Denis Mitchell received his Ph.D. in 1975 from the University of Washington where he had received a Hutchinson Research Scholarship in support of his research. He has been a member of the faculty in Psychology since 1977. The recipient of a USC Associates Award for Excellence in Teaching, Dr. Mitchell’s research and teaching specialties include emotion, evolution, fears and phobias, and psychosomatic illness.
Mitchell has published widely on the psychobiology of illness, animal behavior, and evolutionary constraints on learning. He is particularly well known for his work on animal models of fears and phobias and eating disorders.
A member of the Society for Neuroscience, the Association for Integrative Studies, Sigma Xi, and the American Psychological Society, Dr. Mitchell frequently reviews for Animal Learning and Behavior; Behavioral Processes; and Physiology and Behavior.
At USC, Dr. Mitchell has received recognition for his teaching and for his commitment to undergraduate education.
