Former Graduate Students

Past Graduate Students

Class of 2015

Saniya Wu

Sining (Saniya) Wu is from China and received a BS in Psychology from Colorado State University. Her research interests in psychology are romantic relationship, implicit social cognition and positive psychology. Saniya is in the University of Texas at Dallas Social Psychology Ph.D. program

Thesis: Destined to fail or something to grow on? Examining the relationship between implicit theories of Relationships and perceptions of other’s romantic relationships

Class of 2014

Katie Collier

Katie is from Starkville, MS and completed her Bachelor's degree in Psychology at Mississippi State University in 2009. She then went on to complete her Masters degree in Experimental Psychology at Mississippi State University in 2012. Her research interests center around adversarial relationships, including enemyships and abusive relationships. Katie is now a Research Associate at the University of Mississippi Clinical Research lab in Jackson, MS and has moved to Dubai to be an instructor for the New York University Psychology Department..

Thesis: Invested or Invasive: Applying the Investment Model to understanding Obsessive Relational Intrusion.

Rachael Carroll

Rachael Carroll is from Woodbridge, Virginia and graduated from James Madison University with a BS in Psychology. Her interests in psychology include attitude change, persuasion, political psychology, and social media psychology. Rachael is currently a consumer analyst for Sam's Club International.

Thesis: The tolerant social norm effect: Are norms of tolerance more powerful than prejudicial norms?

Class of 2013

Abigail Blaney

Abby is from Rogers, Arkansas and she received a bachelor's in Psychology from Hendrix College. Her research interests include interpersonal relationships, sexuality, political psychology, and public policy. She completed her Masters in Social-Experimental Psychology in the Spring of 2013 and is currently a Social Research Analyst for Wal-mart.

Thesis: Errors in judgment: Investigating the ultimate attribution error in perceptions of interracial relationship outcomes

Sinclair, H. C., Blaney, A.**, & Ellithorpe, C.** (under review) Discriminating attributions: Ultimate attribution errors in judgments of interracial relationships.

William Cockrell

Will is from Macon, MS and graduated from the University of West Alabama in 2008 with Bachelor's degrees in Psychology and Sociology. He completed his Experimental Masters degree, completing both a focus in social psychology and a gender studies minor. He is interested in research on prejudice and aggression. He is current an instructor at Black Hills State University.

Thesis: How do we change opinions about gay rights? An examination of symbolic prejudice, social norms, and sexual orientation in a group discussion.

Chelsea Ellithorpe

Chelsea grew up in Collierville, TN and graduated from Boston University with a double major in Neuroscience and Psychology in 2011. Her research interests include social neuroscience and interpersonal relationships, including social networks research and research on love and attraction. She completed her Masters in Social-Experimental Psychology in the Spring of 2013 and is now the Senior Lab Manager for the Social Relations Collaborative.

Thesis: Social Network Influence on Dependence within Romantic Relationships

Jesi Johnson

Jesi is from Fairhope, Alabama and graduated from the University of Alabama with a BS in Psychology. Her interests in psychology include political beliefs, attitude change, conformity, the self, interpersonal relationships, and Terror Management Theory. She loves film (especially horror), live music, dancing, and cooking. She completed her Masters in Social-Experimental Psychology in the Summer of 2013 and is currently working as a production assistant on a variety of movies and television shows for Freelance Film Production.

Thesis: Standing up for the Self: The Role of Resistance in Self-Concept Clarity

Amanda (Howell) Pastuszak

Amanda grew up in Tishomingo, MS and graduated from the University of North Alabama with a double major in Sociology and Psychology in 2010. Her research interests are close relationships, human sexuality, and popular media's influence on relationships. She completed her Masters in Social-Experimental Psychology in the Fall of 2013. Amanda currently resides in Mobile, Alabama and works at CTS as a Quality Assurance Test Specialist. She is also in the process of completing a second Bachelors in Game Design from Full Sail University and frequently volunteers her time teaching public and private school students how to create and program video games.

Thesis: Establishing Reliability and Validity for the Stalking Myth Scale - Revised

Larry Perko

Larry is from Maryland and graduated from UMBC in 2010 with a major in Psychology and minor in Chemistry. He is primarily interested in relationships and aggression. Specifically, he is interested in What makes relationships succeed and fail, what determines what happens when they do go wrong, and what makes people want and decide to hurt each other.

Thesis: Not All Rejections Are Created Equal: Differentiating How and When Rejection Leads to Aggression

Class of 2012

Jayne Katherine Denson

Jayne Katherine is from Jackson, MS and completed her Bachelor's degree in Psychology at Mississippi State University. She then went on to complete her Masters degree in Experimental Psychology, working on research related to interpersonal relationships, attachment, and relationship cognition. Jayne Katherine is currently a Psychometrist at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Thesis: Attachment styles and reactions to social network involvement in romantic relationship initiation

Benjamin Fay

Ben is from Melbourne, FL and completed his Bachelor's degree in Psychology at the University of Central Florida in 2009. He then went on to complete his Masters in Experimental Psychology in 2012, conducting research on aggression, law, and policy. Ben is currently a doctoral student at Florida International University, working on a PhD in legal psychology. He is currently working on a project examining the attributions that jurors make about inconsistencies in witness testimony, as well as a study examining the role of discrimination, internalized homonegativity, and outness in predicting relationship stability among lesbian couples

Thesis: Rejection, Rumination, and Revenge: A test of the Relational Goals Theory of stalking perpetration.

John MacArthur

John, or as we know him "JMac," completed his Bachelor's degree in Psychology at Mississippi State University in 2009. He then completed his Masters in Experimental Psychology in 2012. He has been engaged in a wide array of research on social influence, interpersonal relationships, and media psychology. JMac was the Psychology Technician and Participant Pool Manager for Dickinson College's Psychology department and is now a Lab Manager at Alma College in Michigan.

Thesis: Stalking in the media: A content analysis of cultural portrayals of unwanted romantic pursuits.

Lauren Colvin Talley

Lauren is from Germantown, TN and completed her Bachelor's degree in Psychology at Mississippi State University in 2009. She then completed her Masters in Experimental Psychology in 2012 working simultaneously in our lab and Dr. McMillen's. She conducted research on interpersonal relationships and smoking cessation. Lauren was the Lead Data Analyst for Mississippi Tobacco Data located in the Social Science Research Center at Mississippi State University from 2009-2013. She is currently the Program Research Coordinator for the Preventive Medicine Department at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center located in Memphis. Her research is focused on tobacco surveillance & evaluation at MSU and it has recently shifted to interventions & cessation - specifically obesity interventions & tobacco cessation in the military.

Thesis: Is it Fate? How destiny and growth beliefs moderate network influence on romantic relationship commitment.

Sinclair, H. C., Talley, L. C., & Goldberg, R. (under review). Written in the stars? The role of destiny and growth beliefs in predicting reactions to social network disapproval.

Benjamin Walker

Ben is from Mandeville, LA and completed his Bachelor's degree in Psychology at Southeastern Louisiana University in 2008. He then completed his Masters in Experimental Psychology in 2012. He maintains research interests in social influence, persuasion, and prejudice. Ben is currently a Research Associate at the Social Science Research Center at Mississippi State. See his spotlight on the SSRC website: http://www.ssrc.msstate.edu/2015/02/ssrc-spotlight-ben-walker/ and was accepted to the Sociology PhD program at Mississippi State University.

Thesis: The Role of Thought Confidence in Resistance to Social Norms
Published: Walker, B. H., Sinclair, H.C., & MacArthur, J. (2014). Social norms vs. social motives: The effects of social influence and motivation to control prejudiced reactions on the expression of symbolic sexual prejudice. Social Influence. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15534510.2014.904247

Class of 2011

Caroline Saxon

Caroline grew up in multiple places. She completed her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Westminster College in Missouri. Then went onto complete her Masters degree in Clinical Psychology at Mississippi State University. Currently Caroline is volunteering at the Circle of Care Center for Families. She also teaches and assists the youth at her church. She is also teaching a few of the younger children at church how to sew; primarily to make and donate stuffed animals to the local hospital.

Her psychological interests involve research and testing. She also enjoys writing, a large variety of crafting and art, and doing service.

Thesis: Antipathies and Attribution: The effects on self-esteem, self-efficacy, and task persistence.

Class of 2010

Brecken Gilbert-Cardinal

Brecken grew up in Wisconsin and obtained her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee in 2005. She completed a Master Degree in Experimental Psychology from Mississippi State University in 2010. She maintains research interests in attitudes and social change, particularly as related to environmental policy. She is currently a Clinical Trials Administrator at the University of Washington.

Thesis: A more convenient truth: Using social influence to promote pro-environmental policy.

Class of 2009

Brittany Wright Fife

Brittany grew up in Mississippi and after starting her undergraduate training at the University of Southern Mississippi she transferred and completed her Bachelor's in Psychology at Mississippi State University in 2007. She then moved on to complete her Masters in Experimental Psychology in 2009, and then enrolled in the Ph.D. program in Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Broadly speaking, her research interests include studying how nonmarital romantic relationship transitions and other relationship experiences influence individuals' mental and physical health. Brittany has now completed her Ph.D. and is an Analyst for the Texas Education Association.

Thesis: Balancing opinions: The effects on an individual’s romantic relationship when third parties’ opinions conflict.
Published: Wright, B. L. & Sinclair, H.C. (2012). Pulling the strings: Effects of parent and friends opinions on dating choices. Personal Relationships, 19, 743-748.

Jordan Hertl

Jordan is from Memphis, TN and completed his Bachelor's Degree in Psychology at Mississippi State University in 2005. He then returned to MSU in 2007 to complete his Masters Degree in Experimental Psychology where he conducted research on political psychology, law, and policy. He graduated in 2009 and is currently a Research Associate at the Southern Regional Educational Board in Atlanta, Georgia.

Thesis: Gender-motivated bias crimes: Examining why situational variables are important in labeling hate crimes.
Published: Sinclair, H. C. & Hertl, J. T. (2010). Gender-motivated bias crimes: Examining why situational variables are important in the labeling of hate crimes (pp. 1-34). In C. T. Lockhardt, Psychology of Hate. Hauppage, NY: Nova Science Publishers.

Roshni Trehan Ladny

Roshni grew up in Mississippi and completed her Bachelor's degree in Chemistry at Tougaloo College in 2007. She was subsequently accepted to the Clinical Masters program at Mississippi State University and graduated in 2009. She has enduring interests in understanding violence, perpetration, and victimization. She is currently enrolled in the Criminal Justice Ph.D. program at Florida State University.

Thesis: Self-regulation and rejection: Effects on Obsessive Relational Intrusion.
Published: Sinclair, H. C., Ladny, R. T., & Lyndon, A. (2011). Adding insult to injury: Effects of Self-regulation, Rejection Sensitivity, and Rejection Type on Obsessive Relational Intrusion. Aggressive Behavior, 37, 503-520.

Class of 2008

Ashley Walker

Ashley grew up in Stanberry, Missouri and received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Missouri in 2005. She completed her Experimental Masters degree at Mississippi State University in 2008, where she conducted research on aggression, prejudice, and interpersonal relations. She is currently living in San Luis Obispo, California where she is a Qualified Intellectual Disability Professional.

Thesis: Racial exemplars and their effects on the Race-Implicit Association Test.

Class of 2007

Amanda Gail Smith

Manda completed her Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology at Mississippi State University in 2007. Since then has been the therapist for the Choctaw Children’s Advocacy Center for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians since 2008. She works primarily with sexually abused children and adolescents and also assists with federal grant applications, reports, and maintenance. Her main professional interests include resiliency, friend and enemy relationships, sexual abuse recovery, bereavement, and eating disorders.

Thesis: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer: Establishing the reliability and validity of the Enemy Impact Inventory.