Lisa Thomson Ross
Professor of Psychology, affiliated faculty in Women's and Gender Studies program, and faculty fellow in Leadership, Experiential Learning, Academic Achievement, and Professional Development (LEAP) program
Education
Ph.D. in Social Psychology, Wayne State University
M.A. in General Experimental Psychology, Wake Forest University
B.A. in Psychology and Social Work, Hope College
Research Interests
Dr. Ross’ main research focus has been on mental health and especially how our well-being is influenced by unpredictability, both in terms of our experiences (e.g., family chaos) and our beliefs. Other research interests include humility, compassion, family dynamics, and human sexuality.
Courses Taught
- PSYC 103: Introduction to Psychological Science
- PSYC 222: Psychology of Personality
- PSYC 223: Social Psychology
- PSYC 315: Special Topics in Psychology (Healthy Minds, Healthy Bodies; Social Relationships and Mental Health; Personality Development; Feminist Identity Development)
- PSYC 329: Environmental Psychology
- PSYC 350: Psychology of Gender
- PSYC 462: Advanced Social Psychology with Lab
- WGST 200: Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies
Selected Publications
Undergraduate student coauthors are marked with an asterisk.
Ross. L. T. & Ross, T. P. (2023). Distress, social support, and self-compassion: Relationships with mental health among college students. Psychological Reports, 1-23.
Ross, L.T., *Owensby, A., & Kolak, A. M. (2022). Family predictability and psychological wellness: Do personal predictability and control beliefs matter? Journal of Child and Family Studies.
Ross, L.T., *Heming, B., & *Lane, A. (2022). Family unpredictability and sense of coherence: Relationships with anxiety and depression in two samples. Psychological Reports, 126.
Ross, L.T., & Wright, J.C. (2021). Humility, personality, and psychological functioning. Psychological Reports, 1-24. Online:
*Hood, C.O., Ross, L.T., & *Wills, N.L. (2019). Family factors and depressive symptoms among college students: Understanding the role of self-compassion. Journal of American College Health, 68, 683-687.
Ross, L.T. & *Hasty, J. (2018). Anxiety and drinking: Are personal beliefs regarding control and unpredictability relevant? Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied, 152, 1-23.
Kolak, A.M., *Van Wade, C. & Ross L.T. (2018). Family unpredictability and psychological distress in early adulthood: The role of family closeness and coping mechanisms. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27, 3842–3852.
Wright, J., Nadelhoffer, T., Ross, L.T., & Sinnott-Armstrong, W. (2017). Be it ever so humble: Proposing a dual-dimension account and measure of humility. Self and Identity. Online:
Ross, L.T., Short, S.D., & *Garofano, M. (2016). The Scale of Unpredictability Beliefs: Reliability and validity. Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied, 150, 976-1003.
Ross, L.T., Hood, *C.O., & Short, S.D. (2016). Unpredictability and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 35, 371-385.
Ross, T.P., Ross, L.T., Short, S.D. & *Cataldo, S. (2015). The Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale: Psychometric properties and form equivalence. Psychological Reports: Mental & Physical Health, 116, 889-913.