Julia H Zavala

  • Assistant Professor, Psychology
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Julia Zavala, PhD is an Assistant Professor in Psychology at Mercy College. Dr. Zavala received her doctorate degree in Developmental Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research interests include the impact of social media use on college students’ academic performance and understanding factors that develop college students’ critical thinking and epistemic cognition. She has been involved in two grants funded by the Department of Education. On one, she served as a Co-Activity Director for the STEM Mentoring Program which provided personal pathways to success for STEM majors. Currently, she is a Co-Activity Director of the STEM Ready Workplace Academy which aims at creating equitable opportunities for college students through research, internships, and micro-credentialing.

PhD, Developmental Psychology — Teachers College Columbia University, NY, NY, 2016

Dissertation: How Construction of a Dialog Influences Argumentive Writing and Epistemological Understanding 

MPhil, Developmental Psychology — Teachers College Columbia University, NY, NY, 2015

MA, Developmental Psychology — Teachers College Columbia University, NY, NY, 2011

BS, Psychology (magna cum laude) — Mercy College, Dobbs Ferry, NY, 2008

  • Directed Research - PSYN 349
  • Experimental Psychology I: Methodology - PSYN 372
  • Experimental Psychology II: Applications - PSYN 374
  • Introduction to Psychology - PSYN 101
  • Social Psychology - PSYN 244
  • Statistics - PSYN 370

Zavala, J., Trenz, R. C., Tzanis, D., Malette, C., & Monsalve Marin, N. A. (2022). The impact of social media use for news on academic performance in underrepresented undergraduate college students. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, & Social Networking. 

Zavala, J., Ecklund-Flores, L., Myers, M. M., & Fifer, W. P. (2020). Assessment of autonomic 

function in the late term fetus: The effects of sex and state. Developmental Psychobiology, 62(2), 224-231. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.21865

Zavala, J., & Kuhn, D. (2017). Solitary discourse is a productive activity. Psychological Science, 28(5), 578-586. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797616689248

Kuhn, D., Zillmer, N., Crowell, A., & Zavala, J. (2013). Developing norms of argumentation: A metacognitive dimension of developing argumentive competence. Cognition and Instruction, 31(4), 456-496. DOI: 10.1080/07370008.2013.830618

Zavala, J., Malapani, C., Balsam, P., Bruder, G., & Towey, J. (2007). Interval timing deficits in schizophrenic patients. 26th Annual NIMH Career Opportunities in Research Education and Training (COR) Colloquium Program and Abstracts, 83.