Assistant Professor of Psychology
Office: King Hall C3089
Department of Psychology
California State University Los Angeles
5151 State University Drive Los Angeles CA 90032
(323) 343-2266
[email protected]
I
joined the Psychology Department at Cal State LA in Fall 2002. My research and teaching interests are in the areas of cognition and neuroscience.I am currently the Associate Director of the NIMH funded Career Opportunities in Research Education and Training (COR) program. This program helps psychology, social work, sociology, and biology majors prepare for graduate training leading to mental health careers. I have served as a research mentor to students in the COR program, the Minority Opportunities in Research (MORE) program and the McNair scholars program. Along with Dr. Gaithri Fernando, I am one of the faculty advisors to Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology.
I
currently teach undergraduate and graduate level courses in physiological psychology, cognitive neuroscience, psychopharmacology, statistics, and research methods. In the future I also plan to teach courses in cognitive psychology and human memory. I enjoy teaching psychology courses because I enjoy doing psychological research. I think an important goal for all students of psychology is to develop research skills so that they can do psychological research and ask their own research questions. Therefore, I make the teaching of research skills and an appreciation for the creative aspects of research a focus of my teaching. In my courses I also try to engage students in defining their own interests and goals as students of psychology. I enjoy collaborating with students on research projects inside and outside of classes and find that mentoring students in the research process is one of the most rewarding aspects of my job.
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Psychology 170 : INTRODUCTORY PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY |
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Psychology 302: STATISTICAL METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY W LAB |
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Psychology 304A: EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY W LAB |
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Psychology 401: PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY |
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Psychology 506: GRADUATE SEMINAR IN PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY |
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thr | Fri |
| 2:30 - 3:30 pm | 2:30 - 3:30 pm | 9 - 10 am | ||
My research interests include the study of attention, memory, and emotion through the use of physiological indices of mental processes. One of the primary reasons I use physiological indices of cognition and emotion in my research is to measure processes that are automatic or take place outside of normal awareness. I am interested in whether physiological measures related to attention, memory, and emotion can be used to enhance forensic diagnosis and to develop cognitive models of psychopathology. The physiological measures I use include event-related potential (ERP) measures of brain activity, pupil size, skin conductance, and startle eyeblink modification. My current research projects include 1) studies characterizing information processing deficits and biases in special populations (trauma survivors, schizophrenia patients, chronic pain patients) and examining what role these deficits and biases play in psychological disorders 2) studies using psychophysiological measures in assessing eyewitness recognition, deception, and simulation of cognitive deficit, 3) studies of emotion and emotional aspects of social evaluation.
IN THE LAB: COR scholars Maria Corona and Amelia Gonzalez prepare graduate student
Wilson Segura for pupillometric measurement
PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS
Fall
2002-Present,
Assistant Professor
Department
of Psychology, California State University Los Angeles
Fall
2000-2002,
Assistant Professor
Department
of Psychology, University of Missouri, St. Louis
Winter 1999-Fall 2000,
Instructor
Department of Psychology,
Northwestern University
Winter 1998-Winter 1999, Research Scientist in the
Neuroscience Unit
Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical
Center (MIRECC)
San Diego Veterans Affairs Hospital
Winter 1996-Winter 1998, NIMH Postdoctoral Fellow,
Psychophysiology of Schizophrenia and Aging
Department of Psychiatry, University of
California, San Diego.
EDUCATION
1999 Certificate of Postgraduate Study in Geriatric
Mental Health
University of California, San Diego
1997 Doctor of Philosophy, Psychobiology
Northwestern University
1994 Master of Science, Psychobiology
Northwestern University
1989 Bachelor of Arts, Psychology
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Publications and
Profession Activity
JOURNAL ARTICLES and BOOK CHAPTERS
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Carleton, N.R, Asmundson, G.J.G., Collimore, K.C. , & Ellwanger, J. (In Press) Fear modulated startle to pain-related words in chronic pain patients and healthy controls. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. |
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Ellwanger, J. (In Press). Processing of own versus other names differentially affects startle reflex modification. International Journal of Psychophysiology. |
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Braff, D.L., Light, G.A., Ellwanger, J., Sprock, J, & Swerdlow, N.R. (2005). Female schizophrenia patients have prepulse inhibition deficits. Biological Psychiatry, 57, 817-820. |
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Ellwanger, J., Geyer, M. A., & Braff, D.L. (2003). The relationship of age to prepulse inhibition and habituation of the acoustic startle response. Biological Psychology, 62, 175-195. |
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Caligiuri, M., & Ellwanger, J. (2000). Motor and cognitive aspects of motor retardation in depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 57, 83-93. |
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Ellwanger, J., Tenhula, W. N., Sweet, J. J., & Rosenfeld, J. P. (1999). Identifying simulators of cognitive deficit through combined use of neuropsychological test performance and event-related potentials. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 21, 866-879. |
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Rosenfeld, J. P., Ellwanger, J., Nolan K., Wu, S., Bermann, R. G., & Sweet, J. (1999). P300 scalp amplitude distribution as an index of deception in a simulated cognitive deficit model. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 33, 3-19. |
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Ellwanger, J., Rosenfeld, J. P., Hankin, B.L., & Sweet, J.J. (1999). P300 as an index of recognition in a standard and difficult match-to-sample test: A model of amnesia in normal adults. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 13, 100-108. |
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Rosenfeld, J. P., & Ellwanger, J. (1999). Cognitive psychophysiology in detection of malingered cognitive deficit. In J. J. Sweet (Ed.) Forensic neuropsychology: Fundamentals and practice (pp. 283-302) Lisse, The Netherlands: Swets & Zeitlinger. |
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Rosenfeld, J. P., Reinhart, A., Bhatt, M., Ellwanger, J., Gora, K., Sekera, M. & Sweet J. J. (1998). P300 correlates of simulated amnesia on a simple matching to sample task: Topographic analyses of deceptive vs. truthful responses. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 28, 233-247. |
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Ellwanger, J., Rosenfeld, J. P., & Sweet, J. (1997). P300 event-related brain potential as an index of recognition response to autobiographical and recently learned information in closed-head-injury patients. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 11, 428-432. |
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Ellwanger, J., Rosenfeld, J. P., Sweet, J., & Bhatt, M. (1996). Detecting simulated amnesia for autobiographical and recently learned information using the P300 event related potential. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 23, 9-23. |
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Rosenfeld, J. P., Sweet, J., Chuang, J., Ellwanger, J., & Song, L. (1996). Detection of simulated malingering using forced choice recognition enhanced with event-related potential recording. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 10, 163-179. |
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Ellwanger,
J. (1996). Detecting
simulated amnesia for autobiographical and recently learned information
using the P300 event related potential. The
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Rosenfeld, J. P., Ellwanger, J., & Sweet, J. (1995). Detecting malingered amnesia with event related potentials. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 19, 1-11. |
RECENT CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
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Ellwanger, J., & Scher, C. D.
(2006). Attentional bias among interpersonal violence survivors: An
examination using dot probe reaction time and startle modification. Paper submitted for presentation
at the annual meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research,
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Ellwanger, J., & Scher, C. D.
(2006). Startle eyeblink modified by emotion words distinguishes
interpersonal violence survivors from controls. Paper submitted for presentation
at the annual meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research,
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Ellwanger, J., & Mirzakhanian, H.
(2006). Using affective startle modification to investigate the facial
feedback hypothesis. Paper
submitted for presentation at the annual meeting of the Society for
Psychophysiological Research, |
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Scher, C.D., & Ellwanger, J.
(2005). Negative cognitions and disaster impact are related to emotional
and physical health following the 2003 southern
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Scher,
C.D., & Ellwanger, J. (2005). Negative cognitions and disaster impact
are related to emotional and physical health following the 2003 southern
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Braff, D.L., Ellwanger, J., Cadenhead, K., Sprock, J. & Swerdlow, N.R. (2004). A nonlinear approach to sexual dimorphism in prelulse inhibition and schizophrenia: Are men too fixed in their ways? Biological Psychiatry, 55, 78. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Biological Psychiatry. |
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Scher, C.
D., Ellwanger, J., & Hunter A. K. (2004). Effortful and automatic processing
of trauma-related information among interpersonal violence survivors:
Preliminary data. Paper
presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Advancement of
Behavior Therapy, |
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Ellwanger,
J., Mirzakhanian, H., |
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Scher, C.
D., Ellwanger, J., & Hunter A. K. (2004). Effortful and automatic processing
of trauma-related information among interpersonal violence survivors:
Preliminary data. Paper
presented at the 24th National Conference of Anxiety Disorders Association
of America, |
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Mirzakhanian,
H., |
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Garcia,
D., Orozco, A., Flores, D., & Ellwanger, J. (2003). Measuring preattentive processing
of personal names using startle reflex modification. Paper presented at the 83rd annual
meeting of the Western Psychological Association,
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Flores,
D., Orozco, A., Garcia, D., & Ellwanger, J. (2003). Prepulse inhibition of the startle
response, attention, and schizotypal characteristics. Paper presented at the 83rd annual
meeting of the Western Psychological Association,
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Granholm,
E., Ellwanger, J., Morris, S., Braff, D., Verney, S., & Perivoliotis,
D. (2002). Pupillary response
measures of cognitive overload and attentional filtering deficits in
negative symptom patients with schizophrenia. International Journal of
Psychophysiology, 45, 42. Paper presented at the 11th World Congress of
Psychophysiology, |
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Ellwanger,
J., Grillo, A. N., Kluegel, G. M., & Sellers, G. M. (2001). The relationship of prepulse
inhibition of the startle response to attentional performance and
schizotypal characteristics. Psychophysiology, 38, Suppl. 1,s39. Paper
presented at the 41st annual meeting of the Society for
Psychophysiological Research, |
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Ellwanger,
J., Granholm, E., Verney, S., & Vukov, B. (2000). Parasympathetic and
sympathetic contributions to the pupillary orienting response.
Psychophysiology, 37, Suppl. 1, s38. Paper presented at the 40th annual
meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research,
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POSTER PRESENTATION: McNair scholar Angelica Orozco, myself, and COR scholar Dianna Flores
at the Western Psychological Association Meeting in Vancouver Canada.
last updated 05/2006