Banner image of Arts and Science Building

Psychology Faculty

USC Upstate Psychology Department

Profile photo

Kenneth Barideaux
Assistant Professor, Psychology

864-503-5777

Dr. Barideaux received his PhD in Experimental Psychology from The University of Memphis in Memphis, TN. His research program focuses on applying principles of cognition to human learning. More specifically, this work involves investigating the cognitive processes (e.g., memory, attention, and elaborative processing strategies) that interact and influence learning in educational contexts. Dr. Barideaux teaches Research Methods, Intro to Psychology, Learning and Memory, and Educational Psychology.


Profile photo

Andrew Beer
Professor, Psychology

864-503-5762

Personality Assessment Laboratory Separate window icon

Dr. Beer earned a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. His research interests lie in Personality and Social Psychology, specifically impression formation, person perception, and assessment of individual differences in humans and animals. He teaches classes in personality psychology, human/animal interaction, psychology and film, person perception, personality assessment, and behavioral assessment.


Profile photo

James Bunde
Assistant Professor, Psychology

864-503-7304

Dr. Bunde received a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. His scholarly interests involve health behavior, experiential avoidance, values-based action, and altruism. He teaches classes in health psychology, clinical psychology, developmental psychology, and statistics.


Profile photo

Christa Christ
Assistant Professor, Psychology

864-503-5172

Dr. Christ received her Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. She regularly teaches Introduction to Psychology, Research Methods, Physiological Psychology, and Evolutionary Psychology. Her scholarly interests include stress reactivity, genetic susceptibility to adverse experiences, interpersonal reactive behaviors, and maladaptive coping.


Profile photo

Janice Disla
Assistant Professor, Psychology

864-503-5778

Dr. Disla first received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of New Hampshire, Durham, later obtaining both her M.A. and Ph.D. in Psychological Sciences from the University of California- Merced. She specialized in developmental psychology and family development. Her scholarly interests include adolescent disclosure, parent-child communication, resiliency, positive child adjustment, family conflict, and cultural differences. Her work has been published in several high-impact journals and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal. She teaches courses in Introduction to Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Immigrant youth and families, and Adolescent Development.


Profile photo

Jennifer Gray
Assistant Professor, Psychology

864-503-7339

Dr. Gray received her Ph.D. in Psychology with an emphasis in Psychology & Law from the University of Wyoming. Her scholarly interests include jury decision-making, biases in legal decisions, and maladaptive parenting behavior. She teaches Introduction to Psychology, Psychological Statistics, Developmental Psychology, and Psychology and Law.


Jason Hannay

Jason Hannay
Assistant Professor, Psychology

864-503-5799

Dr. Hannay earned a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He currently teaches Introduction to Psychology, Introduction to Social Psychology, and Stereotyping/Prejudice. His research explores the ways systemic inequality (both economic and racial) affect people in everyday life.


Profile photo

Ann Hoover
Professor, Psychology

864-503-5686

Dr. Hoover received her Ph.D. in social psychology from Purdue University. Her primary research interests include prejudice, power and gender roles. She teaches Statistics, Social Psychology, Psychology of Women, and Senior Seminar.


Profile photo

Stefanie Keen
Professor, Psychology

864-503-5784

Dr. Keen earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Indiana University and is a licensed clinical psychologist. She teaches classes in child advocacy, research methods, trauma and posttraumatic stress, human development, and abnormal psychology. She is engaged in an active research program related to the psychological effects of traumatic stress including child maltreatment, intimate partner violence, and military-related trauma.


Profile photo

Jodie Martin MA, LPC
Director, Center for Child Advocacy Studies

864-503-5428

Jodie Martin is the Director of the Center for Child Advocacy Studies at USC Upstate and has been teaching Child Advocacy Studies in the under-graduate minor since 2019. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and understands the barriers families face. She was raised in New Hampshire graduating with her bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Criminal Justice. She later received her Master’s in Counseling from Webster University. Jodie has been a resident of the Upstate for over 20 years and has worked with children throughout that time. She worked for Spartanburg County DSS under the Intensive Foster Care and Clinical Services Department and later for The Family and Child Assessment Center with the Greenville Department of Social Services. She then worked to a Program Manager position with a local non-profit which she remained for six years. She also works as a contract therapist. She has a passion for helping children and strives to make a difference in her community.


Profile photo

Scott Meek
Associate Professor, Psychology

864-503-5862

Dr. Meek received a Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in Experimental Psychology, with a focus on Cognitive Neuroscience. He currently teaches courses in the areas of research methods, sensation and perception, cognitive neuroscience, deception, and the neurological consequences of childhood trauma. His scholarly interests include memory, trust, deception, and the impact of trauma on neurological and cognitive development.


Profile photo

Susan Ruppel
Professor, Psychology

864-503-5786

Dr. Ruppel received a Ph.D. from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. Her research interests include representational momentum, boundary extension, and the effects of auditory or moving objects on the spatial perception of stationary targets. She teaches classes in Cognitive Psychology, Research Methodology, and Forensic Psychology.


Profile photo

Justin Travis 
Assistant Professor, Psychology

864-503-5763

Dr. Travis first received his B.S. in Experimental Psychology from USC Upstate, later obtaining his M.A. from the University of Missouri St. Louis and Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational psychology from NC State University. He teaches courses in psychological testing, personality, I/O, social, and personnel psychology. His research broadly involves motivation, counterproductivity, and social cognition, and his work has been published in outlets like the Journal of Educational Psychology, Microbiology Spectrum, Psychological Reports, and Current Psychology.