Michael W. Passer, Ph.D.

Michael W. Passer coordinates the introductory psychology program at the University of Washington, which enrolls more than 3,000 students per year. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Rochester, his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and has been a faculty member at the University of Washington since 1977. A former Danforth Foundation Fellow and University of Washington Distinguished Teaching Award finalist, Dr. Passer has had a career-long love of teaching. He teaches introductory psychology twice yearly and in his career has taught the course more than 30 times, in classes ranging from 25 to 700 students. Each year Dr. Passer also teaches a required premajor course in research methods and has taught courses in social psychology, industrial-organizational psychology, and attribution theory. He developed and annually offers a graduate course on Teaching of Psychology, which prepares students for careers in the college classroom. Dr. Passer has published over twenty scientific articles and chapters, primarily in the areas of attribution, stress, and anxiety.

Ronald E. Smith, Ph.D.

Ronald E. Smith is Professor of Psychology at the University of Washington, where he has served as Director of Clinical Psychology Training and as Head of the Social Psychology and Personality area. He received his bachelor's degree from Marquette University and his Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University, where he had dual specializations in physiological and clinical psychology. His major research interests are in anxiety, stress and coping, and in performance enhancement research and intervention. Dr. Smith is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. He received a Distinguished Alumnus Award from the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute for his contributions to the field of mental health. He has published more than 140 scientific articles and book chapters in his areas of interest and has authored or co-authored 21 books on introductory psychology, personality, sport psychology, and human performance enhancement, including "Introduction to Personality: Toward an Integration," with Walter Mischel and Yuichi Shoda (Wiley, 2004). An award-winning teacher, he has more than fifteen years of experience in teaching the introductory psychology course.