People

Bonnie Le

Director

Bonnie is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Rochester. Her research focuses on how emotions, motivation, and character strengths and virtues shape well-being.

Princeton Chee

Graduate Student

Princeton is broadly interested in positive processes and emotions, especially in the context of parent-child relationships. His research encompasses topics such as awe, pride, prosociality, and well-being.

 

Claire Shimshock

Graduate Student

Claire’s research focuses on the various emotions (e.g., gratitude) and motivational factors (e.g., hope) that influence couples’ relationship dynamics and overall well-being. She is also interested in how romantic partners can support or hinder each other’s pursuit and attainment of desired life goals.

 

Jenny Le

Affiliated Graduate Student

Jenny’s research broadly focuses on the role of empathy in the relationships that we have with others. Specifically, she is interested in studying how and when expressing empathy towards partners helps people feel satisfied in their relationships. Additionally, her research aims to understand whether putting in the effort to be empathic promotes positive relationship outcomes.

 

Anna Cummings

Project Manager

Anna is the project manager of the ROC Romantic Relationships Study for the lab.

 

Enson Chen, commonly go by Enzo, is a second-year undergraduate majoring in Brain & Cognitive Science and Psychology. His research interests involve the relationships between both people on both the social and cognitive aspect. Specifically, he is interested in discovering more about the factors behind creating these relationships such as motivation and emotional regulation.

 

Nancy Fan is currently a sophomore with an intended major in Brain and Cognitive Science on the Neurobiology track! Her interest centers around Social Psychology and how cultural behaviors and identity influence relationships with the wellbeing of self, between parents-children, and romantically.

 

Kan Guan

Research Assistant

Kan is a second-year undergraduate studying Psychology and Business. She is interested in both the well-being of the youth population and organizational behavior.

 

Zhen Hu

Research Assistant

Zhen is a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology and minoring in Business. Driven by his daily spiritual practice of mindfulness, Zhen is interested in how spirituality could help individuals increase their overall well-being and contribute to the growth of interpersonal relationships.

 

Zoe Hynes

Research Assistant

Zoe is an undergraduate student applying for grad school majoring in Psychology and minoring in Public Health and Digital Media Studies. Her research interests include the effects of emotional regulation on well-being and intrinsic motivation in close relationships.

 

Sua Kim

Research Assistant

Sua is a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology and Brain and Cognitive Sciences. She is passionate about psychological researches that can contribute to improving one’s daily life. Her research interests involve the effects of individual differences in emotion perception on interpersonal relationships.

 

Aisha Leigh

Research Assistant

Aisha is a third-year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology and minoring in Brain and Cognitive Sciences. She is interested in how interpersonal relationship dynamics can affect our personal well-being.

 

Athena Li-Wu

Research Assistant

Athena is a third-year undergraduate majoring in Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of Rochester. She is interested in how mental health can affect interpersonal relationships.

 

Helene Miao

Research Assistant

Helene is a second-year undergraduate student majoring in Biology and Psychology. Her research interests involve social psychology and interpersonal relationships. Specifically, she is interested in how cultural, familial, and other factors affect personal well-being and interpersonal relationship style.

 

Kaylee Rosa

Research Assistant

Kaylee is a second-year undergraduate student double majoring in Psychology and Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies and minoring in Philosophy. Her research interests include investigating how factors such as sex influence the mental health of individuals in intimate relationships, along with their effects on the inner workings and communication of those relationships.

 

Sandy Xu

Research Assistant

Sandy is a third-year undergraduate student who is majoring in psychology and minoring in Philosophy. Sandy is interested in social psychology, how different dynamics of interpersonal relationships affect individuals, and how family dynamics affect adolescents.

 

Madison Zeng

Research Assistant

Madison (she/her) is studying interdisciplinary fields in Biological Sciences: Neuroscience and Public Health: Health, Behavior, and Society as an undergraduate student in her first year. In the future, she strongly desires to pursue a career in research and medicine, with a particular emphasis on social and clinical psychology as her area of expertise. She is eager to investigate the intricate relationship between the determinants of health at the interpersonal level in interventional healthcare. In particular, the influence of social support from family and friends on shaping health behaviors.

 

Rochester Relationships Lab

Our lab is also part of a broader community of researchers in the Rochester Relationships Lab, which includes Harry Reis, Ron Rogge, and their students.

 

Research Assistant Alumni

Abbey Kampel, Sophia Liu, Emma Marder, Silvia Postigo, Iva Savic, Mariah Smith, Xihe (Aimee) Tian, Jacob Walters, Zitong (Joel) Wang, Shuyu Wei,