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.
In the in press paper, "How honesty shapes the personal and interpersonal benefits of gratitude," Bonnie Le, Claire Shimshock, Princeton Chee, and Jenny Le find that honesty about gratitude strengthens relationships, with this being especially true when people perceive greater honesty, regardless of whether their partner is actually being honest.
In the in press paper, "Hope for our future: relational hope promotes relationship goal pursuit and well-being," Claire Shimshock, Princeton Chee, Harry Reis, and Bonnie Le find that relational hope, or positive expectancies to meet desired goals, faciliates goal pursuit and relationship well-being over time.
Bonnie Le is receiving the 2026 Rusbult Young Investigator Award given by the Relationship Researchers Interest Group and the Foundation for Personality and Social Psychology. This award is presented annually to an investigator who has made original and important contributions to relationship science.
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!
Princeton Chee gave a data blitz talk at the Happiness and Well-Being preconference sharing his work on how prosociality can buffer against loneliness and boost well-being. He also presented a poster at the Emotion preconference and main conference on how parental awe and pride shape well-being. Great work, Princeton!
Claire Shimshock chaired the symposium "Help or hindrance? When and how others impact goal pursuit". As part of the symposium, she gave a talk on her work demonstrating how hope benefits couples' goals and well-being. She also presented a poster at the Close Relationships preconference and main conference on how behavioral variability in physiological synchrony between romantic partners. Great work, Claire!
Bonnie Le gave a talk at the Emotion preconference. She shared findings from her work, conducted in collaboration with Claire Shimshock, Princeton Chee, and Jenny Le, on how honesty shapes the personal and interpersonal benefits of gratitude.
Princeton Chee was selected as a runner-up for the 2025 SPSP Student Poster Award for his work on how experiences of awe and pride shape parental well-being. As a runner-up, Princeton was selected as one of the top 10 posters at the conference demonstrating excellence in research, clarity in presentation, and personal knowledge. Congratulations, Princeton!
Claire received the Edward Peck Curtis Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student. Each year this award is given to the top graduate students at the University of Rochester who excel in advancing the teaching mission of UR by providing highly skilled and innovative instruction to undergraduate students. Congratulations, Claire!
Claire received the Baldwin Award this year from the Department of Psychology for her standout research productivity. Each year this award is given to the top students who have made important contributions in a program of research and demonstrate significant promise and potential for future independent contributions to psychological research. Congratulations, Claire!
Photo credits: Unsplash
