Neuroendocrinology
With my postdoctoral supervisor Dr. Frances Chen, I'm investigating the role of Oxytocin (OT) in physiological and psychological responses to sexual stimuli and short-term mating behavior. I am also investigating the role of women's menstrual cycle phase on physiological and psychological responses to human infants. More information on these specific projects can be found HERE.
Experimental Social Psychology
With my former graduate co-supervisor Dr. Mark Schaller, I am investigating the psychological implications of a hypothesized evolutionary trade-off between effort devoted to mating and parenting. Specifically, I have shown that men who believe they possess sexually attractive traits- as well as individuals who are chronically oriented towards unrestricted, short-term mating strategies- exhibit an attenuated parental emotional response to human infants; I am currently conducting experimental follow-ups to these published findings by testing whether the temporary activation of parenting goals might temporarily suppress short-term mating motives (and vice-versa). This line of work was also the subject of my doctoral dissertation which can be found HERE.
Theoretical Social Psychology
With my former graduate co-supervisor Dr. Jessica Tracy, I have proposed a novel framework for understanding the evolutionary emergence of distinct emotions (e.g., happiness, romantic love, pride). Specifically, I integrate contemporary emotions research with current evolutionary perspectives on human motivation to suggest that a host of distinct emotions have co-evolved with fundamental motivational systems to galvanize physiological, psychological, and behavioral responses geared towards solving recurrent adaptive problems encountered throughout hominid evolution.
Other Behavioral Science
I am collaborating with Dr. David Hardisty to
investigate the role of attribute framing on climate change policy support and pro-environmental behavioral intentions.
This work is
funded by a generous grant from the Environmental Defense Fund.
I have also investigated the role of infectious disease outbreaks on political outcomes, showing that an Ebola outbreak during
the 2014 U.S. federal elections was associated with an increased intention to vote for Republican candidates.
I have also investigated the role of emotion expressions in first-impression sexual attraction, the role of the color red in first-impression sexual attraction, and the role of women's menstrual cycle phase on clothing choice.
More information on these specific projects can be found HERE.
