Dr. Sherman is interested in school-based academic and behavior risk prevention and intervention services. She focuses on data-based decision-making within a Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) framework. Dr. Sherman does not accept graduate students.

3037 Percival Stern Hall

Sherman, K., & Hoffmann, K. (2016). Enhancing student engagement: Practical classroom based strategies. Paper presented at 2016 Louisiana School Psychological Association Conference, Lafayette, LA.

Sherman, K., & Hoffmann, K. (2012). Practical behavior interventions for classroom teachers. Paper presented at 2012 Louisiana Educational Diagnosticians’ Association Conference, New Orleans, LA.  

Medley, M. B., Hoffmann, K. G., Sherman, K., & West, J. (2011). How the heck do we implement behavioral RtI?!? Saving our sanity and providing high-quality multi-tiered behavior intervention services. Paper presented at 2011 Louisiana School Psychological Association Conference, Lafayette, LA.

Sherman, K. (2009). Practical reading interventions. Paper presented at 2009 LSU Human Development Center’s Institute, New Orleans, LA.

Flammer-Rivera, L., & Sherman, K. (2007). Supporting children with ADHD in Louisiana schools: A review of local trends and best practices. Paper presented at 2007 Louisiana School Psychological Association Conference, Lafayette, LA.

Rockrohr, J.M., Gabriele, C.A., Sherman, K., Bueno de Mesquita, P. (2007). Responsive consultation: Case-based methods for learning consultee-centered consultation. Symposium presented at 2007 National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Convention, New York, NY.

Educational Psychology: PSYC 3200

Practicum in School Psychology: PSYC 7823

Evidence-Based Interventions: PSYC 7660

Developmental Psychopathology: PSYC 7400

Academic Interventions

Dr. Ruscher's social cognition research focuses primarily on stereotyping and prejudice in communication and language. Current work considers the role of metaphors in perception of disparaged outgroups, as well as perceptions of hate speech.

3049 Percival Stern Hall

Ruscher, J. B. (in press). Partisans’ noncomplex impressions of a candidate who wore a racially insensitive costume. Journal of Language and Social Psychology.

Airington, Z., Woods, F. A., & Ruscher, J. B. (2025). Who hails the unsung heroes?  Individual differences in heroizing essential workers during a viral outbreak. Personality and Individual Differences, 236. DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2024.113027

Ruscher, J. B. (2025). Hate speech. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, UK. Online DOI: 10.1017/9781009534666  Print version: ISBN 9 781009 534673] 

Woods, F. A., & Ruscher, J. B. (2024). What’s in a name…and for whom?: How public spaces named for prejudiced individuals impact targets of prejudice. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 27, 663-688. DOI: 10.1177/1368302231184371

Merritt, S. K., O’Brien, L. T., & Ruscher, J. B. (2021). Creating clever internet memes perpetuates offensiveness. Western Journal of Communication, 85, 471-486.  DOI: 10.1080/10570314.2020.1800812

Van Bommel, T., Merritt, S. K., Shaffer, E. & Ruscher, J. B. (2021). Behavioral mimicry and interaction expectations impact affect in interracial interactions. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 45, 207-239. DOI:  10.1007/s10919-020-00353-z.

Woods, F., & Ruscher, J. B. (2021). Viral sticks, virtual stones: addressing anonymous hate speech online, Patterns of Prejudice, 55, 265-289. DOI: 10.1080/0031322X.2021.1968586

Woods, F. A., & Ruscher, J. B. (2021). ‘Calling-out’ vs. “calling-in” prejudice: Confrontation style affects inferred motive and expected outcomes. British Journal of Social Psychology,  60, 50-73.  DOI: 10.1111/bjso.12405

Tipler, C. N., & Ruscher, J. B. (2019). Dehumanizing representations of women: The shaping of hostile sexist attitudes through animalistic metaphors. Journal of Gender Studies. 28, 109-118. DOI: 10.1080/09589236.2017.1411790

Ruscher, J. B., & Tipler, C. N. (2018). Linguistic intergroup bias about the 2016 U.S. presidential candidates as a function of political ideology. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 18, 61-80. DOI: 10.1111/asap.12149

Ruscher, J. B. (2017). Adult attachment predicts advice, exemplar sharing, and questions to acquaintances recently diagnosed with cancer. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 36, 484-493. DOI: 10.1177/0261927X16667435

Ruscher, J. B. (2017). Expectations about re-entering the weekly cycle following disruption by familial death or holiday. Time & Society, 26, 321-338.  DOI: 10.1177/0961463X15577284

Boasso, A., Overstreet, S., & Ruscher, J. B. (2015). Community disasters and shared trauma: Potential implications of listening to a co-survivor narrative. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 20, 397-409 DOI: 10.1080/15325024.2014.912055

Van Bommel, T., Sheehy, A., & Ruscher, J. B. (2015). The role of attachment style in women's recognition of sexism. Personality and Individual Differences, 74, 235-240.

Tipler, C. N., & Ruscher, J. B. (2014). Agency’s role in dehumanization: Non-human metaphors of outgroups. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 8, 214-228.

Ruscher, J. B. (2012). Describing grief under cyclical versus linear conceptions of time. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 31, 533-546

Ruscher, J. B. (2011). Moving forward: The effect of spatial metaphors on perceptions about grief . Social Psychology, 42, 225-230. [Special issue: Spatial Constraints on Social Cognition]

Bradley-Geist, J. C., & Ruscher, J. B. (2011). Showcasing and subjugating minorities and women: Assignment to visible but trivial committees. Journal of Psychological Issues in Organizational Culture, 2, 5-18.

Ruscher, J. B., Wallace, D., Walker, K. M., & Bell, L. H. (2010). Constructive feedback in cross-race interaction. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 13, 603-619.

Kaplan, S. A., Santuzzi, A. M. & Ruscher, J. B. (2009). Elaborative meta-perceptions in outcome-dependent situations: The diluted relationship between default self-perceptions and meta-perceptions. Social Cognition, 27, 602-615

Ruscher, J. B., Cralley, E. L., & O'Farrell, K. J. (2005). How newly acquainted dyads develop shared stereotypic impressions of others through conversation. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 8, 259-270.

Ruscher, J. B. (2001). Prejudiced communication: A social psychological perspective. New York: Guilford Press.

Professor Overstreet's research interests focus broadly on children at risk for maladjustment due to the presence of chronic stressors in their lives. In her current research, Professor Overstreet utilizes an ecological-transactional model to understand the effects of community violence exposure and other traumatic experiences on the psychosocial and academic functioning of children and to identify protective factors that buffer children from the negative effects of such experiences. Dr. Overstreet is not accepting new graduate students this cycle.

3019 Percival Stern Hall

Nastasi, B., Overstreet, S., & Summerville, M. (2011).  School-based mental health services in post disaster contexts:  A public health framework.  School Psychology International, 32, 533-552.

Overstreet, S., Salloum, A., Burch, B., & West, J. (2011).  Challenges associated with childhood exposure to severe natural disasters: Research review and clinical implications.  Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma, 4, 52 - 68.

Overstreet, S., & Mathews, T. (2011).  Challenges associated with exposure to trauma: Fostering resilient outcomes among youth. Psychology in the Schools, 48, 738 – 754.

Salloum, A., Carter, P., Burch, B., Garfinkel, A. N., & Overstreet, S. (2011).  Impact of exposure to community violence, hurricane Katrina, and hurricane Gustav on posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms among school age children.  Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 24, 27 - 42.

Overstreet, S., Salloum, A., & Badour, C. (2010). A school-based assessment of secondary stressors and adolescent mental health18 months post-Katrina. Journal of School Psychology, 48, 413-431.

Frankola, K. A., Flora, A. L., Torres, A. K., Grissom, E. M., Overstreet, S., & Dohanich, G. P. (2010). The effects of early rearing conditions on cognitive performance in prepubescent male and female rats. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 94, 91 – 99.

Mathews, T., Dempsey, M., & Overstreet, S. (2009). Effects of exposure to community violence on school functioning: The mediating role of posttraumatic stress. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 47, 586 – 591.

Bevans, K., Cerbone, A. B., & Overstreet, S. (2009). The interactive effects of elevated mid-afternoon cortisol and trauma history on PTSD symptoms in children: A preliminary study Psychoneuroendocrinology, 34, 1582 - 1585.

Note:  Student co-authors are in bold.

Childhood Behavioral Disorders: PSYC 334

Stress and Trauma: PSYC 659

Stress and Trauma Lab: PSYC 660

Psychoeducational Assessment I: PSYC 761

Psychoeducational Assessment II: PSYC 762

As an experimental social psychologist, I am interested in issues related to prejudice, stereotyping, discrimination, and stigma. Two questions central to my research are: (1) How do people from high status and low status groups make judgments about what constitutes prejudice? (2) What are the consequences of perceiving prejudice and discrimination for people from both high and low status groups?

3013 Percival Stern Hall

O’Brien, L.T., Musumeci, M., Lowe, C., Waldon-Lee, T., & Simon, S. (in press). Attributions to discrimination in a multiracial context: Isolating the effect of victim race. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001475

Moss, A. J., Budd, R., Blanchard, M. A., & O’Brien, L. T. (2023). The upside of acknowledging prejudiced behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 104, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104401

O’Brien, L.T., & Merritt, S. (2022). Attributions to discrimination against Black victims in a multiracial society: Isolating the effect of perpetrator group membership. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 48(1), 120-134.  https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167220988372 

Merritt, S., Hitti, A., Van Camp, A.R., Shaffer, E., Sanchez, M. & O’Brien, L.T. (2021). Maximizing the impact of exposure to science role models: Testing an intervention to increase science identity among adolescent girls. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 51(7), 667-682. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12774  

Moss, A., Fitzpatrick, J., & O’Brien, L.T. (2021). Attributions for atheism: Perceptions that atheism is a choice are associated with prejudice against atheists among Christians, but not Jews or nonbelievers. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 31(2), 102 – 20. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508619.2020.1815993  

O’Brien, L.T., Garcia, D.M., Blodorn, A., Adams, G., Gravelin, C., & Hammer, E. (2020a). An educational intervention to improve women’s academic STEM outcomes: Divergent effects on well represented vs. underrepresented minority women. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 26(2), 163–168. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000289        

O’Brien, L.T. Bart, H., & Garcia, D.M. (2020b). Why are there so few minorities in ecology and evolutionary biology?: The roles of challenges to inclusion and sense of belonging. Social Psychology of Education, 23, 449-477.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-019-09538-x  

Moss, A., Blodorn, A., Van Camp, A., & O’Brien, L.T. (2019). Gender equality, value violations, and prejudice toward Muslims. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 22, 288-301. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430217716751   

Simon, S., Moss, A., & O’Brien, L.T. (2019a). Pick your perspective: Racial-group membership and judgments of intent, harm, and discrimination. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 22, 215-232. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430217735576  

Simon, S., Magaldi, M., & O’Brien, L.T. (2019b). Empathy vs. evidence: Does perspective-taking for a discrimination claimant bias judgments of institutional sexism? Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 22, 1109-1123. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430218818731   

O’Brien, L.T., Hitti, A., Schaffer, E., Van Camp, A., Gilbert, P., & Henry, D.  (2017). Improving girls’ sense of fit in science: Increasing the impact of role models. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 8, 301-309. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550616671997

Introduction to Social Psychology: PSYC 343

Psychology of Diversity?: PSYC 3470

Social Stigma: PSYC 662

Social Psychology: PSYC 700

Dr. Nastasi's research focuses on culturally appropriate health promotion and health risk prevention programming for child, adolescent and adult populations. Dr. Nastasi is currently accepting graduate students.

3046 Percival Stern Hall

Hitchcock, J., & Nastasi, B. K. (2011). Mixed methods for construct validation. In P. Vogt & M. Williams (Eds.), Handbook of methodological innovation (pp. 249-268). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Nastasi, B. K., Jayasena, A., Summerville, M., & Borja, A. (2011). Facilitating long-term recovery from natural disasters: Psychosocial programming in tsunami-affected schools of Sri Lanka. School Psychology International, 32, 512-532. DOI: 10.1177/0143034311402923.

Nastasi, B. K., Overstreet, S., & Summerville, M. (2011). School-based mental health services in post-disaster contexts: A public health framework. School Psychology International, 32, 533-552. DOI: 10.1177/0143034311402926.

Nastasi, B. K., & Varjas, K. (2011). International development of school psychology. In M. A. Bray & T. J. Kehle (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of School Psychology (pp. 810-828). NY: Oxford University Press.

Nastasi, B. K., Moore, R. B., & Varjas, K. M. (2004). School-based mental health services: Creating comprehensive and culturally specific programs. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association

Nastasi, B. K., Pluymert, K., Varjas, K., & Bernstein, R. (2002). Exemplary mental health programs: School psychologists as mental health service providers.(3rd ed.). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.

Nastasi, B. K., & Hitchcock, J. H. (2008). Evaluating quality and effectiveness of population-based services. In B. J. Doll & J. A. Cummings (Eds.), Transforming school mental health services: Population-based approaches to promoting the competency and wellness of children (pp. 245-276).Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press with National Association of School Psychologists.

Nastasi, B. K., Hitchcock, J. H., Burkholder, G., Varjas, K., Sarkar, S., & Jayasena, A. (2007). Assessing adolescents’ understanding of and reactions to stress in different cultures: Results of a mixed-methods approach. School Psychology International, 28(2), 163-178.

Nastasi, B.K., Hitchcock, J., Sarkar, S., Burkholder, G., Varjas, K., & Jayasena, A. (2007). Mixed methods in intervention research: Theory to adaptation. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 1(2), 164-182.

Dr. Murray's research programs follow two themes: 1) The consequences of a disease-avoidance motive for interpersonal relationships, social attitudes, personality, and cultural differences, and 2) The dynamics of new interpersonal relationships—the individual differences that predict formation, stability, and satisfaction in new romantic relationships, and the implications of these relationships for physiology and health.

3067 Percival Stern Hall

Kerry, N., Murray, D. R., Harman, J., & McCord, J. (in press). Political results: Outcomes of sporting events affect egalitarian attitudes and ingroup evalauations. Self and Identity. doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2020.1733070

Kerry, N., & Murray, D. R. (in press). Politics and parenting. In V. A. Weekes-Shackelford &T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology and Parenting. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Kerry, N., & Murray, D. R. (2020). Politics and parental care: Experimental and mediational tests of the causal link between parenting motivation and social conservatism. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 11, 284-292. doi.org/10.1177/1948550619853598

Murray, D. R., *Prokosch, M., & *Airington, Z. (2019). PsychoBehavioroImmunology: Connecting the behavioral immune system to its physiological foundations. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 10:200. 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00200

Murray, D. R., Haselton, M. G., Fales, M. R., & Cole, S. W. (2019). Falling in love is associated with immune system gene regulation. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 100, 120- 126.  doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.09.043

Kerry, N., *Loria, R. N., & Murray, D. R. (2019). Gluttons for punishment? Experimentally- induced hunger unexpectedly reduces harshness of suggested punishments. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology, 5, 352-370. 10.1007/s40750-019-00121-4

Kerry, N., & Murray, D. R. (2019). Is formidability associated with political conservatism? Evolutionary Psychological Science, 5, 220-230.Murray, D. R., Haselton, M. G., Fales, M. R., & Cole, S. W. (2019). Subjective social status and health-related gene expression. Health Psychology, 38, 182-186. dx.doi.org/10.1037/hea0000705

Murray, D. R., *Kerry, N. T., & Gervais, W. (2019). On Disease and deontology: Multiple tests of the influence of disease threat on moral vigilance. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 10, 44-52.  doi.org/10.1177/1948550617733518

Kerry, N., & Murray, D. R. (2018). Conservative Parenting: Investigating the relationships between parenthood, moral judgment, and social conservatism. Personality and Individual Differences, 134, 88-96.  doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.05.045

Ackerman, J. M., Hill, S. E., & Murray, D. R. (2018). The behavioral immune system: Current concerns and future directions. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 12:e12371. doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12371

Magee, C., Buchtel, E. E., Human, L. J., Murray, D. R., & Biesanz, J. C. (2018). Is personality variability associated with adjustment? Journal of Research in Personality, 72, 22-43. doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2016.08.005

Kerry, N., & Murray, D. R. (2018). Strong personalities: Investigating the Relationships between Grip Strength, Self-perceived Formidability, and Big Five Personality Traits. Personality and Individual Differences, 131, 216-221. doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.05.003

Van de Vliert, E., & Murray, D. R. (2018). Climate and creativity: Cold and heat trigger invention and innovation in richer populations. Creativity Research Journal, 30, 17-28. doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2018.1411571

Murray, D. R., Murphy, S. C., von Hippel, W., Trivers, R., & Haselton, M. G. (2017). A preregistered study of competing predictions suggests that men do overestimate women’s sexual intent. Psychological Science, 28, 253-255.
 
Murray, D. R., Fessler, D. M. T., Kerry, N., White, C., & Marin, M. (2017). The kiss of death: Three tests of the relationship between disease threat and ritualized physical contact within traditional cultures. Evolution and Human Behavior, 38, 63-70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2016.06.008
 
Murray, D. R. (2017). Essentializing politics: If perceptions of politics become genetically essentialized, what will be the consequences? Social Cognition, 35, 475-495.
 
Murray, D. R., Gildersleeve, K. A., Fales, M. R., & Haselton, M. G. (2017). MHC homozygosity is associated with fast sexual strategies in women. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology, 3, 101-117.
 
Murray, D. R., & Schaller, M. (2016). The behavioral immune system: Implications for social cognition, social interaction, and social influence. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 53, 75-129.

Dr. Molix's interests lie with intergroup relations, health and well-being among marginalized populations, and the intersections among these areas.

3056 Percival Stern Hall

Doyle D.M., & Molix, L. (2018). Stigma Consciousness Modulates Cortisol Reactivity to Social Stress in Women. European Journal of Social Psychology, 48, 217-224.

Doyle, D.M., Molix L (2016). Minority stress and inflammatory mediators: covering moderates associations between perceived discrimination and salivary interleukin-6 in gay men. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 39, 782-792.

Doyle, D.M., & Molix, L. (2015). Social stigma and sexual minorities’ romantic relationship functioning: A meta-analytic review. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 41, 1363-1381.

Bettencourt, B. A., Manning, M. A., Molix, L., Schlegel, R. J., Eidelman, S., & Biernat, M., (2015). Explaining extremity in evaluation of group members: Meta-Analytic test of three theories. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Online March 2015, 1-26.

Molix, L., & Nichols, C. P. (2013). Satisfaction of basic psychological needs as a mediator of the relationship between community esteem and well-being. International Journal of Wellbeing. International Journal of Wellbeing, 3, 20-34

Molix, L., & Bettencourt, B. A. (2010). Predicting well-being among ethnic minorities: Psychological empowerment and ethnic group identity. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 40, 513-533.

Social Psychology (Honors): Psyc3430H

Social Psychology: Psyc3430

Intergroup Relations: Psyc7170

Structural Equation Modeling: Psyc7450

Dr. Julie Markant is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Tulane University and a Faculty Associate in the Tulane Brain Institute. Dr. Markant’s research focuses on mechanisms that link the development of selective attention and efficient learning during infancy and early childhood. Her work takes a bidirectional approach by investigating 1) the role of developing attention control in promoting more effective learning and 2) the role of prior learning and experience in shaping our ability to efficiently orient to meaningful information. This research is grounded in a developmental perspective and the understanding that multiple biological and contextual factors contribute to change in these processes over time. Dr. Markant therefore aims to understand how both neurobehavioral mechanisms and individual experience contribute to variability in attention and learning outcomes. To address these questions Dr. Markant’s research emphasizes behavioral and eye tracking methods but has also incorporated genetic, MRI, and fNIRS measures. 

You can learn from about Dr. Markant’s current work and the Learning and Brain Development Lab here: https://lbdlab.tulane.edu/. 

Dr. Markant is currently accepting graduate students. Dr. Markant accepts graduate students from the Psychology and Neuroscience Ph.D. programs. 

3047 Percival Stern Hall 

My research interests center on perception-action and cognitive development. In my recent work, I have been studying the development of tool use in children and how it might be related to the object manipulation skills of infants. Additionally, I have been conducting work on spatial cognition in children, focusing on how children code the location of objects and object features. Dr. Lockman’s research program can be found at https://childdevelopment.tulane.edu. Dr. Lockman is currently accepting graduate students.

Selected Publications

Lockman, J. J., & Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., (Eds.) (in press).  The Cambridge Handbook of Infant Development.  New York:  Cambridge University Press. 

Rachwani, J., Tamis-LeMonda, C. S, Lockman, J. J., Karasik, L. B., Adolph, K E. (2020).  Learning the designed actions of everyday objects.  Journal of Experimental Psychology:  General, 149, 67-78.

Chinn, L. K., Hoffmann, M., Leed, J. E., & Lockman, J. J. (2019).  Reaching with one arm to the other:  Coordinating touch, proprioception, and action during infancy.    Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 183, 19-32.

Chinn, L. K., Noonan, C. F., Hoffmann, M., & Lockman, J. J. (2019).  Development of infant reaching strategies to tactile targets on the face.   Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00009

Fears, N. E., Bailey, B., Youmans, B., & Lockman, J. J.  (2019).  An eye-tracking method for directly assessing children’s visual-motor integration.   Physical Therapy, 99, 797-806.

Heathcock, J. C., & Lockman, J. J. (2019).  Infant and child development:  Innovations and foundations for rehabilitation.  Physical Therapy, 99, 643-646, https://doi.org/10.1093/ptj/pzz067

Leed, J. E., Chinn, L. K., & Lockman, J. J. (2019).  Reaching to the self:  The development of infants’ ability to reach to targets on the body.  Psychological Science, 30, 1063-1073.

Jung, W. P., Kahrs, B. A., & Lockman, J.J.  (2018). Fitting handled objects into apertures by 17-  to 36-month-old children: The dynamics of spatial coordination. Developmental Psychology, 54, 228-239.

Lockman, J. J., Fears, N. E., & Jung, W. P. (2018).  The development of object fitting:  The dynamics of spatial coordination.  In J. Plumert (Ed.), Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 55, 31-72.

Lockman, J. J., Fears, N. E., & Lewis, E. A. (2018). Spatial development.   In C. von Hofsten (Ed.). Oxford Research Encyclopedia:  Psychology, pp. 1-50. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Fears, N. E., & Lockman, J. J. (2018). How beginning handwriting is influenced by letter knowledge: Visual-motor coordination during children’s form copying. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 171, 55-70.

Lockman, J. J., & Kahrs, B. A.  (2017).  New insights into the development of human tool use. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 26, 330-334.

Dr. Hoerger is a clinical health psychologist and decision scientist who conducts research aimed at supporting quality of life in adults with cancer. Quality of life encompasses both physical functioning and mental health, including depression and anxiety. Dr. Hoerger aims to support quality of life by conducting research on healthcare decision making and service utilization, patient-provider communication, patient education and empowerment, and health disparities. He is particularly interested in increasing utilization of palliative care, a multidisciplinary service for patients with advanced cancer or serious symptoms that is designed with the goal of supporting quality of life.

His research draws from the perspective of translational psychological science, meaning that his psycho-oncology studies are informed by basic psychology research and theory related to personality, emotion, and decision making. This includes Dr. Hoerger’s seminal work on ‘affective forecasting’ and ‘delay of gratification.’ He is also known for his methodologic expertise in study design, survey development and measurement, statistics, and web design.

Dr. Hoerger has devoted his career to conducting interdisciplinary research, serving over 40 professional journals, teaching and mentoring, providing clinical services, and engaging with the community on issues related to work, education, and health. Currently, Dr. Hoerger serves on the editorial board of Health Psychology, manages the charitable foundation web site for the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), and reviews grants for the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). As well, he was Tulane’s first faculty member to complete the Louisiana Clinical and Translational Science (LA CaTS) Center’s Roadmap Award. 

Lab Website

3070 Percival Stern Hall

Rogers, J. L., Perry, L. M., & Hoerger, M. (in press). Summarizing the evidence base for palliative oncology care: A critical evaluation of the meta-analyses. Clinical Medicine Insights: Oncology.

Gerhart, J., Duberstein, P., Paull, D., O'Mahony, S., Burns, J., Denicolo, M., & Hoerger, M. (in press). Geography of preventable death in the United States: Anger-prone states and opioid deaths. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

Sannes, T. S., Gerhart, J., McLouth, L. E., & Hoerger, M. (in press). The important role of mental health providers in palliative care interdisciplinary teams: A response to Henderson et al. Journal of Palliative Medicine.

Perry, L. M., Hoerger, M., Korotkin, B. D., Saks, S. J., & Duberstein, P. R. (in press). Self-complexity and socio-emotional adjustment to a romantic event in early adulthood. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.

Duberstein, P.R., Chen, M., Hoerger, M., Epstein, R.M., Mohile, S.G., Saeed, F., Perry, L., Yilmaz, S., & Norton, S.A. (in press). Conceptualizing and counting discretionary utilization: A scoping review. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management.

Perry, L. M., Hoerger, M., Malhotra, S., Gerhart, J. I., Mohile, S., & Duberstein, P. R. (2020). Development and validation of the Palliative Care Attitudes Scale: A measure of patient attitudes towards palliative care. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 59, 293-301.

Perry, L. M., Hoerger, M., Molix, L. A., & Duberstein, P. R. (2020). A validation study of the mini-IPIP five-factor personality scale in adults with cancer. Journal of Personality Assessment, 102, 153-163.

Perry, L. M., Hoerger, M., Sartor, A. O., & Robinson, W. (2020). Distress among African American and white adults with cancer in Louisiana. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 38, 63-72.

View All of Dr. Hoerger's Publications

Psychology Research Method: PSYC 3130

Health Psychology: PSYC 6800

Personality Psychology: PSYC 7010

Research Methods in Health Psychology: PSYC 6100