Rate My Professor Nathalie Goubet

Nathalie Goubet is Professor and Chairperson of the Psychology Department at Gettysburg College, a position she has held since joining the faculty in 2001. She received her B.A. in Psychology in 1992, M.S. in Psychology in 1995, and Ph.D. in Psychology in 1998, all from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. As a developmental psychologist, Goubet's research centers on two key areas: the effects of childhood trauma on subsequent resilience and emotion regulation, with an emphasis on protective factors that buffer the consequences of early adversity; and the development of the sense of smell in children, including how olfactory cues influence thoughts, emotions, and food perception. She directs the Gettysburg Odor & Flavor Lab, which explores psychological processes in smell, taste, and flavor perception from infancy through adulthood. Current lab projects investigate cross-modal associations between olfaction and vision, emotional impacts on flavor perception, and visual preferences in plated food presentation.

Goubet teaches courses including PSYCH 225: Developmental Psychology: Infancy & Childhood, PSYCH 305: Experimental Methods, PSYCH 427: Laboratory in Cognitive and Perceptual Development, and PSYCH 291: Mentored Teaching Practicum. Her publications include "The Role of Emotion Regulation in the Relationship Between Childhood Adversity and COVID-19 Stress" (2025, Child Protection and Practice), "What Is Your Most Important Odor? The Emotional and Social Significance of Odors in a U.S. Adults Sample" (2024), "An Investigation of Black and White College Students' Knowledge About the Long-Term Effects of ACEs" (2023), "Seeing Odors in Color: Cross-Modal Associations in Children and Adults from Two Cultural Environments" (2018), and "Semantic Context Facilitates Odor Identification in Children and Adults" (2013). In addition to her academic roles, she serves as Chair of the Institutional Review Board at Gettysburg College. Goubet's work advances understanding of developmental resilience and perceptual processes in psychology.