Dr. Michael Noonan’s Beluga whale research is featured in Smithsonian Magazine. Click to read the article “Why Do Beluga Whales Blow Bubbles?”

Submitted by: Public Relations

Ever wonder what makes you you and how that changes and develops over time? Research in press at the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology by Jennifer Lodi-Smith, PhD, assistant professor of psychology, along with Canisius alumna and co-author Kimberly Cologgi ’13 shed some light on this question.

Their work examines how self-concept clarity, the extent to which individuals hold a clear and consistent view of themselves, changes over time and with age and how these changes relate to changes in the content of individual identity. Specifically, within a sample of 461 adults ages 19 – 86, they used longitudinal modeling to demonstrate that self-concept clarity is remarkably stable over three years but that there is significant variability in self-concept clarity trajectories across individuals. These individual differences in development of self-concept clarity corresponded to developmental patterns in Big Five personality traits and health-related role limitations.

Results of this two-wave longitudinal study suggest three primary conclusions: (1) people higher and increasing on self-concept clarity become more mature in their personality traits over time, (2) people experience declines in self-concept clarity when they begin to feel limited in what they can do because of health challenges, and (3) these effects are somewhat contingent on gender and age

Ongoing work by Dr. Lodi-Smith and her research team include examining the effects over longer periods of time, examining the relationship of self-concept clarity to other aspects of the content of identity such as life story narratives and distinct types of physical, cognitive, and psychological health outcomes, and understanding the impact high functioning autism may have on self-concept clarity.

Submitted by: Sara Morris, PhD, associate vice president, academic affairs

Dr. Michael Noonan has been sharing his enthusiasm for animal behavior and neuroscience with Canisius students for 37 years.  On campus, he serves as chair of the Animal Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation Department; director of the Institute for the Study of Human-Animal Relations, and chair of the Faculty Senate.  While his active participation in service activities is praiseworthy, Noonan’s true strength lies in teaching. Noonan’s classroom persona is dynamic, engaging, and knowledgeable.  So despite his reputation as a demanding professor, his classes are routinely filled with students who are eager to learn.

Mike’s education of students transcends the classroom. His most influential program is the Canisius Ambassadors for Conservation. This program involves students traveling with Mike to study wildlife at the front lines of conservation, and then distributing educational materials based on their field studies.  Mike’s research team has studied the cognitive and social behavior of captive marine mammals for decades, investigating communication, social interactions, and all mothering.  Michael Noonan is the epitome of the teacher-scholar.

Did you know…Dr. Noonan recently completed his 100^th out-of-town trip with students.  Literally expanding their horizons, he has introduced more than 1,000 Canisius students to exotic field-study sites all over the globe.

Submitted by: Public Relations