Joseph Baschnagel Headshot

Joseph Baschnagel

Department Chair

Department of Psychology
College of Liberal Arts

585-475-4187
Office Location

Joseph Baschnagel

Department Chair

Department of Psychology
College of Liberal Arts

Education

BA, MA, Ph.D., State University of New York at Buffalo

Bio

Dr. Baschnagel’s current research focuses on studying addictive behavior, specifically the attentional and emotional aspects of addiction. This includes studying the effects of nicotine on attentional and emotional processes in both smokers and non-smokers and assessing cue-reactivity to smoking cues and alcohol cues in adults. One particular focus is on incorporation of mobile eye-tracking into cue-reactivity paradigms. Dr. Baschnagel typically uses psychophysiological research methods to study attention and emotional processing; measures such as the startle eye-blink reflex, facial EMG, heartrate, and skin conductance responses and is currently working a method to incorporate these measures with mobile eye-tracking. In addition to using these measures to study addictive behaviors he has applied them to the study of attentional and emotional processing in borderline personality disorder populations, the effects of incentives on basic attentional processes, and emotional processing associated with jealousy. Dr. Baschnagel collaborates with faculty in the Multidisciplinary Vision Research Laboratory and with faculty in the Institute of Health Sciences and Technology here at RIT.

585-475-4187

Personal Links

Select Scholarship

Journal Paper
Baschnagel, Joseph S. and Justin S. Bell. "Drinking to Cope and Coping Strategies in Deaf/Hard of Hearing Individuals." Addictive Behaviors 136. (2023): NA. Web.
Reff, Jason and Baschnagel, Joseph S. "The Role of Affective Urgency and Emotion Regulation in Vaping Susceptibility." Addictive Behaviors Reports 14. (2021): 1-5. Web.
Baschnagel, J.S. and J. E. Edlund. "Affective modification of the startle eyeblink response during sexual and emotional infidelity scripts." Evolutionary Psychological Science. (2016): 114-122. Print.
Baschnagel, Joseph. "Using Mobile Eye-Tracking to Assess Attention to Smoking Cues in a Naturalized Environment." Addictive Behaviors 38. 12 (2013): 2837-2840. Print.
Baschnagel, J.S. "Psychophysiological Assessment of Emotional Processing in Patients with Borderline Personality Disorders and Without Comorbid Substance Use." Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment. (2012): Advance online publication. Web.
Peer Reviewed/Juried Poster Presentation or Conference Paper
Aita, Moet, Joseph S. Baschnagel, and Tina M. Sutton. "Pre-pulse Inhibition of Startle as a Predictor of Inattentional Blindness: The Role of Attentional Gating and Attention." Proceedings of the Psychonomics. Ed. Psychonomics Society. Boston, MA: Psychonomics Society.
Baschnagel, Joseph S. and Jeffrey Miller. "The Relationship Between ADHD Symptomatology and Photophobia." Proceedings of the Society of Psychophysiological Research, Oct 11-14th Vienna Austria. Ed. Monica Fabiani. Madison, WI: Wiley.
Baschnagel, Joseph S. and Ciara Lutz. "The Effect of Impulsive Tendencies on the Experience of Boredom." Proceedings of the Society of Psychophysiological Research, Oct 11-14th Vienna Austria. Ed. Monica Fabiani. Madison, WI: Wiley.
Invited Keynote/Presentation
Baschnagel, Joseph, et al. "Tailoring Automatic Biofeedback to Individual Strengths With a Dynamic Feedback Signal Set." 53rd Conference for The Society for Psychophysiological Research. Society for Psychological Research. Florence, Italy. 2-6 Oct. 2013. Conference Presentation.

Currently Teaching

ITDL-498
0 Credits
Co-op in a field related to Liberal Arts (at least 80 hours). Students will apply the accumulated knowledge, theory, and methods of the discipline to problem solving outside of the classroom.
PSYC-236
3 Credits
This course is intended for students who are interested in learning the history and current status of personality theories. Students will learn the strengths and weaknesses of the major personality theories, as well as how to assess, research and apply these theories. As much as possible, application to real life situations will be discussed.
PSYC-410
3 Credits
This course is intended for students in the biopsychology track. This course provides a comprehensive introduction to psycho-physiology. Students will learn about various psychophysiological measures and their use in the study of areas such as attention, emotion, and language. Topics may include mind-body interaction, somatic and autonomic nervous system function, central and peripheral physiological measures (e.g., EEG, EMG, cardiac reactivity, skin conductance responses), psychophysiological research methods, and applied psychophysiology. Students will be expected to be able to write at an upper level using APA format. Part of the biopsychology track for the psychology degree program.
PSYC-411
3 Credits
This course is intended for students in the biopsychology track. A comprehensive introduction to psychoactive drugs. Topics include pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, synaptic transmission, drugs of abuse and drugs used in the treatment of mental disorders, and the behavioral and cognitive effects of these drugs. Students will be expected to be able to write at an upper level using APA format.
PSYC-498
0 Credits
Internship in Psychology. This is for 350 hours of supervised unpaid work off campus with non-profits, public service groups, the zoo, or similar organizations. Each Internship experience must be approved by the department of psychology prior to starting.
PSYC-502
3 Credits
This course is intended for students in the psychology major to integrate material covered in earlier courses and examine broad topics in Psychology. The specific topics covered will vary from semester to semester. This course is an opportunity for faculty and students to examine issues that transcend sub-disciplines in psychology. Students will read original research and examine influential theories relevant to the topic.
PSYC-510
3 Credits
This course is intended for students in the psychology major to demonstrate experimental research expertise, while being guided by faculty advisors. The topic to be studied is up to the student, who must find a faculty advisor before signing up for the course. Students will be supervised by the advisor as they conduct their literature review, develop the research question or hypothesis, develop the study methodology and materials, construct all necessary IRB materials, run subjects, and analyze the results of their study. This course will culminate in an APA style paper and poster presentation reporting the results of the research. Because Senior Project is the culmination of a student’s scientific research learning experience in the psychology major, it is expected that the project will be somewhat novel, will extend the theoretical understanding of their previous work (or of the previous work of another researcher), and go well beyond any similar projects that they might have done in any of their previous courses.
PSYC-550
0 Credits
Practicum open to psychology students. Gives the student first-hand experience in the field of psychology working on research that matches the student's career objectives. Students are closely supervised by a faculty member, developing relevant skills and learning how to do research first-hand. May count for the equivalent of the psychology co-op experience with prior approval and sufficient time commitment. (3rd or 4th year status). Prerequisites PSYC-101, -250, -251. Credit 0 (F, S, Su)
PSYC-751
0 Credits
The guiding principle of Graduate Research Seminar is that it provides students the opportunity to begin examining potential thesis topics during the student's first semester in the program. The course will involve faculty presentations of their research offered weekly through the semester.
PSYC-752
3 Credits
The Thesis courses will vary widely but will fulfill the work plan agreed by the student and the adviser. The guiding principles of the Thesis Proposal course are to initiate thesis research including selecting a thesis advisor, choosing and defining a topic, surveying relevant research literature, and planning the research. To complete the course, the student will successfully submit and defend a thesis proposal, which is a detailed and complete plan of the thesis research. The thesis proposal should include exhaustive review of relevant literature, statement of the student's thesis, formulation of hypotheses, operational definitions of independent and dependent variables, and a detailed procedure for carrying out the research. The proposal may also include a section on anticipated results with a detailed plan for analysis of data.
PSYC-753
3 Credits
The Thesis courses will vary widely but will fulfill the work plan agreed by the student and the thesis adviser. The guiding principle of the Thesis course is to complete the thesis research proposed in Thesis Proposal. The Thesis course consists of carrying out the thesis research, including collection and analysis of data, and completion and public defense of the thesis document for partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree.
PSYC-754
3 Credits
This is a project-based course for students enrolled in the MSc Experimental Psychology non-Thesis track focusing on discipline-specific scientific communication skills in the area of Psychology. The capstone course will provide students the opportunity to combine and incorporate knowledge and skills learned in prior coursework and experiences and demonstrate their ability to apply this knowledge in various assignments. A variety of written projects (white paper, focused literature review, and a resume) and an oral presentation will be required and should allow students to demonstrate proficiency in the Program.
PSYC-790
0 Credits
Restricted to gpsa graduate program only. Must have permission of department to register for this course.