My program of research broadly focuses on social cognition. Specifically, I am interested in how others from romantic partners to new acquaintances are mentally represented and the consequences of these representations for intra- and interpersonal functioning. In my research, I take an interdisciplinary approach that draws on research and theory from a broad range of fields—from social and cognitive psychology to molecular genetics—to address questions about the role of mental representations on interpersonal cognition, such as:

• How do mental representations color person perception and impression formation?
• How do mental representations influence behaviors toward newly met acquaintances?
• What are the affect-regulation benefits of activating mental representations of significant others?

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