Faculty
Dr. Crystal Oberle, a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Texas State University (TXST) earned her PhD in Psychology from Arizona State University. In the area of health psychology, she investigates various reasons for both healthy and disordered behaviors in eating, exercising, sexual activity, and substance use. Most recently, her research has explored eating behaviors among people with an LGBTQ+ identity.
Graduate Students
Dilan Arreguin, a second-year graduate student in the Master of Arts in Psychological Research (MAPR) program at TXST, is interested in researching the impacts of audism (bias towards D/deaf individuals), linguisticism (pressure to engage in the language of the dominant hearing culture), and language deprivation (lack of exposure to sign language) as they relate to social injustices, family trauma, relationships, mental health, education, and professional development in the D/deaf community.
Jaden Brown, a first-year graduate student in the MAPR program, is investigating cultural factors such as race, prosocial behavior, and ethnocultural empathy in order to gain a deeper understanding of differences between cultures and to promote mental health by rewriting narratives about stigma within minority cultures. Additionally, he is interested in merging cultural studies with cognitive psychology to study how cognitive factors differ across populations of different cultures as they navigate the world in terms of their behaviors and cognitive processes.
David Reyna Guerrero, a first-year graduate student in the MAPR program, is interested in understanding sociocultural contexts of risk and resilience, family and cultural processes, and adolescent and young adult development. Furthermore, his research and professional interests extend to improving mental health through interventions and combatting stigma and discrimination throughout minority and underrepresented groups that are disproportionately affected by health disparities.
William Murley, a second-year graduate student in the MAPR program, is interested in further understanding of important constructs in the field of health psychology, particularly concerning eating disorders, substance abuse, and the mind-body problem of psychology. For his thesis, he is exploring orthorexia nervosa symptoms in gay and straight men, and exploring whether those disordered eating symptoms are related to the dark tetrad personality characteristics and to relationship satisfaction.
Tasnia Akter Shiva, a first-year graduate student in the MAPR program, is dedicated to exploring the intricate interplay among mental well-being, physical health, and cultural diversity. These research interests are driven by her previous work as a clinical psychologist working with people who had several different physiological difficulties. Through research, she aims to bridge gaps in knowledge and promote holistic approaches to mental health and well-being that are inclusive of diverse cultural perspectives.
Marden Umanzor, a first-year graduate student in the MAPR program, is interested in social psychology, understanding human behavior within social constructs. For his thesis, he plans to investigate how attitudes regarding undocumented immigrants are shaped or influenced by news media outlets that vary in bias (liberal versus conservative) and reliability (focus on the facts versus propaganda).