen, and Thomas G. Plante
Comparison of student demographics, satisfaction and perceived cognitive demand in two lifelong learning programs, Patricia M. Simone and Jacob V. Cesena
Social support, social control and health behavior change in spouses, Kieran T. Sullivan, Lauri A. Pasch, Katherine Hanson, and Kathrine Bejanyan
Social support, problem solving, and the longitudinal course of newlywed marriage, Kieran T. Sullivan, Lauri A. Pasch, Matthew D. Johnson, and Thomas N. Bradbury
Testing four explanations for the better/worse-than-average effect: Single- and multi-item entities as comparison targets and referents, Jerry Suls, John Chambers, Zlatan Krizan, Chad R. Mortensen, Bryan Koestner, and Kathryn Bruchmann
Submissions from 2009
Fighting Conflict: Violent Splits or Healthy Divides?, Katerina Bezrukova and Chester Spell
Transition to marriage, Tara L. Cornelius and Kieran T. Sullivan
Participation in prevention programs for dating violence: Beliefs about relationship violence and intention to participate, Tara L. Cornelius, Kieran T. Sullivan, Nicole Wyngarden, and Jennifer Milliken
A Preliminary Investigation of the Reinforcement Function of Signal Detections in Simulated Baggage Screening: Further Support for the Vigilance Reinforcement Hypothesis, Lindsey C. Hogan, Matthew C. Bell, and Ryan Olson
How does one become spiritual? The Spiritual Modeling Inventory of Life Environments (SMILE), Doug Oman, Carl E. Thoresen, Crystal L. Park, Philip R. Shaver, Ralph W. Hood, and Thomas G. Plante
Meditation and psychotherapy: Why do therapists only look to the east? Review of Meditation for therapists and their clients by. C. A. Simpkins and A. M. Simpkins, Thomas G. Plante
Recent research findings regarding aerobic exercise environment and stress management, Thomas G. Plante
Say syrah, syrah: Savoring the rewards of patience, contemplation, and TLZ, Thomas G. Plante
What the spiritual and religious traditions offer psychologists, Thomas G. Plante
The impact of immersion trips on development of compassion among college students, Thomas G. Plante, Katy Lackey, and Jeong Yeon Hwang
Changes in quality-of-life and psychosocial adjustment among multiple myeloma patients treated with high-dose melphalan and autologous stem cell transplantation, Allen C. Sherman, Stephanie Simonton, Umaira Latif, Thomas G. Plante, and Elias J. Anaissie
Cognition and leisure time activities of older adults, Patricia M. Simone and Amie L. Haas
Submissions from 2008
Effect of unsignaled delays between stimuli in a chain schedule on responding and resistance to change, Matthew C. Bell and Belen E. Gomez
Signals, resistance to change, and conditioned reinforcement in a multiple schedule, Matthew C. Bell, Belen E. Gomez, and Kira Kessler
The impact of September 11 on dreaming, Kelly Bulkeley and Tracey L. Kahan
Resistance to extinction, generalization decrement, and conditioned reinforcement, Alana E. Dulaney and Matthew C. Bell
The development of the Santa Clara Brief Compassion Scale: An abbreviation of Sprecher and Fehr’s Compassionate Love Scale, Jeong Yeong Hwang, Thomas G. Plante, and Kathleen Lackey
Discrete-trial vs. continuous free-operant procedures in assessing whether reinforcement context affects reinforcement value, Margaret A. McDevitt and Matthew C. Bell
A commentary on religious conflicts and a call for a focus on the best the traditions have to offer, Thomas G. Plante
Can we teach college students to be more compassionate?, Thomas G. Plante
The Spirituality and Health Institute (SHI) at Santa Clara University: Building productive collaborations on a shoestring budget, Thomas G. Plante
What do the spiritual and religious traditions offer the practicing psychologist?, Thomas G. Plante
What might spirituality and religion offer the contemporary practicing psychologist?, Thomas G. Plante
Cultivating mindfulness:Effects on well-being?, Shauna L. Shapiro, Doug Oman, Carl E. Thoresen, Thomas G. Plante, and Tim Flinders
Prospective study of religious coping among patients undergoing autologous stem cell transplantation, Allen C. Sherman, Thomas G. Plante, Stephanie Simonton, Umaira Latif, and Elias J. Anaissie
Incorporating religious practice in marital interventions: To pray or not to pray?, Kieran T. Sullivan and Benjamin R. Karney
Faculty attitudes and behaviors concerning student cheating, Rebecca Volpe, Laura Davidson, and Matthew C. Bell
Submissions from 2007
Sleep Quality and the Sleep Electroencephalogram in Women with Severe Premenstrual Syndrome, Fiona C. Baker, Tracey L. Kahan, John Trinder, and Ian M. Colrain
Monolingual and bilingual recognition of regular and irregular English verbs: Sensitivity to form similarity varies with first language experience, Dana M. Basnight-Brown, Lang Chen, Shu Hua, Aleksandar Kostić, and Laurie Beth Feldman
Signal effects on resistance to change in a multiple schedule, Matthew C. Bell, Katharine M. Seip, and Kathleen S. Fitzsimmons
ERP signatures of subject–verb agreement in L2 learning, Lang Chen, Hua Shu, Youyi Liu, Jingjing Zhao, and Ping Li
Rediscovering the sense of calling: Promoting greater health, joy, and purpose in life, D. E. Dreher and Thomas G. Plante
Evidence for universality in phenomenological emotion response system coherence, David Matsumoto, John B. Nezlek, and Birgit Koopmann-Holm
The impact of college student immersion service learning trips on coping with stress and vocational identity, Brad A. Mills, Richard B. Bersamina, and Thomas G. Plante
Learning from spiritual models and meditation: A randomized evaluation of a college course, Doug Oman, Shauna L. Shapiro, Carl E. Thoresen, Tim Flinders, Joseph D. Driskill, and Thomas G. Plante
Are people getting crazier?, Thomas G. Plante
Ethical considerations for psychologists screening applicants for the priesthood in the Catholic Church: Implications of the Vatican instruction on homosexuality, Thomas G. Plante
Homosexual applicants to the priesthood: How many and are they psychologically healthy?, Thomas G. Plante
Integrating spirituality and psychotherapy: Ethical issues and principles to consider, Thomas G. Plante
Is psychotherapy a science or a religion? Review of Psychotherapy as religion: The Civil Divine in America by William M. Epstein, Thomas G. Plante
