The psychology department is housed with the other sciences in the Haldeman-Thiessen Science Center, where students find a wide variety of facilities to become engaged in the learning process. Unique to Monmouth College, our updated counseling lab allows students to apply the major theories and practices of counseling and psychotherapy in an office-like setting. The room has a video camera and microphone to record practice counseling sessions so that students and faculty can critique practice sessions and further build from these experiences.
Students interested in empirical research with human participants are able to take advantage of group processes rooms as well as individual performance testing areas, some of which have mirrors for one way observations. The department also keeps on hand a variety of devices for physiological measurements of stress as well as PDAs and recorders for real-time, real-world observations. Recent student researchers have investigated the effects of self-esteem on relationships, examined potential relationships between personality and criminal behavior in the prison system, and observed the effects of authority on satisfaction with group counseling.
For those interested in empirical research with rats, we also have an animal behavior laboratory with Skinner boxes and a variety of mazes. Current rat research has included the potential effects of developmental exposure to herbicides on cognition and behavior and the potential effects of nitric oxide sports supplements on memory processes. We encourage you to read more about student research conducted at Monmouth.