Penn State Behrend’s Colloquium Series in Psychological Sciences and Human Behavior March 22, 2012

A psychologist who researches spatial cognition will be the next presenter in Penn State Behrend’s Colloquium Series in Psychological Sciences and Human Behavior.

Dr. Christopher Niebauer, an associate professor of psychology at Slippery Rock University, will discuss “Handedness and the Left Brain Interpreter: From Creationism to the Sense of Self” on Thursday, March 22. His presentation will take place at 6 p.m. in the second-floor auditorium of the Reed Union Building and is free and open to the public.

Niebauer will describe how the left brain constructs our beliefs about the world and our image of self. Because differences in handedness may echo the degree to which the right hemisphere influences the left, handedness may be an important variable that predicts how likely individuals are to update their beliefs, be reflective, or engage in novel ideas.

Niebauer holds a master’s and doctoral degree in cognitive neuropsychology from the University of Toledo; in addition to spatial cognition, laterality and handedness, his research explores experimental phenomenology, consciousness and metacognition.

The Colloquium Series in Psychological Sciences and Human Behavior is hosted by Penn State Behrend’s B.A. and B.S. in Psychology degree programs and the Psychology Coalition with support from the Susan Hirt Hagen Center for Community Outreach, Research and Evaluation (CORE), the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Student Activity Fee.

For additional information, phone Dr. Carol Wilson, assistant professor of psychology, at 814-898-6082 or e-mail clw33@psu.edu.