I take a social justice approach to socioecological psychology to understand and address a variety of pressing social issues.  My goal is to understand how culture, social structure, and environment shape the ways that individuals cope with and make meaning from experiences of suffering. I have applied this approach to studying the experience of environmental catastrophe (e.g., water contamination, natural disasters), financial debt, and policing and incarceration.

Selected Publications: 

• Schmitt, H. J., Black, A. L., Keefer, L. A., & Sullivan, D. (2022). In a double‐bind: Time–space distanciation, socioeconomic status, and coping with financial stress in the United States. British Journal of Social Psychology.  https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12592

• Schmitt, H.J., Sullivan, D., Goad, A.N., & Palitsky, R. (2022). Coping with chronic environmental contamination: Exploring the role of social capital. Journal of Environmental Psychology. 83, 101870. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101870.

• Schmitt, H.J., Young, I.F., Keefer, L.A., Palitsky, R., Stewart, S., Goad, A., & Sullivan, D.  (2021). Time-space distanciation as a decolonizing framework for psychology. Review of General Psychology. 25(4), 405-421. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F10892680211002441.

• Schmitt, H.J.,Calloway, E., Sullivan, D., Clausen, W., Tucker, P.G., Rayman, J., Gerhardstein, B. (2021). Chronic environmental contamination: A systematic review of psychological health consequences. Science of the Total Environment. 772, 145025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145025.

Courses Taught:

• PSY 360 - Social Psychology (2023)

*Year listed indicates when this individual last taught the specified course.

 Updated: 2/1/23