Research Activities
Project Descriptions
- Stress and Fatigue. This on-going research effort examines the effects of stress and fatigue on performance, physiological measures of stress and health, and subjective measures of effort, motivation, mood, stress, fatigue, health, and well-being. This research typically involves sustained operations research where participants are asked to complete a variety of tasks and physiological and subjective measures over a period that can range from several hours of work to a simulated 10 to 20 hour work shift. The goal of this research is to document the effects of stress and fatigue by modeling work place settings and work-related tasks to develop potential mitigation strategies that can be employed in a variety of work settings. This research effort is being partially funded by and is in collaboration with the Center for Advanced Study of Language at the University of Maryland.
- Fatigue and Driving. This research investigates the effects of sleep deprivation, shift work, and daytime sleepiness on driving skills under a variety of driving conditions (e.g., different types of roads, traffic conditions, and weather conditions). The goal of this research is to document the effects of fatigue on driving and to develop potential methods of monitoring and preventing sleepiness while driving.
- Patient Care. This research effort investigates how doctors, nurses, technicians, and adminstrators communicate about the needs of their patients. Our goal is to develop a training program that improves communication among workers in a variety of hospital settings in an effort to improve patient care and safety. This research effort is in collaboration with the Human Performance Technology Group.
- Teaching of Psychology. This project focuses on how to better motivate students to learn. This involves encouraging active involvement from the student in the learning process through group work, creative projects, reflection papers, and other teaching paradigms. This research can focus on implementing and assessing different teaching methods in the classroom and on presenting information more clearly in textbooks. The goal of this research is to increase teaching effectiveness through motivating students to learn.
Student Involvement
Graduate and undergraduate students interested in learning more about the research process and in gaining research-related skills are welcome to join my research team. Graduate students can participate through course credit (i.e., independent research, thesis, and dissertation credit) or as volunteers. 
Undergraduate students participate through Clemson University's Creative Inquiry program and register for course credit through PSYCH H490, H491, 497, H497, 498, or H498. I encourage interested undergraduate students to join our research team no later than their junior year. Both graduate and undergraduate students are encouraged to stay involved in the research team for multiple semesters to take full advantage of the learning opportunities intrinsic in our research team and effort. Students can be involved in any of my research projects, depending on their interest and on what research is actively ongoing.
Students have the opportunity to be involved in several stages of the research process depending upon the number of semesters that they remain on the team including: literature searches to find necessary background information, reading and critically evaluating background literature, data gathering, data management in Excel, data analyses in SPSS, and data presentation and publication. Students involved in my research team during the spring semesters will also complete a poster presentation at the research exhibition on campus. Because of the on-going nature of our research effort, students have the opportunity to become immediately involved in the research process beginning in their first semester.
Please contact me if you are interested in joining our research team.
Selected Student Presentations (student names in red)
- Fawver, B. J., Bourgeois, E. M., Beck, N. M., Roth, L. M., & Pilcher, J. J. (2008, April). The effects of sleep deprivation on visual and verbal working memory. Poster presentation at Clemson University Focus on Creative Inquiry Symposium.
- Galan, N., Benoit, J. P., McDunn, B., Vaught, K., & Pilcher, J. J. (2008, April). Effects of sleep deprivation on working memory: Non-native versus native English speakers. Poster presentation at Clemson University Focus on Creative Inquiry Symposium.
- Jung, C. E., Smith, B. M., Jones, B. K., Anderson, M. C., & Pilcher, J. J. (2008, April). The effect of sleep deprivation on performance and task effort on simple versus complex vigilance tasks. Poster presentation at Clemson University Focus on Creative Inquiry Symposium.
- Smith, M. J., Markle, R. S., Mishoe, A. E., Wright, B. T., & Pilcher, J. J. (2008, April). The effects of sleep deprivation on logical reasoning between depressed and non-depressed subjects. Poster presentation at Clemson University Focus on Creative Inquiry Symposium.
- Vander Wood, M. A., Pilcher, J. J., & McCubbin, J. A. (2008, March). The effect of sleep deprivation on estimated task performance. Poster presentation at the Work, Stress, and Health 2008 Conference, Washington, DC.
- Vander Wood, M. A., O'Connell, K. L., & Pilcher, J. J. (2007, October). Teamwork on a cognitive task during a night of sleep deprivation and sustained operations. Poster presentation at 51st Annual Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Meeting, Baltimore, MD.
- Dhers, M., & Pilcher, J. J. (2007, August). Differences in GRE Verbal Scores between Non-Native English and Native English Speakers Across a Night of Sleep Deprivation. Poster presentation at Clemson University Conference on Applied Psychology sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
Graduate Master Theses and Doctoral Dissertations (student names in red)
- Melissa A. Vander Wood (Master Thesis, 2008): Actual and Self-Assessed Performance on a Logical Reasoning Task during a Night of Total or Partial Sleep Deprivation
- Laura E. McClelland (Doctoral Dissertation, 2007): Examining the Effects of Fatigue on Decision Making in Nurses: A Policy-Capturing Approach
- David A. Band (Master Thesis, 2004): The Ability of Automated Fatigue Measures to Monitor and Predict Simulated Driving Performance
Undergraduate Honors Theses (student names in red)
- Nick Galan (2008): The Effect of One Night of Sleep Deprivation on Working Memory: Non-Native versus Native English Speakers
- Nicholas Beck (2008): Effect of Sleep Deprivation and Sustained Work on Critical Thinking in Native and Non-Native English Speakers
- Sarah B. Spainhour (2007): The Impact of Emotional Well-Being on Blood Pressure and Heart Rate during Sustained Operations under Sleep Deprivation Conditions
- Tyler C. Pierce (2006): The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Spatial Ability
- Philip Poole (2006): Controlled Attention: The Effect of 30 hours Sleep Deprivation on Performance on a Psychomotor Vigilance Task and a Four-Choice Response Task
- Joseph B. Mulvihill (2005): The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Subjective Measures of Motivation and Enjoyment on a Cognitive and a Vigilance Task
- Cortney A. Brenner (2004): Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Decision Making
- Kristina Ihlenfeldt (2004): The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Language Skills
- Shea Tolbert (2003): Relationships between Stress and Fatigue and Performance Skills
