Mark Stasson joined the Metropolitan State University faculty in 2001, following twelve years on the faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University. His educational history includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Wisconsin, and Master's and Ph.D. degrees in Psychology from the University of Illinois (with a major in social psychology, and minors in quantitative and industrial/organizational psychology).

Professor Stasson's research focuses on how group discussion and decision procedures affect decision making and problems solving, and how individuals' attitudes, opinions, and decision making strategies are affected by group interactions. He has also conducted research on the relation between attitudes and behavior and on individual decision making processes. His published research has appeared in several journals including Psychological Science, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Social Psychology Quarterly, the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, and Small Group Research.

Dr. Stasson's primary teaching duties have been in social psychology and statistics/methods courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He has taught many other courses over the years, and is currently teaching History & Systems of Psychology and serving as faculty liason for psychology student internships.

Primary Interests:

Applied Social Psychology
Attitudes and Beliefs
Group Processes
Judgment and Decision Making
Persuasion, Social Influence

Applied Social Psychology
Attitudes and Beliefs
Group Processes

Judgment and Decision Making
Persuasion, Social Influence

Journal Articles:

Bradshaw, S. B., & Stasson, M. F. (1998). Attributions of shy and not-shy group members for collective group performance. Small Group Research, 29, 283-307.
Davis, J. H., Stasson, M. F., Parks, C. D., Hulbert, L. G., Kameda, T., Zimmerman, S. K., & Ono, K. (1993). Quantitative decisions by groups and individuals: Voting procedures and monetary awards by mock civil juries. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 29, 326-346.
Hart, J. W., Stasson, M. F., & Karau, S. J. (1999). The effects of source expertise and physical distance on minority influence. Group Dynamics, 3, 81-92.
Kameda, T., Stasson, M. F., Parks, C., Zimmerman, S., & Davis, J. H. (1992). Social dilemmas, subgroups, and motivation loss in task-oriented groups: In search of an "optimal" team size in work division. Social Psychology Quarterly, 55, 47-56.
Kaufman, D., Stasson, M. F., & Hart, J. W. (1999). Are the tabloids always wrong or is that just what we think?: Need for cognition and perceptions of articles in print media. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 29, 1984-1997.
Smith, B. N., & Stasson, M. F. (2000). A comparison of health behavior constructs: Social psychological predictors of AIDS-preventive behavioral intentions. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 30, 443-462.
Smith, H. D., Stasson, M. F., & Hawkes, W. G. (1999). Dilution in legal decision making: The effect of non-diagnostic information in relation to the amount of diagnostic evidence. Current Psychology, 17, 333-345.
Stasson, M. F., & Bradshaw, S. D. (1995). Explanations of individual-group performance differences: What sort of "bonus" can be gained through group interaction? Small Group Research, 26, 296-308.
Stasson, M. F., & Hawkes, W. G. (1995). Effect of group performance on subsequent individual performance: Does influence generalize beyond the issues discussed by the group? Psychological Science, 6, 305-307.
Stasson, M. F., Kameda, T., & Davis, J. H. (1997). A model of agenda influences on group decisions. Group Dynamics, 1, 316-323.

Other Publications:

Davis, J. H., Kameda, T., & Stasson, M. F. (1992). Group risk taking: Selected topics. In J. F. Yates (Ed.), Risk-taking behavior (pp. 163-199). Chichester, UK: Wiley.
Stasson, M. F., Markus, M. J., & Hart, J. W. (1999). The future of theory and research on small groups. Group Dynamics, 3, 313-316. (Book Review)

Courses Taught:

Data Analysis
General Psychology
History and Systems
Psychology Internship
Quantitative Research Design and Analysis
Research and Evaluation Methods in Applied Psych
Social Psychology

Data Analysis
General Psychology
History and Systems
Psychology Internship

Quantitative Research Design and Analysis
Research and Evaluation Methods in Applied Psych
Social Psychology

Mark Stasson
Department of Psychology
700 East Seventh Street
Metropolitan State University
St. Paul, MN 55106-5000
United States

Phone: (651) 999-5830
Fax: (651) 999-5822