• You will engage in real-life application of psychology through service projects, educational and inspiring internships, and site visits to local agency and direct service providers.
• You will work directly with psychology practitioners in the field.
• Along with exploring the application of psychology as a helping profession, you will learn to generate original findings by conducting your own research. You will be trained to use science to provide explanations of human behavior and attitudes and utilize and develop your observation and reasoning skills to generate sound answers.
• Many students present their research at local, regional, and national conferences. You may also take a leadership role and help host campus-wide educational events for others in the NEC community.
• Students are also challenged to compete and test their knowledge in the annual “PsychCup” at the New Hampshire Psychological Association meeting.

• Social work
• Direct service with a variety of clientele, including individuals with autism, development delays, and emotional difficulties
• Counseling
• Criminal Justice
• Law
• Teaching
• Business
• Medicine and Nursing

Assistant Professor, Psychology
Office: Science Building 116A, Henniker Campus
Phone: 603.428.2231
Email: awalsh1@nec.edu

Expertise
Lead presenter on assessing student learning and sole presenter on resilience in the classroom for the 2021 NEC Assessment Conference.

Educational Background

• EdD in Counseling Psychology with specialization In Sport Psychology, Boston University
• MA in Clinical Psychology, American International College
• BA in Elementary Education, American International College

Research Interests

• Resilience In higher education
• Assessment of student learning

Bio
Alex Walsh came to NEC in 2018 after serving as an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Mount Ida College from 2014–2018. Alex teaches a range of classes, from lower-level classes such as Introduction to Psychology and Writing and Research in Psychology, to higher-level classes such as Cognitive Psychology and Neuropsychology.

Alex focuses his work outside of teaching on the importance of assessment of student learning and resilience in higher education. Alex’s assessment work centers on the importance of clear course learning outcomes driving the process of assessment, which has implications at the course and program level. Alex has also begun to run intervention and non-intervention research on psychological factors that influence healthy academic and psychological functioning. Alex’s goal is to uncover trends across multiple years of research that can help Inform optimal practices that promote students’ healthy academic and psychological functioning. Alex has presented his work in both topic areas and looks forward to sharing more of his work in academic settings in the future.

Associate Professor, Psychology
Office: Science Building 118A, Henniker Campus
Phone: 603.428.2270
Email: sgunnery@nec.edu

Expertise and Awards

• Principal investigator, The Effects of Facial Masking on Health-Related Quality of Life in Care Partners of People with Parkinson’s Disease
• NH-INBRE Seed Grant (P20GM103506): $20,000 (July 1, 2020–June 20, 2021); Facial Action Coding System Certified

Educational Background
PhD in Psychology, Northeastern University
MA in Psychology, Northeastern University
BA in Psychology, Stonehill College

Research interests

• Nonverbal behavior
• Facial expression in people with chronic health conditions
• Smiling
• Expressive control
• Aging
• Gender
• Accuracy in person perception

Bio
Sarah Gunnery has been a member of the psychology department faculty since 2018. Before coming to NEC, she was a postdoctoral fellow in the department of Occupational Therapy at Tufts University, where she completed a federally funded project to map the social and emotional function of the Parkinsonian face. Her research focuses on stigma and quality life in people with chronic health conditions that affect nonverbal communication. She specifically studies facial masking in people with Parkinson’s disease and compensatory strategies to help people with Parkinson’s disease communicate emotion in their face more accurately. Dr. Gunnery serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior and is a member of the American Psychological Association and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.