Article archive / April 1, 2013
Originally published: . Volume 4, No. 8. Source pages: 10.
Dr. Jack Palmer began serving as the chair of the psychology program at the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) during the summer of 2012. One of his goals as chair has been to increase the scope of the ULM psychology graduate program. Toward that end, he promoted the development of a fully online curriculum for the master’s degree in psychology, which recently received state approval. ULM students pursuing a master’s degree with a concentration in forensic psychology can now complete all of their coursework via internet access.
Over the past few years, Dr. Palmer has developed many of the online courses for the undergraduate psychology program. Students can earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology from ULM completely online.
In addition to his administrative duties, Dr. Palmer continues teaching Positive Psychology, Physiological Psychology, Neurophysiology, and Evolutionary Psychology. Now in his 23rd year of serving ULM, his research and teaching continue to be dedicated to helping others understand the complexities of scientific psychology and the ways in which humanity can optimize its potential through this knowledge. He has both a personal and professional interest in the effects of belief and lifestyle on physical and psychological health. Currently he is investigating several aspects of human behavior including the underlying basis of altruistic tendencies, the influence of context on logical reasoning, and the personality characteristics of those who have a heightened ability for detecting lies in others.
Most recently, Dr. Palmer has developed a survey instrument that examines different categories of human altruistic behavior – the Costly Signals Questionnaire (CSQ). He and his co-investigators gave the CSQ to over 200 participants to determine the relative strength of commitment elicited by different categories of altruism, i.e., kin-based, reciprocal, group, or ideal. Participants also completed the Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ). Dr. Palmer and his co- researchers are examining the association between altruistic tendencies and moral beliefs and preparing a journal manuscript titled “The Dominant Role of Kinship in Human Altruistic Behavior.”
See “Bookshelf” this issue for a review of co-authored book, Science, Wisdom, and the Future.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.