Rate My Professor Clarissa Arms-Chavez

Clarissa Arms-Chavez serves as Chair and Associate Professor of Psychology and Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of Psychology within the College of Sciences at Auburn University at Montgomery, where she joined the faculty in 2009. She earned her B.S. from Western Illinois University and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology with a focus on Social Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Texas at El Paso. Throughout her tenure at Auburn University at Montgomery, she has advanced her academic career, achieving tenure as an associate professor and assuming leadership as department chair. Arms-Chavez directs the Social Cognition Lab, mentoring undergraduate and graduate students in research projects. Her teaching portfolio includes undergraduate courses such as Introduction to Psychology, Social Psychology, Social Cognition, Psychology of Prejudice and Hate, and Writing in Psychology, as well as advanced social psychology at the master's and doctoral levels through collaborations with Auburn University.

Arms-Chavez's research specializations center on person perception, stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination, and various stigmas affecting social groups, including racial issues, colorism within the African-American community, and sex and gender identity concerns. Key publications include 'Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Chronic Physiological Stress on Mental Health Outcomes' (Psychological Reports, 2023, with E. Van Overloop, R. N. Carol, and S. G. LoBello); 'The relation of asthma and chronic disease to depression and anxiety in adults' (Journal of Asthma, 2014, with W. Morgan, H. Center, and S. G. LoBello); and 'Resource-dependent effects during sex categorization' (Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2009, with L. O. Rivera and M. A. Zárate). She has contributed to 10 research works amassing 231 citations on ResearchGate. Arms-Chavez has received the 2021 Warhawk Spirit Award, a Distinguished Faculty Award, and selection as an inaugural Faculty Fellow in Auburn University at Montgomery's Civil Rights and Civic Virtue Society, recognizing her course on the Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination. Her involvement extends to the Experiential Education and Engagement Center, research symposia, and student mentoring in honors projects on topics like social influence and memory effects of exercise.