Overview
I am a social and quantitative psychologist. My research primarily concerns social, psychological, and technological factors that contribute to the development of and change in health-promoting and health-risk behaviors during late adolescence and emerging adulthood. A secondary interest is factors at play in political and religious polarization. I also specialize in latent variable models of observational data, with a particular focus on modeling stability and change in data from traditional and intensive longitudinal designs.
Current Duke Appointments & Affiliations
Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
·
2008 - Present
Psychology & Neuroscience,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Associate Chair of Psychology and Neuroscience
·
2024 - Present
Psychology & Neuroscience,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences
·
2018 - Present
Duke Institute for Brain Sciences,
University Institutes and Centers
Recent Scholarly Works
Intellectual humility in the relationship between religious or spiritual conflict and psychological outcomes.
Journal article Acta Psychol (Amst) · September 15, 2026 We examined intellectual humility as a factor related to interpersonal religious or spiritual conflict. Among U.S. adults (N = 459), religious/spiritual conflict was associated with more perceived stress and psychological distress. Intellectual humility ab ... Full text Link to item CiteDevelopment and validation of the Goal Dimensions Questionnaire.
Journal article Motivation Science · September 2026 Full text CiteHow autobiographical memory serves morality: Prevalence and properties of memories with moral content.
Journal article Journal of experimental psychology. General · August 2026 Morality is central to human nature. Being morally accountable requires an understanding of oneself as existing through time and space and an ability to remember past events. We present the first series of studies systematically examining the frequency and ... Full text Open Access CiteRecent Grants
Reframing Suffering to Foster Compassion and Political Humility: Scale Development and Micro Intervention Studies
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by John Templeton Foundation · 2026 - 2029Real-Time and Randomized Tests of Social Media and Mental Health Links in Early Adolescence
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by University of California - Irvine · 2024 - 2029NCCU Duke - Substance Use Research & Education (ND-SURE)
ResearchMentor · Awarded by North Carolina Central University · 2024 - 2029View All Grants
Education
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill ·
1988
Ph.D.
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill ·
1986
M.A.
Appalachian State University ·
1983
B.A.