Jane Tyler Ward
Professor, Department of Psychologist | Cedar Crest College
Allentown, PA, UNITED STATES
Psychotherapist and Professor in the Department of Psychology at Cedar Crest College
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Biography
Dr. Ward is a psychotherapist in private practice, working with individuals and families. Her practice includes forensic evaluations for the courts, court-referred children and families, and she has been an expert witness in child development and memory, adolescent development, and psychology in Lehigh, Northampton, Schuylkill and Monroe counties. Currently she specializes in working with abducted children and serves as an advisor to the Rachel Foundation, an organization dedicated to reintegrating abducted children with their left-behind parents.Currently she teaches Lifespan Development, Abnormal Psychology, Theories of Personality, Forensic Psychology, Criminal Behavior and Profiling, and Psychology and Dramatic Literature (an Honor's course).Her most recent research and presentations in this area have been on deception and the efficacy of criminal profiling.
She has served Cedar Crest College as Chair of the Psychology Department, Dean of Students, Associate Dean of Faculty, and Associate Vice President for Institutional Research.
Dr. Ward also enjoys riding and showing her Arabian and Half-Arabian horses. She was instrumental in starting the Cedar Crest College Equestrian Team in 1994, and continues to be the faculty advisor to the Team.
Industry Expertise (7)
Education/Learning
Health and Wellness
Health Care - Providers
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Research
Mental Health Care
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Areas of Expertise (5)
Lifespan Development
Abnormal Psychology
Theories of Personality
Forensic Psychology
Criminal Behavior
Education (3)
University of Delaware: Ph.D., Psychology
University of Delaware: M.A., Psychology
University of Delaware: B.A., Psychology
Affiliations (4)
- Association of Family and Conciliation Courts
- Lehigh Valley Psychological and Counseling Association
- Pennsylvania Psychological Association
- Eastern Psychological Association
Links (1)
Courses (1)
PSY 311 Criminal Behavior and Profiling - 3 credits
This course will provide a broad overview of criminal profiling, exploring both its psychological underpinnings and its practical application. A variety of types of profiling will be reviewed, but Turvey’s BEA will be used to explain the process of profiling (including equivocal forensic analysis, victimology, crime scene analysis, and subsequent ideo-deductive conclusions). Although the course content will focus on profiling, violent offenders (especially serial killers), psychopathy, and other mental disorders often associated with violent offenders, exercises are included to develop students’ observational skills, investigative skills, report writing skills, and presentation skills.
Articles (1)
Characteristics of successful fakers versus unsuccessful fakers: is empathy, intelligence, or personality associated with faking PTSD on the MMPI-2?
Psychol Rep
1999-12-01
Moyer, Burkhardt, and Gordon found in 2002 that some individuals could fake PTSD on the MMPI-2. In light of these results, a follow-up study was conducted to assess whether attributes such as empathy, intelligence, subjectivity, or insightfulness influenced ability to fake a PTSD profile on the MMPI-2. 35 subjects from the previous study were divided into two groups, successful fakers and unsuccessful fakers. Analysis indicated no significant differences between groups on the measures of empathy or intelligence. However, a significant difference was found between groups on the Schizophrenia and Cynicism scales and falling just short of significance on the Hypochondriasis scale. These results suggested that individuals able to fake PTSD are more insightful and less subjective, which makes them better at role-playing.