William Struthers, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology | Wheaton College
Wheaton, IL, UNITED STATES
Dr. Struthers studies the impact of pornography consumption, neurological effects of environmental enrichment, and science-faith issues.
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Biography
Dr. Struthers' lab research interests are in the neural mechanisms that underlie behavioral arousal and the processing of novel environments. His research employs the use of stereotaxic surgery, immunochemistry, and behavioral manipulations to investigate gene expression in the cingulate cortex and basal ganglia.
He recently received a grant from the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, an interdisciplinary research enterprise based at St Edmund's College, Cambridge University (UK) to examine uses and abuses of neuroscience research in society. Dr. Struthers has also been named a Visiting Research Fellow to Biola University's Center for Christian Thought in 2014 for his work on the impact of sexual exploitation on spirituality, and is part of the Oxford Interdisciplinary Seminars in Science and Religion: Bridging the Two Cultures of Science and the Humanities.
Education (3)
The University of Illinois at Chicago: Ph.D., Biopsychology
The University of Illinois at Chicago: M.A., Biopsychology
Illinois Wesleyan University: B.A., Psychology
Areas of Expertise and Research Interests (16)
Psychology
Science and Faith in Dialogue
Biological Bases of Personhood
Biological Bases of Spirituality
Neuroethics
Compulsive Sexuality
Novelty and the Brain
Psychology Education
History and Psychology
Men and Addictions
Neuroscience and the Soul
Psychopharmacology
Behavioural Neuroscience
Activism Against Sexual Exploitation
Biological Bases of Behavior
Pornography Addiction
Professional Affiliations (4)
- Society for Neuroscience
- Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience
- International Neuroethics Society
- Association for Psychological Science
Media Appearances (3)
Beauty of Art and Sacraments as Response to Culture of Pornography
Today's Catholic News online
2015-04-01
William Struthers, professor of psychology at Wheaton College, next shared how viewing sexually explicit material (SEM) influences the thoughts and behaviors of men. Through his neurological research he found that “men who are often exposed to SEM become less interested in real women because they have access to a controlled environment to engage their sexual desires without having to deal with the reality or messiness of a real relationship.” He also shared that “when viewing SEM, men neurologically trigger the function of vicariously engaging in the behaviors and feelings of what the performers are experiencing...
Porn delivers more harm than good
The East Carolinian online
2015-01-15
Countless scientific studies have backed my assertions. One of which was conducted by William Struthers, PhD in bio-psychology, asserts that frequent porn viewers replace legitimate images of women with those fictional, highly inaccurate versions found in adult film. “They have unknowingly created a neurological circuit that imprisons their ability to see women rightly as created in God’s image,” said Struthers’ report...
Transforming the Brain
Christianity Today online
2010-03-29
William Struthers, a neuroscientist and professor of psychology at Wheaton College, has written a book to help us avoid becoming seduced in a culture where pornography can invade our homes. The bad news, he argues in Wired for Intimacy: How Pornography Hijacks the Male Brain (InterVarsity), is that the human brain can be chemically hijacked by pornography...
Presentations and Event Appearances (6)
Pornography in Cultural and Clinical Contexts
Department of the Navy Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Training Seminar Orlando, FL
2017-06-13
PornBrain. What Neuroscience is (and isn’t) Telling Us about Digital Sexuality
Love and Fidelity Network Ave Maria University, Ave Maria, FL
2016-03-07
Effects of Enriched Housing on the Expression of Novelty-Shuttling Induced Fos-Like Immunoreactivity in the Cingulate Cortex and Basal Ganglia
Society for Neuroscience 46th Annual Meeting Struthers, W.M.; Medrano, S.P; Ansell, K.; Wu, L. - Chicago, IL
2015-10-21
Behavioral and ERP responses to emotionally evocative images among high and low trait anger college age men
Society for Neuroscience 46th Annual Meeting Ross, K.; Addleman, D.; Early, A.; Reyes, C.; Baker, S.; O’Hora, H.; Phinney, R.; Struthers, W.; Whitney, H.; and Thom, N. - Chicago, IL
2015-10-21
Reducing Moral Distress in Nursing- Do Interventions Really Work?
American Nurses Credentialing Center National Magnet Conference Haviley, Corinne, Reid Tinio, Gina, Pugliese, Karen, Czyzewski, Katherine, and Struthers, William - Atlanta, GA - 2015
On Harms and Hope: The Myriad Injustices of Pornography and How Some are Fighting Back
Sexuality, Integrity, and the University Conference, Love and Fidelity Network Struthers, William M. and Hawkins, Dawn - Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
2015-10-31
Academics and Published Research (2)
Courses Taught
- First Year Seminar: Soul, Mind or Brain? - Advanced Integrative Seminar: Drugs, Religion and Society - Foundations of Neuroscience - Neuroscience Collaborative Research - Neuroscience Capstone - Introduction to Psychopharmacology - Neuroscience and the Soul - Men and Addictions - History of Psychology - History and Systems of Psychology (Graduate Program) - Psychopharmacology (Graduate Program) - Teaching of Psychology Seminar (Graduate Program)
Research Interests
Dr. Struthers' animal lab research is on the effects of environmental enrichment on neural responses to novelty challenges. His clinical research is in the area of compulsive sexuality and pornography use. In addition to this empirical work, Dr. Struthers' theoretical research interests are in the areas of neuroethics, the biological bases of spirituality and personhood, and science/faith dialogue issues. Dr. Struthers also speaks internationally as an advocate against various forms of sexual exploitation (i.e. pornography, prostitution, sex trafficking).
Select Articles, Chapters, Reviews, and Other Publications (7)
The Neurobiology of Stress and Trauma. Treating Trauma in Christian Counseling
InterVarsity Press
Struthers, William M., Ansell, Kerryn, and Wilson, Adam
2017-12-19
Downers Grove, IL.
Mealtime Disruption and Caregiver Stress in Referrals to an Outpatient Feeding Clinic
Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition
Fishbein, Mark, Benton, Kathryn, and Struthers, William M.
2016
Performance on the Iowa Gambling Task Among a Hypersexual Sample
Journal of Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity
Mulhauser, K, Struthers, W.M., Hooks, J, and Pyykkonen, B.
2014
Comic Books, Mock Trials and Zombies: Engaging Integrative Biopsychology Themes in the Classroom
Journal of Psychology and Theology
Struthers, William M.
2014
The Use of Brain Images When Evaluating Religious and Non-Religious Media Reports
American Journal of Bioethics: Neuroscience
Struthers, William M.; Hagan, Tim; Mulhauser, Kyle; and Schuchardt, Read.
2014
Nasolacrimal Duct Obstruction and Anisometropic Amblyopia
Journal of the American Association of Pediatric Ophthamology and Strabisums
Kipp, Mike; Kipp, Mike A. Jr. and Struthers, William M.
2013
False Intimacy
Youthwork
Struthers, William M.
2012
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