The Department of Psychology focuses on the investigation of behavior and its cognitive, neural and hormonal underpinnings in the full range of environmental situations. The dominant strengths of the department lie in the three broadly defined areas of perception, cognition, and development; behavioral and evolutionary neuroscience; and social and personality psychology.

Cornell offers substantial resources for psychological research, including excellent research space and laboratory equipment; state-of-the-art computer facilities; an outstanding library system that is one of the ten largest academic research libraries in North America; and a highly skilled support staff. Research facilities include animal housing rooms, histological and chemical preparation rooms, electrophysiological recording equipment, an extensive Social Psychology Laboratory, an infant behavior laboratory, several perception and cognition laboratories and laboratory-oriented software to support empirical research.

Department website

Laura Staum Casasanto

Visiting Lecturer

Klarman Hall
203B Morrill Hall
lsc96@cornell.edu

Departments and programs

Jeffrey J. Rachlinski

Henry Allen Mark Professor of Law

Klarman Hall
Myron Taylor Hall
jjr7@cornell.edu
607/255-5878

Departments and programs

Links

Nancy M. Wells

Professor and Senior Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education, College of Human Ecology

Publications

Cosco, NG, Wells, NM, Monsur, M, Goodell, L.S, Zhang, D, Xu, T, Hales, D, Moore, RC  (2021). Research Design, Protocol, and Participant Characteristics of COLEAFS:  A cluster randomized controlled trial of a childcare garden intervention. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Wells, N.M.  (2021). The natural environment as a resilience factor: Nature’s role as a buffer of the effects of risk and adversity. In: A. Schutte, J. Stevens & J. Torquati (Eds.), Nature and Psychology: How the Natural World Shapes our Cognition.  67th Annual Nebraska Symposium on Motivation.  The University of Nebraska. Springer Science + Business Media.

Michael, J, Wells, NM, Shahum, L, Bidigare-Curtis, HN, Greenberg, S, Tong, X (2021).  Roadway Safety, Design & Equity: A Paradigm Shift.  Journal of Transport & Health, 23, (Health Equity + Mobility, special issue) 101260

Li, D., Menotti, T. and Ding, Y., Wells, NM (2021).  Evaluating the Evidence for Life Course Nature Exposure and Mental Health Outcomes: A systematic review and Future Directions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18 (10), 5146.

Aldred Cheek, KL and Wells, NM (2019).  Changing Behavior through Design: A lab fume hood closure experiment. Frontiers in the Built Environment, 5, 146

Curtis, DS, Fuller-Rowell, TE, Vilches, S, Vonasek, J & Wells, NM (2019).  Parks and recreation expenditures as a predictor of low birth weight incidence: Evidence from five periods of national birth records data. Preventive Medicine Reports.

Wells, NM Rollings, KA, Ong, AD, & Reid, MC (2019).  Nearby nature buffers the pain catastrophizing-pain intensity relation among urban residents with chronic pain. Frontiers in Built Environment, 5, 1-13. 

Razani, N, Niknam, K, Kennedy, G, Thompson, D, Hills, N, Wells, NM, Rutherford, G, and Gilgoff, R (2019).  Clinic and park partnerships for childhood resilience: a prospective study of park prescriptions. Health & Place, 57, 179-185.

Buxton, JA, Ryan RL, & Wells NM (2019).  Exploring Preferences for Urban Greening.  Cities and the Environment (CATE), 12 (1), article 3.

Rollings, KA & Wells, NM (2018).  Cafeteria Assessment for Elementary Schools (CAFES): Development, reliability testing, and predictive validity analysis. BMC Public Health, 18 (1), 1154. doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-6032-2

Pinter-Wollman, N., Jelik A., & Wells, N.M. (2018).  The impact of the built environment on health behaviors and disease transmission in social systems. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B., 373 (1753), 20170245.

Wells, N. M., Myers, B. M., Todd, L. E., Henderson, C. R., Barale, K., Gaolach, B., Ferenz, G., Aitken, M, Tse, C.C., Pattison, K.O., Hendrix, L., Carson, J.B., Taylor, J.B., & Franz, N.K. (2018). The carry-over effects of school gardens on fruit and vegetable availability at home: A randomized controlled trial with low-income elementary schools. Preventive Medicine, 112, 152-159.

Razani, N., Morshed, S., Kohn, M., Wells, NM, Thompson, D., Alqassari, M., Agodi, A., Long, D., Rutherford, G. (2018). Effect of park prescriptions with and without group visits to parks on stress reduction in low-income parents: SHINE randomized trial.  PLoSONE, 13 (2), e0192921.

Brittin J, Frerichs L, Sirard JR, Wells NM, Myers BM, Garcia J, Sorensen D, Trowbridge MJ, Huang TTK (2017).  Impact of Active School Design on School-Time Sedentary Behavior and Physical Activity:  A Pilot Natural Experiment.  PLoSONE 12(12): e0189236. doi 10.1371/journal.pone.0189236

Rollings, K.A., Wells, N.M., Evans, G.W., Bednarz, A., & Yang, Y. (2017).  Housing and neighborhood physical quality: children ‘s mental health and learned helplessness.  Journal of Environmental Psychology, 50, 17-23. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2017.01.004

Todd, L.E., Wells, N.M., Wilkins, J.L., & Echon, R.M. (2017).  Digital Food Image Analysis as a measure of children’s fruit and vegetable consumption in the elementary school cafeteria: A description and critique.  Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition, 4, 516-528.  doi: 10.1080/19320248.2016.1275996

Rollings, K.A. & Wells, N.M. (2017).  Effects of residential kitchen floor plan openness on eating behaviors.  Environment & Behavior, 49(6). doi 10.1177/0013916516661822

Pillemer, K., Wells, N.M., Meador, R.H., Schultz, L., Henderson, C.R., Cope, M.T. (2017).  Engaging Older Adults in Environmental Volunteerism: The Retirees in Service to the Environment (RISE) Program. The Gerontologist, 57 (2), 367-375.  doi: 10.1093/geront/gnv693.

Razani, N., Kohn, M.A., Wells, N.M., Thompson, D., Flores, H.H., Rutherford, G.W. (2016).  Design and evaluation of a park prescription program for stress reduction and health promotion in low-income families: the Stay Healthy in Nature Everyday (SHINE) study protocol. Contemporary Clinical Trials, 51, 8-14. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2016.09.007

Myers, B.M. & Wells, N.M. (2015). Children’s physical activity while gardening: development of a valid and reliable direct observation tool.  Journal of Physical Activity & Health, 12 (4), 522-528.

Rollings, K.A., Wells, N.M., Evans, G.W. (2015).  Measuring physical neighborhood quality related to health.  Behavioral Sciences, 5, 190-202. doi: 10.3390/bs5020190

Demment, M., Wells, N., and Olson, C. (2015). Associations between the rural middle school nutrition and physical activity environment, family income trajectory, and change in BMI z-scores during adolescence. Journal of School Health, 85(2), 100-108.

Wells, N.M., Myers, B.M., & Henderson, C.R. (2014).  School gardens & physical activity: A randomized controlled trial of low-income elementary schools. Preventive Medicine, 69S, S27-S33.  

Olson, C.M., Baker, I., Demment, M., Graham, M., May, J., Strawderman, M., Wells, N.M. (2014). The healthy start partnership: An approach to obesity prevention in young families.  Family and Community Health, 37 (1), 74-85. 

Wells, N.M. (2013).  The role of nature in children's resilience: cognitive and social processes.  In: K. Tidball & M. Krasny (Eds.) Greening in the Red Zone.  Springer.

Wells, N.M. and Lekies, K.S. (2012).  Children and nature:  following the trail to environmental attitudes and behavior. In: J. Dickinson and R. Bonney (Eds.) Citizen Science: public collaboration in environmental research.  Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. 

Wells, N.M. & Rollings, K.A. (2012).  The natural environment: Influences on human health and function.  In S. Clayton (Ed.) The handbook on Environmental and Conservation Psychology.  Oxford University Press.

Wells, N.M. & Donofrio, G.A.  (2011). Urban planning, the natural environment, and public health.  In: J.O. Nriagu (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Environmental Health, volume 5, pp.565-575. Burlington: Elsevier

Pillemer, K., Wells, N.M., Wagenet, L., Meador, R.H. and Parise, J.T. (2011). Environmental sustainability in an aging society: A research agenda.  The Journal of Aging and Health, 23(3), 433-452. doi: 10.1177/0898264310381278

Gantner, L.A., Olson, C.M., Frongillo, E., Wells, N.M. (2011).  Prevalence of non-traditional food stores and distance to healthy foods in a rural food environment.  Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition, 6, 279-293.

Wells, N.M., Evans, G.W., Beavis, A. & Ong, A.D. (2010). Early childhood poverty, cumulative risk exposure, and weight gain trajectories through young adulthood. American Journal of Public Health. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2009.184291

Wells, N.M., Evans, G.W. and Yang, Y. (2010). Environment and health: Planning decisions as public health decisions. Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, 27 (2), 124-143. 

Pillemer, K. A. Fuller-Rowell, T. Reid C. & Wells N.M. (2010). Environmental volunteering and health outcomes over a twenty-year period. The Gerontologist, 50(5), 594-602. 

Wells, N.M. and Laquatra, J. (2010). Why green housing and green neighborhoods are important to the health and well-being of older adults. Generations. 33(4), 50-57. 

Wells, N.M. and Yang, Y. (2008). Neighborhood Design & Walking: A quasi-experimental longitudinal study of low-income Southern women moving to neotraditional or suburban neighborhoods. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 34(4), 313-319. 

Wells, N.M. and Harris, J.D. (2007). Housing quality, psychological distress, and the mediating role of social withdrawal: A longitudinal study of low-income women. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 27, 69-78. 

Brown, B.B. and Wells, N.M. (Eds.) (2007).  Environment, physical activity, and diet. Special Issue of Environment and Behavior, 39 (1). 

Wells, N.M., Ashdown, S.P., Davies, E.H.S., Cowett, F.D. and Yang, Y. (2007). Environment, Design and Obesity: Opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborative research. Environment and Behavior, 39 (1), 6 - 33. 

Wells, N.M. and Olson, C.M. (2007).  The Ecology of Obesity: Perspectives from life course, design and economics.  Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, 1 (3), 99-129.

Wells, N.M. and Lekies, K.S. (2006). Nature and the Life Course: Pathways from childhood nature experiences to adult environmentalism. Children, Youth, and Environment, 16 (1), 1-24. 

Wells, N.M. & Evans, G.W. (2003) Nearby Nature: A buffer of life stress among rural children. Environment and Behavior, 35 (3), 311-330. 

Klarman Hall
E 106 Martha Van Rensselaer Hall
nmw2@cornell.edu
607/254-6330

Education

  •  Joint Ph.D. in Psychology and Architecture from the University of Michigan
  • NIMH post-doctoral fellowship in the School of Social Ecology at the University of California, Irvine
  • Master's degree in Design and Environmental Analysis from Cornell University 
  • Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Connecticut College

Departments and programs

Links

Dawn Schrader

Associate Professor

Publications

Journal Publications

Book Chapters

  • Schrader, D. E. (2008). Cognitive Moral Development. Moral Education: A Handbook Power, F. C., Nuzzi, R. J., Narvaez, D., Lapsley, D, & Hunt. T. C. (ed.), Praeger, New London, CT, USA.
  • Schrader, D. E. (2008). Moral Development. Moral Education: A Handbook Power, F. C., Nuzzi, R. J., Narvaez, D., Lapsley, D, & Hunt. T. C. (ed.), Praeger, New London, CT, USA.
  • Schrader, D. E. (2008). Moral Judgment. Moral Education: A Handbook Praeger, New London, CT, USA.
  • Schrader, D. E. (2008). Teaching Moral Leadership: Becoming Moral Leaders and Being Moral Leadership. p. 227-248 Getting involved: Global citizenship development and sources of moral values Oser, F. & Veugelers, W (ed.), Sense Publishers, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
  • Schrader, D. E. (2006). Metacognitive reflection in university students. Human Development across the life span: Educational and psychological applications (2nd Edition) Mosher, R., Youngman, D. & Day, J. (ed.), Information Age Publishing LLC, Westport, CT.
  • Schrader, D. E. (2003). Moral metacognition in adolescence and adulthood. p. 301-327 Handbook of Adult Development Demick, J. & Andreoletti, C (ed.), Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

Presentations and Activities

  • A Framework for Engineering the Inclusion People of Color in Digital Technologies. Association for Moral Education: Morality, Environmental Sustainability, and Education. October 2020. Association for Moral Education. Online.
  • Informed Consent or Coercion? Technological necessity constraints to autonomy and self-determination. Association for Moral Education: Morality, Environmental Sustainability, and Education. October 2020. Association for Moral Education. Online.
  • Incidental Therapy of Social Media Apps. Moral Education Toward A Caring Society: Civic Engagement And Moral Action. June 2018. Association for Moral Education. Barcelona, Spain.
  • The Future Of Humans In A Robotic World. Moral Education Toward A Caring Society: Civic Engagement And Moral Action. June 2018. Association for Moral Education. Barcelona, Spain.
  • Incorporating Zero-Knowledge Proofs in Privacy-Aware Systems. NSF SaTC PI Meeting 2015. January 2015. National Science Foundation. Arlington, VA.
  • Being in and helping out: Inclusion, Exclusion and Bystanding Behavior in Adolescent Girls. Annual Meeting of the Association for Moral Education. November 2014. Association for Moral Education. Pasadena, CA. .
  • Adolescents’ Views on Psychological aggression in dating relationships. Society for Research on Adolescence . March 2014. Society for Research on Adolescence Biennial Meeting. Austin, TX.
  • Adolescent girls’ considerations when deciding whether or not to upstand. 39th Annual Conference of The Association for Moral Education. October 2013. Association for Moral Education. Montreal, Canada.
  • Balancing moral challenges and opportunities under surveillance: Liberty, autonomy and civic responsibility. 39th Annual Conference of The Association for Moral Education. October 2013. Association for Moral Education. Montreal, Canada.
  • Cliques and popularity influences on upstanding and bystanding behavior. 39th Annual Conference of The Association for Moral Education. October 2013. Association for Moral Education. Montreal, Canada.
Klarman Hall

Departments and programs

Links

Keywords

moral development; epistemology; metacognition; life-span developmental psychology

Dr. Manney C. Reid

M.D., Geriatric Medicine

Publications

Klarman Hall

Education

Departments and programs

Links

Valerie Hans

Charles F. Rechlin Professor of Law

Publications

  • Salerno, Jessica M., John Campbell, Hannah Phalen, Samantha Bean, Valerie P. Hans, Daphna Spivack, and Lee D. Ross, “The Impact of Minimal versus Extended Voir Dire and Judicial Rehabilitation in Civil Cases,” University of Denver Legal Studies Research Paper No. 20-30 (November 18, 2020)
  • Campbell, John, Jessica M. Salerno, Hannah Phalen, Samantha Bean, Valerie P. Hans, Daphna Spivack, and Lee D. Ross, “An Empirical Examination of Civil Voir Dire: Implications for Meeting Constitutional Guarantees and Suggested Best Practices,” University of Denver Legal Studies Research Paper No. 20-11, (April 24, 2020)
  • Hans, Valerie P., Rebecca Helm, and Valerie F., Reyna, “From Meaning to Money: Translating Injury Into Dollars,” Law and Human Behavior (forthcoming)
  • Hagan, John and Valerie P. Hans, “Procedural Justice Theory and Public Policy: An Exchange,” Annual Review of Law and Social Science 13, pp. 1-3 (October 2017)
  • Marder, Nancy S. and Valerie P. Hans, “Introduction to Juries and Mixed Tribunals Across the Globe: New Developments, Common Challenges and Future Directions,” Oñati Socio-Legal Series 6, no. 2 (May 27, 2016)
Klarman Hall
Myron Taylor Hall
valerie.hans@cornell.edu
607/255-0095

Education

  • B.A., University of California at San Diego, 1973
  • M.A., University of Toronto, 1974
  • Ph.D., University of Toronto, 1978

Departments and programs

Links

Misha Inniss-Thompson

Assistant Professor

Publications

  • Inniss-Thompson, M.N., Butler-Barnes, S.T., Taaffe, C., & Elliott, T. (2022). What serves you”: Charting Black girl spaces for wellness through spirituality, resistance, and homeplace. Journal of African American Women and Girls in Education  2(2), 37–64. https://doi.org/10.21423/jaawge-v2i2a113
  • Butler-Barnes, S.T., Leath, S., Inniss-Thompson, M. N., Boyd, D. T., & Allen, P. (2022). Racial and gender discrimination by teachers: Risks for Black girls’ depressive symptomatology and suicidal ideation. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000538
  • Cooper, S. M., Burnett, M., Golden, A. R., Butler-Barnes, S., & Inniss-Thompson, M.N. (2022). School discrimination, discipline inequities, and the adjustment of Black adolescent girls and boys. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 32 (1), 170-190, https://doi.org/ /10.1111/jora.12716  
  • Anderson, R. E., Ahn, L. H., Brooks, J.R., Charity-Parker, B., Inniss-Thompson, M.N., Gumudavelly, D., Mitchell, S. & Anyiwo, N. (2022).  “The talk” tells the story: How parents’ racial socialization strategies aim to protect Black adolescents from racism. Journal of Adolescent Research, 38(3), 562 –588, https://doi.org/10.1177/07435584221076067
  • Butler-Barnes, S.T. & Inniss-Thompson, M.N. (2020) “My teacher doesn’t like me”: Perceptions of teacher discrimination and school discipline among African-American and Caribbean Black adolescent girls. Education Sciences, 10, 44. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10020044
Klarman Hall
mni6@cornell.edu

Education

  • Cornell University: B.S. in Human Development
  • Vanderbilt University: M.S. in Community Research and Action
  • Vanderbilt University: Ph.D. in Community Research and Action

Departments and programs

Steven Robertson

Professor Emeritus

Publications

Robertson SS. (2014). Empty-headed dynamical model of infant visual foraging. Developmental Psychobiology, 56: 1129–33.

Watamura SE, Devine K, Robertson SS. (2013). The dynamics of attention during free looking. PLoS One, 8: e56428.

Robertson SS, Watamura SE, Wilbourn MP. (2012). Attentional dynamics of infant visual foraging. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 109: 11460–11464.

Watamura SE, Coe CL, Laudenslager M, Robertson SS. (2010). Child care setting affects salivary cortisol and antibody secretion in young children. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2010, 35: 1156-1166.

Robertson SS, Johnson SL. (2009). Embodied infant attention. Developmental Science, 12: 297-304.

Robertson SS, Johnson SL, Masnick AM, Weiss SL. (2007). Robust coupling of body movement and gaze in young infants. Developmental Psychobiology, 49: 208-215.

Friedman AH, Watamura SE, Robertson SS. (2005). Movement-attention coupling in infancy and attention problems in childhood. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 47: 660-665.

Robertson SS, Guckenheimer J, Bacher LF, Masnick, AM. (2004). The dynamics of infant visual foraging. Developmental Science, 7: 194-200.

Robertson SS, Dierker LJ. (2003). Fetal cyclic motor activity in diabetic pregnancies: Sensitivity to maternal blood glucose. Developmental Psychobiology, 42: 9-16.

Robertson SS, Bacher LF, Huntington NL. (2001). Structure and irregularity in the spontaneous behavior of young infants. Behavioral Neuroscience, 115: 758-763.

Robertson SS, Bacher LF, Huntington NL. (2001). The integration of body movement and attention in young infants. Psychological Science, 12: 523-526. 

Bacher LF, Robertson SS. (2001). Stability of coupled fluctuations in movement and visual attention in infants. Developmental Psychobiology, 39: 99-106.

Klarman Hall
ssr4@cornell.edu
607/255-9076

Education

  • Postdoc 1979 - Case Western Reserve U. School of Medicine
    Behavior / Physiology of the Newborn
  • Ph.D. 1977 - Cornell University
    Developmental Psychology
  • Sc.B. 1970 - Brown University
    Physics

Departments and programs

Links

Stephen F. Hamilton

Professor Emeritus

Klarman Hall
sfh3@cornell.edu
607/255-8394

Departments and programs

Ritch Savin-Williams

Professor Emeritus

Publications

Books

  • Savin-Williams, R. C. (2021). Bi: Bisexual, pansexual, fluid, and nonbinary youth. New York: New York University Press.

  • Savin-Williams, R. C. (2017). Mostly straight: Sexual fluidity among men. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

  • Savin-Williams, R. C. (2016). Becoming who I am: Young men on being gay. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

  • Savin-Williams, R. C. (2005). The new gay teenager. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

  • Savin-Williams, R. C. (2001). “Mom, Dad. I’m gay.” How families negotiate coming out. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

  • Savin-Williams, R. C. (1998). “. . . and then I became gay.” Young men's stories. New York: Routledge.

  • Savin-Williams, R. C. & Cohen, K. M. (Eds.) (1996). The lives of lesbians, gays, and bisexuals: Children to adults. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishing.

  • Savin-Williams, R. C., & Robinson-Harris, T. (1994). Beyond pink and blue: Exploring our stereotypes of sexuality and gender. A program for ages 13 to 15. Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association.

  • Savin-Williams, R. C. (1990). Gay and lesbian youth: Expressions of identity. Washington, DC: Hemisphere.

  • Savin-Williams, R. C. (1987). Adolescence: An ethological perspective. New York: Springer/Verlag.

Klarman Hall
savin-williams@cornell.edu
607/255-6111

Education

  • PhD in Human Development from the University of Chicago
  • Re-specialization in Clinical Psychology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Departments and programs

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