I was trained as an experimental social psychologist with a research focus on romantic relationship processes. My current scholarly interests are in meta-science, open science methods and transparency in psychology, and scientific access and inclusion, with a focus on developing resources to support teaching and using open science practices in research with undergraduate students.

Please note that with my administrative responsibilities, I currently do not have an active lab or research opportunities for Haverford students other than for senior thesis work.  

Open Science

Past Research

My past work focused on the antecedents and consequences of commitment, the structure of general models of commitment, and the role of commitment (and other variables) in predicting relationship stability (vs. breakup). Other research has examined closeness and emotions in relationships, social networks and friend approval in relationships, how social class impacts relationship quality, and the social-cognitive underpinnings of relationship commitment. In addition, I have studied relationship maintenance, infidelity, and stress in the context of interpersonal separation. My lab has examined how individuals display their relationship on social networking sites and how these displays are interpreted by others, and links between beliefs about relationships and "ghosting" and forgiveness. My research has also extended models of interpersonal commitment and maintenance to understanding pro-environmental sacrifice and "green" behaviors in student and community samples, as well as to prosocial academic behavior.

⇨ See a full list of publications here.

Collaborators & Students

My research collaborators have included:

...and several Haverford students who worked in my lab have pursued doctorates in social psychology:

  • Allison Farrell '10 (PhD, University of Minnesota; Assistant Professor at Miami University)
  • Emily Dix '12 (PhD, University of Wisconsin; Assistant Professor at Lake Forest College)
  • Lydia Emery '12 (PhD, Northwestern University; Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago)
  • Ellen Reinhart '15 (Stanford University)