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Dr. Sarah Eagan
Who am I?
Dr. Sarah Eagan started her academic career by earning a B.A. in Psychology in her home state of California at Sonoma State University. She then traveled to the Midwest and earned her M.A. in Social and Cognitive Processes at Ball State University. After that, she was off to the great corn state to earn her Ph.D. in Social and Cognitive Psychology with a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. Dr. Eagan plans to teach courses such as Social Psychology, Psychology of Gender, Research Methods, Human Sexuality, Interpersonal Violence, and Psychology of Diversity. So, keep an eye out, she is very excited to be teaching this great array of classes!
Dr. Eagan is also very active with research and will be getting her lab, the Gender, and Interpersonal Violence Experiences (GIVE) Lab, set up in the Spring – she is excited to have students join the lab! Her research uses theories from social psychology, intersectional feminism, public health, and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies to answer two main related questions: 1) when and why is sexual violence perpetrated by men, and 2) what are the consequences of sexual violence for victims? Dr. Eagan examines these questions through topics such as sexual assault, uninvited sexual attention,
sexual objectification, and sexual harassment. Her methodological approach uses quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods.
Dr. Eagan enjoys running (usually doing half-marathons around the country), snuggling her four animals (two cats and two dogs), listening/dancing to her reggaetón music, watching the Bachelor franchise like it is a competitive sport, watching horror movies year round, and traveling to new places with her husband.
Dr. Eagan presented her Dissertation at SPSSI 2023 this summer!
At the annual conference of the Society for the Psychological Study of the Social Issues (SPSSI) in Denver, CO this past June 2023! Her talk was entitled "Investigating the Social Contextual Model of Sexual Violence Perpetration (SCM-SVP)." Dr. Eagan is pictured here with her co-presenters.
Teaching
Not only does Dr. Eagan love doing research, but she is passionate about teaching. If you are a WSU student and are interested in taking a class with Dr. Eagan, check out descriptions of some of the classes she teaches below. You can also look over past syllabi to get a better idea of what her classes will be like (click the link under each corresponding class description).
Social Psychology (PSYC 250)
As social psychologists, we try and understand the complexities of people and answer some big questions. How can a person say one thing and then do the opposite? How could someone be so cruel to other people? In this course, I will teach you about the theories and research that inform our understanding of these complex questions. I hope that by the end of this class you will say what many of your fellow students have said: “Social Psych is everywhere.”
Research Methods (PSYC 276)
How do you know what is true? Chances are you make inferences based on what you see in your everyday lives, what you hear on the news or perhaps what you have learned in your courses. In this course, I will teach you how to seek truth through the scientific method. You will learn how to understand, interpret, and critically evaluate psychological research to help you make inferences in your own life. My goal for this class is for you to never accept an unsupported statement as truth again.
General Psychology (PSYC 101)
This class will give you a brief introduction to the field of psychology. You will get a basic understanding of the scientific method and how it is utilized in psychology. Begin developing critical thinking skills that allow for the evaluation of psychological knowledge claims that are promoted in the news and social media. Where you will gain awareness of the broad topic areas in the field of psychology, basic theories, types of research, and applications.