Professor Brennis Lucero-Wagoner, Ph.D
Contact
- Office Location: ST 324
Office Phone: (818) 677-3317
E-mail: Brennis.L.Wagoner@csun.edu - Website: http://www.csun.edu/~vcpsy00i/index.html
Education
- Ph.D. 1982, University of California, Los Angeles
M.A. 1974, University of California, Los Angeles
B.A. 1972, California State University, Northridge
Specialty Areas: Behavioral Neuroscience Cognitive psychology Psychopharmacology.
Courses Taught
- Psy 150 - Principles of Human Behavior
- Psy 402/L - Brain and Behavior
Selected Publications and Presentations
Lucero-Wagoner, B. (2002). CPR - A web-based resource to improve critical thinking and writing skills. Poster to be presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Society, New Orleans, LA, June 6, 2002.
Drescher, B.K. and Lucero-Wagoner, B. (2002). Color printers: Teaching color theory the easy way. Poster presented at the meetings of the Western Psychological Association, Irvine, CA, April, 2002.
Shibahara, N., & Lucero-Wagoner, B. (2001). Access to perceptual and conceptual information in the left and right hemispheres. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 93, 649-659.
Jimeno, D. I., Lucero-Wagoner, B., and Berdahl, J. L. (2001). Ethnic composition of groups: Effects on group and member outcomes. 16th Annual Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Conference Abstracts.
Lucero-Wagoner, B. The World Wide Web and instruction. The Seventh Annual Lewis M. Terman Western Regional Teachers' Conference, May 3, 2001. Kaanapali, Maui.
Beatty, J. & Lucero-Wagoner, B. (2000). The pupillary system. In J. Caccioppo, L.G. Tassinary, & G. Berntson (Eds.) The Handbook of Psychophysiology, Hillsdale, NJ: Cambridge University Press.
Lucero-Wagoner, B. (2000). CSUN Freshmen - debunking the myths. The C.E.L.T. Letter, Vol. 1, 2.
Lucero-Wagoner, B. Community in the Making: University 100. Presentation at the CSUN Faculty Retreat. January, 2000, Oxnard, CA.
Lucero-Wagoner, B. Teaching with technology. The Sixth Lewis M. Terman Western Regional Teachers' Conference, April, 2000, Portland, Oregon
Research Interests
I am interested in the effects of nicotine and nicotine abstinence on mental performance. Current literature suggests that deficits in performance accompany nicotine withdrawal. These deficits may partly account for the high relapse rates seen in persons attempting to cease smoking. We ask our participants to abstain from smoking for 12 hours; then we present them with a variety of cognitive tests.
Somewhat related to my interest in the effects of nicotine are my interests in thought suppression. Participants in thought suppression experiments are instructed not to think of certain information. The results of these experiments suggest that the attempt to suppress certain thoughts is often an ineffective self-control strategy that has the paradoxical effect of producing a preoccupation with the thought to be suppressed. These findings have implication for addictions and eating disorders.
I am also interested in the use of the World Wide Web in instruction and the assessment of that use.
Students familiar with Superlab, or who are willing to learn to develop experiments using Superlab are especially sought, though this is not a requirement for working on these projects. Knowledge of HTML coding is also a plus, though not a requirement.