Skip to main content

Leighann Chaffee, M.A.

Associate Teaching Professor
Phone Number
Campus Mailbox
358436

About

Degrees

M.A.
Psychology (emphasis in Behavioral Neuroscience)
Northern Arizona University
2008
B.A.
Psychology; Mathematics minor
Gonzaga University
2006

Introduction

I am a teacher-scientist using the lens of biopsychology to better understand motivated behaviors and well-being. As a student, my studies in psychology focused on neuroscience and behavior, as I studied the biological basis of stress and feeding behavior. I've conducted empirical studies utilizing electrophysiological and behavioral neuroscience methods, in both human and animal models. My current research in the psychology of eating is student-hypothesis driven and emphasizes aspects of food decision-making that are often overlooked in traditional research.

Additionally, I engage with the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Specifically, I examine self-regulated learning in college students, the pathways by which students acquire these skills, and the relationship between these skills and student performance. This focus influences my instructional strategies and I aim to provide students to develop self-regulated learning skills within my courses.

 

Current Research

Psychology of eating and food decision-making

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning - Metacognition
 

Teaching

  • TPSYCH 101: Introduction to Psychology
  • TPSYCH 250: Human Cognition
  • TPSYCH 260: Biopsychology
  • TPSYCH 360: Health Psychology
  • TPSYCH 361: Psychopharmacology
  • TPSYCH 404: Psychology of Food and Culture     
  • TPSYCH 460: Sport Psychology

Affiliations

  • Member of the Association for the Study of Food and Psychology and Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior
  • Member of the Society for Teaching of Psychology and Faculty of Undergraduate Neuroscience

Academic Service

  • Mentoring student research
  • UW Faculty Council on Teaching and Learning (tri-campus)
  • Service focused on student success and undergraduate research
CV / Resume
Selected Publications

Chaffee, L. R. & da Silva, S. (2022). A Guide to the Psychology of Eating [textbook]. London, UK: Bloomsbury Academic. 

Parada, J. & Chaffee, L. R. (2022). Neuroscience in the Psychology Curriculum. In S. Narciss et al. (Eds.) International Handbook of Psychology Learning and Teaching. Springer International. 

Chaffee, L. R. (2022). Are you going to eat that? Implicit influences on preferences and consumption. In B. Forrest & G. de St. Maurice (Eds.) More than a Madeline: Food in Memory and Imagination. London, UK: Bloomsbury Academic. 

Chaffee, L. R. & Cook, C. L. (2015). The allure of food cults: Balancing pseudoscience and healthy skepticism. In Kima Cargill (ed.). Food Cults.Rowan & Littlefield.