Helen C. Harton, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology Graduate Funding Coordinator Social Area Coordinator Vice-Chair, IRB University of Northern Iowa

Office: Baker 357

E-mail: harton@uni.edu

Phone: 319-273-2235

Office hours: MF 11-11:50; W 2-3; by appointment

I received my Ph.D. in social psychology from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL, in 1998. I teach research methods, the graduate professional issues course (readings), graduate level social psychology, and special topics in social psychology (e.g., attitudes, social influence, interpersonal relationships, prejudice). My research is primarily in the area of attitude change and social influence, broadly defined. Current projects investigate how attitudes spread across groups in both face-to-face and computer-mediated communication, attitudes toward immigrants, and the relationship between political orientation and expressions of prejudice.

Table of Contents 

Fall 2009 Classes

Research Interests

Research Opportunities

Research Participant Pool

Hints for making good poster presentations

Department of Psychology

Graduate Program website

University of Northern Iowa

Links to relevant websites

Fall 2009 Classes

400:101: Research Methods

400:264: Social Psychology (graduate)

400:285: Readings in Psychology

400:294: Advances and Developments in Social Psychology

Research Interests

My primary research interests are attitude change and social influence and prejudice. I'm interested in dynamical systems approaches, and much of my research has been on the catastrophe theory of attitudes and dynamic social impact theory. I’m currently working on a NSF-sponsored project integrating these two approaches to develop a new, more complete theoretical approach to attitude change from the individual to group levels. I take a broad approach to attitudes and have researched change in attitudes about the self (personality traits), attitudes about relationships (relationship satisfaction), and attitudes toward immigrants (prejudice) as well. Another program of research tests a model relating political orientation to the different ways that prejudice (e.g., toward African-Americans, toward homosexuals) can manifest itself. I am also interested in prosocial behavior and cooperative learning strategies.