Raquel Lopez

Associate Professor of Psychology
raquel lopez
About

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.

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

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.