The Department of Psychology is represented by faculty at three FAU campuses (Boca Raton, Davie and Jupiter). The Department of Psychology maintains a research-intensive graduate program, offering the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Experimental Psychology and Master of Arts degree in Psychology. We service over 2100 undergraduate majors as well. Our award-winning and internationally renowned faculty conduct research in four core areas of Psychology: Cognitive & Cognitive Neuroscience, Developmental, Neuroscience, and Social/Personality Psychology. Students in our program undergo rigorous academic and research training and have gone on to successful careers in both academia and industry.
Part of the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, the department maintains close links with the Center for Complex Systems, with many faculty maintaining dual appointments. The department is among the most successful in the college in obtaining external funding and enjoys a strong national and international profile.
A new study by Florida Atlantic University psychology researchers, including Brett Laursen, Ph.D., senior author and a Professor of Psychology, is the first to show that these classroom seat assignments also have important implications for children’s friendships. Read the FAU News Desk article.
A longitudinal study by researchers at Florida Atlantic University tested the novel hypothesis that aggressive and disruptive children engage in frequent conflicts with classmates to strengthen their position in the group and enhance their popularity. Read the FAU News Desk article.
Read The Wall Street Journal article.
Carmen Varela, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychology in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, received the Alzheimer’s Association’s Research Fellowship to Promote Diversity. The $149,871 award will fund research in her lab on the relationship between sleep and memory. Read more.
A study by researchers from the FAU Schmidt College of Science provides the very first behavioral evidence that laboratory mice are capable of high-level picture-to-object perceptual abilities. Read more.
Findings from the research, led by led by Brett Laursen, Ph.D., show that friends don't fully compensate for poor-quality relationships with parents. Read more.