About
How do you learn about science? What fascinates you about the thoughts or actions of the people you see every day? The discipline of psychology is focused on understanding our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors through scientific research, yet few people think of psychology as a scientific discipline. However, research in psychology has the potential to transform our everyday lives, help us make better decisions, and improve our relationships with our friends and loved ones.
The key is communication—scientists need to clearly describe their work in ways that can catch and hold people’s attention in order for research findings to have any real-world impact.
The purpose of this website is to promote the communication of psychological science to the public and the development of science communication abilities in undergraduate students. We hope that our work here will help you better understand the fascinating realm of psychology and inspire you to seek out more information. The site includes blogs written by faculty, undergraduate students, graduate students, and guest authors about broad topics in psychology as well as particular initiatives at our University. Please contact us with questions or ideas about what you’d like to see here.
The posts and information on this site represent the opinions and ideas of the authors themselves. The ideas contained here should not be assumed to represent any institutions or individuals beyond the specific authors of the pieces on this site.
About Us
Dr. Emily Stark has been fascinated by science for as long as she can remember. She earned her Ph.D. in Social Psychology in 2007 from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and is currently a Professor of Psychology at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Her research interests include measuring critical thinking abilities in college students and assessing how various teaching approaches influence critical thinking, as well as studying student learning strategies and motivation, decision making, intuitive lie detection, and a variety of other topics as they catch her and her students’ interest. She teaches a range of undergraduate courses in Psychology and is passionate about showing students the connections between the theories and facts we discuss in class and our own daily lives.
Dr. Karla Lassonde is a Cognitive Psychologist and Professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She conducts research with a team of undergraduates and believes this work is the very best way to support students. Her research is focused on methods for revising psychological misconceptions, knowledge change for controversial topics, and a method for successful student learning called LEARN. One of her research and teaching passions is student learning and attention. She integrates the science of learning into her courses on memory, cognition, and statistics.