Psychology Faculty Research
Fabiana Alceste, Associate Professor
B.A. University of Florida, Ph.D. John Jay College of Criminal Justice/The Graduate Center, City University of New York. Dr. Alceste’s research area is Psychology and Law. She studies the social and cognitive processes involved in police interrogations and false confessions. Her recent work focuses on how interrogation practices (such as directly accusing a suspect, minimizing the moral seriousness of an offense, and/or sharing crime details with a suspect) influence judgments about police custody and confession evidence. She hopes that work in this field will continue to improve the criminal justice system by preventing and identifying false confessions that may lead to a wrongful conviction. Dr. Alceste can be reached at falceste@butler.edu.
Jennifer N. Berry, Associate Professor
B.S., M.S., Ph.D. University of Kentucky, post-doctoral research Purdue University. Specialty: Behavioral neuroscience/biopsychology. Dr. Berry’s research focuses on the neurobiological mechanisms involved in the development of substance abuse and dependence using in vivo rodent models. Additionally, we investigate receptor systems (i.e. nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, stress hormone receptors) that may be targeted in the treatment of substance dependence. Current projects involve investigations into nicotine and alcohol co-consumption and the role of stress hormones in substance abuse. Dr. Berry can be reached at jnberry1@butler.edu.
Brian Day, Associate Professor
B.A., Denison University, M.S., Illinois State University, Ph.D., Clemson University. Specialties: Human Factors Psychology, Ecological Psychology, Perception and Action, History of Psychology. Dr. Day’s research investigates the relationship between perception and action, especially in regard to the perception of affordances (the behaviors that can be done in the world such as everyday actions like reaching and sports behaviors like putting or catching). His research also focuses on ensuring that products, ranging from simple tools and websites to virtual reality systems and complex technology interfaces, are safe and easy to use. Dr. Day is also interested in the history of psychology, with a focus on the work of William James and other American functionalists and pragmatists. Dr. Day can be reached at bday@butler.edu.
Renée E. DeCaro, Assistant Professor
B.S. University of Southern Indiana, M.S., Ph.D. Tufts University, post-doctoral research at the Center for Translational Cognitive Neuroscience at Boston University and VA Boston Healthcare. Specialty: cognitive aging and cognitive neuroscience. Dr. DeCaro’s research uses electroencephalograms (EEGs) and event-related potentials (ERPs) to understand the mechanisms underlying learning successes and errors, including false memories and misconceptions. Her team examines a variety of populations, including individuals across the lifespan, both with and without a history of traumatic brain injury or mild cognitive impairment. Current projects use a multimethod approach to answer questions related to memory in contexts that readily translate to everyday life. Dr. DeCaro can be reached at rdecaro@butler.edu.
Candice Dreves, Lecturer
B.S. Michigan State University, M.S., Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Dreves conducts research in the area of Developmental Psychology, particularly adolescent and emerging adulthood development. Her research examines the contextual factors, relationships, and motivational processes that foster academic engagement and interest in the classroom. Dr. Dreves focuses on factors promoting motivation and persistence in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), particularly among underrepresented groups in STEM fields. She is interested in understanding why some students lose interest in these academic domains and decide to leave STEM pursuits. Her recent research examines how socializers such as parents and teachers can influence students’ academic self-concepts, beliefs about their ability to overcome challenge, and motivational outcomes. Dr. Dreves can be reached at cdreves@butler.edu
Karina Hamamouche, Associate Professor
B.A. Butler University, M.A., Ph.D., Boston College. Dr. Hamamouche’s research is in the area of Developmental Psychology, particularly early childhood development. In order to navigate our environments, we must represent and understand the vast amount of quantitative information around us. Motivated by this, Dr. Hamamouche’s research focuses on our representations of quantity (e.g., number, time, etc.) and the impact that those early representations have on our formal understanding of quantity (e.g., math, temporal units of measurement, etc.). In particular, she investigates the nature of quantity representations, which includes comparing similarities and differences across quantitative domains (e.g., number and time) and testing the relations between the early ability to perceive quantities and the later ability to learn symbols for these quantities. She also applies her work to the domain of education by examining ways in which we can facilitate children’s learning of difficult quantitative concepts, such as counting and division. Dr. Hamamouche can be reached at khamamou@butler.edu.
Andrea Kunze, Assistant Professor
B.I.S., Georgia State University, M.S., North Carolina State University, Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. What shapes the way we learn about the world and make decisions—especially in morally grey areas where there’s no clear right or wrong? Dr. Kunze’s research explores how our identities—like race, gender, religion, and class—influence how we think, learn, and respond to complex social issues. She believes research doesn’t have to stay inside the lab; instead, her work often takes place in real-world settings using creative tools like games, photography, storytelling, and social experiments. These projects investigate how people make sense of issues like inequality, mental health, body image, and belief systems, and how learning can lead to deeper reflection, creativity, empathy, and social responsibility. Methods include interviews, surveys, think-alouds, eye-tracking, and field-based activities that invite students to actively explore how learning really works. Students curious about identity, learning, social change, or creative forms of research are encouraged to get involved. Dr. Kunze can be reached at akunze@butler.edu.”
Tara T. Lineweaver, Professor
B.S., B.A., Butler University; M.S., Georgia Institute of Technology; PhD., San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology; Clinical Internship, University of Chicago Medical Center; Postdoctoral Fellowship, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Specialty: Clinical Neuropsychology. Dr. Lineweaver is trained as a Clinical Psychologist with a specialty in neuropsychology (how the brain impacts cognitive abilities). Her research interests span neurodegenerative disorders (such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease), music and dementia, healthy aging, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and epilepsy. She especially loves mentoring undergraduate students as they develop their research skills as student scientists. For press coverage of Dr. Lineweaver’s research, see Fox 59 coverage. Dr. Lineweaver can be reached at tlinewea@butler.edu.
Joel M. Martin, Professor
B.S., University of Pittsburgh, M.S., PhD., University of Memphis. Specialty: Clinical and counseling psychology. Dr. Martin studies cognitive, behavioral, and social factors that distinguish the subclinical versions of psychological disorders from full disorders (e.g., normal sadness from major depression). He is also interested in stigma and stereotypes of mental illness, ethical decision-making in therapy, empirically supported psychotherapies, treatment of substance use, and the portrayal of psychotherapy and psychopathology in popular cinema. Dr. Martin can be reached at jmmarti1@butler.edu.
Patrick McFadden, Visiting Assistant Professor
B.A., University of Northern Colorado, M.Ed., Northern Arizona University, Ph.D., Indiana University – Bloomington. Dr. McFadden’s research lies at the intersection of Sport & Performance Psychology and Multicultural Psychology. He explores the experiences of individuals in the worlds of sport and performance. Specifically, Dr. McFadden is interested in how individuals from historically-marginalized backgrounds have used sport and performance to make greater sense of their lives, improve their overall well-being, and build community and connections. Dr. McFadden has experience conducting quantitative, qualitative, and mixed method studies. Recently, he has particularly enjoyed using the Life Story method and Consensual Qualitative Research to amplify the voices and experiences of those who have been historically silenced. Dr. McFadden can be reached at pmcfadden@butler.edu
Conor O’Dea, Assistant Professor
B.S., M.S., Ph.D., Kansas State University. Dr. O’Dea’s research area is broadly aimed at better understanding antisocial, aggressive, and discriminatory behavior – in other words, why people do awful things in society. He is most interested in two main areas of inquiry. The first is better understanding how social norms that are placed onto men and young boys, to conceal emotions and respond aggressively when insulted, create and facilitate extreme violence in society. The second is why individuals engage in social and political activism to reduce prejudice and bias – for personal benefit or to actually instill positive social change. These different motivations have important implications for how and when individuals choose to engage in prejudice confrontation. He can be reached at codea1@butler.edu and you can follow his lab activities on instagram: @lab_astra.
Robert J. Padgett, Professor
B.A. Hanover College, M.A., PhD. Wayne State University. Specialty: Developmental psychology, statistics, and measurement. Dr. Padgett has a long-standing interest in how young children learn and grow both cognitively and socially from activities in which they actively participate. In recent years, his work has focused on the more social aspects of developmental including personality psychology. For example, students in his lab have pursued projects involving the use of theatrical interventions for understanding and improving the social-emotional development of children on the spectrum including using film to help such children better understand the thoughts and emotions of others. Students in his lab are also currently engaged in examining so-called, “later effects” of being a pediatric cancer survivor and the role their experiences with other survivors may play in reducing such negative social and cognitive outcomes.
Dr. Padgett’s interest in psychometrics and predictive analytics as tools for understanding development has also led to student work in many diverse areas including: studying measures of identity and the influence of social media use on adolescent identity development, studying collegiate belongingness among neurodiverse students, and examining the continuing impact of the pandemic on all college students’ feelings of belongingness and psychological well-being. Dr. Padgett can be reached at rpadgett@butler.edu.
Shelby Terwillegar, Lecturer
M.S., Ph.D., Ball State University, Specialties: Educational Psychology, Achievement Motivation, Development / LGBTQ+ Identity Development, and Research Methodology & Statistics. Dr. Terwillegar’s research focuses on educational systems and outcomes, especially using motivational theories. She investigates how classrooms and other educational structures can impact student achievement and motivation, with special interest in creating educational interventions which improve student outcomes. Dr. Terwillegar’s research also focuses on how identity and minority status interact with environmental features in educational systems to impact achievement, with particular interest in the experiences of LGBTQ+ students and first-generation college students. Dr. Terwillegar can be reached at: sterwillegar@butler.edu.
Stacy Wetmore, Associate Professor
B.A. and M.A. from the University of Alabama Huntsville and her Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma. Her research focuses on the intersection of cognition and the legal system. Her current work centers on informant witnesses, particularly jailhouse informants – one of the leading causes of wrongful convictions. Despite their significant impact, little is known about this type of evidence. Dr. Wetmore investigates key questions such as: How do jurors perceive and evaluate informant testimony? How accurate is this type of evidence? Can effective safeguards be placed to prevent false testimony? Her secondary area of interest involves eyewitness identification, which fundamentally functions as a memory test. She explores methods to improve existing procedures or to develop new ways of assessing eyewitness memory. Additionally, she is investigating whether there are other indicators that can help determine the likely accuracy of an eyewitness’s identification. Lastly, she has begun research focused on violence against women in legal contexts, including how jurors make decisions in rape cases and how cyberstalking is evaluated and perceived. Dr. Wetmore can be contacted at swetmore@butler.edu.
Affiliate Faculty
Tonya R. Bergeson, Associate Professor of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
B.A., B.Mus., Northwestern University. M.A., Ph.D., psychology, University of Toronto, post-doctoral research at IU School of Medicine. Specialty: music, language, & hearing loss. Dr. Bergeson’s research examines effects of early auditory experience on speech, language and music development in infants and children with and without hearing loss as well as music interventions for older adults with communication disorders such as dementia. Current projects involve exploring effects of Instagram on mother-infant interactions and subsequent language development, music and language environments in the homes of young children with hearing loss, and benefits of music and social interaction on sundowning symptoms, language, and behavior in adults with dementia. Dr. Bergeson can be reached at tbergeso@butler.edu.
Mickeal N. Key, Visiting Assistant Professor of Neuroscience
B.S. in Biological Sciences and Psychology, Louisiana State University in Shreveport; M.A. in Experimental Psychology, Indiana State University; Ph.D. in Neuroscience, University of Illinois at Champaign Urbana; Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Brain Health Training Program, University of Kansas Medical Center’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Dr. Key’s research investigates the neurobiological mechanisms by which lifestyle interventions improve cognitive performance and brain health in aging. She implements multiple neuroimaging techniques to examine how diet and exercise impact markers of brain health and cognitive function in older adults. Dr. Key’s research also explores clinical trial design and implementation, community-based research practices, social determinants of health, and representation in clinical trial recruitment and retention practices. Dr. Key can be contacted at mkey1@butler.edu.
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