Professor of Psychology

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Education

• B.S., Arkansas State University 
• Ph.D., Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

Teaching Specialties

• Physiological Psychology
• Statistics 
• Evolutionary Psychology
• Science Communication

Courses Taught

• Physiological Psychology (Undergraduate and Graduate) 
• Quantitative Methods (Lecture and Lab for Undergraduates)
• Evolutionary Psychology
• Mammalian Neurobiology (Undergraduate and Graduate)
• Motivation
• Introduction to Psychology
• Psychology
• Science and a Profession
• Psychological Seminar
• Special Problems in Psychology
• Independent Study in Molecular Biosciences

Research Interests

Developmental Neurobiology, Evolutionary Psychology

• Environmental influences on drug use and addiction
• Effects of nicotine on the brain and behavior throughout development
• Evolution of mating preferences

In addition to teaching, Dr. Pearce conducts research in the Arkansas Biosciences Institute. With the help of student researchers, she examines the impact of oral nicotine on behavior and physiology in nonhumans. Recent studies show there is a strong, positive relationship between the amount of oral nicotine available in the environment and ingestion of oral nicotine by female rats. She is currently exploring changes in nicotine’s metabolic pathway associated with chronic consumption of the drug.

Affiliations

• Society for Neuroscience
• Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience
• Association for Psychological Science
• Faculty Sponsor for the ASU Society for Neuroscience

Curriculum Vitae

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