Tabitha Payne joined the faculty at Kenyon in 2002. Her teaching interests include courses in cognitive processes. In her research, she seeks to understand individual differences in the ability to apply effortful focus toward remembering, problem solving and learning. The ability to focus and execute advanced mental operations for memory, reasoning and learning is dependent on a number of factors that can be defined in terms of task parameters, enduring intellectual ability of the individual and even reactions to stress.
Areas of Expertise
Cognitive psychology, methods in cognitive psychology.
Education
2003 — Doctor of Philosophy from Georgia Institute of Tech
1997 — Master of Science from Univ Tennessee Chattanooga
1995 — Bachelor of Arts from The Ohio State University
Courses Recently Taught
PSYC 150
Introduction to Research Methods in Psychology
PSYC 150
In this course students will learn the basics of research in psychology. Students will participate in research projects conducted across different areas of psychology, which might involve observation and interviewing, psychological tests and measures, physiological measures, and computerized tasks. Students will learn about issues of reliability and validity in psychological research, as well as ethical issues associated with psychological research. Students will learn techniques for descriptive statistical analysis of their data, and they will communicate their research findings both orally and in writing, using the writing style of the American Psychological Association. This course is designed for first-year and sophomore students planning to major in psychology. Prerequisite: PSYC 100 or 110 or AP score of 5. Typically offered every semester.
PSYC 206
Psychology of Language
PSYC 206
One thing that makes our species unique is our amazing capacity for language and complex symbol use. This course will cover basic theory with respect to the evolutionary origins of language, cognitive neuroscience of language, basic psycholinguistics theory and application, nonhuman communication research, and issues of social cognition and language, as well as special cases and conditions in which language capacity or development is disrupted. By the end of the course, students will have gained a heightened awareness of just how complex language use really is, along with a richer appreciation of the far-reaching impact it has on their everyday lives. This counts toward the mind and brain requirement for the major. Prerequisite: PSYC 100 or 110 or AP score of 5. Generally offered every other year.
PSYC 250
Research Methods in Psychology
PSYC 250
In this course students will learn the basics of research in psychology. Students will participate in research projects conducted across different areas of psychology, which might involve observation and interviewing, psychological tests and measures, physiological measures and computerized tasks. Students will learn about issues of reliability and validity in psychological research, as well as ethical issues associated with psychological research. Students will further develop techniques for descriptive statistical analysis of their data, and they will communicate their research findings both orally and in writing, using the writing style of the American Psychological Association. This course is designed for sophomore students planning to major in psychology. This counts toward the foundations requirement for the major. Prerequisite: PSYC 100 or 110 or AP score of 5 and PSYC 200. Generally offered every semester.
PSYC 301
Cognitive Psychology
PSYC 301
The goal of this course is to enlighten students about human thinking processes. This course will cover research and theories regarding intelligence. Emphasis will be on the study of laboratory research, with discussion of how the findings relate to real-world issues. Students should gain an understanding of general cognitive processes that apply to all humans, as well as a perspective on individual differences in cognition and how they may merge with our understanding of clinical disorders. This counts toward the cognitive processes and learning requirement for the major. Prerequisite: PSYC 100 or 110 or AP score of 5. Generally offered every year.
PSYC 306
Psychology of Language
PSYC 306
One thing that makes our species unique is our amazing capacity for language and complex symbol use. This course will cover basic theory with respect to the evolutionary origins of language, cognitive neuroscience of language, basic psycholinguistics theory and application, nonhuman communication research, and issues of social cognition and language, as well as special cases and conditions in which language capacity or development is disrupted. By the end of the course, students will have gained a heightened awareness of just how complex language use really is, along with a richer appreciation of the far-reaching impact it has on their everyday lives. This counts toward the cognitive processes and learning requirement for the major. Prerequisite: PSYC 150 or 250. Generally offered every other year.
PSYC 307
Language Disorders
PSYC 307
The goal of this course is to explore the current categories of Language Disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Psychology. Aside from learning more about individual differences in intelligence and cognitive processing, highlighted conditions include Autistic Spectrum Disorder, ADHD and Dyslexia. Another category of language disorders is Specific Linguistic Impairments (SLIs). Each student will research an assigned impairment with the goal of summarizing findings and highlighting needs for future work. A final category we will explore is linguistic patterns associated with mental illness. Students will also create a digital story to communicate important findings in the scientific literature regarding the assigned condition. This counts toward the mind and brain requirement for the major. Prerequisite: PSYC 250.
PSYC 391
ST: Language Disorders
PSYC 391
PSYC 402
Advanced Research Methods in Cognition
PSYC 402
This course is designed to provide students with an opportunity to engage in cognition research. Students will create, design and implement unique experiments in areas of attention, learning, memory, language, and problem solving. Students will acquire fundamental computer programming experience to create assessments. Data collection and analyses techniques will result in actual research findings that will be communicated through an American Psychological Association style paper, as well as a poster presentation. This counts toward the advanced research requirement for the major. Prerequisite: PSYC 250 and 301 or 306. Offered as department schedules permit.
PSYC 475
Psychology Senior Seminar
PSYC 475
This is a required course for senior psychology majors. Each section will have a different topic, but in every seminar students will read and discuss psychological literature, write and discuss critiques of research articles, develop a review paper on a topic in psychology develop a research proposal on a topic in psychology and make a formal oral presentation to the class. This counts toward the senior capstone requirement for the major. Prerequisite: senior standing and psychology major. Offered every fall.
PSYC 493
Individual Study
PSYC 493
Individual study in psychology allows students the opportunity to pursue research on a topic of special interest. The course is designed in consultation with a faculty mentor. The level of credit can range from 0.25 to 0.5 unit of credit and students may take more than one semester of individual study. Typically, only juniors or seniors may pursue this option. To enroll, a student must first identify a member of the psychology department who is willing to mentor the project. The student must give the department chair a written description of the project, including the nature of the proposed work and a list of references. The project should include reading and reviewing scientific literature and will likely entail a research project in which original data are collected. The student and faculty member are expected to meet, on average, once a week. The final project will likely be a paper written in the style of the American Psychological Association. Additional assignments may be required as well, including a public presentation. The amount of work required for the individual study should approximate that required of other 300-level psychology courses. It is possible for students to pursue a group project but more work will be expected for the completed project and each student will write her or his own individual paper. Because students must enroll for individual studies by the end of the seventh class day of each semester, they should begin discussion of the proposed individual study preferably the semester before, so that there is time to devise the proposal and seek departmental approval before the registrar’s deadline.