Psychology
Jennifer L Frymiare
Associate Professor of Psychology
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
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