In 1994 Brian Kinghorn was taking a General Psychology course here at BYU-Hawaii, now 20 years later he is teaching psychology with an office right next door to his dad, Edward Kinghorn. Commonly referred to as young Kinghorn and older Kinghorn, the father-son duo teach a variety of psychology courses ranging from the 100-400 level including classes like General Psychology, Biopsychology and Psychology of Social Media. Tell us a little about yourselves:Brian:“I grew up in Rexburg, Idaho, but I was born in California. My dad was teaching at Rick’s college at the time, so that’s why we were there. I did my undergraduate degree here at BYU-Hawaii, after I transferred from Rick’s. I was a part of the concert choir here and that’s what originally got me here.”Edward:“I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. I graduated from BYU with a degree in psychology. Eventually, I finished all three of my degrees from BYU: undergrad, masters, and PhD. In 1996, I did a two-year fellowship at the University of Utah’s Department of Neurosurgery and retrained as a Neuropsychologist. In 2004, I came to BYU-Hawaii as a visiting faculty for a year, then in 2006 I came back and ended up staying. I’m now the department chair and a licensed neuropsychologist in Hawaii, Utah and Idaho. I was also in New York after 9/11, and in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina to help with mental health.”What courses do you teach here at BYU-Hawaii?Brian:“I teach General Psychology, Cultural Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Educational Psychology and Psychology of Social Media.”Edward:“I’m teaching General Psychology, Bio-psychology and Stress Management.”What brought you here to BYU-Hawaii?Brian:“As a student, I was recruited here to be a part of the concert choir. As a faculty member, my undergraduate research advisor, Jeff Burroughs, called me and he asked me to apply for an opening. Two weeks before classes started I got the O.K. for the job, so I had to get plane tickets--took two of my children, and I had to leave my wife and other children so they could take care of the last things back home. I got here the day before faculty meetings and the next Monday classes started.”Edward:“I knew a lot about the BYU-Hawaii Psychology Department, since Rick’s college was a two-year school at the time. A lot of the faculty there worked with faculty here. Then I came to visit in 2004 and came back in 2006.”What got your interest in the field of psychology?Brian:“I was originally a chemistry major, and I wanted to go to medical school. Then, I was introduced to needles and blood, and that didn’t go over very well. I switched to a psychology major and got my degree. After doing some work with science and education, I realized that most teachers didn’t know what they were teaching, and that sent me in the direction of studying educational psychology with a focus on science teacher learning.”Edward:“It was a general psychology class that I took my freshman year of college. I, originally, was going to major in biology and teach high school students, but, once I learned about the brain, it fascinated me. Eventually, I began to study the electrical activity in the brain, and that got me in the field.”Any last interesting things or comments for the students here at BYU-Hawaii?Brian:“I’ll be teaching a psychology of social media class again. My time here is temporary, but my goal now is to do a great job and enjoy the time I have here.”Edward:“Six children of mine will have graduated from here. At one point, there were seven Kinghorns on campus. We tried taking over.”
Writer: Jared Roberts ~ Multimedia Journalist
