Dr. Sue Kraus

Dr. Sue Kraus
Chair and Professor of Psychology

Expertise

  • Mindfulness meditation
  • Compassion
  • The impact of culture on self-perception, body image and health
  • Methodological issues in medical research
  • The effects of Aikido training on adolescents’ well-being
  • Stereotyping and prejudice
  • Scholarship of teaching in higher education

Education

  • Ph.D., Social Psychology, University of Colorado at Boulder, 1993
  • M.A., Social Psychology, University of Colorado at Boulder, 1991
  • B.S., Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, 1998

Contact:

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Media Contact

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About Dr. Sue Kraus

Sue Kraus is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Fort Lewis College. She joined the college in 1994. Dr. Kraus is a social psychologist with expertise in statistical analyses and research methods. She is involved in research on teaching pedagogy for higher education, compassion in diverse communities, the effect of meditation on compassion and the effect of culture on perceptions of health and body image. Dr. Kraus has collaborated with another psychology faculty member on a replication project funded by the Association for Psychological Science. Along with FLC students, the group is replicating a 2002 study on commitment and forgiveness in relationships. Dr. Kraus serves on the Higher Learning Commission accreditation team and the Institutional Review Board at Fort Lewis. She is a reviewer for various professional journals for the psychology discipline. Dr. Kraus has been active in the Durango community, and is past board president and past advisory board member for the Durango Public Library. Currently, she is the county appointee to the La Plata County Child Welfare Grievance Board. 

Dr. Kraus is the 2013 recipient of the FLC Alice Admire Excellence in Teaching Award. She was nominated as Colorado Professor of the Year in 2010 and received the C. Oswald George prize for her 2010 article in Teaching Statistics. Dr. Kraus is a member of the Society for Teaching of Psychology and the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association.

Selected Publications and Presentations

“Overcoming Fear of Failure: Self-compassion in Sport Psychology,” Metamorphosis: COPLAC Journal of Undergraduate Research, 2015*

“In Critical Condition: A Comparison of Critical Thinking Changes in Psychology and Philosophy Classes," Teaching of Psychology, 2014

“Measuring Compassion,” Paper presented at the American Psychological Association annual meeting, Washington, D.C., 2014

“Overcoming fear of failure: Self-compassion in sports psychology,” Poster presented at the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2014*

“Examining Strengths in Native American College Students,” Poster presented at the Western Psychological Association, Portland, Oregon, 2014*

“Rescue the Thinking Ship: Research on Critical Thinking in psychology classrooms,” Paper presented at the Mountain States Conference on the Teaching of Psychology, Durango, Colorado, 2011

“Is Truthiness Enough? Classroom Activities for Encouraging Evidence Based Critical Thinking,” Journal of Effective Teaching, 2013

“Kill the Indian, Save the Man: Native American Historical Trauma in College Populations,” Metamorphosis: COPLAC Journal of Undergraduate Research, 2012

* with FLC student(s)

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