Peter McLaughlin, PhD

Dr. Peter J. McLaughlin is Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience in the Department of Psychology, Counseling, and Art Therapy (PsyCAT). He is a former university Scholar of the Year, and Advisor of the Year. Dr. McLaughlin has a wide range of research interests. The main activity of the McLaughlin Lab is in the neurobiology of cognition and motivated behavior, utilizing drugs in research to understand how the brain functions by using different chemical signals. The lab has explored how the cannabinoid CB1 receptor is involved in appetite, how the 5HT-1A serotonin receptor can both cause and inhibit impulsivity, and the role of acetylcholine and other neurotransmitters in divided attention.

In addition, the lab has several active projects studying the beliefs and judgments of human participants. Dr. McLaughlin and his students study how people are influenced by neuroscience information in the media. They published the first meta-analysis on the topic, finding that adding irrelevant neuroscience information makes people more satisfied with information they read. The lab also discovered that people were more likely to buy a health product when offered a neurochemical explanation for its benefits, compared with when it used psychological terms. The lab also studies moral judgments of others, and discovered that people more harshly judge members of opposing groups than people like themselves, even when they engaged in the same actions. Students in the lab present research at various regional, national, and international conferences, and often enter doctoral programs in psychology or neuroscience.

Dr. McLaughlin is the chairperson of the PennWest Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). He also helped to develop PennWest’s Certificate in Cannabis Science and Industry, and founded Brain Awareness Day at the Millcreek Mall, an official partner of Brain Awareness Week. He has also served as a grant reviewer for various organizations, and a peer review for journals in psychopharmacology and neuroscience. Dr. McLaughlin teaches courses on drugs and human behavior, critical thinking, research methods, and others. He has made several presentations about teaching and advising to the Center for Faculty Excellence, and wrote a free online textbook on drugs and behavior.