Peter McLeod,
Professor Emeritus

Please note that Dr. McLeod is no longer supervising honours or graduate students.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

I have always been interested in a wide variety of areas within Psychology and Biopsychology. My current research interests involve decision making with a focus on medically relevant choices people make. I am also currently collaborating with Dr. Brian Wilson (Biology) on a student led project (Jeff Beardsall) that examines stress responses in Zebra fish.  Past research questions my students and I have looked at include: How do humans evaluate contingencies and judge the degree to which they are in control of events? How might this relate to physiological responses to stress? What are the likely developmental causes of individual differences in control perception, stress responses, and symptoms of depression and anxiety? I have also collaborated with others (including Dr. Lisa Price) on a Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation (NSHRF) funded project examining the prevalence and prevention of depression among undergraduate students. The health and wellbeing of undergraduates continues to be of personal and prfessional interest.

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS

Supervised students' names are underlined. 

Johnson, C.S., McLeod, P.J., Sharpe, D., Johnston, E.M. (2008). Differences among core dimensions of the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale across age and gender groups . Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health 27 (1), 79-91.

Price, E.L., McLeod, P. J., Gleich, S. S., & Hand, D. (2006) One-year prevalence rates of major depressive disorder in first-year university students. Can. J. Counselling, 40 (2), 68-81.

Price, E. L., McLeod, P. J., & Gleich, S. S. (2005).  Identifying and preventing depression in students.  Communiqué, 5(2), 22-23.

Johnston, E., Johnson, S., McLeod, P., & Johnston, M. (2004) The Relation of Body Mass Index to Depressive Symptoms. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 95(3), 179-183.

McLeod, P.J., Moger, W.H., Ryon, C.J., Gadbois, S., & Fentress, 1996. The relation between urinary cortisol levels and social behaviour in captive timber wolves. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 74(2), 209-216.

McLeod, P.J., & Watt, M. (1996). How are base rates used? Interactive and group effects. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 19, 35-36.

Fuller, M., & McLeod, P.J. (1995). Judgements of control over a contingently responsive animation by students with and without learning disabilities. Canadain Journal of Behavioural Science, 27(2), 171-186.