Department of Psychology Faculty
Statement on Pending Campus Carry Law
October 11, 2015
Psychologists study the determinants of human behavior, including causes of, and responses to, violent behavior. Thus, we, the undersigned faculty members of the Department of Psychology at UT-Austin, feel it is important for us to comment on the pending campus carry law. In our view, there is no reasonable justification for permitting concealed guns to be taken into campus buildings. There is no empirical evidence whatsoever that the presence of concealed guns on campus will promote student safety, and ample reason to believe that it will lead to harm. Shootings give rise to situations marked by panic, confusion, and terror, conditions under which judgment, especially among individuals who are untrained and inexperienced in such situations, is impaired. Because we are personally and professionally committed to promoting the physical and mental wellbeing of children, adolescents, and adults, we strenuously object to this law and to the presence of concealed guns in campus buildings.
Signed (in alphabetical order):
Jennifer Beer
Associate Professor of Psychology
Rebecca Bigler
Professor of Psychology
Kirsten Bradbury
Lecturer, Psychology
David M. Buss
Professor of Psychology
Caryn L. Carlson
Professor and Associate Chair of Advancement
Jessica Church-Lang
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Yvon Delville
Professor of Psychology
Juan M. Dominguez
Associate Professor of Psychology
Michael P. Domjan
Professor of Psychology
Wendy I. Domjan
Distinguished Senior Lecturer, Psychology
Catharine Echols
Associate Professor of Psychology
Jacqueline Evans
Lecturer, Psychology
Kim Fromme
Professor of Psychology
Bertram Gawronski
Professor and David Wechsler Regents Chair in Psychology
Wilson S Geisler III
David Wechsler Regents Chair, Director of the Center for Perceptual Systems
Francisco Gonzalez-Lima
George I. Sanchez Centennial Professor of Psychology
Samuel D. Gosling
Professor of Psychology
Zenzi M. Griffin
Professor of Psychology
Andreana P. Haley
Associate Professor
Kathryn Paige Harden
Associate Professor of Psychology
Mary Hayhoe
Professor of Psychology
Marlone D. Henderson
Associate Professor of Psychology
Charles J. Holahan
Professor of Psychology and Graduate Advisor
Wayne H. Holtzman
Emeritus Hogg Professor of Psychology
Alex Huk
Associate Professor, Departments of Neuroscience & Psychology
Theresa A. Jones
Professor of Psychology
Robert Alan Josephs
Professor of Psychology
Hongjoo Lee
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Cristine H. Legare
Associate Professor of Psychology
Jarrod A. Lewis-Peacock
Assistant Professor of Psychology
John C Loehlin
Professor Emeritus of Psychology
Martita A. Lopez
Clinical Professor, Director of Clinical Training
W. Todd Maddox
Wayne Holtzman Chair and Professor of Psychology
Arthur B. Markman
Annabel Iron Worsham Centennial Professor of Psychology
Dennis McFadden
Ashbel Smith Professor Emeritus in Experimental Psychology
Cindy M. Meston
Professor of Psychology
Marie H. Monfils
Associate Professor of Psychology
Ian Nauhaus
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Rebecca Neal-Beevers
Research Scientist, Psychology
James W Pennebaker
Regents Centennial Professor of Psychology
Alison R. Preston
Associate Professor of Psychology
Manuel Ramirez III
Professor of Psychology
Ann M. Repp
Senior Lecturer, Psychology
Timothy J Schallert
Distinguished Teaching Professor, Psychology and Neuroscience
David M. Schnyer
Professor of Psychology and Department Liaison for Medical Affairs
Eyal Seidemann
Associate Professor of Psychology
Jasper Smits
Professor of Psychology
William B. Swann
Professor of Psychology
Michael J. Telch
Professor of Psychology
Elliot Tucker-Drob
Associate Professor of Psychology
Jacqueline D. Woolley
Professor and Department of Psychology Chair
David S. Yeager
Assistant Professor of Psychology