School of Psychology

Dr. Conradt earned his Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology with a concentration in Developmental Psychology from the University of Toledo under the mentorship of Dr. Kamala London-Newton. Dr. Conradt’s research interests are in the area of forensic developmental psychology and focus on children’s eyewitness memory and testimony, forensic interviewing procedures with children, and disclosure of child abuse. Current research pursuits include: (1) the effect of the emotional context on children’s memory and vulnerability to an interviewer’s misleading suggestions and (2) memory and cognitive development in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the overall eyewitness capabilities of this developmental population.

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Dr. (Gross) Costopoulos' career has been in the area of forensic psychology. She comes to Florida Tech after serving as the senior forensic psychologist for the Sexually Violent Predator Program of Florida (also known as the Jimmy Ryce Act). Previously she served at a forensic psychiatric inpatient unit at Florida State Hospital where she conducted therapy and assessments, and testified to the court on issues of residents' competency to stand trial, commitment for hospitalization and other forensic matters. While there, she received a number of awards for her outstanding work and contributions.

Dr. Costopoulos is coordinating a number of studies examining the efficacy of programs in the community managing mentally ill offenders. Current research includes evaluating aggression in an inpatient forensic settings and examination of theoretical concepts of psychoanalytic conceptualization of violent criminal behavior.

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Dr. Edkins earned her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Kansas. Dr. Edkins' primary research interest is the intersection of psychology and the legal system, especially as it pertains to decision making. She has assessed juror decision making models and constructed a juror attitude questionnaire to predict how jurors will react to various aspects of a trial. Her research program also focuses on the topic of plea bargaining. Specifically, what role does race play in the plea bargains that defense attorneys secure for their clients, and can plea deals be enticing enough to induce innocent people to plead guilty?

Dr. Edkins also assists The FBI's Behavioral Sciences Unit and The Academy Group with various research projects including the analysis of hostage-taker motivations and the relationships that convicted child molesters had with their respective wives/girlfriends.

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Dr. Demara (Mari) B. Bennett earned her Doctorate in Psychology, Clinical Specialization, from the Florida Institute of Technology. She joined the faculty at Florida Tech following extensive clinical experience providing psychological evaluation, treatment, and clinical supervision within community mental health, inpatient, outpatient, and private practice settings. Professional interests include child and family psychology with specialization in differential diagnosis of pediatric mental health concerns, including neurodevelopmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, trauma disorders, and child maltreatment. 

Dr. Bennett serves as Director of the Family Learning Program (FLP), one of only 14 DOH-sponsored sexual abuse treatment programs in Florida, providing treatment for children, siblings, and nonoffending caregivers, and clinical training for Clinical Psy.D. students in trauma assessment and evidence-based sexual abuse and trauma treatment. Dr. Bennett also teaches Introduction to Child Advocacy and Critical Issues in Child Advocacy, two of the three required courses for completion of the Child Advocacy Studies Certificate.

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After receiving her B.S. in Biology at Florida State University, Dr. Talbot completed her Ph.D. in Cognitive Sciences at Georgia State University. Throughout her academic career, her overarching research goal has been to study the ultimate (evolutionary) and proximate (behavioral, biological, and developmental) mechanisms underlying sociality. Dr. Talbot’s graduate research focused on face recognition and social knowledge in nonhuman primates and was supported by the National Science Foundation, American Psychological Association, as well as a number of internal awards. Dr. Talbot joins us from the Neuroscience and Behavior Unit at the California National Primate Research Center at the University of California, Davis, where she worked as a postdoc on a collaborative bio-behavioral project examining naturally occurring low-sociability in rhesus monkeys as a model for the core social deficits seen in people with autism spectrum disorder, specifically targeting the underlying mechanisms of social functioning.

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Applied Behavior Analysis Undergraduate Program Coordinator

Dr. Harvey earned his B.A. in Psychology from West Virginia University with an emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis. Dr. Harvey earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in special education from the University of Oregon under the mentorship of Dr. Robert Horner, developing school-based behavioral supports. Dr. Harvey completed a NIH sponsored post-doctoral training at Vanderbilt University under the direction of Dr. Craig Kennedy. Dr. Harvey has worked in a variety of animal laboratories, school systems, and with individuals with developmental disabilities and/or autism (children, adolescents, and adults) for over 25 years.

Dr. Harvey’s research interests are centered around the Physiological and behavioral indices associated with developmental disabilities, the use of technology and behavior analysis in educational settings, behavioral skills training (BST), and the identification and implementation of evidence-based practice. Dr. Harvey teaches both undergraduate and graduate level courses in behavior analysis.

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Forensic Psychology Program Coordinator

Mr. Jones is a retired law enforcement supervisor and currently serves as coordinator of the undergraduate forensic psychology program. His research interests are law enforcement leadership & management, recruiting & retention, and violent crime. Mr. Jones consults with law enforcement in promotional processes, leadership, and applied research. He is a guest lecturer at the FBI National Academy, a member of the Futures Working Group. Current research efforts are focused on applied research in collaboration with the FBI on perpetrator motivation and violent crime.

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Applied Psychology Program Chair (online)

Maria Lavooy earned an undergraduate degree in Biology, with Biopsychology as her main area of interest and study. It was this interest that led her to the Behavior Genetics Mouse Lab at Miami University, Ohio, where she earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in Psychology. She brings more than 25 years of teaching experience, half of them in online instruction, to Florida Tech. She has been an active member of Psi Chi, The International Honor Society in Psychology, since her undergraduate years and is currently serving on their Board of Directors and Executive Committee in the capacity of President-Elect. Her recent research interests, in addition to online teaching and learning, include confronting behavior and diversity, with a primary focus on gender issues.

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Humans sometimes make economic decisions that go against their own self interests. Why, for example, do people gamble when everyone knows they are going to lose money? In my research, I look for the evolutionary origins of these decision-making biases. It may be that these patterns of behavior were useful in our evolutionary past. In order to explore these types of issues, I research decision-making in nonhuman primates. I am particularly interested in how decision-making processes are influenced by the social dynamics within groups.

Currently, I am researching a number of topics within behavioral economics with the animals housed at the Brevard Zoo. At the zoo, my work is conducted with spider monkeys and ring-tailed lemurs.

I teach courses in the animal behavior concentration for psychology undergraduates.

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Dr. Addante earned a PhD in Neuroscience at UC Davis as a Diversity Fellow of the American Psychological Association in 2011. His work has combined using EEG in small, specialized populations including amnesic patients and astronauts, and has also developed sensitive new measures to study brain states that both predicted future cognition and developed ways to improve memory non-invasively. He has served on NASA analog missions as both Crew & Principal Investigator on psychological research studies of human cognition & teamwork in isolated, confined, and extreme environments analogous to long duration space flight. 

Research in our lab investigates the cognitive neuroscience of human memory, brain states for improving performance and metacognition. Recent discoveries from our team have reported the first neural correlates of the Dunning-Kruger effect, as well as revealed non-conscious memory contributions to cued-recall measures of memory.  Other studies have revealed which memory processes are impaired in amnesia deficits of clinical neuropsychological patients, discovered brain states that predict successful memory prior to a memory stimulus occurring, and our teams then drew upon this knowledge to improve memory performance with interventions such as audio-visual entrainment. We also take these approaches into mobile brain imaging environments of operational settings that include NASA missions and in-flight studies of pilots in general aviation.

He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in physiological psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and neuropsychology.

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Assistant Director Of Clinical Training

Dr. Aragon received his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Nova Southeastern University. His interests include empathy in the process of forgiveness and therapeutic necessity; chronic mental health with inpatient and homeless individuals; substance abuse prevention & intervention.

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Dr. Rich Elmore received his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Georgia State University. His research interests are primarily in the areas of traumatology and couple therapy. He teaches coursework on psychotherapy to include Clinical Skills and Techniques, Marital and Sex Therapy, Clinical Hypnosis, Consultation and a specialty seminar on combat-related PTSD. Dr. Elmore supervises the advanced practicum team on Couple Therapy and serves as the Director of the Center for Combat Veteran Resiliency which provides services to combat veterans.

In addition, Dr. Elmore maintains a part-time private practice specializing in Marital and Sex Therapy. He is a member of the Emeritus Medical Staff, Department of Psychiatry at Holmes Regional Medical Center. He is a past President of the Brevard/Indian River Chapter of the Florida Psychological Association and serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Florida Society of Clinical Hypnosis.

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Dr. Farber is a licensed clinical psychologist who received his doctoral degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His research interests are currently within the areas of self-knowledge, and death and dying. He presently teaches doctoral-level classes in Psychodiagnostics, Existential/Humanistic Models of Therapy, Death and Dying, and the Administration and Management of Mental Health Services. He served for 18 years as the Program Chair of the Psy.D. program at Florida Tech, and also is one of the past presidents of the National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology (NCSPP).

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Professor And Director Of Clinical Training

Dr. Follette earned her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from University of Memphis. She is Professor of Psychology, Clinical Psychology Program Chair and Director of Clinical Training (DCT). Dr. Follette's interests include trauma, psychotherapy outcomes, acceptance and commitment therapy, integrated behavioral health in primary care.

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Dr. Krishnamurthy received her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from the Virginia Consortium for Professional Psychology and completed her predoctoral internship at Eastern Virginia Medical School. Her research interest is primarily in the area of personality assessment and includes psychometric investigations, applications of testing in treatment planning and implementation, therapeutic assessment and feedback, and diversity-sensitive assessment. She teaches the three-course psychological assessment sequence in the Psy.D. program and supervises comprehensive battery assessments at the SCPS clinic practicum.

Dr. Krishnamurthy is 2011-2013 President of the Society for Personality Assessment (www.personality.org) and former President (2008) of Section IX (Assessment) of the American Psychological Association's Division 12 (Society of Clinical Psychology). She serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of Personality Assessment and Consulting Editor for Assessment and Psychological Assessment journals

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Anthony LoGalbo, Ph.D. is a board certified clinical neuropsychologist. He earned his B.A, at New College of Florida and his Ph.D. at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He was a fellow in the neuropsychology program at the VA Puget Sound Healthcare System. In recent years, he has been a clinical neuropsychologist at the Medical Psychology Associates/Florida Hospital Medical Group. He was affiliated with the Florida Hospital Departments of Neuroscience and  Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. He is a licensed psychologist in the State of Florida.

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Dr. Tyc earned her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the State University of New York.  Dr. Tyc's interests include health promotion; pediatric behavioral health issues; risk perceptions; tobacco control with an emphasis on second hand smoke exposure reduction.

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Dr. (Gross) Costopoulos' career has been in the area of forensic psychology. She comes to Florida Tech after serving as the senior forensic psychologist for the Sexually Violent Predator Program of Florida (also known as the Jimmy Ryce Act). Previously she served at a forensic psychiatric inpatient unit at Florida State Hospital where she conducted therapy and assessments, and testified to the court on issues of residents' competency to stand trial, commitment for hospitalization and other forensic matters. While there, she received a number of awards for her outstanding work and contributions.

Dr. Costopoulos is coordinating a number of studies examining the efficacy of programs in the community managing mentally ill offenders. Current research includes evaluating aggression in an inpatient forensic settings and examination of theoretical concepts of psychoanalytic conceptualization of violent criminal behavior.

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Dr. Van Sickle is a Florida licensed psychologist and credentialed by the National Register of Health Service Psychologists. She is also a registered public accountant in the state of Illinois and a National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA) Patient-Centered Medical Home Certified Content Expert (PCMH CCE).  Project Director, HRSA Graduate Psychology Education (GPE) Grant, which provides qualified students with $12,500 stipends/semester (2 semester max.) to complete clinical training experience in one of two integrated primary care practica sites.

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Frank Webbe earned his Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Florida and was on the faculty of the University of Mississippi before joining the Florida Institute of Technology, where he is professor of psychology. The Research Director at the East Central Florida Memory Disorder Clinic, Dr. Webbe has studied standard and computerized methods of early assessment of Alzheimer's disease, and also Applied Behavior Analysis interventions with family caregivers and Alzheimer patients. Through the Florida Tech Sport-Related Concussion Project he has studied the risk factors for concussion in sport, as well best practices for assessing and managing concussion. Dr. Webbe teaches courses in Physiological Psychology, Learning and Motivation, and Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behavior.

He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and the National Academy of Neuropsychology, chairman of the State of Florida's Alzheimer's Disease Advisory Committee, and chair-elect of the Technology Professional Interest Area of the International Society to Advance Alzheimer Research and Treatment. He is a former president of the Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology of the American Psychological Association. Dr. Webbe is the NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative at Florida Tech, and is the president-elect of the national Faculty Athletics Representatives Association.

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Dr. Demara (Mari) B. Bennett earned her Doctorate in Psychology, Clinical Specialization, from the Florida Institute of Technology. She joined the faculty at Florida Tech following extensive clinical experience providing psychological evaluation, treatment, and clinical supervision within community mental health, inpatient, outpatient, and private practice settings. Professional interests include child and family psychology with specialization in differential diagnosis of pediatric mental health concerns, including neurodevelopmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, trauma disorders, and child maltreatment. 

Dr. Bennett serves as Director of the Family Learning Program (FLP), one of only 14 DOH-sponsored sexual abuse treatment programs in Florida, providing treatment for children, siblings, and nonoffending caregivers, and clinical training for Clinical Psy.D. students in trauma assessment and evidence-based sexual abuse and trauma treatment. Dr. Bennett also teaches Introduction to Child Advocacy and Critical Issues in Child Advocacy, two of the three required courses for completion of the Child Advocacy Studies Certificate.

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Gary Burns earned his Ph. D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Central Michigan University in 2006. Gary’s research focuses on measuring and predicting individual differences and developing a better understanding of how these differences are related to organizational behavior and decision making. Applied projects focus on refining and developing performance management systems, developing leader-culture fit, and calibrating trust in human-machine teams. Gary is the director of the Social Cognitive and Sociotechnical Behavior Modeling Laboratory and the Workplace Personality Project. The purpose of the Workplace Personality Project is to promote research into the diverse roles of personality in the workplace to better inform practitioners about how to measure and account for personality. Gary currently serves as an associate editor with the European Journal of Psychological Assessment and is on the editorial boards of the Journal of Business and Psychology and the Journal of Personnel Assessment and Decisions.

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Dr. Che graduated from University of South Florida with a Ph.D. degree in I/O Psychology. Her work focuses on organizational citizenship behaviors, leadership in teams, team development and performance, occupational stress, and workplace safety. She has lead and contributed in many workplace safety improvement projects on safety leadership, leadership in healthcare teams, organizational safety culture and simulation-based leadership training. She currently teaches Introduction to I/O Psychology and a Seminar in Leadership.

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Dr. Converse’s research interests include motivation, particularly self-regulatory processes, personality measurement, and cognitive ability and the ability requirements of occupations. He teaches Personality Psychology, Industrial Training, and Personnel Selection. Dr. Converse received his Ph.D. in I/O Psychology from Michigan State University.

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Dr. Gabrenya received his degree in Psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Dr. Gabrenya's research interests include cross-cultural differences in social interaction and values, social class, Chinese behavior, and cultural differences in sexuality. He is currently the Undergraduate Psychology Chair and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses including cross-cultural psychology, culture and psychology, research methods and social psychology.

Dr. Gabrenya is Secretary-General of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology (www.iaccp.org) and editor of the Cross-Cultural Psychology Bulletin (www.iaccp.org/bulletin).

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Dr. Griffith received his doctoral degree from the University of Akron. His research interests are in the areas of Personality Measurement, Applicant Faking Behavior and Group and Team processes. Dr. Griffith teaches Tests and Measures and Applied Research Methods. He is the co-author of A Closer Examination of Applicant Faking Behavior, and his research was recently featured in Time Magazine. Dr. Griffith Chairs the international I/O concentration and is the Director of the Institute for Cross Cultural Management.

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Dr. Gutman conducts research and consults in the area of EEO law. Dr. Gutman is the author of EEO Law and Personnel Practices.

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Dr. Merlini oversees the Organizational Climate and Leadership Lab. Her research focuses on leadership development and leader behaviors that foster diversity and inclusion (D&I) workplace initiatives. Dr. Merlini works remoletly as the Organizational Leadership Program Chair but still serves on student theses and dissertations. 

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Dr. Steelman's conducts research in the areas of feedback processes, performance management, and employee engagement. She teaches courses in Performance Appraisal, Organizational Change and Transformation, and Advanced Research Methods & Professional Development. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Akron.

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Dr. Thayer completed her doctorate at the University of Central Florida (UCF) in 2015. Her research interests focus on facilitating teamwork and team performance across a variety of contexts (e.g., military units, NASA crews, virtual teams), with an emphasis on team selection, staffing, and composition; trust violation and repair; team cohesion; team adaptation and resilience; and measurement and methodologies for studying interpersonal relationships and team- and system-level dynamics. She currently teaches Organizational Psychology and Multilevel and Teams. She is also part of the leadership team for ICCM.

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Dr. Wildman received her Ph.D. from the University of Central Florida. Her primary research interests include the impact of cultural values and diversity on team process and performance, with a particular emphasis on trust development, violation, and repair in team settings. She currently teaches Group and Team Development and Culture in I/O. She is also involved in research with the Institute for Cross Cultural Management.

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