PhD, Psychobiology, University of Florida (1989)
MA, University of Nevada Reno (1985)
BS, St. Joseph's University (1981)
John D. Pierce Jr., PhD
Program Director of Psychology/Biopsychology
Professor of Psychology
Program Director of Psychology/Biopsychology
Professor of Psychology
Education
PUBLICATIONS
- Cohen, A.B., Pierce, J.D., Jr., Chambers, J., Meade, R., Gorvine, B.J., & Koenig, H.G. (2005). Intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity, belief in the afterlife, death anxiety, and life satisfaction in young Catholics and Protestants. Journal of Research in Personality, 39, 307-324.
- Pierce, J.D., Jr., Reinbold, K.A., Goldman, R.J., Lyngard, B.C., & Pastore, C.M. (2006). Direct measurement of punch force during two professional boxing matches. Journal of the Quantitative Analysis of Sports, 2, 1-17.
- Pierce, J.D., Jr., Cohen, A.B., Chambers, J., & Meade, R. (2007). Gender differences in death anxiety and religious beliefs among young adults. Mental Health, Religion, and Culture, 10, 143-150.
- Liu, Y., Tovia, F., Balasubramian, K., Pierce, J.D., Jr., & Dugan, J. (2008). Scent infused textiles to enhance consumer experience. Journal of Industrial Textiles, 37, 263-274.
- Pierce, J.D., Jr. (2008). Further Evaluation of the Reliability and Validity of the CALM scale for Assessing the Tactile Comfort of Fabrics. Technical Report PHILA-LEHP-ME-TR-08-01. Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia University Laboratory for Engineered Human Protection.
- Klein, M. B., & Pierce, J.D., Jr. (2009/2010). Parental care aids, but parental overprotection hinders, college adjustment. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 11, 167-181.
- Stitz, M., & Pierce, J.D., Jr. (2013). Changes in Appearance in the Presence of Major Stress Events. Sage Open Journal, 3, 1-8.
- Johnson, M.J., & Pierce, J.D. Jr., Mavandadi, S., Klaus, J., Defelice, D., Ingram, E., & Oslin, D.W. (2016). Mental Health Symptom Severity in Cannabis Using and Non-using Veterans with Probable PTSD. Journal of Affective Disorders, 190, 439–442.
Biography
John D. Pierce Jr., PhD, joined the faculty of Philadelphia University (now Thomas Jefferson University) in 1998. He earned a PhD in psychobiology from the University of Florida in 1989, a M.A. from the University of Nevada Reno in 1985, and a BS from St. Joseph’s University in 1981. His postdoctoral research was conducted at the University of Pennsylvania and affiliated institutions from 1989 to 1998.
Dr. Pierce is Professor and Program Director of Psychology and Biopsychology. He also serves as the university’s NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative. His research interests are in the field of sensory perception, particularly olfactory and tactile perception. He is the author of over 50 published papers and 125 conference presentations. His work with a federally-funded research program through the Laboratory for Engineered Human Protection involved sensory psychophysical investigations of fabrics for potential use in military garments.
Most recently, Dr. Pierce has supervised student research projects in a diverse number of fields, including marijuana use in military veterans, cross-cultural work in social odor awareness, changes in appearance in response to stress, scent-infused textiles, gender and religious differences in death anxiety, and factors affecting the college adjustment process. He recently completed working on a global study of cross-cultural differences in olfactory sensitivity, a project involving participants from 30 different countries.
Dr. Pierce was the recipient of the Philadelphia University President’s Award for Excellence in 2010.