Psychology Faculty
USC Upstate Psychology Department
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Kenneth Barideaux 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.
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Andrew Beer 864-503-5762 |
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.
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James Bunde 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.
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Christa Christ 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.
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Janice Disla 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.
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Jennifer Gray 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.
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Jason Hannay 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.
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Ann Hoover 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.
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Stefanie Keen 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.
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Jodie Martin MA, LPC 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.
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Scott Meek 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.
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Susan Ruppel 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.
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Justin Travis 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.