This is the academic web site of Dana Leighton. I am a
social psychologist, primarily interested in the the
teaching of psychology, and also in peace psychology.
I'm currently a Psychology Instructor at Portland Community College in
Portland, Oregon. I am teaching first and second year
psychology classes. Please click the "Teaching" link in the menu bar at
the left for classes I teach and other information.
PCC serves almost 100,000 students each year (28,000
FTE) on three campuses around the city. I am located
at the main campus, referred to as "Sylvania."
I completed my Master of Arts degree at the University of British Columbia, in
beautiful Vancouver, Canada, studying Social
Psychology.
At the University of British Columbia, I was a student of
Dr. Peter Suedfeld, an amazing
person and outstanding researcher in Political
Psychology, Environmental Psychology, and Social
Psychology. I worked in Dr. Suedfeld's REST lab, where
we did research on restricted environments and also on
my area of interest, Integrative Complexity.
I also worked with Dr. Mark Schaller, studying
prejudice and stereotyping behaviors. I worked in his
Social Cognition Lab, looking at how people think
about each other.
I am an alumnus of Whitman College
in Walla Walla, Washington. It's an amazing college
with fantastic opportunities for bright, motivated
students to excel in a supportive, yet academically
challenging environment. Check it out if you're
looking for a good undergraduate college.
I also attended a number of community colleges. One reason
I like teaching at the community college is the commitment
to egalitarianism in education, and also that I can "give
back" to the system that allowed me to change my career
from software development to psychology.
For more details on my career, see my curriculum vitae.