Haley Moon, Ph.D.

Dr. Haley Moon was raised in Iowa/Kansas, earning her BS in Psychology (2019) and MS in Clinical Psychology (2022) from Fort Hays State University. She went on to receive her PhD in Experimental Psychology with a concentration in Psychology-Law and minor in Statistics from the University of Wyoming in December of 2024. During her doctoral training, Dr. Moon was the Project Manager on an NIJ-funded grant evaluating a metropolitical police department’s mental health response team. She was later promoted to Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Project Director following her graduation in December 2024. She joined the faculty at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in Fall of 2025. Her research program sits at the intersection of psychology and the legal system, with her primary line of research examining how cognitive mechanisms, such as attention, learning, and attributional processing, influence legal decision-making and contribute to biases in the evaluation of vulnerable defendants. Outside of the courtroom, her secondary line of research focuses on advancing evidence-based policing practices, working alongside local law enforcement and public health systems to evaluate alternative crisis response models. In her free time, Dr. Moon enjoys quality time with her husband, daughter, and dog as well as tackling home renovation projects (whether necessary or not) and cheering on the KC Chiefs!

Doctor of Philosophy, Experimental Psychology (December 2024)
Concentration: Psychology and Law
Minor: Statistics
Dissertation: Mitigating, aggravating, or both? Examining cross-sectional factors of punishment under a new theoretical framework of juror decision making
University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY

Master of Science, Clinical Psychology (May 2022)
Thesis: Acquitted or confined: The impact of jury instruction, biological sex of mock-juror, and defendant mental illness on insanity defense attitudes and verdict outcomes
Fort Hays State University, Hays, KS

Bachelor of Science, Psychology (December 2019)
Certificate: Case Management
Fort Hays State University, Hays, KS

Judgement and Decision Making • Perception • Memory • Attention • Legal Policy • Vulnerable Defendants • Justice Reform • Community Crisis-Response • Program Evaluation

^ = Graduate student co-author at the time of publication

Moon, H. (2026). Mitigating, aggravating, or both? A review of context-dependent factors in sentencing decisions. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.70073

Moon, H., & Nuñez, N. (2025). Juror bias and mental illness: The double stigma of paraphilic disorders in sex crime cases. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/13218719.2025.2521625

^Wasinger, G. M., Moon, H., & Mann, B. (2025). Twitter politics: The effect of language and source credibility on public perception. Academic Leadership Journal in Student Research, 7(5), 1-17.

Moon, H. (2024). The lack of sustainability in police reform mental health support and their inconclusive effectiveness. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 36(1-2), 22-39. https://doi.org/10.1177/08874034241303422

Uding, C. V., Moon, H. R., & Lum, C. (2024). The status of co-responders in law enforcement: Findings from a national survey of law enforcement agencies. Policing: An International Journal, 48(1), 69-97. https://doi.org/10.1108/pijpsm-04-2024-0062

Uding, C., Porter, L., Dong, B., & Moon, H. (2024). Violence, health, and place: A review of the literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 78, 101983. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2024.101983

Moon, H., & Mann, B. (2023). Insanity defense attitudes: The impact of biological sex, mental illness, and jury instruction. Journal of Scientific Psychology, 18(1), 1-13.

Kastle, S., Moon, H., & McRay, J. (2022). Faculty perceptions of the essential elements of leadership across generation and sex. The Journal of Higher Education, 37(2), 80-96.

Kastle, S., McRay, J., Fox, B., & Moon, H. (2021). Supporting the student service member and veteran population as learners: An exploratory study of academic motivation and best practices in student services at a state comprehensive university. The Journal of the State Comprehensive University, 10(2), 1-20.

Jones, H. (2021). Effects of parenting styles and socioeconomic status on state-trait anxiety in college students. Journal of Psychological Inquiry, 25(1), 35-44.

Award/Honor
UWYO Max W. Rardin Memorial Scholarship, Outstanding Graduate Award (2023)
FHSU Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award (2022)
FHSU Best Graduate Paper Submitted to a Journal Award (2022)
Graduate Student Showcase–Research Competition, Southwestern Psychological Association Annual Convention (2021, 2022)
FHSU Outstanding Graduate Scholar, College of Health and Behavioral Sciences (2021)
Outstanding Practice Poster Award, Association of Leadership Educators Convention (2021)
First Place, Nonempirical Paper Session, Great Plains Student Psychology Convention (2021)
Outstanding Poster Award, Association of Leadership Educators Convention (2020)
FHSU Outstanding Undergraduate Scholar, College of Health and Behavioral Sciences (2019)
First Place, Nonempirical Poster Session, Great Plains Student Psychology Convention (2019)
First Place, Overall Poster Session, Great Plains Student Psychology Convention (2018)
Second Place, Overall Poster Session, Great Plains Student Psychology Convention (2018)

University of Arkansas at Little Rock — Assistant Professor (2025–Present)

• CRJU 40403: Research Methods — Spring 2027
• CRJU 80903: Advanced Research Design (Graduate) — Fall 2026, Spring 2027
• CRJU 30533: Advanced Research & Professional Practice — Fall 2026, Spring 2027
• CRJU 39603: Psychology and the Criminal Process (Online) — Fall 2026
• CRJU 30501: Deviant Behavior (Online) — Summer 2026
• CRJU 10203: Introduction to Criminal Justice (Online) — Fall 2025, Summer 2026
• CRJU 39603: Psychology and the Criminal Process — Spring 2026
• CRJU 30501: Deviant Behavior — Fall 2025

Fort Hays State University — Adjunct Faculty (2022–2025)

• PSY 355: Drugs and Behavior (Online) — Spring 2025
• PSY 300: Abnormal Psychology (Online) — Fall 2024
• PSY 840: Appraisal of Children (Graduate, Hybrid) — Summer 2022, 2023, 2024
• PSY 100: General Psychology (Online) — Spring 2023, Spring 2024
• PSY 201: The Science of Psychology (Online) — Fall 2022, Fall 2023

University of Wyoming — Teaching Assistant (2022–2023)

• PSYC 4730: Psychology and Law — Fall 2023
• PSYC 2000: Research Methods — Spring 2023
• PSYC 1000: General Psychology — Fall 2022

Fort Hays State University — Teaching Assistant (2020–2021)

• PSY 300: Abnormal Psychology (Online) — Spring 2021, Fall 2021
• PSY 830: Professional Ethics in Psychology (Graduate, Online) — Spring 2021
• PSY 225: Introduction to Therapeutic Skills — Fall 2021
• PSY 415: Adolescence (Online) — Fall 2020

International Co-Responder Alliance (2026 – Present)
Midwestern Criminal Justice Association (2025 – Present)
American Psychology–Law Society (2022 – Present)
Psi Chi, International Honor Society in Psychology (2018 – Present)

University and Department (UALR) 

SCJC Peer Review Committee (2026–Present)
SCJC Graduate Faculty Committee (2025–Present)
SCJC Scholarship/Award Committee (2025–Present)
UALR Research and Creative Works Expo, Student Poster Judging (Spring 2026)
CBHHS Research Symposium, Presenter & Volunteer (2025)
UALR Research Focus Group, Invited Participant (2025)

Discipline

Journal of Forensic Psychology Research and Practice, Reviewer (2026)
Journal of Crime & Justice, Reviewer (2026)
Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, Reviewer (2026)
Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, Reviewer (2026)
Community Mental Health Journal, Reviewer (2026)
Police Quarterly, Reviewer (2025)
American Psychology-Law Society Annual Meeting, Reviewer (2025)
Health & Justice, Reviewer (2025)
Journal of Forensic Psychology Research and Practice, Reviewer (2025)

Community

Rob Williams Memorial Golf Tournament, Volunteer (2025, 2026)
Albany County (Wyoming) Mental Health Board (2022–2025)
Graduate Capitol (Kansas) Research Day (2021)
Undergraduate Capitol (Kansas) Research Day (2019)

Assistant Professor, School of Criminal Justice and Criminology, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, AR (August 2025–Present)
Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Project Director, National Institute of Justice, Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY (December 2024–August 2025)
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Psychology, Fort Hays State University, Hays, KS (June 2022–May 2025)
Project Manager, National Institute of Justice, Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY (January 2023–December 2024)