Julian Azorlosa

How/why I became involved with psychology:

• Psychology combines my favorite intellectual enterprise, the scientific method, with my favorite topic, behavior.

Hobbies/interests:

• Family,
• Friends,
• Science,
• Science fiction,
• Tennis.

One thing I would like to see happen in my lifetime is...

• Global use of birth control leading to zero population growth, then negative population growth.

The theorist/approach I most agree with:

• Sigmund Freud and B.F. Skinner. Although they are placed at opposite ends of a theoretical continuum, in essence their ideas are very similar. They are also generally misunderstood.

Favorite quote:

• "God is a comedian with an audience that's afraid to laugh." (Voltaire)

Arvid J. Bloom

How/why I became involved with psychology:

• As a computer scientist at Bell Labs, I became more interested in how people were motivated and managed in the workplace than the computer work itself.

Advice to students:

• Obtain a broad exposure to different disciplines across the university as well as different sub-areas within psychology.
• Get a good broad education and do not get too locked into one major; people typically change their lines of work many times before they find one that is truly fulfilling for them.

Most interesting classroom experience:

• The most interesting classroom experiences have been when class discussions got so deep and interactive that the students did not need me; they learned from each other and fed off of each others' contributions.

Hobbies/interests:

• Woodworking,
• Playing classical chamber music (violin, viola),
• Listening to music,
• Oil painting,
• Sketching,
• Taking long walks,
• Getting outdoors.

The theorist/approach I most agree with:

• I most agree with transpersonal approaches and Eastern traditions that foster mindful living; non-Western approaches have a lot to teach us about human nature and human potential.

I am...

• Committed,
• Kind,
• Caring,
• Funny.

Favorite quotes:

• "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." (Albert Einstein)
• "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our happiness."

Deanne Z. Bonifazi

How/why I became involved with psychology:

• Ever since I was young, people used to come to me with their problems and I really enjoyed listening and trying to help. I was always leaning toward psychology, but I entered college with no major (undeclared). After my first year, I realized that my favorite classes were my psychology classes and I became a psychology major.

Advice to students:

• Get involved! Get involved! Get involved in research, in the Student Life Committee, in the Psychology Club, etc.
• The more you put into your undergraduate education, the more you'll get out of it!

Hobbies/interests:

• Spending time with my daughter.

One thing I would like to see happen in my lifetime is...

• Social acceptance of all types of body shapes and sizes (not to mention social acceptance of all races, sexual orientations, ethnicities, etc.!)

I am...

• Busy,
• Busy,
• Busy!

Favorite quote:

• "Life's a journey, not a destination" (Steven Tyler)

Eleanor D. Brown

How/why I became involved with psychology:

• Growing up, I saw how income poverty and related factors like violence and substance abuse influenced my relatives’ lives. It was clear to me that solving problems of poverty, and creating a better world, would mean working to end oppressions like classism and racism, and helping individuals of all backgrounds tackle emotional distress and irrational behavior patterns. I pursued psychology because it offered useful tools for the challenge.

Most interesting classroom experience:

• When you’re a struggling student, few things are more appealing than free food. That’s why I had to smile when my Psychology of Women students were so captivated by each others’ final presentations that they left plates of cookies sitting in the center of our circle untouched until the end of class. One thing I like even more than engaging students in learning is creating opportunities for students to engage each other this way.

Hobbies/interests:

• I lead social activism work and teach people how to put peer counseling tools to use in ending racism and related forms of intolerance.
• I like running, hiking, basketball, horseback riding, camping, taking the dog to the park, and spending time outdoors.
• I play the piano well and the guitar not-so-well, and I like writing songs for both.
• I love spending time with my family and friends.

One thing I would like to see happen in my lifetime is:

• For all children to have the chance to develop to their full potential.

The theorist/approach I most agree with:

• I agree with Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory. This theory frames child development in terms of interactions between a child’s own biology, their family and community, and the broader society they live in. I believe we must address all levels of the ecological system—from individual to societal—to promote children’s positive development.

Advice to students:

• If you’re here, you’re smart enough for the challenges you will face. Take charge, and always assume more is possible for you than you can tell.

Favorite quote:

• A pair of good ears will drain dry a hundred tongues. (Benjamin Franklin)

Jennifer Bunk

How/why I became involved with psychology:

• My freshman year in college, my roommate convinced me to take Intro. Psych.  I loved it and never looked back.  I was initially most interested in social psychology, but later on I discovered I/O and found my match.

Advice to students:

• Keep an open mind and don’t be afraid to change it.  There are lots of opportunities out there.  Eventually, you’ll find what’s right for you.

Hobbies/interests:

• Cooking (and eating!)
• Traveling
• Skiing

The theorist/approach I most agree with:

• Richard Lazarus because of his focus on cognitive appraisals, emotions, and individual differences.  His approach and style of writing really “clicks” with me; essentially, he says that two people can experience the same thing and have wildly different reactions.  I think this is a fundamental idea that encourages us to appreciate that everyone is different.

I am...

• Organized
• Dedicated
• Slightly quirky

Favorite quote:

• “…speaking words of wisdom, let it be.” Paul McCartney

Phillip K. Duncan

How/why I became involved with psychology:

• I took a required introductory course as an undergraduate and found it interesting. I liked how my instructors took a natural science perspective on the field.

Advice to students:

• If you want to be in this field, get fully, completely involved. Do classes etc. well, but also get involved in research and go to regional and national conventions; anticipate graduate school.

Most interesting classroom experience:

• When students actually realize that "this stuff" really is used and does apply to the real world.

Hobbies/interests:

• Running,
• Golfing,
• Reading,
• Backpacking in the mountains.

The theorist/approach I most agree with:

• Radical behaviorism. I'm interested in interactions between environment and biology as they affect behavior and the treatment of these interactions as part of nature.

Favorite quote:

• "...and it came to pass..."

Susan E. Gans

How/why I became involved with psychology:

• When I was an undergraduate, I had no idea what I wanted to do, but by the time I was a junior, I had to declare a major. I had taken a bunch of psychology classes, and enjoyed them, so I thought I would try it out as a major. The semester I declared my major, I took physiological psychology. I was hooked! I got involved in a research project at NYU (I am still in touch with my undergraduate mentor). And I knew I would go to graduate school to study more.

Advice to students:

• Relax a little and take a bunch of different classes; you do not have to know what to do immediately.
• Do well in the classes you do take. For a minimum amount of input, you can be assured that whatever you want to do in the future will be open for you. C's and B's are ok, but you could all get A's if you wanted to. You should try.
• Pay attention to what your classmates have to say about the ways that professors teach. The department is filled with excellent teachers, but not all of our teaching methods will mesh with the skills you bring to the classroom. You have the freedom to find the classes that match your skills.
• Do not avoid classes because people say they are hard. That doesn't mean anything. For one thing, what is hard for one person is a breeze for the next. For another, some of our most challenging courses are also (in my opinion) some of our best. For example, everyone seems terrified of statistics. But my students routinely tell me that the course is not what they expected, and that it is immensely useful to them as psych majors, and later when they are in graduate school or working.
• You are not here to please us, or your parents, or your friends. You are here to learn new things. This may be the only time in your life when you get a chance to spend the great bulk of your time just learning. Enjoy it!

Most interesting classroom experience:

• When I taught physiological psychology in Boston, my students were assigned to make a presentation on the physiological basis of a psychological disorder. One of my students somehow related her topic to life on Mars, and concluded with a picture of a Martian, riding across the sky in a fiery chariot. I did not know what to say.

Hobbies/interests:

• Being with my dog, cooking (my dog loves that too),
• Traveling,
• Reading,
• Spending time with friends.

One thing I would like to see happen in my lifetime is...

• For people to stop killing each other.

The theorist/approach I most agree with:

• E. O. Wilson. He wrote a book, Sociobiology. In it, he says that "Sociobiology is defined as the systematic study of the biological basis of all social behavior." His book mainly focuses on the ways that evolutionary biology can provide explanations for complex animal behaviors. It also attempts to explain many human behaviors in this way. While I support this attempt (I believe our behaviors can find their root in the interaction between our biology, shaped by evolution, and our environment), I feel that Dr. Wilson oversimplified this question, and did not address anthropological evidence that contradicted his ideas.

I am...

• Quirky,
• Sloppy,
• Caring.

Favorite quote:

• "Everybody has their own weird." (Spider Robinson)

Lauri Hyers

How/why I became involved with psychology:

• When I was in high school, my brother was in college and a psychology major. I started reading his textbooks on abnormal psychology and gender issues, and found it interesting.

Advice to students:

• Volunteer as much as possible—for the benefit of the community, to help you figure out what type of career path you want to take in psychology, and to build your resume. There are so many community projects and organizations that are related to psychology.

Most interesting classroom experience:

• Conducting classroom (retrospective) rites of passage ceremonies with my women’s studies students at University of Tennessee. Everyone has an interesting story of how/why/when they feel their childhood merged into their adulthood.

Hobbies/interests:

• Vegan cooking,
• Spending time with my son,
• Celebrating the changes of the seasons,
• Learning how to garden.

One thing I would like to see happen in my lifetime is...

• Evidence of “intelligent” (depending on how you define intelligence) life forms beyond our earth OR the evidence of faeries right here.

The theorist/approach I most agree with:

• I am a big fan of Sandra Bem’s approach to her research and her own childrearing.

I am...

• Always too busy, but never bored.

Favorite quote:

• "Your silence will not protect you." (Audre Lorde)

Vanessa K. Johnson

How/why I became involved with psychology:

• When I was young, I was bound and determined to be a "doctor" but later found that I had little interest in biology and chemistry. The Social Sciences, on the other hand, intrigued me -- so I decided to major in Psychology with plans to be a clinician. I had a baby brother at the time and thought working with kids and their families would be 'fun.' It was during my junior year in college that I began an honors thesis and found that I was passionate about research. I have been a "research junky" ever since.

Advice to students:

• Take your time and explore the things that interest you before you settle into a career path.
• Take time out to think about the things you are learning and reading about.
• Be inquisitive, ask questions, push yourself to 'think outside the box'.

Hobbies/interests:

• Music -- I play the piano and the clarinet,
• Taking long walks with my husband,
• Fine wine, good food, and stimulating conversation.

The theorist/approach I most agree with:

• I most agree with theoretical approaches that hold the quality of human relationships as influencing behavior. In particular, I am loyal to Family Systems theories which argue that it is maladaptive family interaction PATTERNS that maintain pathology in an individual. This is in contrast to medical model approaches to pathology which strive to identify a linear chain of cause and effect reactions leading to maladaptation. I have yet to experience an aspect of human behavior that is truly linear; life seems much more complex and complicated than that to me.

Favorite quote:

• "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and I, I chose the one less traveled by and that has made all of the difference." (from The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost).

Sandra L. Kerr

Advice to students:

• Make contact with the faculty members and let yourself be known around the department by involving yourself with department life.
• Visit your advisor to get to know him or her, and don't just bring academic questions. Your advisor can also provide guidance on life after college.
• Don't worry if you don't know what you want to do with your life. Many people don't. I didn't go to graduate school until I was in my 30's.

Hobbies/interests:

• Exercising,
• Spending time with my kids,
• Going to regional museums.

One thing I would like to see happen in my lifetime is...

• Finding the cure for cancer.

The theorist/approach I most agree with:

• David Burns took Beck's ideas and wrote a book for lay people that made the ideas of cognitive therapy very accessible to lay people. I admire the way he took scientific psychology out of the ivory tower and gave it to the people who need it most.

I am...

• Determined,
• Optimistic,
• Somewhat reserved.

Favorite quote:

• "Is not life a hundred times too short for us to bore ourselves?" (Nietzsche)

V. Krishna Kumar

How/why I became involved with psychology:

• While I was in India, I worked with a famous social psychologist, and also worked on a project with Harvard University's department of social relations on human motivation. This changed my direction, and it was fate that brought me into psychology.

Advice to students:

• Since the field of psychology is changing, especially in the clinical area, go with the flow of the new trends.
• Prepare hard in the areas of biology, chemistry, and mathematics, and become more involved in the scientific fields.
• In the near future, psychologists are going to be trained more like physicians.

Most interesting classroom experience:

• I find all my classes interesting and enjoy working with students. I never find teaching boring because I have had many good experiences and continue to learn as I teach.

Hobbies/interests:

• Volunteering as a psychologist at the Veteran's Hospital,
• Traveling, especially to other countries.

The theorist/approach I most agree with:

• There is no particular theorist I agree with, but it was David McClelland who inspired me to go into psychology. I also believe theorists such as Skinner, Rogers, Jung, Freud, and Beck have made significant contributions to the field.

Deborah Mahlstedt

How/why I became involved with psychology:

• Well I needed another major since New York required a dual major to be certified to teach. While studying in Denmark during my sophomore year I took two psychology seminars (social psychology and psychology and literature) from a visiting U.S. professor that were wonderful. Upon returning to the U.S. I worked on a research project with a professor I liked which eventually clinched the deal. I will admit I didn't like the majority of my psychology classes.

Advice to students:

• Listen to yourself to know what it is you want and find people that will help you to do that.

Most interesting classroom experience:

• There are many experiences as a student and as an instructor that come to mind. There is one though that has had a deep lasting effect on me to this day. My undergraduate advisor, a philosophy of education professor committed to challenging us to think about radical approaches to education, taught a year-long seminar that accompanied my participation in an innovative teacher education program in New York. I earned my education credits by teaching full time at a "free school," all the while being supervised by the most remarkable teachers. A small group of us involved in this experimental program were also required to attend a weekly seminar over the course of the year. Our discussions of readings on the philosophy of education and our school experiences continue to influence me today. As a student, I realized that my own disillusionment with much classroom learning wasn't due to an inadequacy in me; rather it represented a desire for a different way to learn and teach for which I had no theories or framework to describe. As a teacher, I learned what I wanted to happen in the classroom.

One thing I would like to see happen in my lifetime is...

• There are too many.

The theorist/approach I most agree with:

• Most basically I'm aligned theoretically with the work of Kurt Lewin because of his emphasis on small group processes, action-research, and commitment to the study of social issues. His work has contributed much to the underpinnings of feminist psychology. The feminist psychologists who have truly "tickled" my brain and nurtured my intellectual soul are Rhoda Unger, Michelle Fine and Celia Kitzinger.

I am...

• Very idealistic,
• Very cynical,
• A bunch of contradictions.

Favorite quote:

• "Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans." (John Lennon)

Jasmin Tahmeseb McConatha

How/why I became involved with psychology:

• I wanted to try to help others and promote a better understanding of the world.

Advice to students:

• Read books.
• Be open to experiences.
• Try to understand others.
• Keep an open mind.

Most interesting classroom experience:

• There is not one experience; I have enjoyed many of the classrooms discussions I had while I was studying. I probably enjoyed my group class the most; it gave me the opportunity to get to know the other students well.

Hobbies/interests:

• Traveling,
• Reading,
• Hiking,
• Cooking,
• Watching films.

The theorist/approach I most agree with:

• I suppose the Humanist/Existentialists and social cognitive perspectives. They include a positive view of human nature and the potential for personal growth, and are not culturally biased

Edward I. Pollak

How/why I became involved with psychology:

• To figure out why I was such a screwed up teenager. But I soon decided that animal behavior and biological psychology were much more interesting than my own adolescence.

Advice to students:

• Do not assume that the study habits that got you A's in high school will get you A's in college. They won't.
• Resist the temptation to put off studying and cut classes where attendance isn't taken.
• You must exercise self-discipline because no one is going to yell at you if you're falling behind (except for your parents when they see your first semester's grades).

Most interesting classroom experience:

• A hypnosis demonstration that went awry when I realized that the volunteer subject was under the influence of an herbal intoxicant.

Hobbies/interests:

• Playing fiddle, banjo, and bass fiddle in bluegrass bands,
• Participating in jam sessions and bluegrass festivals,
• Breeding and raising exotic lizards and tropical fish,
• Fishing--especially if my wife is with me.

One thing I would like to see happen in my lifetime is...

• First contact with an extraterrestrial species and/or a Grand Unified Theory of physics, especially if it could help us explain the existence of the universe.

The theorist/approach I most agree with:

• I agree most with B.F. Skinner for his insistence on the utility of determinism and the uselessness of concepts such as "self esteem" and "free will." I agree with E. O. Wilson for his insistence on the importance of evolutionary theory for understanding behavior. I disagree most with Humanists such as Carl Rogers for their reliance on vague and untestable hypotheses and their intellectual dishonesty regarding issues such as free will.

I am...

• Eccentric,
• (Very) married,
• Helpful.

Favorite quote:

• "The more you know, the more you realize you don't know." (Clara Pollak)

Louis H. Porter

How/why I became involved with psychology:

• I was talked out of chemical engineering by my physiological psychology professor and made his assistant.

Advice to students:

• If you are planning on going to graduate school, pursue a research career, or teach, take as many "hard core" psychology, computer science, natural science, and math courses as possible; this gives you greater flexibility.
• If you want to pursue a clinical career, take as many physiological, and biology courses as possible, and consider going into the growing field of cognitive rehabilitation.
• If you only wish to receive your B.A., be sure to have a strong liberal arts background and take many computer science and math courses.

Hobbies/interests:

• Spending time on the computer,
• Cycling,
• Jogging and taking long distance runs
• Being involved with the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts.

One thing I would like to see happen in my lifetime is...

• Peace, the development of a global perspective by our country with efforts toward a peaceful resolution to religious, gender, and ethnic conflicts.

Loretta A. Rieser-Danner

How/why I became involved with psychology:

• It was really a couple of wonderful teachers in my early undergraduate work who turned me on to psychology (actually, to human development). They were so enthusiastic about what they did and I found their work and their classes fascinating. Then, an opportunity to be involved in the research program of one of those professors convinced me that I really wanted to continue my study of human development. That led me to a psychology department with a developmental psychology graduate program.

Advice to students:

• Take a wide variety of psychology classes and to get involved in the research activities of a faculty member and/or to participate in an internship.
• Get to know the faculty because that is really the best way to learn about what opportunities exist after graduation.

Hobbies/interests:

• Participating in the activities of my three sons,
• Watching soccer, basketball, football, and hockey games,
• Pursuing outdoor and travel activities with my family, including camping and hiking,
• Reading,
• Cross-stitching.

One thing I would like to see happen in my lifetime is...

• A full acceptance of individual and cultural differences

The theorist/approach I most agree with:

• I am a strong believer in the notion that a true understanding of human behavior (and human development) requires acknowledgement of its incredible complexity. Thus, there is no single theory (or theorist) that can explain enough. There are many different theories (and theorists) that each contributes something to our understanding, even if they can't explain all of human behavior.

I am...

• Hard working,
• Slightly compulsive,
• Task-focused,
• Fair.

Favorite quote:

• I don't really have a favorite quote but there are a few sayings I remind myself of frequently. For example, "This too shall pass" has become sort of a motto for me. There are always any number of events that interfere in some way with plans I may have for completing a project or engaging in some activity. Most of the things that interfere are temporary and if I remind myself of that (i.e., "This too shall pass"), I find it easier to stay optimistic.

Thomas Treadwell

How/why I became involved with psychology:

• I liked working with people and am good at it.

Advice to students:

• If you are clinically oriented, this field is not the "bed of roses" students would like it to be. It is managed by managed care and the area is not drawing a great deal of attention. The lack of attention causes many people to move to the social work field.
• The experimental and industrial/organizational fields are wide open and ready for the taking.

Hobbies/interests:

• Involvement with music and the theatre,
• Traveling to far away places.

The theorist/approach I most agree with:

• I agree with Freud and also J. L. Moreno. Moreno was a follower of Freud who disagreed with Freud's therapy techniques and multidimensional view of group consciousness. I also agree with Aaron Beck, the "father of depression" who is also the founder of cognitive therapy. Beck's views are similar to Moreno's in the sense that you must put into action whatever works to get people to think differently.

I am...

• Intense,
• Determined,
• Inquisitive.

Favorite quote:

• "Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first." (Mark Twain)

Stefani L. Yorges

How/why I became involved with psychology:

• I have been interested in psychological topics since early high school. I eventually chose I/O Psychology because it blends business/management principles with basic foundations in psychology.

Advice to students:

• Get involved in the department as soon as possible--on committees, in research, in Psychology Club, or on the Student Life Committee. These kinds of activities will not only enhance your education here, but also look good on anyone's resume!
• Get to know your adviser; he/she can provide advice on more than simply which classes to take!

Hobbies/interests:

• Playing competitive volleyball.

The theorist/approach I most agree with:

• I am very impressed with the motivation theories developed in I/O Psychology. Many were developed in the early 1960's, but have stood the test of time (several decades anyway!). They are able to adequately address motivational issues in the workplace.

I am...

• Conscientious,
• Athletic,
• Pampering to my pets.

Favorite quote:

• "Your life is only worth the impact you have on others."