Rate My Professor James Mantell

James Mantell is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Chair of the Psychology Department at St. Mary's College of Maryland, where he has been on the faculty since fall 2013, initially as Visiting Assistant Professor, then Assistant Professor from 2014 to 2020, and Associate Professor since fall 2020. He earned a B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy from Millersville University in 2005, an M.A. in General Psychology in 2011, and a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology in 2013 from the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York. Prior to his tenure-track position, he served as a Graduate Instructor at the University at Buffalo from 2010 to 2013. Mantell's research examines psychological processes underlying human perception and action, with emphasis on music cognition, vocal imitation, auditory and visual perception, data science pedagogy, and climate change-related behaviors. He directs the Perception Action Lab and is principal investigator on a National Science Foundation grant from 2023 to 2026, titled "Developing Modernized Data Science Instruction in Psychology Curricula," with co-principal investigator Aileen Bailey. His work frequently involves undergraduate collaborators, resulting in presentations at national conferences such as the Psychonomic Society and peer-reviewed publications with student co-authors.

Mantell's key publications include "Vocal imitation of song and speech" (Cognition, 2013), "Singing with yourself: Evidence for an inverse modeling account of poor-pitch singing" (Cognitive Psychology, 2014), "Imitating sounds: A cognitive approach to understanding vocal imitation" (Comparative Cognition & Behavioral Reviews, 2014), "The roles of absolute pitch and timbre in plink perception" (Music Perception, 2022, with R. N. Faubion-Trejo), and "Effects of intention in the imitation of sung and spoken pitch" (Psychological Research, 2022, with P. Q. Pfordresher and T. A. Pruitt). He received the Aldom-Plansoen Honors College Professorship in 2024 for a two-year term, recognizing his scholarly accomplishments and research trajectory. Earlier awards include the International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition Young Researcher Award Honorable Mention (2010), Society for Education, Music and Psychology Research Merit-Based Travel Award (2010), and Society for Music Perception and Cognition Merit-Based Travel Award (2009). In teaching, he offers courses such as Sensation & Perception, Psychology of Music, Psychological Statistics, Research Methods, Perception, Cognition, Computation, and interdisciplinary seminars in neuroscience. Mantell serves as Psychology Division Representative for the Council on Undergraduate Research since 2021, contributes to peer review for journals including Behavioral Sciences, and holds professional memberships in organizations like the Psychonomic Society and Society for Music Perception and Cognition. His pedagogical approach emphasizes open-minded skepticism, critical thinking, curiosity, and practice.