Department of Psychological Sciences
Gary Bond. Ph.D.
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Welcome to the Department of Psychological Sciences at Winston-Salem State University!
According to our research, we are the first HBCU on the planet to establish a Department of Psychological Sciences (versus a Department of Psychology). Why? Our faculty chose the Department title Psychological Sciences because we wish to provide a continuing reminder to our current and potential students, to the University community, and to the world that Psychology is a science which investigates human behavior and mental processes, and is grounded in the scientific method.
As one of our distinguished faculty, Nelson Adams, has noted, Psychological Science is often identified as a natural science that uses experimental and scientific methods not unlike physics and other "traditional" sciences. In fact, the American Psychological Association has made a significant effort to have Psychological Sciences included as a STEM discipline, because not only does Psychological Science use scientific methodology in much of published work in the field, but it also is a bridge discipline that provides important knowledge for those disciplines identified traditionally as "natural sciences". That is, our science provides essential knowledge for the innovations in other technical fields because the human person is always at the interface between technology and new scientific applications.
The number of Psychology majors served by our Department has grown substantially since the turn of the new century, and we are pleased that we have both the largest number of B.A. graduates and the largest number of majors in the entire College of Arts and Sciences. This reflects the quality and efficacy of our major program, our emphasis on improvement of graduation and retention rates for our majors, and the usefulness of the degree for entry into advanced graduate programs in Psychology and in other fields, and the usefulness of the degree to prepare graduates to immediately go to work in a diverse variety of fields.
We have built a nationally-and internationally-recognized, dedicated core of faculty over the years. Our faculty scholars produce knowledge through continued research in such areas as the psychological dimensions of sexual behaviors and AIDS prevention, LGBT psychology, alternatives to K-12 school suspension, the fading affect bias in autobiographical memory, prosodic entrainment and its relationship to interpersonal trust, positive psychology, developmental psychology, and in many more areas of empirical investigation. Much of our research applies locally to communities and populations in North Carolina, but faculty scholars have also developed extensive interests and experiences and have conducted research in such diverse global communities as South America, Africa, Asia, and Southeast Asia.
I am highly honored to serve as the first Chair of the Department of Psychological Sciences at Winston-Salem State University. I promise to continually strive to meet the needs of our students and to improve their learning and advancement through the psychology major, and to continually improve our Department's service to students and commitment to excellence.
Respectfully,
Gary D. Bond, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Chair
Department of Psychological Sciences
