Teaching
and Research
Courses taught by Dr.
McDonald at BSU include Community Psychology,
Personality, Learning, Statistics, and General
Psychology. Many of Dr. McDonald’s courses have
experiential components in which his students have
conducted research with homeless persons and families,
members of neighborhood organizations, and senior
citizens. Students in his courses have also performed
socially beneficial volunteer work involving unwanted
dogs in animal shelters, service provision to homeless
veterans and their families, building homes for
low-income families, and habitat restoration, fire
recovery, and erosion control projects in Idaho forests.
Dr. McDonald’s research interests lie primarily in the
area of community psychology. Most of his research is
designed to help state and local policymakers understand
issues important to vulnerable populations, including
low-income families and children, students in
compensatory education programs, disabled persons,
residents of at-risk neighborhoods, and senior citizens.
Typically, he and his students study the factors related
to negative outcomes in members of these populations,
and use the results of their work to advocate for the
prevention of these factors. Much of his research has
involved program evaluation for local social service
providers, which is designed to help the administrators
of these organizations best allocate their resources to
meet the needs of their clients. He and his students
have been credited by many local agencies and
organizations for providing valuable assistance and
guiding policy decisions, and their work has been
presented at local, regional, and national conferences
and conventions.
Recent Publications, Research Reports, and Presentations
McDonald, T. W., Caso, R., &
Fugit, D. (in press). Teaching and learning operant
principles in animal shelters: Perspectives from
faculty, students, and shelter staff. Journal of
Instructional Psychology.
McDonald, T. W. (2004). Program evaluation in a
residential youth care facility: The case of Project
PATCH. Residential Group Care Quarterly, 4, 6-9.
McDonald, T. W., & Kline, L. M. (2004). Perceptions of
appropriate punishment for committing date rape: Male
college students recommend lenient punishments. College
Student Journal, 38, 44-56.
McDonald, T. W., Toussaint, L. L., & Schweiger, J. A.
(2004). The influence of social status on token women
leaders’ expectations about leading male-dominated
groups. Sex Roles, 50, 401-409.
McDonald, T. W. (2005). A summary and analysis of
responses given group interviews with instructors and
staff of the Idaho School for the Deaf and Blind. Boise,
ID: Office of Performance Evaluations, Idaho State
Legislature.
McDonald, T. W. (2005). Rexburg community survey
results. In M. Shaw’s (Ed.) Rexburg community review
(pp. 66-74). Boise, ID: Association of Idaho Cities.
McDonald, T. W. (2005). The survey of parent perceptions
of programs and services provided by the Idaho School
for the Deaf and Blind: Results and analysis. Boise, ID:
Office of Performance Evaluations, Idaho State
Legislature.
McDonald, T. W. (2005). The survey of school districts
on programs and services provided by the Idaho School
for the Deaf and Blind: Results and analysis. Boise, ID:
Office of Performance Evaluations, Idaho State
Legislature.
McDonald, T. W. (2004). The survey of school districts
on technology initiatives conducted by the Office of
Performance Evaluations: Results and analysis. Boise,
ID: Office of Performance Evaluations, Idaho State
Legislature.
McDonald, T. W., Stroebel, H., & Reischl, U. (2004).
Impediments to housing and community resources access in
Idaho: An assessment of perceptions across multiple
stakeholder groups. Boise, ID: Center for Health Policy,
Boise State University.
McDonald, T. W., & McDonald, R. J. (2004). Salmon
community survey results. In M. Shaw’s (Ed.) Salmon
community review (pp. 66-82). Boise, ID: Association of
Idaho Cities.
Begic, S., & McDonald, T. W. Wartime experiences and
their effects on residents of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Poster
presented at the April, 2005 meeting of the Western
Psychological Association.
Brewer, K. C., James, M. M., Curran, T. J., Demar, C.
R., Butler, E. P., Jubeck, E., Anthony, A. M., &
McDonald, T. W. Impacts of the loss of school resources
workers in Idaho. Poster presented at the April, 2005
meeting of the Western Psychological Association.
Harris, S. M., Paul, L. J., Brewer, K. C., LeMesurier,
E. A., Byerly, N. M., & McDonald, T. W. Barriers to
mental health care in rural and frontier counties. Paper
presented at the May, 2005 meeting of the Midwestern
Psychological Association.
Landrum, E. R., McDonald, T. W., Anooshian, L., &
Seibert, P. S. From beginning to end: Enhancing the
undergraduate experience of psychology majors. Symposium
presented at the May, 2005 meeting of the Midwestern
Psychological Association.
LeMesurier, E. A., Cortes, K. J., Brewer, K. C., Harris,
S. M., & McDonald, T. W. Influenza vaccinations and
seniors: To get the shot or not? Poster presented at the
April, 2005 meeting of the Western Psychological
Association.
Paul, L. J., Harris, S. M., Brewer, K. C., Michas, M.
J., Tam, M. A., Fernau, E. E., & McDonald, T. W.
Prevalent mental health problems in Idaho’s rural and
frontier counties. Poster presented at the April, 2005
meeting of the Western Psychological Association.
Brewer, K. C., Taylor, K. C., Dawson, E. S., Foster, R.,
Gull, K. L., Haber, J. D., & McDonald, T. W. (2004,
April). Factors related to mental health status in
senior citizens. Paper presented at the annual meeting
of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association in Reno,
NV.
Brewer, K. C., Taylor, K. C., & McDonald, T. W. (2004,
April). Factors predicting quality of life in homebound
seniors. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the
Western Psychological Association in Phoenix, AZ.
Foruria, A. M., Mitchell, S. H., Jones, D. G., Johnson,
J. F., Tong, W. Y., & McDonald, T. W. (2004, April).
Resident perceptions as a function of neighborhood
socioeconomic status. Poster presented at the annual
meeting of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association
in Reno, NV.
Foruria, A. M., Mitchell, S. H., Jones, D. G., Tadlock,
H. L., Weakly, D. L., & McDonald, T. W. (2004, April).
Factors influencing neighborhood quality of life in a
citywide sample. Poster presented at the annual meeting
of the Western Psychological Association in Phoenix, AZ.
Mitchell, S. H., Foruria, A. M., Jones, D. G., Clark, J.
J., Starks, R. N, & McDonald, T. W. (2004, April). The
effect of homeowner status on neighborhood perceptions.
Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Western
Psychological Association in Phoenix, AZ.
Taul, C. A., Dufty, B. M., & McDonald, T. W. (2004,
April). Barriers to escaping poverty: A qualitative
analysis. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the
Rocky Mountain Psychological Association in Reno, NV.
Taylor, K. C., Brewer, K. C., Havens, E. F.,
Kindernecht, S. K., McMahonY, D. A., Thornock, A. A., &
McDonald, T. W. (2004, April). Seniors’ life
perceptions: Differences between active and homebound
seniors. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the
Rocky Mountain Psychological Association in Reno, NV.
Selected
Professional Activities
American
Psychological Association (Member, 1995)
Society for
Personality and Social Psychology (Div. 8, APA; Member,
1999)
Society for Community Research and
Action (Div. 27, APA; Member, 1999)
Sigma Xi (Member, 1996)
Western Psychological Association
(Member, 1999)
Class Resources
The Psychological Study of Personality
