Daniel G. Webster, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
Comparative and Biological Psychology
Brannen Hall 2037
dwebster@georgiasouthern.edu
website

 

 

Dan Webster completed his undergraduate education at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Florida under Donald Dewsbury (Comparative Psychology), and worked extensively with Merle Meyer (Physiological Psychology). Dan spent a lot of time in graduate school watching various species of rodents mate; one of his publications provides the first description of mating behavior in the round-tailed muskrat. He also watched various species lie on their backs in a state of immobility commonly called “animal hypnosis.” His Masters thesis was on immobility in lizards, and his Doctoral Dissertation was on mate selection in mice. While in graduate school Dan taught comparative and introductory psychology and supervised undergraduate researchers. He then taught at Delta State University for eight years prior to coming to Georgia Southern. At Georgia Southern Dan continued to work on research with undergraduate and graduate students, training students to modify graphic images (e.g. photos, faces) to produce stimuli, to use the polygraph to monitor autonomic responses (e.g. for biofeedback or to monitor responses to stimuli). Although he retains an interest in animal behavior and psychophysiology, Dr. Webster’s research interests are in the areas of Evolutionary Psychology, human emotions, and personality assessment His current research focuses primarily on the study of mate value from a mating exchange perspective. He has developed a 3-D computer program (SOSA) for personality assessment, and is currently working on applications of SOSA to his areas of research interest. Although SOSA was designed as a tool for assessment of schemas, the flexibility of the program allows for a wide range of applications (e.g. investigation of cognitive processes such as decision making). Visit his website for more information on SOSA.

Last updated: 12/19/2023