Our lab’s research integrates social psychological and evolutionary approaches by examining the proximate, goal-driven features of adaptive social cognition. We use a variety of empirical tools, such as experimental priming techniques, assessment of hormones, measurement of social behavior in the lab and the field, and implicit measures of cognition. Most of our current research falls into four basic domains: social hierarchy, self-protection, romantic attraction and close relationships, and social affiliation.

Social Hierarchy 

The social structures of many groups are organized hierarchically and the desire for power and status is a fundamental human motive. Our research is aimed at understanding the strategies people use to navigate their way through social hierarchies. Much of our work focuses on the distinction between dominance and prestige as social rank-striving strategies. Our research highlights unique aspects of both approaches, and provides insight into both their advantages and their pitfalls.

Self-Protection 

Aversive experiences are an inevitable feature of human existence. People encounter many different types of threat including threats to their physical safety and threats posed by infectious pathogens. We use a variety of social psychological and evolutionary theories to understand how people respond functionally—and sometimes dysfunctionally—to various forms of threat. Current work is exploring some of the basic cognitive processes involved in protecting ourselves from harm, as well as the implications of self-protective motivation for interpersonal processes such as intergroup prejudice.

Romantic Attraction and Close Relationships 

Reproductive success is the engine that drives evolution, and no challenges are as central to reproduction as those involved in mating. Our work focuses on questions including: 1) What cognitive processes help people seek out and procure new partners? 2) How do people protect their long-term relationships from forms of threat? 3) How do psychological systems involving sexual desire and pair-bonding interact to shape people’s relationship experiences?

Social Affiliation

Humans are an ultra-social species. Our work provides insight into the psychological and hormonal processes that help people maintain an adequate degree of social acceptance. Some of our current work focuses on people’s responses to rejection and social exclusion. We are interested in why some people respond with resilience and optimism (e.g., by seeking out sources of compensatory social affiliation) whereas others respond more antisocially (e.g., with aggression or social withdrawal).