University of Southern California
Post-Doc, Psychology
University of California, Irvine, Psychology and Social Behavior
About
My research explores a variety of social psychological topics, e.g. morality, romantic relationships, political ideology, evolution and biology of attraction, mate selection, and love, religious beliefs, and culture differences.
I am currently a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Jesse Graham's lab at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. I work on a large project that investigates how individual values, beliefs, personality, and culture may influence everyday decision-making and behavior. The project is funded by the John Templeton Foundation and will involve multi-method, multi-national data collection and intervention development over the course of two years.
My research on human morality is conducted in close collaboration with Peter Ditto and Sean Wojcik (UC Irvine), Jonathan Haidt and Matt Motyl (University of Virginia), and Jesse Graham and Ravi Iyer (University of Southern California). Together we developed www.yourmorals.org - a comprehensive web platform for the study of morality and political ideology. We use our website to test and refine a variety of theories, but our work is guided primarily by Moral Foundations Theory.
I also have several independent projects that focus on the role of values, moral intuitions, personality traits, and adult attachment in the context of romantic relationships. A current study conducted in collaboration with Dr. Dylan Selterman (University of Maryland) looks at emerging moral norms in committed romantic relationships. A third study examines ideal mate preferences in the United States and China.
I am very passionate about sharing science with the general public in an accessible and engaging manner. I believe it is an academic's moral duty (especially those of us who were educated and supported by public universities) to invest the time and effort in disseminating our findings beyond academia. To that end, I have given several presentations for lay audiences on the scientific study of morality, ideology, and romantic love and attraction. In 2010, my blog post "The New Science of Love and Attraction" won 1st place in a national graduate student writing contest for best scientific blog conducted by www.science20.com. In addition I have given interviews about my research to the Orange County Register and the UC Irvine Communications Office.
Contact Information
| Address: | Los Angeles, CA |
