Office: Room # 180 Chrysler Hall South
Phone: (519) 253-3000, ext. 2255
Email: csenn@uwindsor.ca
I am a Distinguished University Professor in the Applied Social Psychology Graduate Program within the Department of Psychology and former Canada Research Chair in Sexual Violence (2017-2024). (Please note: I am not taking new graduate students)
I am a social psychologist committed to the belief that high quality theory and research evidence can be used not only to understand our world but also applied to make it better. I received my BSc in Psychology and MSc in Social Psychology from the University of Calgary which provided me with a strong background in quantitative research and statistics. I obtained my PhD in Social Psychology from York University (1991) where I developed into a more fully rounded scholar and mixed methods researcher. I teach undergraduate courses in research methods and the psychology of women and graduate courses in applied social psychology and feminist psychology.
My research interests are best described as feminist social psychology with a focus on male violence against women, particularly sexual violence. I have a longstanding interest in the impact of male-stream pornography on women’s lives. Most recently I have focused on developing and evaluating interventions on university campuses to change the campus climate related to sexual assault and to provide women students with education and resources to support their self-defence against men’s sexualized violence. The Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, Act (EAAA) sexual assault resistance education program (Flip the Script with EAAATM) for women in the first year of university that I developed reduces the sexual violence women experience by 50% across the next two years while reducing woman-blaming and self-blame. To date, it has been implemented on campuses in five countries.
My research interests are often pleasantly stretched by Honours thesis and Applied Social Psychology graduate students who work under my supervision on issues related to women’s sexuality, lesbian health, and areas of gender-based violence beyond sexual violence.
For more information about Dr. Senn and her work, visit her website.