Criminology Faculty and Staff

Sheila Seelau Ph.D.

sseelau@chatham.edu
Associate Professor of Psychology and Criminology

Hometown : Fargo, ND
Joined Chatham : 2004

Academic Areas of Interest

Domestic violence in homosexual and heterosexual relationships, rape, sexual abuse, repressed and recovered memories, eyewitness memory, eyewitness identification

Education

• Ph.D., Iowa State University, (Ames, IA), 1996 - Social Psychology
• M. A., University of North Dakota (Grand Forks, ND), 1992 - General/Experimental Psychology
• B. A., magna cum laude with Senior Honors, University of North Dakota, 1988 - Psychology

Publications

• Nachson, I., Read, J.D., Seelau, S. M., Goodyear-Smith, F., Lobb, B., Davies, G., Glicksohn, J., Lifschitz, M., & Brimacombe, C. A. E. (2007). Effects of prior knowledge and expert statement on belief in recovered memories: An international perspective. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 30, 224-236.
• Seelau, S. M. & Seelau, E. P. (2005). Gender-role stereotypes and perceptions of heterosexual, gay and lesbian domestic violence. Journal of Family Violence, 20, 363-370.
• Poorman, P. B., Seelau, E. P., & Seelau, S. M. (2003). Perceptions of domestic abuse in same-sex relationships and implications for criminal justice and mental health responses. Violence and Victims, 18, 659-669.
• Seelau, E. P., Seelau, S. M., & Poorman, P. B. (2003). Gender and role-based perceptions of domestic abuse: Does sexual orientation matter? Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 21, 199-214.
• Goodyear-Smith, F., Lobb, B., Davies, G., Nachson, I., & Seelau, S. M. (2002). International variation in ethics committee requirements: Comparisons across five Westernised nations. BMC Medical Ethics [On-line], 3: 2. Available: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6939/3/2
• Poorman, P. B., & Seelau, S. M. (2001). Lesbians who abuse their partners: Using the FIRO-B to assess interpersonal characteristics. Women and Therapy, 23, 87-106. Also in E. Kashchak (Ed.), Intimate betrayal: Domestic violence in lesbian relationships. New York: Haworth.
• Seelau, E. P., & Seelau, S. M. (1995). The third time's a charm... and the second can be, too [Review of the books Psychology and the legal system (3rd ed.), and Psychology and law: Research and application (2nd ed.)]. Contemporary Psychology, 40, 980-982.
• Seelau, E. P., Seelau, S. M., Wells, G. L., & Windschitl, P. D. (1995). Counterfactual constraints. In N. J. Roese & J. M. Olson (Eds.), What might have been: The social psychology of counterfactual thinking (pp. 57-79). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
• Seelau, S. M., & Wells, G. L. (1995). Applied eyewitness research: The other mission. Law and Human Behavior, 19, 319-324.
• Wells, G. L., Seelau, E. P., Rydell [Seelau], S. M., & Luus, C. A. E. (1994). Recommendations for properly conducted lineup identification tasks. In D. F. Ross, J. D. Read, & M. P. Toglia (Eds.), Adult eyewitness testimony: Current trends and developments (pp. 223-244). New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Wells, G. L., Rydell [Seelau], S. M., & Seelau, E. P. (1993). The selection of distractors for eyewitness lineups. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 835-844.

Certifications

• National Criminal Justice Certificate of Attendance: Crime Scene Phase I (Public Agency Training Council, 2007)

Awards

• Jane Burger Advising Award for Faculty, Chatham University, 2009
• Student Organization Adviser of the Year (Chatham University Forensics Club), 2009
• Honored as a “Vagina Warrior” by 2009 Vagina Monologues cast for supporting the end of violence against women, and promoting women's equity and empowerment
• Nominated to Golden Key National Honor Fraternity, recognizing outstanding contributions & positive influence in teaching undergraduates, 2002

Organizations

• Association for Psychological Science
• Eastern Psychological Association (EPA)
• American Psychological Association Division 2, Society for the Teaching of Psychology
• APA Division 8, Society for Personality and Social Psychology
• APA Division 41, American Psychology-Law Society

Achievements

• Forensics Program Coordinator, Chatham University, 2004-2011

Presentations

• Tripp, R., & Seelau, S. M. (2011, May). Psychological and physical aggression more prevalent among bisexual women with female partners. Poster session conducted at the annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science, Washington, DC.
• Seelau, S. M. (2009, March). Interdisciplinary programming. In M. L. Stubbs (Chair), Collaboration and creativity in psychology education: From chaos to clarity. Symposium conducted at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Pittsburgh, PA.
• Enright, S. M., Seelau, S. M., & Seelau, E. P. (2008, March). Effects of sexual orientation on perceptions of domestic abuse. Poster presented at the annual conference of the American Psychology-Law Society, Jacksonville, FL.
• Seelau, S. M., Seelau, E. P., & Harvey, J. W. (2005, March). Anti-homosexual bias in perceptions of domestic abuse. Paper presented at the annual conference of the American Psychology-Law Society, La Jolla, CA.
• Seelau, S. M., & Seelau, E. P. (2002, November). Eyewitness identification: Can you believe it? Keynote address presented at the Mississippi Criminal Justice Association panel seminar, Jackson, MS.
• Seelau, S. M. (2001, August). Mock-juror gender and beliefs predict responses to a recovered memory case. In Scott W. Brown (Chair), Research evidence to combat misconceptions about human memory. Symposium conducted at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA.
• Seelau, E. P., Seelau, S. M., & Poorman, P. B. (2001, August). Impact of gender and orientation on perceptions of domestic abuse. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA.
• Seelau, S. M., Seelau, E. P., & Poorman, P. B. (2001, August). Perceptions of domestic abuse in same-sex versus heterosexual relationships. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA.
• Seelau, S. M., & Seelau, E. P. (2001, July). Eyewitness memory: Can you believe it? Presented at the “2001 New Approaches for the Millennium” advanced seminar for Criminal Justice Association attorneys, Minneapolis, MN.
• Seelau, S. M., & Rider, R. M. (2000, May). Verdict predictors in a recovered memory case. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.
• Giving students with developmental needs an academic advantage: Thematically linking first-year courses (2000, April). University of Wisconsin System Undergraduate Teaching Improvement Council’s annual meeting, Madison, WI.