Psychology

Dr. Jennifer Frymiare
Dr. Jennifer Frymiare

Jennifer L Frymiare

My research focuses on the autism spectrum. More specifically, I am interested in autistic cognitive strengths and attitudes toward autism. Recently, my students and I have explored spatial reasoning, creativity, and implicit and explicit attitudes toward autism and disability.

Jennifer L. Frymiare, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Ursinus College. She received her B.S. in Psychology from Davidson College, a small liberal arts (Ursinus-like) college in North Carolina. She later received her M.S. and Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She joined the Ursinus College Psychology Department and Neuroscience Program in 2011.

Dr. Frymiare is a cognitive neuroscientist with a research focus on the autism spectrum. She uses multiple methods ranging from traditional behavioral measures (self-report, response time, and accuracy) to eye-tracking and electroencephalographic techniques. She currently has two main research lines (measuring autistic traits and identifying strengths and weaknesses in autistic cognition) in addition to a budding interest in pedagogy. 

Dr. Frymiare welcomes students to do research in her lab, including students on the autism spectrum.

Department

Psychology

Degrees

  • B.S., Davidson College
  • M.S., Ph.D., University of Wisconsin–Madison

Teaching

CIE-200 The Common Intellectual Experience

PSYC-150 Your Brain on College

PSYC-200Q Introductory Research Methods and Statistics

PSYC-266 Exploring Autism with Open Minds

PSYC/MCS-268 In Their Voices: Disability, TV, & Me [co-taught course with Dr. Lynne Edwards]

NEUR/PSYC-332: Cognitive Neuroscience

NEUR/PSYC-432: Advanced Research Methods in Cognitive Neuroscience

Research Interests

Neurodiversity; Autistic traits; Visual and auditory perception; Hierarchical processing; Social communication; Motor skills; Praxis; Structural assessment of knowledge; Pathfinder networks

Recent Work

Note: Dr. Stevenson had a name change to Dr. Frymiare in June of 2021.

*student co-author

Akhtar, N., Dinishak, J., & Frymiare, J. L. (2022). Still infantilizing autism? An update and extension of Stevenson et al. (2011). Autism in Adulthood, 4(3), 224-232. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2022.0014

Stevenson, J. L. & *Dalasio, N. L. (2020). From awareness to acceptance: Transformative approaches to teaching neurodiversity. In T. M. Ober, E. Che, J. E. Brodsky, C. Raffaele, & P. J. Brooks (Eds.)., How we teach now: GSTA guide to transformative teaching (pp. 178-192). Retrieved from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology website: http://teachpsych.org/ebooks/howweteachnow-transformative

Stevenson, J. L., & *Mowad, T. G. (2019). Explicit associations with autism and disability. Autism in Adulthood, 1(4), 258-267. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2019.0028

Stevenson, J.L., & *Nonack [Foggo], M.B. (2018). Gender differences in mental rotation strategy depend on degree of autistic traits. Autism Research, 11, 1024-1037. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aur.1958

Gernsbacher, M.A., Raimond, A., Stevenson, J.L., Boston, J., & Harp, B. (2018). Do puzzle pieces and autism puzzle piece logos evoke negative associations? Autism, 22, 118-125. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1362361317727125

*Black, E., Stevenson, J.L., & Bish, J.P. (2017). The role of musical experience in hemispheric lateralization of global and local auditory processing. Perception, 46, 956-975. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0301006616685954

Gernsbacher, M.A., Stevenson, J.L., & Dern, S. (2017). Specificity, contexts, and reference groups matter when assessing autistic traits. PLoS One, 12, e0171931. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0171931

Stevenson, J.L., & Hart, K.R. (2017). Psychometric properties of the Autism-Spectrum Quotient for assessing low and high levels of autistic traits in college students. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47, 1838-1853. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3109-1

Stevenson, J.L., *Lindley, C.E., & *Murlo, N. (2017). Retrospectively assessed early motor and current pragmatic language skills in autistic and neurotypical children. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 124, 777-794. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0031512517710379

Stevenson, J.L., *Shah, S., & Bish, J.P. (2016). Use of structural assessment of knowledge for outcomes assessment in the neuroscience classroom. Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education, 15, A38-A43. Retrieved from http://www.funjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/june-15-38.pdf

Stevenson, J.L., & Gernsbacher, M.A. (2013). Abstract spatial reasoning as an autistic strength. PLoS ONE, 8, e59329. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0059329

Stevenson, J.L., Harp, B., & Gernsbacher, M.A. (2011). Infantilizing autism. Disability Studies Quarterly, 31(3). Retrieved from http://www.dsq-sds.org/issue/view/84