Director: Eric R. Dahlen, Ph.D.
Lab Alumni
Doctoral Alumni
Riley Davis, Ph.D.
Riley joined us in the Summer/Fall of 2020 from the Correctional and Forensic Psychology Lab after her major professor, Dr. Batastini, accepted another position. Riley had previously defended her master’s thesis, “Does race matter? An examination of defendant race on legal decision making in the context of actuarial risk assessments.” Her dissertation, which she successfully defended in the Spring of 2022, extended this work. Riley completed her predoctoral internship at the Federal Correctional Complex Allenwood in Allenwood, PA. She is a Staff Psychologist at the Federal Correctional Institution in Greenville, IL.
Alison Poor, Ph.D.
Ali joined us in the Fall of 2018 as a doctoral student after completing her B.S. in psychology at Louisiana State University. She defended her master’s thesis in the Spring of 2020 and defended her dissertation in the Summer of 2022. She served as a student representative to the Mississippi Psychological Association in 2021-22. Ali completed her predoctoral internship at the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Healthcare System in New Orleans, LA. She accepted a postdoctoral fellowship in Primary Care - Mental Health Integration at the New Orleans VA.
Savannah Merold, Ph.D.
Savannah entered the doctoral program in the Fall of 2016 after completing her B.S. in psychology at the University of Southern Mississippi. As an undergraduate, her research focused on social and emotional intelligence in the context of psychopathic personality traits. She defended her master’s thesis in 2018 and defended her dissertation in the Fall of 2022. Savannah completed her predoctoral internship at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, MO.
Philip Stoner, Ph.D.
Philip entered the doctoral program in the Fall of 2016 after completing his B.A. in psychology and English from Mississippi University for Women. As an undergraduate, his research focused on areas such as aggression, alcohol use, and narcissistic personality traits. He defended his master’s thesis in the Spring of 2018 and defended his dissertation in the Spring of 2022. Philip completed his predoctoral internship at the Federal Correctional Complex in Petersburg, VA. He recently accepted a position as a Staff Psychologist at the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, MD.
Taylor Nocera, Ph.D.
Taylor entered the master's program in the Fall of 2015 after graduating from Auburn University in 2013 and working at the Women's Center here in Hattiesburg and at a group home for adolescents in Alabama. She completed a master's project on the role of dark personality traits in electronic aggression (also known as cyber aggression) among college students. Taylor was accepted into our doctoral program in the Fall of 2017, proposed her dissertation in 2018, and successfully defended it in October of 2019. She completed her predoctoral internship at the Orlando VA and is now completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the Palo Alto VA.
Skylar Hicks, Ph.D.
Skylar entered the doctoral program in the Fall of 2015 after graduating from the University of New Orleans and working as a research associate in the Department of Psychiatry at the LSU Health Sciences Center School of Medicine. She defended her master’s thesis in the Spring of 2018, defended her dissertation in the Summer of 2019, and is completed her predoctoral internship at the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, TX. Skylar has the distinction of being the first student from the lab to complete her predoctoral internship at a Federal Bureau of Prisons site.
Niki Knight, Ph.D.
Niki entered the doctoral program in 2013 from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She completed her master's internship at the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System in Biloxi and defended her master's thesis in the Fall of 2015, an examination of the utility of the "dark triad" (i.e., psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism) constructs in understanding relational aggression. Niki presented her results at the Southeastern Psychological Association conference in New Orleans. Niki completed her pre-doctoral internship at the Central Arkansas VA and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Kansas City VA Medical Center. She defended her dissertation, a study of envy, contingent self-esteem, fear of negative evaluation, and anger rumination in indirect and displaced aggression, in April of 2018 and graduated in December of the same year. Niki is a licensed psychologist working at the Orlando VA Medical Center in primary care as a behavioral health consultant.
Caitlin Clark, Ph.D.
Caitlin entered the master's program in 2011 from Georgia College & State University. She completed a master's project on parenting styles and relational aggression among college students. A paper based on this study was published in the Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma. Caitlin was admitted into the doctoral program in 2013 and defended her dissertation, a study that involving the development of a new measure of relational aggression suitable for use with college student samples. She completed her predoctoral internship at the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Michael E DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, TX. Following her postdoc, Caitlin accepted a position at the Houston VA where she splits her time between the general mental health outpatient clinic and conducting clinical research with Dr. Ellen Teng. Some of her recent research has involved working as an assessor and therapist on a randomized controlled trial comparing the effectiveness of a transdiagnostic treatment for anxiety disorders delivered in a standard group format vs. a 2-day intensive weekend format.
Daniel Deason, Ph.D.
Daniel entered the doctoral program in 2012 from Oklahoma State University - Stillwater. He completed his master's thesis on the Five Factor model of personality, social anxiety, and rejection sensitivity in relational aggression among college students. Daniel defended his dissertation in 2016, an investigation of the role of masculinity in relational aggression and victimization among gay men. He completed his predoctoral internship at the Counseling Center at the University of Memphis. Daniel recently accepted a position as a Staff Psychologist at the Counseling Center at the University of Mississippi.
David Boudreaux, Ph.D.
David entered the doctoral program in 2010 after completing his B.S. in psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi - Gulf Coast. He successfully defended his master's thesis in 2012, Attitudes Toward Anger Management Services, a study involving the development and evaluation of a new instrument to assess attitudes and intentions related to help seeking. He presented a poster based on this work at the American Psychological Association conference in 2013, and a paper based on this study was published in Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development in 2014. David defended his dissertation in 2015 and completed his predoctoral internship the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa, FL. He is currently employed as a staff psychologist at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa.
Emily Prather, Ph.D.
Emily entered the doctoral program in 2008 from Miami University. She defended her master's thesis, Sex Role Egalitarianism and Relational Aggression in Intimate Partnerships, and completed her predoctoral internship at Wellspan Behavioral Health in York, PA. Emily presented the results of her thesis at the 2012 conference of the American Psychological Association, and a paper based on her thesis was published in the Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma in 2012. Emily defended her dissertation in April of 2015 and has accepted a postdoc position at Wellspan. She graduated with her Ph.D. in December of 2015.
Kate Czar, Ph.D.
Kate defended her dissertation in the Fall of 2011, Regional Differences in Relational Aggression: The Role of Culture, and graduated with her Ph.D. in December of 2012. She completed a postdoc at the Texas State University - San Marcos Counseling Center and is working as a licensed psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin.
Michelle (Augustin) Christopher, Ph.D.
Michelle defended her dissertation, A Psychometric Investigation of the Young Adult Social Behavior Scale (YASB), and graduated with her Ph.D. in 2010. She works as an adjunct professor at the University of St. Thomas.
Greg Futral, Ph.D.
Greg defended his dissertation, Increasing Readiness to Change Anger: A Motivational Group Intervention, and graduated with his Ph.D. in 2010. Greg is the Clinical Director of the Gratitude Program at Pine Grove Behavioral Health and Addiction Services in Hattiesburg, MS.
Michael Moore, Ph.D.
Michael defended his dissertation in the Fall of 2010, Further Validation of the Larson Driver Stress Profile, and graduated with his Ph.D. in 2011. He completed his predoctoral internship at the Memphis VA and his postdoctoral fellowship at the Southern Arizona VA in Tucson, specializing in trauma psychology. In 2016, Michael transferred to the Phoenix VA where he works full time with the Workplace Violence Prevention Program and is a member of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals.
Roy White, Ph.D.
Roy defended his dissertation, Driving Anger, Sensation Seeking, and Narcissism in the Prediction of Unsafe Driving, and graduated with his Ph.D. in 2009. Roy is a licensed psychologist employed at the Birmingham VA Medical Center in Birmingham, AL.
M.T. McNabb, Ph.D.
M.T. defended her dissertation, Scarred Images: Using Appearance as a Motivator to Reduce Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol, and graduated with her Ph.D. in 2009. She is working as a psychologist in Ontario, Canada.
Ryan Martin, Ph.D.
Ryan defended his dissertation, Cognitive Processes Associated with Anger Disorders: The Development of a New Instrument, and graduated with his Ph.D. in 2004. He is now a Professor of Psychology and Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay. You can learn more about him and his work at www.alltheragescience.com.
Riley joined us in the Summer/Fall of 2020 from the Correctional and Forensic Psychology Lab after her major professor, Dr. Batastini, accepted another position. Riley had previously defended her master’s thesis, “Does race matter? An examination of defendant race on legal decision making in the context of actuarial risk assessments.” Her dissertation, which she successfully defended in the Spring of 2022, extended this work. Riley completed her predoctoral internship at the Federal Correctional Complex Allenwood in Allenwood, PA. She is a Staff Psychologist at the Federal Correctional Institution in Greenville, IL.
Alison Poor, Ph.D.
Ali joined us in the Fall of 2018 as a doctoral student after completing her B.S. in psychology at Louisiana State University. She defended her master’s thesis in the Spring of 2020 and defended her dissertation in the Summer of 2022. She served as a student representative to the Mississippi Psychological Association in 2021-22. Ali completed her predoctoral internship at the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Healthcare System in New Orleans, LA. She accepted a postdoctoral fellowship in Primary Care - Mental Health Integration at the New Orleans VA.
Savannah Merold, Ph.D.
Savannah entered the doctoral program in the Fall of 2016 after completing her B.S. in psychology at the University of Southern Mississippi. As an undergraduate, her research focused on social and emotional intelligence in the context of psychopathic personality traits. She defended her master’s thesis in 2018 and defended her dissertation in the Fall of 2022. Savannah completed her predoctoral internship at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, MO.
Philip Stoner, Ph.D.
Philip entered the doctoral program in the Fall of 2016 after completing his B.A. in psychology and English from Mississippi University for Women. As an undergraduate, his research focused on areas such as aggression, alcohol use, and narcissistic personality traits. He defended his master’s thesis in the Spring of 2018 and defended his dissertation in the Spring of 2022. Philip completed his predoctoral internship at the Federal Correctional Complex in Petersburg, VA. He recently accepted a position as a Staff Psychologist at the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, MD.
Taylor Nocera, Ph.D.
Taylor entered the master's program in the Fall of 2015 after graduating from Auburn University in 2013 and working at the Women's Center here in Hattiesburg and at a group home for adolescents in Alabama. She completed a master's project on the role of dark personality traits in electronic aggression (also known as cyber aggression) among college students. Taylor was accepted into our doctoral program in the Fall of 2017, proposed her dissertation in 2018, and successfully defended it in October of 2019. She completed her predoctoral internship at the Orlando VA and is now completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the Palo Alto VA.
Skylar Hicks, Ph.D.
Skylar entered the doctoral program in the Fall of 2015 after graduating from the University of New Orleans and working as a research associate in the Department of Psychiatry at the LSU Health Sciences Center School of Medicine. She defended her master’s thesis in the Spring of 2018, defended her dissertation in the Summer of 2019, and is completed her predoctoral internship at the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, TX. Skylar has the distinction of being the first student from the lab to complete her predoctoral internship at a Federal Bureau of Prisons site.
Niki Knight, Ph.D.
Niki entered the doctoral program in 2013 from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She completed her master's internship at the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System in Biloxi and defended her master's thesis in the Fall of 2015, an examination of the utility of the "dark triad" (i.e., psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism) constructs in understanding relational aggression. Niki presented her results at the Southeastern Psychological Association conference in New Orleans. Niki completed her pre-doctoral internship at the Central Arkansas VA and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Kansas City VA Medical Center. She defended her dissertation, a study of envy, contingent self-esteem, fear of negative evaluation, and anger rumination in indirect and displaced aggression, in April of 2018 and graduated in December of the same year. Niki is a licensed psychologist working at the Orlando VA Medical Center in primary care as a behavioral health consultant.
Caitlin Clark, Ph.D.
Caitlin entered the master's program in 2011 from Georgia College & State University. She completed a master's project on parenting styles and relational aggression among college students. A paper based on this study was published in the Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma. Caitlin was admitted into the doctoral program in 2013 and defended her dissertation, a study that involving the development of a new measure of relational aggression suitable for use with college student samples. She completed her predoctoral internship at the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Michael E DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, TX. Following her postdoc, Caitlin accepted a position at the Houston VA where she splits her time between the general mental health outpatient clinic and conducting clinical research with Dr. Ellen Teng. Some of her recent research has involved working as an assessor and therapist on a randomized controlled trial comparing the effectiveness of a transdiagnostic treatment for anxiety disorders delivered in a standard group format vs. a 2-day intensive weekend format.
Daniel Deason, Ph.D.
Daniel entered the doctoral program in 2012 from Oklahoma State University - Stillwater. He completed his master's thesis on the Five Factor model of personality, social anxiety, and rejection sensitivity in relational aggression among college students. Daniel defended his dissertation in 2016, an investigation of the role of masculinity in relational aggression and victimization among gay men. He completed his predoctoral internship at the Counseling Center at the University of Memphis. Daniel recently accepted a position as a Staff Psychologist at the Counseling Center at the University of Mississippi.
David Boudreaux, Ph.D.
David entered the doctoral program in 2010 after completing his B.S. in psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi - Gulf Coast. He successfully defended his master's thesis in 2012, Attitudes Toward Anger Management Services, a study involving the development and evaluation of a new instrument to assess attitudes and intentions related to help seeking. He presented a poster based on this work at the American Psychological Association conference in 2013, and a paper based on this study was published in Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development in 2014. David defended his dissertation in 2015 and completed his predoctoral internship the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa, FL. He is currently employed as a staff psychologist at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa.
Emily Prather, Ph.D.
Emily entered the doctoral program in 2008 from Miami University. She defended her master's thesis, Sex Role Egalitarianism and Relational Aggression in Intimate Partnerships, and completed her predoctoral internship at Wellspan Behavioral Health in York, PA. Emily presented the results of her thesis at the 2012 conference of the American Psychological Association, and a paper based on her thesis was published in the Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma in 2012. Emily defended her dissertation in April of 2015 and has accepted a postdoc position at Wellspan. She graduated with her Ph.D. in December of 2015.
Kate Czar, Ph.D.
Kate defended her dissertation in the Fall of 2011, Regional Differences in Relational Aggression: The Role of Culture, and graduated with her Ph.D. in December of 2012. She completed a postdoc at the Texas State University - San Marcos Counseling Center and is working as a licensed psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin.
Michelle (Augustin) Christopher, Ph.D.
Michelle defended her dissertation, A Psychometric Investigation of the Young Adult Social Behavior Scale (YASB), and graduated with her Ph.D. in 2010. She works as an adjunct professor at the University of St. Thomas.
Greg Futral, Ph.D.
Greg defended his dissertation, Increasing Readiness to Change Anger: A Motivational Group Intervention, and graduated with his Ph.D. in 2010. Greg is the Clinical Director of the Gratitude Program at Pine Grove Behavioral Health and Addiction Services in Hattiesburg, MS.
Michael Moore, Ph.D.
Michael defended his dissertation in the Fall of 2010, Further Validation of the Larson Driver Stress Profile, and graduated with his Ph.D. in 2011. He completed his predoctoral internship at the Memphis VA and his postdoctoral fellowship at the Southern Arizona VA in Tucson, specializing in trauma psychology. In 2016, Michael transferred to the Phoenix VA where he works full time with the Workplace Violence Prevention Program and is a member of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals.
Roy White, Ph.D.
Roy defended his dissertation, Driving Anger, Sensation Seeking, and Narcissism in the Prediction of Unsafe Driving, and graduated with his Ph.D. in 2009. Roy is a licensed psychologist employed at the Birmingham VA Medical Center in Birmingham, AL.
M.T. McNabb, Ph.D.
M.T. defended her dissertation, Scarred Images: Using Appearance as a Motivator to Reduce Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol, and graduated with her Ph.D. in 2009. She is working as a psychologist in Ontario, Canada.
Ryan Martin, Ph.D.
Ryan defended his dissertation, Cognitive Processes Associated with Anger Disorders: The Development of a New Instrument, and graduated with his Ph.D. in 2004. He is now a Professor of Psychology and Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay. You can learn more about him and his work at www.alltheragescience.com.
Master's Alumni
Terrina’Za Myles
Nicole Kollmann, M.S.
Amanda Dortch, M.S.
Hailee Buras, M.S.
A.J. Qureshi, M.S.
Morgan Lowe, M.S.
Adijah Battle, M.S.
Michael Vidana, M.S.
Mallory McCann, M.S.
Christy (Dyess) Oberst, M.S.
Matt Rauch, M.S.
Undergraduate Alumni
Ria LeDesma
Drew Kiekel
Syrus Wallen
Sally Norman
Seth Colson
Olajuwon Olagbegi
Aria Smith
Isabel Stoker
Shelby Caffarel
Amber Dedeaux
Ashlee Bryant
Shawn Bishop
Jameka Perry
Drew Kiekel
Syrus Wallen
Sally Norman
Seth Colson
Olajuwon Olagbegi
Aria Smith
Isabel Stoker
Shelby Caffarel
Amber Dedeaux
Ashlee Bryant
Shawn Bishop
Jameka Perry
Anger and Personality Lab
The lab is directed by Dr. Eric R. Dahlen, and the content of this website represents his views (see disclaimer). Graduate students in Counseling Psychology and undergraduate Psychology majors at the University of Southern Mississippi study overt and relational aggression/victimization, dysfunctional anger, college student mental health, and related areas.
The lab is directed by Dr. Eric R. Dahlen, and the content of this website represents his views (see disclaimer). Graduate students in Counseling Psychology and undergraduate Psychology majors at the University of Southern Mississippi study overt and relational aggression/victimization, dysfunctional anger, college student mental health, and related areas.