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Jaffee, Samuel

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Jaffee, Samuel

Assistant Professor of Experimental Psychology

(423)746-5259

sjaffee@tnwesleyan.edu

PUBLICATIONS

Poor, G. M., Jaffee, S. D., Leventhal, L. M., Klopfer, D. S., Klein, B. A., and Zimmerman, G. (2016). Applying the Norman 1986 user-centered model to Post-WIMP UIs: Theoretical predictions and empirical outcomes. ACM: Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, 23(5):30:1 – 30:33

Jaffee, S. D. (2017). Applying the Norman 1986 user-centered model to Post-WIMP UIs: Theoretical predictions and empirical outcomes. Invited presentation at CHI 2017, Denver, CO

Hippler, R., Jaffee, S., Leventhal, L. M., &amp; Ward, N. (2022, March). Building Student Excitement: Teaching Through User Experience Opportunities. In Proceedings of the 54th ACM T echnical Symposium on Computer Science Education, 2, 1243-1243
Poor, G. M., Zimmerman, G., Klopfer, D. S., Jaffee, S. D., Leventhal, L. M., and Barnes, J. (2013a). Mobility matters: Identifying cognitive demands that are sensitive to mobility. In Proceedings of INTERACT 2013, 193–210, Cape Town, South Africa
Klopfer, D. S., Onasch, C., Zimmerman, G., Leventhal, L. M., Gilkey, J., Klein, B. A., and Jaffee, S. D. (2013). Must geologists have high spatial ability to be successful in visual penetration? In Proceedings of AAPG Hedburg Research Conference: 3D Structural Geologic Interpretation: Earth, Mind, and Machine, Reno, NV
Poor, G. M., Tomlinson, B. J., Guinness, D., Jaffee, S. D., Leventhal, L. M., Zimmerman, G., and Klopfer, D. (2013b). Tangible or gestural: Comparing tangible vs. KinectTMinteractions with an object manipulation task. In Proceedings of TEI 13: Seventh International Conference on T angible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, Barcelona, Spain
Poor, G. M., Zimmerman, G., Leventhal, L. M., Klopfer, D. S., Barnes, J., and Jaffee, S. D. (2012). Using mobile devices to deliver instructions for construction tasks with interactive 3D models: The interaction of orientation and individual differences. In Proceedings of MOBACC ’12: Mobile HCI ’12: ACM SIGCHI International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Service, San Francisco, CA
Poor, G. M., Leventhal, L. M., Kelley, S., Ringenberg, J., and Jaffee, S. D. (2011). Thought cubes: Exploring the uses of an inexpensive brain-computer interface on a mental rotation task. In Proceedings of Assets ’11: 13th ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility, 291–292, Dundee, Scotland
Hippler, R., Klopfer, D. S., Leventhal, L. M., Poor, G. M., Klein, B. A., and Jaffee, S. D. (2011). More than speed: An empirical study of touchscreens and body awareness of an object manipulation task. In Proceedings of HCI International 2011, 33–42, Orlando, FL
Zimmerman, G., Klopfer, D. S., Poor, G. M., Barnes, J., Leventhal, L. M., and Jaffee, S. D. (2011). How do I line up?: Reducing mental transformations to improve performance. In Proceedings of HCI International 2011, 432–440, Orlando, FL

COURSES OFFERED

PSY 101: Introduction to Psychology;
PSY 102: Careers in Psychology;
PSY 210: Writing in the Behavioral Sciences;
PSY 310: Statistics for the Social Sciences;
PSY 331: Physiological Psychology;
PSY 351: Cognitive Psychology;
PSY 361: Neuropsychology;
PSY 411: History and Systems of Psychology;
PSY 412: Advanced Research Methods;
PSY 470: Research and Practicum in Psychology

BIOGRAPHY

Samuel D. Jaffee grew up in Bowling Green, OH, and attended Olivet University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with minors in Mathematics and Religion and Ethics. He earned his graduate degrees (Master of Arts and PhD) in Experimental Psychology from Bowling Green State University.

Although his goal after graduate school was to join the faculty at a small college, he was initially unable to do so; instead, he took roles in industry as a User Experience Researcher, first at Capital One (2015-2017) and then at Google (2018 – 2025) with a brief interlude in a visiting faculty position at Alma College (2017 – 2018).

During his time in industry, Samuel had the opportunity to apply his skills in psychology and experimental design on a variety of platforms/products, namely Gboard, the most commonly used keyboard on Android devices. He also had the opportunity to conduct research globally, and work with top minds in the fields of design and artificial intelligence.

However, Samuel always knew that he wanted to return to a faculty role; he always loved to teach and has enjoyed acting as a mentor throughout his career. When he left Google in 2025, he targeted faculty roles at small institutions and was so excited to take on his current role at TWU. In addition to teaching, research (mainly in topics relating to Human Computer Interaction), and service obligations, he serves as the faculty advisor to Psi Chi (the honorary for psychology students) and Psychology Club.

Outside of work, he enjoys reading, cooking, hiking/backpacking, and kayaking