Rate My Professor Karla Lassonde

Karla Lassonde is Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Psychology at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She holds a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from the University of New Hampshire (2008), an M.S.T. in College Teaching from the University of New Hampshire (2008), an M.S. in Psychology from the University of New Hampshire (2005), and a B.A. in Psychology (Honors, Magna Cum Laude) from Mount Union College (2003). Lassonde has been on the faculty at Minnesota State University, Mankato for over 15 years, achieving promotion to Professor in 2019, appointment as Distinguished Faculty Scholar in 2020, and Department Chair in 2022. Her honors include the 2019 Outstanding Undergraduate Teacher award from the Minnesota Psychological Association, the 2020 Distinguished Faculty Scholar designation, and the 2013 Pedagogical Innovation Award from Minnesota State University, Mankato. She is a member of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (APA Division 2) and the American Psychological Association, and has completed leadership training at the HERS Institute and the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science.

Lassonde's research focuses on basic memory processes, stereotype activation and change, applying cognitive theories to teaching and learning, revising psychological misconceptions, communicating psychological science, and excellence in undergraduate research. She teaches Psyc 415 Human Memory, Psyc 325 Cognitive Psychology, Psyc 450 Advanced Cognitive Psychology, Psyc 201 Statistics in Psychology, Psyc 101 Introduction to Psychological Science, and provides graduate mentoring in teaching. Notable publications include Lassonde, K.A., Birkett, M. (2021). Psychological Myths, Mistruths, and Misconceptions; Lassonde, K. (2024). The LEARN Method: An Interactive Guide for Effective Learning; Lassonde, K.A., Kendeou, P., & O'Brien, E.J. (2016). Refutation texts: Overcoming psychology misconceptions that are resistant to change. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, 2(1), 62-74; Van Boekel, M., Lassonde, K.A., O'Brien, E.J., & Kendeou, P. (2017). Source credibility and the processing of refutation texts. Memory & Cognition, 45(1), 168-181; Lassonde, K.A. (2015). Reducing the impact of stereotypical knowledge during reading. Discourse Processes, 52(2), 149-171; Lassonde, K.A., & O'Brien, E.J. (2013). Occupational stereotypes: Activation of male bias in a gender neutral world. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43(2), 387-396; and others on predictive inferences, classroom environments, ageism, and relevance instruction. She co-hosts the podcast Brains vs. Beliefs: Debunking Psychological Misconceptions and contributes to the Psych In Your World video series featuring psychology lectures.