Theresa L. White, Ph.D.
- Professor Psychology
Professor Theresa L. White received her Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of Warwick, in the United Kingdom. She teaches mainly Research Methods (PSY 201), Careers in Psychology (PSY 297), Brain and Behavior (PSY 340), Next Steps: Grad Training PSY (PSY 397), and Positive Psychology (PSY 402) these days, but has taught Introductory Psychology (PSY 101), Cognition (PSY 250), Personality (PSY 302), Sensation and Perception (PSY 325), and Clinical Neuropsychology (PSY 448) in the past. She often includes students as collaborators in her research, either as Research Assistants (PSY 394) or Departmental Honors Students (a three-term commitment). Her primary research interests are in the areas of memory, language, and sensory psychology as they relate to chemosensation (the senses of smell and taste); as an outgrowth of that interest, she has also completed studies related to the emotions of disgust and sensation-seeking. Most of her research is in the psychophysical study of human olfactory cognition and flavor perception, including clinical aspects of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction.
Education
BA, Boise State University
MSc, Oxford University
Ph.D, University of Warwick
Areas of Specialization
I am a sensory psychologist who focuses on the senses of smell and taste.
Awards and Honors
2025 Dr. James J. Carroll ’66 Endowed Professor in Arts and Sciences
2021 Bene Merenti Award
2015 Louis D. De Gennaro, Ph.D. Undergraduate Mentor Award
2009 Rev. Richard M. Mc Keon, S.J. Scholar of the Year Award
Media Appearances and Interviews
Interviewed by Whitney Williams, a student journalist at Syracuse University for an article on Scented Candles on June 5 2024.
Interviewed by Molly McCarthy for the Winter 2025 issue of the College’s alumni magazine, New Heights
Interview with Jade Beecroft (July 2023) for Breathe Magazine (issue 57).
Was interviewed by Molly McCarthy on Smell and Taste research for AJCU’s electronic newsletter Connections, which appeared in October. https://ajcunet.edu/lemoyne-connections-october-2023/
Article appeared in GQ referencing my research – 13 Sept 2023 – https://www.revistagq.com/articulo/causar-buena-impresion-truco-colonia-fragancia-perfume
Article appeared in the NY Post referencing my research – 22 Feb, 2024 – https://nypost.com/2024/02/22/lifestyle/employers-pumping-fragrance-into-offices-to-lure-workers-back/
Publications
White, T.L., Cedres, N., & Olofsson, J. R. (Accepted 3/10/2025) A cognitive nose? Evaluating working memory benchmarks in an olfactory domain. Chemical Senses. https://doi.org/10.1093/
Herz, R.S., Cunningham, C.L., & White, T.L. (2024). Advancing investigations into the effects of sweet and bitter tastes on agreeableness and hostility, Food Quality and Preference, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
White, T.L. (2024). Obituary for Dr. Charles “Steve” Van Toller. Chemical Senses 10.1093/chemse/bjae017
Spinelli, S., Cunningham, C., Prescott, J., Monteleone, E., Dinnella, C., Proserpio, C., & White, T.L. (2024) Sweet liking predicts liking and familiarity of some alcoholic beverages, but not alcohol intake: A population study using a split-sample approach. Food Research International, 183, 114155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
Pierguidi, L., Prescott, J., Spinelli, S., Dinnella, C., De Toffoli, A., White, T. L., & Monteleone, E. (2023). Chemosensory quality and intensity reflected in implicit affective responses. Food Quality and Preference, 108, 104857.
Cunningham, C. & White, T. L. (2022). What are they trying to tell me? Large-scale viability of the Start, Stop, Continue teaching evaluation method. Innovations in Education and Teaching International,59(1), 60-69. Published online, 21 August, 2020. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/
Musumeci, M.*, Cunningham, C., & White, T. (2022). Disgustingly perfect: An examination of disgust, perfectionism, and gender. Motivation and Emotion, 46(3), 336-349
White, T. L. , Cunningham, C. M., & Zampini, M. L. (2022). Is that “Mr.” or “Ms.” Lemon? An investigation of grammatical and semantic gender on the perception of household odorants. Brain Science, 12(10), 1313.
Other publications available upon request
