Contact Information
Office: Sullivan 241L
Phone: (508) 929-8767
Email: acota@worcester.edu

Education
PhD - Social Psychology -Colorado State University
MS - Applied Psychology - Jacksonville State University
BA - Psychology - University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Area of Specialization
Dr. Cota-McKinley’s research interests include two separate areas: Visitor Studies and Vengeance. Visitor Studies encompasses audience research, exhibit and program evaluation, and visitor services within informal learning environments such as museums and zoos. In addition to Visitor Studies, Dr. Cota-McKinley also is researching the topic of vengeance. This is a relatively new area of study in the field of social psychology. Her goal is to investigate the socio-cultural events and behaviors that precipitate vengeful acts.

Scholarly Activity

Publications
Russell, B. S., Cota-McKinley, A. L., & Trudeau, J. J. (2009). Perceptions of audio material in on-line courses.  Academic Exchange Quarterly, 13 (4), 66-70.

Cota-McKinley, A. L. (2007). Grade aid for Kenrick, Neuberg, and Cialdini’s Social Psychology: Goals in Interactions (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Cota-McKinley, A. L. (2005). Grade aid for Kenrick, Neuberg, and Cialdini’s Social Psychology: Unraveling the Mystery (3rd ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Cota-McKinley, A. L., Woody, W. D., & Bell, P. A. (2001). Vengeance: Effects of gender, age, and religious background. Aggressive Behavior, 27, 343-350.

Cota-McKinley, A. L., (1999). An empirical investigation of workload on the visitor experience: The effects of exhibit size and time constraints on performance. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Colorado State University, Fort Collins.

Cota, A. L., & Loomis, R. J. (1997). Three experiments about the effects of various formatting techniques on information recall. Visitor Behavior, 12 (3&4), 16-19.

Poole, J. L., Cota, A., & Loomis, R. (1997). Front-end evaluation and planning changes for a community museum. In M. Wells, et al., (Eds.), Visitor Studies: Theory, research, and practice. Vol. 9. Collected papers from the 1996 Visitor Studies Conference, Estes Park, Colorado (pp. 185-194). Jacksonville, AL: Visitor Studies Association.

Bitgood, S., Cleghorn, A., Cota, A., Crawford, M., Patterson, D., & Danemeyer, D. (1996). Enhancing the confrontation gallery at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. In S. Bitgood, et al., (Eds.), Visitor Studies: Theory, research, and practice. Vol. 7 (Issue 1). Collected papers from the 1994 Visitor Studies Conference, Raleigh, North Carolina (pp. 48-53). Jacksonville, AL: Visitor Studies Association.

Bitgood, S., & Cota, A. (1995). Principles of orientation and circulation within exhibitions. Visitor Behavior, 10 (2), 7-8.

Cota, A. (1995). A summary of Klein "Tracking Visitor Circulation in Museum Settings." Visitor Behavior, 10 (2), 14.

Cota, A. (1995). A summary of Griggs' "Orientating Visitors within a Thematic Display." Visitor Behavior, 10 (2), 13.

Cota, A. (1995). A summary of Talbot, Kaplan, Kuo, & Kaplan's "Factors that Enhance Effectiveness of Visitor Maps." Visitor Behavior, 10 (2), 12.

Cota, A. (1995). The effects of label changes on visitor behavior at an Egyptian mummy exhibit gallery. Unpublished master's thesis, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama.

Cota, A. (1994). A summary of Alt & Shaw's "Characteristics of ideal museum exhibits." Visitor Behavior, 9 (4), 11.

Cota, A., & Bitgood, S. (1994). A study of labels, groups, and readers in an Egyptian mummy gallery. Visitor Behavior, 9 (3), 13-15.

Cota, A., & Bitgood, S. (1994). Museum studies of memory: Selected abstracts. Visitor Behavior, 9 (2), 13-14.

Cota, A., & Bitgood, S. (1993). Recall of label content: The effects of length and sequence. Visitor Behavior, 8 (4), 12-13.

Conference Presentations
Cota-McKinley, A., & Bitgood, S. (2010, July). A debate over measuring “museum fatigue.”  Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Visitor Studies Association, Phoenix, AZ.

Bitgood, S., Cota-McKinley, A., & Robertson, S. (2010, July). Visitor attention: A closer look.  Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Visitor Studies Association, Phoenix, AZ.

Cota-McKinley, A., & Soltano, E. (2009, October). Psi Chi student faculty exchange. Informal exchange given at the annual meeting of the New England Psychological Association, Worcester, MA.

Soltano, E. G., Soysa, C. K., Silver, B., & Cota-McKinley, A. (2009, October). Research methods in Psychology. Talk given at the annual Northeast Conference for Teachers of Psychology (NECTOP), Worcester, MA.

Russell, B. S.,  & Cota-McKinley, A. (2009, October). Audio materials in computer-mediated classes. Participant Idea Exchange (PIE) given at the annual Northeast Conference for Teachers of Psychology (NECTOP), Worcester, MA.

Cota-McKinley, A. (2005, July). An old problem with a new solution: Museum fatigue revisited. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Visitor Studies Association, Philadelphia, PA.

Cota-McKinley, A. (2004, May). What is formative evaluation? Visitor outcomes for Traveling El Camino Real. Talk given at the Scholars meeting for Traveling El Camino Real at the Museum of Natural History, Albuquerque, NM.

Cota-McKinley, A. (2003, April). Museum fatigue: A new approach to an old problem. Paper presented at the Faculty Forum at Worcester State College, Worcester, MA.

Woody, W. D., Cota-McKinley, A. L., McKinley, S., Cook, N. L., & Tate, A. L. (2003, April). Jealousy and revenge in university populations. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Denver, CO.

Cota-McKinley, A. (2001, August). Museum fatigue revisited: A new approach to an old problem. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Visitor Studies Association, Orlando, FL.

Poppitz, E. A., Mikkonen, D. J., Woody, W. D., & Cota-McKinley, A. L. (2001, May). Effects of type of regional socialization, relationship, and age on attitudes toward vengeance. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

Cota-McKinley, A. (2001, March). Museum fatigue conceptualized as workload and the role of attention. In S. Bitgood (Chair), The role of attention in museum exhibition. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Atlanta, GA.

Cota-McKinley, A. (2000, August). An empirical investigation of workload on the visitor experience. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Visitor Studies Association, Boston/Cambridge, MA.

Cota-McKinley, A., McKinley, S., Woody, W. D., & Bell, P. A. (1999, April). Interpersonal jealousy and vengeful behavior in the college population. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Fort Collins, CO.

Cota, A., & Loomis, R. (1997, April). The effects of various formatting techniques on information recall - Part II. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Reno, NV.

Poole, J., & Cota, A. (1996, August). Community museums - A plan for action. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Visitor Studies Association, Estes Park, CO.

Cota, A., & Bitgood, S. (1995, March & July). Study of labels, groups, and readers in an Egyptian gallery. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Savannah, GA and at the Visitor Studies Association, St. Paul, MN.

Conference Poster Presentations
Chan, F. M., & Cota-McKinley, A. (2002, June). Personality construct of  vengeance tendencies: Dispositional optimism and the Five-Factor Model. Poster presented at the 14th Annual American Psychological Society Conference, New Orleans, LA.

Cota-McKinley, A. & Bitgood, S. (2002, March). Design of poster presentations: Lessons from exhibit research. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Kissimmee, FL.

Rogers, C., Cota-McKinley, A., Jobe, B., & James, T. (2001, March). Retaliation for embarrassment. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Atlanta, GA.

Cota, A. L., Woody, W. D., & Bell, P. A. (1998, April). Vengeance: Effects of type of relationship, gender, and religious background. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association & Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Albuquerque, NM.

Cota, A. (1996, August). The effects of various formatting techniques on information recall - Part I. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Visitor Studies Association, Estes Park, CO.

Bitgood, S., Cota, A., & Kitazawa, C. (1995, May). Group influences on adult visitors: A comparison of couples and peers. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Museums, Philadelphia, PA.

Cota, A., & Bitgood, S. (1994, July). Memory of label content: Less is better. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Visitor Studies Association, Raleigh, NC.

Cleghorn, A., Bitgood, S., Cota, A., Crawford, M., & Patterson, D. (1994, July). Enhancing confrontation gallery at Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Visitor Studies Association, Raleigh, NC.