Faculty Research
This page contains a brief description of the current research projects being conducted by faculty and students. If you are interested in working with a specific faculty member, and they are accepting new students, send them an email. You can do this at any time during the semester. Research projects may go through various phases at different times, so there's virtually always one just getting started. Additionally, you can look at faculty webpages (each name below is a hyperlink) to see a more detailed description of their research interests.
Dr. Kim Coggins
Current research interest:
- My primary research focus includes play therapy and expressive arts interventions that utilize the therapeutic relationship as the primary and foundational agent of change and facilitate holistic care for children and families. Additionally, I engage in research related to exploring experiential and innovative teaching practices and the impact experienced by students.
Current Research projects:
- Disaster and crisis: Implementing a simulation-based Psychological First Aid training activity
Accepting new students interested in gaining research experience:
- Not accepting new students at this time.
Dr. Eva Gibson
Current research interest:
Dr. Gibson's research interests include school counseling, African American students, cultural competency, advocacy, and social justice. Dr. Gibson utilizes a comprehensive approach to research and often engages with community partners, collaborates with others, and often conducts presentations based on project work.
Current Research projects:
- Cultivating antiracist counselors
- Cultivating social class awareness in the counseling profession
- Guiding through groups: A mentoring program for African American boys
Previous projects can be found here: https://drevagibson.weebly.com/resources.html
Accepting new students interested in gaining research experience:
Varies based on project progress. Contact Dr. Gibson if interested.
Dr. Uma J. Iyer
Current Research Interest:
- Dr. Iyer’s research interests include performance evaluation, achievement motivation, personality, organizational justice, job attitudes and behavior, diversity issues at workplace and cross-cultural management.
Current Research Projects:
- Hiring Veterans Project:
Mael, F., Wyatt, W. & Iyer, U. J. Veterans to workplace: Keys to successful transition, proposal accepted for a special “Military-to-Civilian” issue of APA publication Military Psychology journal. - Materialism, Achievement Motivation and Well-being: A Cross-cultural Project.
- Leadership and Work Engagement in Agile/VUCA Environments.
Accepting new students interested in gaining research experience:
- Yes. Students are welcome to discuss research experience, field experience/internship and honors research opportunities in I-O Psychology.
Dr. Emily Pica
Current research interest:
-
Dr. Pica’s research focuses on ways in which psychology and the legal system interact with each other. Specifically, she focuses on ways to improve eyewitness identification accuracy and factors that influence jurors’ decision making. Additionally, she focuses on how laypeople perceive the wrongfully convicted and the unique experiences faced by wrongfully convicted individuals post-exoneration.
Current Research projects:
- Jurors’ perceptions of felony murder.
- Jurors’ perceptions of child victims with service animals in court
- Perceptions of the wrongfully convicted across a variety of situations (e.g., hiring, scholarships, etc.)
- Perceptions of the wrongfully convicted on death row
Accepting new students interested in gaining research experience:
- Yes.
Dr. Adriane M.F. Sanders
Current research interest:
- Dr. Sanders' research interests include work-life interaction (particularly in academia), graduate training and pedagogy in the psychological discipline, faculty development, and quality of (work) life. She promotes the use of empirical research to empower folx to make informed decisions about their work life, well-being, health, and safety.
Current Research projects:
- Selection decisions (hiring) of the wrongfully convicted (intradisciplinary research with Dr. Pica)
- Health (psychological and physical) and academic success of vulnerable student populations (interdisciplinary research with Drs. Bliss and Gomez in Health and Human Performance)
- Creating an anti-racist and anti-oppressive field of I-O psychology (working with national and international groups of I-O students, academics, and practitioners)
- I love finding unique ways to apply my I-O training to my varied research and professional interests. See my faculty page (linked to my name) for a list of other research and service projects that demonstrate this endeavor.
Accepting new students interested in gaining research experience:
- I primarily work with graduate students. However, when my schedule permits, I accept undergraduate students interested in I-O relevant research and internships. Please email me to discuss.
- Additionally, I'm always happy to discuss the field of I-O Psychology, relevant APSU coursework for someone interested in I-O, applying to graduate programs, and I-O career planning.
Current research interest:
- My research interests are in the area of military psychology, including combat operational stress, toxic leadership, and equal opportunity. I am interested in measurement and testing in these and other areas.
Current Research projects:
- I am currently working with Dr. Yantz in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics on a paper titled “The Development of an Instrument to Measure the Depth of Science Experience (DOSE).”
- I consulted for Cassie Gibbons’s data analysis on predictors of spousal relationships during deployment. I have encouraged her to submit this work to a conference.
Accepting new students interested in gaining research experience:
- I am willing to accept students who are interested in gaining research experience.