Le Lab

Fostering Care and Connection

Research in our lab is focused on the study of relationships and well-being. We examine how the different ways in which people care and connect with each other impacts personal and relationship well-being.

Caring

We study the careful balance of care needed to foster satisfying relationships, while also sustaining one's own well-being.

Connecting

We study how the emotions we express and perceive in others affects our ability to build deeper social connections.

Well-Being

We study how emotions and motivations uniquely shape personal well-being, partner well-being, and overall relationship quality.

Recent News

Princeton Chee presents at the APS and TLC Conferences

Princeton gave talks at the Association for Psychological Science Convention in San Francisco and The Love Consortium Conference in Chapel Hill. There he shared findings from work conducted in collaboration with Claire Shimshock and Bonnie Le on the distinct emotional rewards of awe and pride on parental well-being. Great work, Princeton!

Bonnie Le presents at The Love Consortium Conference

Bonnie gave a talk at The Love Consortium Conference in Chapel Hill. She shared findings from work conducted in collaboration with Princeton Chee, Claire Shimshock, and Jenny Le on the distinct effects of honest expressions, honest perceptions, and honest connections on well-being, love, and change.

Princeton Chee wins University of Rochester Graduate Research Symposium Poster Award

Princeton’s poster “Feeling awe and pride in parenthood: The unique emotional rewards of parenting on well-being” was selected as the top poster award winner from over 50 interdisciplinary posters in the social sciences at the University of Rochester. Congrats, Princeton!

Claire Shimshock receives the The Love Consortium Graduate Student Gratitude Grant

Claire received the TLC grant to support her research proposal "Unheard gratitude: How recipients’ responses to gratitude expressions shape couples’ well-being." Congrats, Claire!

New Research Appears in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

In the in press paper “Thank you for changing: Gratitude promotes autonomous motivation and successful partner regulation,” Natalie Sisson, Yoobin Park, Nickola Overall, Gideon Park, Matthew Johnson, Jennifer Stellar, Bonnie Le, and Emily Impett examine gratitude as a positive reinforcement for partner change.

Claire Shimshock receives the Fink and Nowlis Awards

Claire received the Fink Award to support her research studies on relational hope and well-being. In addition, she received the Nowlis Award for excellence in teaching and mentoring. Congrats, Claire!

New Research Appears in Affective Science

In the 2023 paper "Shared hearts and minds: Physiological synchrony during empathy," Jaweria Qaiser, Nathan Leonhardt, Bonnie Le, Amie Gordon, Emily Impett, and Jennifer Stellar examine the nuanced role of physiological synchrony in empathic responding to others' suffering.

New Research Appears in Current Opinion in Psychology

In the in 2023 paper "Listening and the pursuit of communal relationships," Edward Lemay, Bonnie Le, and Margaret Clark describe how communal motivations to care for others and be viewed as desirable partners contribute to high-quality listening. They highlight important future directions in this line of work.