LAB DIRECTOR
Dr. Nancy Collins
Professor, Social Psychology
Office: PSY-E 3815
E-mail: [email protected]
Click here to visit Nancy's Research Gate profile.
Biography - After receiving her BA in Psychology from UCLA, Professor Collins completed her PhD in Social Psychology at the University of Southern California. She returned to UCLA for a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Health Psychology, and then served on the faculty at the State University of New at Buffalo from 1993 to 1997. Dr. Collins joined the Psychology Department at UCSB in 1997. Dr. Collins includes among her professional honors the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) Theoretical Innovation Prize (2007), the Harold J. Plous Award for outstanding contributions to teaching and research at UCSB (2002), and the Young Investigator Award from the Close Relationships group of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology (1991). She is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science (APS), the Society of Experimental Social Psychology (SESP), and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SESP). Dr. Collins has also received numerous honors for excellence in teaching and service including an Academic Senate Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award (2017) and an Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award (2004), three Outstanding Teaching Awards from the UCSB Residence Halls Association (1998, 2010, 2011), and the Sarah Miller McCune Service Award (2013). Dr. Collins is currently Chair of the university Human Subjects Committee and the Quantitative Methods in Social Sciences (QMSS) program. She teaches courses in close relationships, research methods, introductory statistics, multivariate statistics, and structural equation modeling. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Fetzer Institute.
Research Interests - Dr. Collins’ research lies at the interface of close relationships, social cognition, and health psychology. Her research explores the social and cognitive processes that shape close relationships in adulthood, and the impact that these processes have on health and well-being across the lifespan. Within these broad domains, her current work is focused on three main topics: (1) Social support processes in couples, with emphasis on the factors that predict effective support-seeking and support-giving behavior in close relationships, including neuroendocrine and cardiovascular mechanisms. (2) Psychosocial predictors of health and well-being, with emphasis on the psychological and biological mechanisms through which close relationships foster resilience and thriving. (3) Social perception processes in close relationships, with emphasis on the ways in which working models of attachment shape how individuals construe their relationship experiences.
Professor, Social Psychology
Office: PSY-E 3815
E-mail: [email protected]
Click here to visit Nancy's Research Gate profile.
Biography - After receiving her BA in Psychology from UCLA, Professor Collins completed her PhD in Social Psychology at the University of Southern California. She returned to UCLA for a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Health Psychology, and then served on the faculty at the State University of New at Buffalo from 1993 to 1997. Dr. Collins joined the Psychology Department at UCSB in 1997. Dr. Collins includes among her professional honors the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) Theoretical Innovation Prize (2007), the Harold J. Plous Award for outstanding contributions to teaching and research at UCSB (2002), and the Young Investigator Award from the Close Relationships group of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology (1991). She is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science (APS), the Society of Experimental Social Psychology (SESP), and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SESP). Dr. Collins has also received numerous honors for excellence in teaching and service including an Academic Senate Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award (2017) and an Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award (2004), three Outstanding Teaching Awards from the UCSB Residence Halls Association (1998, 2010, 2011), and the Sarah Miller McCune Service Award (2013). Dr. Collins is currently Chair of the university Human Subjects Committee and the Quantitative Methods in Social Sciences (QMSS) program. She teaches courses in close relationships, research methods, introductory statistics, multivariate statistics, and structural equation modeling. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Fetzer Institute.
Research Interests - Dr. Collins’ research lies at the interface of close relationships, social cognition, and health psychology. Her research explores the social and cognitive processes that shape close relationships in adulthood, and the impact that these processes have on health and well-being across the lifespan. Within these broad domains, her current work is focused on three main topics: (1) Social support processes in couples, with emphasis on the factors that predict effective support-seeking and support-giving behavior in close relationships, including neuroendocrine and cardiovascular mechanisms. (2) Psychosocial predictors of health and well-being, with emphasis on the psychological and biological mechanisms through which close relationships foster resilience and thriving. (3) Social perception processes in close relationships, with emphasis on the ways in which working models of attachment shape how individuals construe their relationship experiences.
GRADUATE STUDENTS
Paige Harris
Graduate Student
E-mail: paige.harris@psych.ucsb.edu
Biography & Research Interests - I was born and raised in Thousand Oaks, CA, and moved to Austin, TX for my undergraduate education. I earned a B.S. in Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin in 2016, where I worked in Dr. Loving’s Close Relationships Lab. Following graduation, I moved back to southern California and volunteered in Dr. Collins’ Close Relationships Lab and Dr. Conroy-Beam’s Computational Mate Choice Lab here at UCSB. Now a graduate student in Dr. Collins’ lab, my research interests include close relationships, psychophysiology, and physical activity. I am broadly interested in how close relationships impact physical health and well-being, and also how health behaviors (including physical activity) affect close relationship functioning. Outside of research, I love playing and watching sports, reading, lounging on the beach, and spending time with friends and family.
Graduate Student
E-mail: paige.harris@psych.ucsb.edu
Biography & Research Interests - I was born and raised in Thousand Oaks, CA, and moved to Austin, TX for my undergraduate education. I earned a B.S. in Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin in 2016, where I worked in Dr. Loving’s Close Relationships Lab. Following graduation, I moved back to southern California and volunteered in Dr. Collins’ Close Relationships Lab and Dr. Conroy-Beam’s Computational Mate Choice Lab here at UCSB. Now a graduate student in Dr. Collins’ lab, my research interests include close relationships, psychophysiology, and physical activity. I am broadly interested in how close relationships impact physical health and well-being, and also how health behaviors (including physical activity) affect close relationship functioning. Outside of research, I love playing and watching sports, reading, lounging on the beach, and spending time with friends and family.
Cora Baron
Graduate Student
E-mail: corabaron@psych.ucsb.edu
Biography & Research Interests - I was born in California and raised in Arizona. I earned my B.S. in Psychological Science at Arizona State University in 2019, where I received research training across both social and cognitive psychology labs. As a participant in the Leadership Alliance Summer Research Program, I also conducted independent and collaborative work at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. My research interests include close relationships, social identity, and health. I am particularly interested in how psychosocial resources, such as social support and authenticity, contribute to thriving. That is, how do these resources open paths for people to grow and develop (in addition to coping with life stressors)? In 2023, I was awarded the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. In my free time, you will find me scrapbooking, walking my dog (Suki), or at a Taylor Swift concert.
Graduate Student
E-mail: corabaron@psych.ucsb.edu
Biography & Research Interests - I was born in California and raised in Arizona. I earned my B.S. in Psychological Science at Arizona State University in 2019, where I received research training across both social and cognitive psychology labs. As a participant in the Leadership Alliance Summer Research Program, I also conducted independent and collaborative work at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. My research interests include close relationships, social identity, and health. I am particularly interested in how psychosocial resources, such as social support and authenticity, contribute to thriving. That is, how do these resources open paths for people to grow and develop (in addition to coping with life stressors)? In 2023, I was awarded the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. In my free time, you will find me scrapbooking, walking my dog (Suki), or at a Taylor Swift concert.
RECENT GRADUATES
Christopher Bromberg, M.A.
Researcher & Project Manager, EVALCORP Research & Consulting
E-mail: [email protected]
Researcher & Project Manager, EVALCORP Research & Consulting
E-mail: [email protected]
Lauren Winczewski, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Nappa Valley College
E-mail: Lauren.Winczewski@napavalley.edu
Click here to visit Lauren's Research Gate profile.
AFFILIATED ALUMNI
Will Ryan, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, University of Toronto
E-mail: [email protected]
Click here to visit Will's Research Gate profile
Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, University of Toronto
E-mail: [email protected]
Click here to visit Will's Research Gate profile
ALUMNI
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Bianca Acevedo
Research Scientist Neuroscience Research Institute, UCSB |
Lisa Allard
Senior Director, Leadership for Educational Equity |
Brooke Feeney
Professor Carnegie Mellon University |
Maire Ford
Professor Loyola Marymount University |
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Anamarie Guichard
Associate Professor California State University, Stanislaus |
Lisa Jaremka
Associate Professor University of Delaware |
Heidi Kane
Associate Professor University of Texas, Dallas |
Cynthia Khan
Senior Social Science Analyst, U.S. Government Accountability Office |
