Larry Christensen, Ph.D.
Professor
Department Chair

Ph.D., University of Southern Mississippi, 1967, Psychology
M.S., University of Southern Mississippi, 1966, Psychology
B.S., University of Southern Mississippi, 1964, Psychology

Office: LSCB 324
Phone: 251-460-6371
Fax: 251-460-6320
Email: lchriste@usouthal.edu

Discipline: Experimental Psychology
Others: Food Cravings, Food & Mood, Food & Depression

Curriculum Vitae

Research Interests

Identification of the variables contributing to food cravings: The role of mood in food selection; The contribution of consumption of selected foods to the psychological state of depression.

The food we eat and the mood state we are experiencing are interrelated in some individuals. The food we eat can affect our moods such as our feelings of depression and the mood state we are in affects the foods we select to eat. My research examines this interrelationship.

Selected Publications

Christensen, L. (2007). Dietary carbohydrates as mood and performance modulators. . In C.G. Biliaderis and M.S.Izydorczyk (Eds.). Functional food carbohydrates. CRC press, Boca Raton, Fl.

Christensen, L. (2007). Craving for sweet-carbohydrate and fat-rich foods—possible triggers and impact on nutritional intake. Nutrition Bulletin, 32 (Suppl. 1), 43-51.

Christensen, L. & Pettijohn, L. (2001). Mood and carbohydrate cravings. Appetite 36(2), 137-145.

Christensen, L. (2001). The effect of food intake on mood. Clinical Nutrition, 20 (Suppl. 1), 161-166.

Christensen, L. (2007). Experimental Methodology (10th Ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Johnson, B. & Christensen, L. (2008). Educational Research Methods. SAGE

Classes Taught