All departmental faculty supervise graduate and/or undergraduate research and are actively engaged in research and/or other scholarly activities. Many maintain their own ongoing research programs. Areas of specialization represented by departmental faculty include: child development, lifespan development, evolutionary psychology, psychophysiology, neuropsychology, cognition, cognitive electrophysiology (event-related potential methodology), social psychology, health psychology, clinical psychology, and school psychology.

Since the year 2000, research grants have been awarded to Dr. Deborah Jones (NICHD, R24HD43613, HIV Prevention, $1.3 million), Dr. Lenore Szuchman (NIA, Advice Giving by Older Women to Adult Daughters, $50,000) and Dr. Frank Muscarella (Barry University Research and Scholarship Fund, Sexual Behavior, $16,595) to support their own research programs.

The department’s commitment to undergraduate and graduate research is best reflected through its annual Psychology Department Student Research Forum that takes place every Spring semester. The Forum provides an opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to present their research. Proposals and literature reviews are presented as posters and completed projects are presented orally. Consequently, students who complete a research project have had the opportunity to present in both formats over two years. In addition to basic presentation skills, students also learn the technological skills required to prepare supporting visual materials. In addition, students are encouraged to submit their research for presentation at regional, state and national conferences, as appropriate.