Department
of PsychologyDepartment
of Psychology
I joined the Psychology Department at San Diego State University in 1988, where I have been teaching courses in measurement, research methods, data-analysis, quasi-experimentation, meta-analysis, and program evaluation. With the assistance of some very bright and energetic students and in collaboration with colleagues in San Diego and around the world, I am currently pursuing several lines of research.
First, my research examines how microenvironments, such as homes and cars, become contaminated by secondhand smoke, how nonsmokers are exposed to secondhand smoke pollutants, and how to better protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke exposure. With support from California’s Tobacco Related Disease Research Program, we are studying how smoking in homes and cars can lead to persistent pollution of these microenvironments long after smoking has ended. Also known as thirdhand smoke, aged secondhand smoke, and residual secondhand smoke, a nonsmoker may be exposed to toxic tobacco smoke pollutants even if they have never been near a burning cigarette. The goal of this research is to design better strategies to protect nonsmokers from fresh and residual secondhand smoke.
Second, I am interested in methods to improve the validity of self-reports, especially quantitative estimates, by developing measurement strategies that rely on cognitive models of information processing. Specifically, I have developed a fuzzy set model of magnitude estimates of health and social behaviors that tries to captures how humans encode, process, and communicate quantitative information.
Third, I am collaborating with colleagues in psychology, social work, public health, communicative disorders, and education on several program evaluation projects (e.g., mental health; secondhand smoke exposure).
Fourth, I am interested in the use of meta-analysis for probing the generalizability of causal relationships.