Bryan Karazsia to Discuss ‘Misconceiving Assumptions in Science’

Assistant Professor of Psychology to speak at Faculty at Large Lecture on March 8

WOOSTER, Ohio — Bryan Karazsia, assistant professor of psychology at The College of Wooster, will present "Misconceiving Assumptions in Science: Illustrations from Recent Psychological Investigations" at the second Faculty at Large lecture of the spring semester on Tuesday, March 8. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, begins at 11 a.m. in Lean Lecture Room of Wishart Hall (303 E. University St.).

Karazsia is passionate about the way in which scientific knowledge is created, and his research program focuses on applications of new methodologies to the fields of clinical and health psychology. He will share results from some of his published studies about children’s injury risk and psychosocial pressures on performance-enhancing substance use. Karazsia notes that these content areas are very timely. “In the United States and many other parts of our world, more children die each year from preventable injuries than any other cause,” he says. “As for performance and appearance enhancement, estimates suggest that between 4-10 percent of adolescents utilize illicit substances.” Although these topics may seem disjointed, Karazsia maintains that the common thread across his research is his emphasis on methodology — particularly assumptions in science that often go untested or even ignored.

“My colleagues and I spend a lot of time thinking about ways in which behavioral research is conducted,” he said. “Instead of just questioning the methodologies, we try to increase awareness of innovative solutions to common problems in empirical research.”

Karazsia, who joined the faculty at Wooster in 2009, focuses on psychosocial influences on health behaviors, with a particular interest in quantitative methodology and measurement. He received his B.S. (2003) from Denison University and his M.A. (2005) and Ph.D. (2009) from Kent State University. As part of his doctoral training, Karazsia completed a one-year internship in Pediatric Psychology at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City prior to his appointment at Wooster. He was the recipient of the 2008-2009 Lizette Peterson-Homer Injury Prevention Grant, and he currently serves on the editorial board of two scholarly journals.

Additional information about his lecture is available by phone (330-263-2576) or e-mail.