The goal of the doctoral concentration in social psychology is to train individuals for a variety of academic and applied settings. A primary research emphasis within the concentration is social influence through various media. Other areas include preventive health, social-clinical interface, social cognition, implicit social psychology, and aging.

The social psychology concentration consists of 3 core faculty in the Department of Psychology (Rosanna Guadagno, Jim Hamilton, Steven Prentice-Dunn). Affiliated faculty are from the Institute for Social Science Research (Debra McCallum, Joan Barth), the Center for Mental Health and Aging (Patricia Parmelee), and the Department of Psychology (Mark Klinger). All of the faculty listed above work with graduate students and supervise theses and dissertations.

Ample research opportunities exist for students in the social psychology concentration. In addition, all students complete a supervised practicum in the Teaching of Psychology, one component of which is full responsibility for a course in Introduction to Psychology (PY 101). Students also have the opportunity to teach undergraduate Social Psychology (PY 372) and other undergraduate courses. 

The deadline for applying to the graduate program is January 15 for fall admission.

Primary Faculty

Rosanna Guadagno, Ph.D. Social influence and persuasion; technology and social interaction; gender. Online Social Interaction Lab

Jim Hamilton, Ph.D. Factitious illness behavior and malingering; social-clinical Interface; the self.  

Steven Prentice-Dunn, Ph.D. Preventive health attitudes and persuasion; teaching of psychology. 

Affiliated Faculty

Debra McCallum, Ph.D. Social influence; health behavior; evaluation research.  

Joan Barth, Ph.D. Development of social behavior; recognition of social cues. 

Particia Parmelee, Ph.D. Aging, mental health, and quality of life; family caregiving.

Mark Klinger, Ph.D. Unconscious cognition; social cognition; implicit learning and autism. 

News

Our best wishes go to Jason Clark and Meara Habashi who will be starting new positions in the fall at the University of Iowa (Jason) and Iowa Wesleyan College (Meara).

Shannon Murphy will be entering our program in Fall 2009. Shannon currently attends Valdosta State University and will be working with Rosanna Guadagno. Welcome to UA!

Please send updates and corrections for the social psychology pages to Steve Prentice-Dunn (sprentic@bama.ua.edu).

Graduate Students

Resources

Contemporary Issues in Social Psychology (http://psychology.ua.edu/css/SocialCI_001.html). Schedule for the weekly seminar for UA faculty and graduate students.

Social Psychology Network (http://socialpsychology.org). Links to over 5,000 psychology-related sites. Additional information may be found on the subject areas of social psychology, as well as journals, electronic forums, teaching resources, and professional profiles of individual social psychologists.

Questionnaires in Social-Personality Psychology (http://www.depts.ttu.edu/hs/research/reifman/qic.htm). Compiled by Alan Reifman.

Institute for Social Science Research (http://www.as.ua.edu/issr/site/overview/index.php). UA's interdisciplinary organization for promoting research in the social sciences. Also provides opportunities for graduate training in social science research.

Research Randomizer (http://www.randomizer.org). Designed to assist researchers and students who want an easy way to perform random sampling or assign participants to experimental conditions.

Research Tools Wiki (http://www.psychwiki.com/wiki/Research_Tools). Contains information on a variety of topics including meta-analysis, internet research, and tips on developing and conducting studies.

Effect Size Calculator (http://web.uccs.edu/lbecker/Psy590/escalc3.htm).

University of Alabama Institutional Review Board (http://osp.ua.edu/IRB.html). Provides instructions and forms for completing a request for approval of a research project as well as information n the ethical principles used to evaluate research.

Online Training Course for Researchers (http://www.research.umn.edu/consent/menu_soc.html). Developed by the University of Minnesota, this course addresses the obligations of investigators who conduct research with human participants. Topics include roles and responsibilities of researchers, guiding ethical principles, federal regulations, informed consent, IRBs, reporting of adverse events, privacy and confidentiality, and historical events that have shaped current policies. A certificate is available upon completion of the course.

All About Grants (http://www.niaid.nih.gov/ncn/grants/default.htm). Provides tutorials on National Institutes of Health peer review, funding, and other topics that help new investigators plan and write a grant application.

UA Graduate School's Student Guide to Preparing Theses and Dissertations (http://www.graduate.ua.edu/thesis/manual/). Contains information on elements and stylistic requirements.