University Faculty Senate
Instructor and Program Director
Assistant Professor
Education
Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University
M.A., Pennsylvania State University
B.A., California State University
2018 Instructor and Program Director of the Psychology program at UB 2011- Assistant Professor of Psychology at UB 2008-2011 Instructor of Psychology at UB 2009-2011 Undergraduate Program Director (Division of Applied Behavioral Sciences) at UB 2002-2008 (visiting) Assistant Professor of Psychology at Gettysburg College
Existential Concerns Self Motives Friendship Processes Religion and Spirituality
Social Psychology (Introductory & Advanced) Research Methodology/Statistics General/Introductory Psychology Motivation History of Psychology Psychology of Religion and Spirituality Gender and Sexuality
Book Chapters
Eyssell, K., Farley, S. D., Shaffer, K., Soheilian, S., & Schoepf, E. H. (2021). From the 'Dregs of Society' to 'Lap Dogs of the Elite': How to Mimic the Psychological Effects of Capitalism in your Classroom. Society for the Teaching of Psychology.
Refereed Journal Articles
Soheilian, S. S., Shaffer, K., Schoepf, E. H., Eyssell, K., & Farley, S. D. (2023). MIMICKING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF CAPITALISM IN THE CLASSROOM: USING STARPOWER TO DEMONSTRATE UNCONSCIOUS BIAS, PRIVILEGE, AND OPPRESSION. The Journal of Campus Activities Practice and Scholarship. 5(1), 51-63.
Eyssell, K. Gettysburg Pride, "A Place in the Pew: Spiritual Growth Resources for the LGBRTQ+ Community," Gettysburg Pride, Gettysburg, Pennsylania. (2021).
Eyssell, K. M. Social Neuroscience of Attachment, "The Relationship between Attachment Processes and the Consequences of Terminated Friendships," Discover, Israel. (2020).
Eyssell, K. Society for Personality and Social Psychology, "Existential Mindfulness and the Foundations of Morality," New Orleans. (2020).
Soheilian, S., Shaffer, K., Eyssell, K., Farley, S., & Schoepf, E. National Institute for the Teaching of Psychology, "Star Power: Qualitative look at student responses to experiential exercise on power and privilege in a capitalist economy," St. Pete Beach, Florida. (2020).
"Double Blind: A Graphic Novel of Statistics and Desperation" (On-Going)
My co-author and I have been working on a graphic novel to supplement more traditional texts for research methods and statistics courses in the social sciences. I negotiated the terms of a contract and have been granted a $25,000 subvention from the University of Baltimore Institutes to remunerate the graphic artist. A completed draft was submitted to the publisher in November 2018. We await an ISBN number.
Update (05 2020): the Double Blind publication has been stalled. With the exception of one or two small edits it has been completed but my second author is refusing to make the corrections (they involve the art work) and is insisting on owning all copyrights. This violates the contract and has led to a stalemate that has yet to be resolved.
Update (04 2021): The publisher is acting as go-between and will attempt to resolve any issues with my co-author. We are down to the penultimate set of edits before sending out to review.
"Existential Mindfulness Scale Development Study" (On-Going)
Using Yalom's (1980) theoretical model of existential concern, my collaborators and I have created face valid items to tap three dimensions of the construct: death, meaninglessness, and isolation. Data have been collected on a large sample and a confirmatory factory analysis revealed the hypothesized factor structure. Moreover, we have completed analysis on five constructs that provide evidence for convergent validity. I have applied for funding to collect longitudinal data to test for test/retest reliability as well as constructs hypothesized to provide discriminant validity. The literature review has been completed and final edits on the completed manuscript are in progress. We expect to submit for review at the journal Personality and Individual Differences in June, 2020.
"The Friendzone"
The term "friendzone" emerged in the popular culture as a construct that identifies a member of a romantically interested person who has been relegated to friendship-only status. I have collected mixed-method data seeking to understand individuals' experiences relating others to the friendzone as well as being placed in that category. All the qualitative data have been coded and entered into SPSS and I am planning to do the quantitative analyses in the summer of 2019 and a manuscript submitted in the fall of 2020. One conference presentation has already emerged from the study.
"The Motivational Structure of Existential Curiosity"
Research examining the underlying motives for existential curiosity. A two-study manuscript was rejected twice with the principal feedback being that there had not been appropriate scale development work done. My collaborators and I have terminated this project and moved on to a different approach.
"What's in a Worldview: A Meta Analysis of the Terror Management" (On-Going)
Terror Management researchers are very clear about the role and importance of one's cultural worldview in protecting against existential terror. They have not been as coherent in its operationalization. This meta analysis will analyze the impact of various facets of the cultural worldview as an existential buffer. As of March, 2018 empirical studies published in 2015-2017 have been identified, secured, and almost completely coded. One of my collaborators experienced an unexpected health issue and needed to postpone work on this project. We expect to start up again in the summer of 2019 and hope to submit for review in the spring of 2020.