Dr. Arthur Frankel

My first year as a member of the Department of Psychology was 1978, and for those of you who are a bit challenged by math, that suggests I'm over 100 years old, which is only a slight exaggeration of the truth. I officially retired in 2022 and I’ve been a professor emeritus since then. I decided to come back to Salve in the fall of 2024 as an adjunct professor. You're very welcome to offer an opinion as to whether that was a smart move on my behalf.

I've taught courses on research methodology, social psychology, the psychology of prejudice, psychology and the law, and critical thinking and decision making. My early research focused mostly on egotism, self-handicapping and attribution and was published in prominent social psychology journals. Early in my career, I served as a reviewer for these journals and was a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology in the 1980s. My more recent research, which has been published in the journal Sex Roles and presented at national and regional conferences, has focused on how gender role expectations are likely to inhibit women's attempts to safeguard their sexual health as well as contribute to misunderstandings between men and women. I have also collaborated with many undergraduates over the last several years on problems that are of mutual interest, resulting in research studies that have been presented at regional and national psychology conferences. If you look at my CV, almost all my co-authors for conference presentations over the last 40 years have been undergraduate students.

I've been married for 113 years, have two sons, a daughter-in-law, a grandson and a granddaughter. My youngest son, Andrew, is an assistant professor in the sociology of education at Denison University in Ohio. My oldest son, Matthew, is a lawyer working at College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts. Kate, my daughter-in-law, is an associate professor of education at Boston University.

I was born in Brooklyn, New York and attended PS 89, PS 119, JHS 240 and Midwood High School before leaving (escaping) New York City to attend college at SUNY New Paltz, where I obtained both my bachelor's and master's degrees in psychology. I obtained my Ph.D. in experimental social psychology from Dartmouth College and had a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Connecticut Health Center in the Department of Behavioral Science and Community Health before coming to Salve Regina in the fall of 1978.

My extracurricular activities include trying (although not that hard these days) to stay in shape and persuading myself that I'm always right. I like to talk about sports psychology, science and pseudoscience, and teaching, and enjoy conversations with funny and/or unusual people. If you qualify, don’t hesitate to get in touch!