We study the careful balance of care needed to foster satisfying relationships, while also sustaining one's own well-being.
We study how the emotions we express and perceive in others affects our ability to build deeper social connections.
We study how emotions and motivations uniquely shape personal well-being, partner well-being, and overall relationship quality.
At the 2026 Annual Meeting for the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Princeton chaired the symposium "Parenting and flourishing: Emotions, goals, and self-expansion in the family." As part of this symposium, Princeton gave a talk titled "Parenting self-expansion: The personal and relational benefits of parenting growth."
At the 2026 Annual Meeting for the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Michelle presented a poster on her work, "Linking perceived partner emotion regulation to stress, loneliness, and perceived support."
At the 2026 Annual Meeting for the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Gideon presented a poster on his work, "Keeping score, feeling poor: Exchange orientation predicts lower relationship satisfaction through diminished gratitude."
At the 2026 Annual Meeting for the Society for Personality and Social Psychology main conference, Claire presented her work on "Taking 'thank you' to heart: Responses to gratitude shape its emotional and relational benefits." At the Close Relationships Preconference, Claire also presented on her work, "You inspire me: The role of romantic partner inspiration on goal pursuit and relational well-being."
At the 2026 Annual Meeting for the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Laura presented a poster on her work, "Regulating partners: Emotions as mechanisms for change in intimate relationships."
Bonnie Le received the Rusbult Young Investigator Award at the 2026 Annual Meeting for the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. This award is presented annually to an investigator who has made original and important contributions to relationship science. As part of the award, Bonnie gave a talk at the Close Relationships Preconference on "Fostering well-being in how we care and what we share."
Gideon joins the Le Lab as an affiliated postdoc, under the primary advisement of Dr. Harry Reis. Gideon has a strong background in relationships science, receiving his PhD from the University of Toronto under the advisement of Dr. Emily Impett. We're thrilled Gideon is joining the lab. Welcome, Gideon!
Princeton Chee presented at the University of Toronto's Social Personality and Research Group Meeting. In his talk, "Parenting self-expansion: The personal and relational benefits of parenting growth," Princeton described the well-being benefits parents experience through new and transformative experiences with their children.
Bonnie Le gave a virtual talk at the Lies and Allies webinar hosted by the Deception Research Society. Her talk, "Telling the truth: How honesty shapes well-being and change," described how expressions and perceptions of truthfulness shape outcomes among romantic couples.
Laura joins the lab with a strong background in socio-affective and interpersonal processes. Laura completed her Bachelor's degree at the University of California, Los Angeles. She most recently was steeped in research as a research coordinator in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh. We're thrilled Laura is joining the lab. Welcome, Laura!
Michelle has a strong background in the study of relationship processes. She completed her Bachelor's degree at Carnegie Mellon University and holds two Master's degrees, one in Human Development and Psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and another in Psychological Science from the University of Illinois Urbana Champagne. We're thrilled Michelle is joining the lab. Welcome, Michelle!
Photo credits: Unsplash
