Students
We have several talented graduate students in our program. They study and conduct research on a variety of topics. Illustrative topics include: stereotyping and prejudice, meaning, mindfulness, cultural models of health prevention, and close relationship processes. Our students present their research at regional and national conferences and publish their work in a variety of journals.
I earned my undergraduate degree from Lebanon Valley College and in 2007, I entered VCU’s Social Psychology program.
My research interests lie at the intersection of social psychology and politics. Building upon work competed for my master’s thesis, I am currently investigating how the strength of a given argument and the specific type of language it contains influence a message’s persuasiveness. In addition, I am examining the linguistic strategies employed within actual political speeches and to better understand how these techniques are used to persuade would-be voters. With these studies serving as a foundation, I plan to continue investigating the link between language and attitude change in more applied political contexts in the future. I am also involved with an ongoing project that examines the link between reality television and narcissism.
I earned my Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from VCU in 2011 and then entered the social psychology program at VCU that fall.
My research interests lie primarily in race and class and their impact on the psychosocial development of African Americans and other ethnic minorities. I am also interested in HIV prevention and the role that perceived racism and cultural mistrust play in health decision making behaviors along with belief in HIV conspiracy theories.
I graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2000 with a degree in Information Systems and a minor in Business Administration, and I entered VCU's Social Psychology program in 2008.
My research interests focus on the manner in which attitudes and elements of culture are evoked from the interaction of trait-level characteristics (e.g. personality, perceptual ability) and aspects of the surrounding environment. My ongoing research projects include examining individual differences in the ability to detect threats and how this ability interacts with media information to influence conservative attitudes. Additionally, I am working on a set of projects investigating the role that disgust sensitivity (aversion to potential sources of disease) plays in influencing a collectivistic cultural worldview. I have also conducted several studies examining the relation between social learning and political ideology and an additional longitudinal study examining the effect that having a roommate of a different race has on racial attitudes during the first semester of college. Across all of these projects, my main interest is in understanding what leads different people view the world in different ways.
I earned my undergraduate degree in journalism from Rutgers University and received an MA in experimental psychology from James Madison University in 2006.
My research addresses the role of mindfulness in the regulation of cognitive and emotional states in an interpersonal context. My current research explores how bringing mindful (versus distracted) attention to interpersonal exchanges can impact emotional, psychophysiological, and social responses. I am also interested in mindfulness assessment issues and developing mindfulness-based clinical interventions to improve individual and interpersonal functioning.
I earned my BS degree in psychology from Ferris State University in 2008 and then entered the social psychology program at VCU that fall. In 2010, I completed my MS in psychology at VCU, and I am currently working toward my PhD.
I have various research interests but primarily focus on the interaction between the self and relationships. A major line of my research involves attachment theory. One focus is on how secure base processes influence exploration both with and without partners. A similar line examines pets as possible attachment figures. Other lines of research involve interdependence theory - specifically, how individuals' relationship with the environment predicts their environmental behavior. I'm also currently working on data analysis on a number of other topics and a meta-analysis on indicators of reproductive fitness.
I earned undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Religious Studies before completing a master's degree in Experimental Psychology at Cleveland State University. In 2009, I started VCU’s Social Psychology program.
A broad goal of my research is to better understand the interaction between mindfulness, the self, and emotion. I am interested in the ways mindfulness can enhance self-regulation, and its tendency to relax identification with cognitive and affective states. I am also interested in the impact of mindfulness on decision making, and its potential to nourish a more empirical perspective of moment to moment experience.
I received my Bachelor of Science degree from Mary Washington College. In 2007, I entered the Social Psychology program.
My interests are in mindfulness research and the effects of mind-body medicine on stress, coping with trauma, and overall health. I am also interested in studying how mindfulness may foster autonomous motivation and the benefits that may have for well-being.
I received my Bachelor of Science degree from Christopher Newport University in 2002, and I earned a master's degree in Criminal Justice at VCU in 2005 and a master's degree in Sociology in 2007. In 2007, I entered the Social Psychology program.
My research interests include preventive health behaviors among minorities and underserved populations, specifically HIV prevention research, and promoting positive health outcomes among minority populations.
I earned my undergraduate degree from Drew University in 1999, and I earned a master's degree in public health at VCU in 2006. In 2007, I entered VCU’s Social Psychology program.
Broadly speaking, my research interests involve mindfulness; I'm interested in how mindfulness affects one's view of the self and the social world as well as how mindfulness may improve well-being. My current work examines whether mindfulness increases objectivity, and if so, whether this helps explain the relationship between mindfulness and reduced emotional disturbance. I am interested in extending this work on mindfulness and objectivity to (a) examine the processes involved, and (b) identify domains in which increased objectivity would have beneficial implications.
I earned my bachelor’s degree in psychology from Howard University in 2008, and in 2010 I received a master’s degree in Latin American Studies from Vanderbilt University. In the fall of 2011, I entered VCU’s Social Psychology program.
I am largely interested in improving the physical and psychological well being of African descendant communities worldwide, primarily through evidence-based preventive programs. My aim is to examine society’s influence on individuals’ sexual practices, and to utilize preventive programs to decrease the incidence of HIV within minority populations.
I graduated from the University of Richmond in 2008 with an interdisciplinary degree in Positive Organizational Leadership. In May 2011, I completed an MA in Counseling Psychology at Naropa University and entered VCU's Social Psychology program in Fall 2011.
My research interests involve utilizing multiple levels of analysis to understand differences in social cognition and behavior associated with state and trait mindfulness, and with various types of mental training. I am also interested in other variables that may support constructive social interaction (e.g., compassion).
I earned my undergraduate degree in psychology from Christopher Newport University and entered VCU's Social Psychology program in 2009.
Broadly, my research interests revolve around dynamics of close relationships. I am particularly interested in how third parties (friends, family, other social network members) can influence relationship functioning and quality. Additionally, I am interested in how romantic relationships may influence an individual’s relationship with their social others. A second line of research is grounded in balance theory and revolves around the concept of attitude alignment in close relationships, in which members of a dyad shift their attitudes to more closely align with the attitudes of a partner.