Benjamin Ladd
Assistant Professor
Ph.D. University of New Mexico, 2013
Contact Information
Email: benjamin.ladd@wsu.edu
Office: VCLS 208P
Phone: (360) 546-9723
Classes Taught
- Psychology 110: Introduction to Addiction Studies
- Psychology 328: Self Control
- Psychology 311: Statistics in Psychology
- Psychology 301: Seminar in Psychology: Alcoholism
Research Interests
- Alcohol and Drug Abuse and Prevention
- Mechanisms of Behavior Change
- Risk and Protective Factors Associated with Cannabis Use
My various research interests focus on improving prevention and early intervention techniques for promoting and motivating health behavior change. Specifically, I am interested in process research with the goal of better understanding and identifying effective elements of therapeutic interventions, particularly Motivational Interviewing, in order to reduce the impact of substance abuse and problems. Additionally, I am interested in understanding the risks and/or benefits of cannabis use across various populations.
Dr. Ladd plans to recruit a graduate student for Fall 2021 admission to the Experimental Psychology PhD Program.
Recent Publications:
Magnan, R.E. & Ladd, B.O. (2019). “It’s all good”: Perceived benefits but not perceived risks or worries among adult marijuana users. Cannabis, 2, 112-119.
Fales, J.L., Ladd, B.O., & Magnan, R.E. (2019). Pain-relief as a motivation for cannabis use among young adult recreational users with and without chronic pain. Journal of Pain, 20, 908-916. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2019.02.001.
McCrady, B.S., Tonigan, J.S., Ladd, B.O., Hallgren, K.A., Pearson, M., Owens, M.D, & Epstein, E.E. (2019). Alcohol Behavioral Couple Therapy: Active ingredients and mechanisms of behavior change. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 99, 139-148. DOI: 10.1016/j.jsat.2019.01.018.
Ladd, B.O., Garcia, T.A., & Anderson, K.G. (2018). Towards an understanding of self-directed language as a mechanism of behavior change: A novel strategy for eliciting change talk under laboratory conditions. Addictive Behavior Reports, 7, 1-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.abrep.2017.11.002.
