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Barbara Oswald
Regional Acting Associate Dean,
Professor and Lead Departmental Advisor
College of Liberal Arts and Applied Science (CLAAS) Leadership, Social and Behavioral Sciences

Barbara Oswald

Contact Info

513-785-3275
Hamilton Campus, Mosler Hall 574

Biography

Barbara Oswald, professor of Psychological Science in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, came to Miami in 2010 as a visiting assistant professor in psychology in Oxford, and joined the College of Liberal Arts and Applied Science in 2013. Promoted to associate professor in 2019 and full professor in 2023, she has served as the department’s degree coordinator and lead departmental advisor since 2018. 

She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology from Cleveland State University, and her Ph.D. in psychology and behavioral pharmacology from the University of South Carolina.

Oswald’s research interests include the neurobiology of learning, memory and addiction, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. She has published numerous peer-reviewed articles, most recently examining the effects of stress on risky drug and alcohol use. 

Oswald’s studies in teaching and learning have focused in large measure on the benefits of experiential and applied learning. She regularly mentors undergraduate students in research and teaching experiences, and has received commendations and awards for teaching, advising, and service. In addition, she has created seven courses in research design and analysis, as well as drugs and behavior, and created eight online psychology courses.

She is the associate editor of the Ohio Journal of Science and has served as a reviewer for many professional journals, including International Journal of Psychophysiology, Behavioral Neuroscience, Online Journal of Medical Psychology, American Psychological Association (APA), and National Council on Undergraduate Research (NCUR). Oswald’s textbook and supplementary teaching materials have been published by Macmillan, McGraw-Hill, Oxford University Press, and others.

Education

  • National Institution of Environmental and Health Sciences (NIEHS) Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Duke University, Department of Psychiatry, Durham, NC, 1997
  • Ph.D., Experimental Psychology/Behavioral Pharmacology, Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
  • M.A., Experimental Psychology/Behavioral Pharmacology, Department of Psychology, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH
  • B.A., Psychology, Department of Psychology, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH

Courses Taught

  • PSY 111: Introduction to Psychology
  • PSY 112: Foundational Experiences in Psychology
  • PSY 251: Introduction to Biosychology
  • PSS 312: Drugs and Behavior
  • PSS 315: Learning, Memory, and Behavior
  • PSS 219: Advanced Research Design and Analysis
  • PSS 401: Capstone in Psychological Science (Topic: Psychophysiology)

Research Interests

Neurobiology of learning, memory, and addiction
The scholarship of teaching and learning

Representative Publications and Books

*undergraduate student **graduate student

Oswald, B. B. & *Abram, J. (submitted). Positive emotion correlates with higher heartrate variability in healthy college students: implications for improving mental health with heartrate biofeedback training.

Dietz, B., Petonino, G., Mann, K., Oswald, B. B., McMahon, C., & *Linthicum, M. (2021). Pivoting during a pandemic: Creating presence for all students. Journal of Teaching and Learning with Technology, 10(1), 194-206. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/jotlt/article/view/31376

Dietz, B., & Oswald, B. B. (2020). The effects of observation with and without technology on learning in introductory and advanced courses. The Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 49(1), 82-93.https://doi.org/10.1177/0047239520911161.

Oswald, B. B., Ward, R.M., *Glazer, S., *Sternasty, K., *Day, K, & **Speed, S. (2020). Baseline cortisol predicts drunkorexia in female college students.  Journal of American College Health, 69(6), 625-632. Doi: 10.1080/07448481.2019.1705834 (5-Year Impact Factor 1.66).

Oswald, B. B. (2019). Authentic Assessments for Biopsychology: Encouraging Learning and Retention by Applying Biopsychological Knowledge in Real-World Contexts. Society for the Teaching of Psychology Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology: https://teachpsych.org/resources/Documents/otrp/resources/oswald19.pdf.

Oswald, B. B., Walton, A. J., Campbell, D. G., & Seufert, R. L. (2019).  Coordinating veterans services on campus can increase satisfaction in student veterans.  Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 30(2), 29-54. (5-year Impact Factor 0.39, Acceptance Rate 37%). 

Oswald, B.B., Beck, K., Fernandez, G., Raker, E., & Sciaccotta, F. (2019). Effects of drug-ethanol combinations on ethanol self-administration, motor coordination, and cognition in C57BL/6J mice. Psychology & Neuroscience, 12(1), 119-139. (Impact Factor 1.25, Acceptance Rate 42%)

Ward, R. M., Oswald, B. B., & **Galante, M. (2016). Prescription stimulant misuse, alcohol use, and disordered eating among college students.   Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education, 60(2), 59-80. (Impact factor 4.07, acceptance rate 35%).

Oswald, B. B. (2016).  A SWOT analysis and outcomes assessment of a student-driven learning center for psychology on a regional campus.  AURCO, The Association for Regional Campuses of Ohio, 15, 179-201.(Impact Factor unknown, Acceptance Rate 54.16%).

Oswald, B. B., *Maddox, S. A., *Herbst, M. R., & Powell, D. A. (2015).  Muscimol infusions to infralimbic cortex impair extinction but not acquisition of a trace conditioned eyeblink conditioned response in rabbits.  Psychology & Neuroscience, 8(1), 114-129. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0100355. (Impact Factor 1.5, Acceptance Rate 49%)

*Corner, A. C. & Oswald, B. B. (2013). Rodent models of adolescent drug and alcohol self-administration: implications for understanding adult substance abuse.  Journal of Addiction and Prevention, 1(1), 1-14.(Impact Factor 0.5, Acceptance Rate 41.5%).

Oswald, B. B., *Maddox, S. A., *Tisdale, N., & Powell, D. A. (2010).  Encoding and retrieval are differentially processed by the anterior cingulate and prelimbic cortices: a study based on trace eyeblink conditioning in the rabbit.  Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 93, 374-385. (Impact Factor 4.04, 27 citations in Web of Science)

Oswald, B. B., *Knuckley, B., *Mahan, K., *Saunders, C. E., & Powell, D. A. (2009).  Prefrontal control of trace eyeblink conditioning in rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) II:  Effects of type of unconditioned stimulus (airpuff vs. periorbital shock) and unconditioned stimulus intensity.  Physiology & Behavior, 96(1), 67-72.   (Impact Factor 3.19, 11 citations in Web of Science)

Oswald, B. B., *Maddox, S. A., & Powell, D. A. (2008).  Prefrontal control of trace eyeblink conditioning in rabbits:  role in retrieval of the CR?  Behavioral Neuroscience, 122(4), 841-848. (Impact Factor 2.73, 17 citations in Web of Science)

Oswald, B. B., *Maddox, S. A., & Powell, D. A. (2007).  Impairments in trace eyeblink conditioning following knife-cut lesions to the fornix:  reversal by galantamine.  Neurobiology of Learning & Memory, 88(3), 369-380.  (Impact Factor 3.75, 1 citation in Web of Science)

Oswald, B. B., *Knuckley, B., *Maddox, S. A. & Powell, D. A. (2007). Ibotenic acid lesions to ventrolateral/ventral anterior thalamic nuclei can disrupt trace and delay eyeblink conditioning, but not extinction in rabbits. Behavioral Brain Research, 179, 111-117. (Impact Factor 3.03, 1 citation in Web of Science).

Oswald, B. B., *Knuckley, B.,*Mahan, K., *Saunders, C. E., & Powell, D. A. (2006).  Prefrontal control of trace versus delay eyeblink conditioning in rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus):  role of the unconditioned stimulus.  Behavioral Neuroscience, 120(5), 1033-1042. (Impact Factor 2.73, 21 citations in Web of Science)

Books:

Wallace, B., Oswald, B. B., & Fisher, L. E. (2011).  Consciousness and Behavior (5th ed.).  Dubuque, IA:  Kendall/Hunt Publishing.  ISBN:  978-0-7575-9351-2

Representative Awards

  • 2023 Recognition for Outstanding Service, Society for the Teaching of Psychology for service as Chair of STP Membership Committee
  • 2022 CLAAS Faculty Achievement in Service Award, Miami University
  • 2021 University Assessment Excellence Award for the BA in Psychological Science
  • 2020 CLAAS Faculty Achievement in Advising Award, Miami University
  • 2018 CLAAS Faculty Achievement in Teaching Award, Miami University
  • 2013 Psi Chi Professor of the Year, Miami University

Representative Service

Recent Editorial Boards

Associate Editor, Ohio Journal of Science

Recent Ad Hoc Reviews

Behavioral Neuroscience, Teaching of Psychology, PLoS One, Eating Disorders, AURCO

Recent Institutional and Professional Service:

2022-2024 Representative, The Association for University Regional Campuses of Ohio (AURCO) for Miami University Hamilton campus

2021-2022 Chair, CLAAS Divisional Grievance Committee

2021-2023 Chair, APA Division 2 Society for the Teaching of Psychology (STP) Membership Committee

2021-2024 Member, CLAAS Divisional Promotion and Tenure Committee

2020-2023  Member, University Senate, Faculty Welfare Committee

2020- Member, Regional Honors Advisory Council

2020- Member, Psychology Departmental Review Board (DRB), Subcommittee of the Institutional Review Board (IRB)