Our faculty

Raquel Lopez

Associate Professor of Psychology

Psychology920-403-3228 raquel.lopez@snc.edu

Raquel Lopez is an associate professor of psychology at St. Norbert College who enjoys working with students both inside and outside of the classroom. She is a former Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Scholar who cares deeply about helping students from underrepresented groups navigate the world of higher education. She is a recipient of the Leonard Ledvina Outstanding Teacher Award from SNC.

A developmental psychologist by training, Lopez is interested in understanding how early adversity influences decision-making processes later in life. She and her students in the Developmental Decision-Making Lab explore these questions using electroencephalographic (EEG) techniques. She enjoys teaching students about how humans change over time and hopes to convey the importance of understanding the complex relationship between one’s development and their environment.

PSYC 100 Introductory Psychological Science
PSYC 215 Human Sexuality
PSYC 220 Lifespan Human Development
PSYC 301 Basic Principles and Methods of Psychological Research
PSYC 315 Childhood Adversity & Resilience

B.S. – Westminster College
M.A. – Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota
Ph.D. – Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota
Postdoctoral training – Wisdom Grant, University of Chicago

Early adversity
Brain development
EEG/ERP methodology
Cognition
Sexual decision-making

Paitel, E. R., Peters, S.D., Lobermeier, M., and Lopez, R. A. (2022) “Age-Related No-Go P300 Amplitudes Are Moderated by Exposure to Early-Life Stress.” International Journal of Psychophysiology 180:19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.06.016

Cowell, R. A., Paitel, E. R., & Peters, S*. (2020). The context of caution: An examination of age, sex, and social context on inhibitory control and risky decision-making. International Journal of Aging and Human Development.

Herzberg, M. P., Hodel, A. S., Cowell, R. A. Hunt, R. H., Gunnar, M. R., & Thomas, K. M. (2019) Risk taking, decision-making, and brain volume in youth adopted from international orphanages. Neuropsychologia.

Demers, L. A., McKenzie, K. J., Hunt, R. H., Cicchetti, D., Cowell, R. A., Rogosch, F. A., Thomas, K. M. (2018). Separable effects of childhood maltreatment and adult adaptive functioning on amygdala connectivity during emotion processing. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 3(2), 116–124. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2017.08.010

Jedd, K., Hunt, R. H., Cicchetti, D., Hunt, E., Cowell, R. A., Rogosch, F., Toth, S. L., Thomas, K. M. (2015). Long-term consequences of childhood maltreatment: Altered amygdala functional connectivity. Development and Psychopathology, 27 (2), 1577-1589.

Cowell, R. A., Cicchetti, D., Rogosch, F. A., & Toth, S. L. (2015). Childhood maltreatment and its effect on neurocognitive functioning: Timing and chronicity matter. Development and Psychopathology, 27, 521-533.

Hodel, A. S., Hunt, R. H., Cowell, R. A., Van Den Heuvel, S. E., Gunnar, M. R., & Thomas, K. M. (2015). Duration of early adversity and structural brain development in post-institutionalized adolescents. NeuroImage, 105, 112-119.

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@2023 St. Norbert College

Our faculty

Raquel Lopez

Courses taught

Education and training

Scholarly interests

Publications and working papers