MENTORED POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWS (PRIMARY)
- Laura E.R. Blackie (2012-2015), Post-Doctoral Fellow, The Growth Initiative (Currently Assistant Professor, Psychology, University of Nottingham)
- Erik Helzer (2012-2014) (Currently Assistant Professor, Department of Marketing, Johns Hopkins University)
- Elise Murray Dyhkuis (2020-2021) Research Fellow (Currently Assistant Professor, United States Military Academy , West Point)
- Sara Etz Mendonca (2019-2022) (Currently Visiting Teaching Professor, Wake Forest University)
- Meghan Gangel (2021-2022) Research Fellow (Currently Assistant Professor, West Carolina University)
- Caleb Reynolds (2021-2023) Post-Doctoral Fellow, The Honesty Project (Currently Assistant Professor, Willamette University)
- Juliette Ratchford (2023-) Post-Doctoral Fellow, The Good-Thinker Project
- Yuyan Han (2023-) Post-Doctoral Fellow, The Good-Thinker Project
MENTORED POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWS (SECONDARY)
- Nicole W. Brocato (2015- ), Wellbeing Assessment Developer, Office of Institutional Research, Wake Forest University
- Michael Prentice (2016- 2018), Post-Doctoral Fellow, The Beacon Project, Wake Forest University (Currently Post-Doctoral Fellow, Max Planx Institute, Germany)
- Tenelle Porter (2019-2021) Participated at New Directions in Developing Character Virtue invited meeting organized by Jayawickreme, Sheraton Palo Alto, April 2019
MENTORED STUDENT RESEARCH
Masters Theses
- Ben Waggener (2025- in progress)
- Jamieson Nathan (2025- in progress)
- Amaris Grant (2024- in progress)
- Rowen Kemmerly (2023, Psychology), “Effects of a short-term volitional intervention promoting moral and non-moral personality change” (Currently Graduate Student, Rutgers University)
- Stephanie A. Bossert (2022, Psychology), “What Makes You Stronger: Further Clarifying the Relationship Between Cumulative Lifetime Adversity and Well-Being” (Current position: United States Army)
- Alana Demaske (2020, Psychology), “Personal Growth Initiative, Need Satisfaction, and Subjective Well-Being: Testing a Process Model” (Currently PhD program at the University of Rhode Island)
- Emma Sims (2020, Psychology), “A Profile Approach to Examining the Relationship between Negative Affectivity and Assumed Similarity”
- Megan Mishinski (2019, Psychology), “Historical Knowledge and Social Identity: Appeasing Identity (Currently Barns and Nobel Bookstore, Charlotte, NC)
- Corrine Zachery (2018, Psychology) “Examining Intellectual Humility in Daily Life” (Currently PhD/MSW program at University of Southern California
- Laura Hix (2017, Psychology), “Social Functions of Redemption Narratives for Former Offenders” (Currently Developer, Well-Being Assessment Project, Office of Campus Life Wake Forest University)
- Emily J. Hanson (2015, Psychology), “Examining the Role of Well-Being in Government” (Currently Graduate Student and University Fellow, Department of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis)
Undergraduate Honors Theses
- Amber Adkins (2022). “Age Differences in Exploratory and Redemptive Processing of Covid-Related Adverse Events”
- Jill Lesley (2019, Psychology), “Happiness as Justification: Ideology and Judgment of Ideal Societies”
- Dakota Becker (2017, Psychology, in progress), “Guilt, Shame, & Narrative Identity: An Analysis of Well-Being Among Former Offenders”
- Melissa Picco (2016, Psychology), “Paying It Forward: Posttraumatic Growth in Cancer Survivors”
- Mallory Kidwell (2014, Psychology), “Bringing the Whole Universe to Order: Exploring the Therapeutic Benefits of Creativity”
Summer Research Fellows & Internships
- Eli Rice and Rebecca Boolba, 2017, Collaborative Summer Research Fellowship for Faculty-Student Teams, “Narratives of Redemption among Former Offenders: Development of a Public Exhibit”
- Victoria Britt, 2013, Richter Fellow, “Narratives of Redemption among Female War Survivors in North-East Sri Lanka” (Currently
Teacher, Seattle Public Schools)
- Daniel Powell, 2013, URECA Summer Research Fellowship, “Examining Self- and Informant- Reports of Posttraumatic Growth among a Community Sample” (Currently Medical student, Georgetown University School of Medicine)
Courses Taught at Wake Forest University
FYS 100 T: What Doesn’t Kill Me Makes Me Stronger? : Examining the Redemptive Self
Spring 2017
Nietzsche’s claim that “what does not kill me makes me stronger” has great intuitive appeal, and many of us believe that experiencing hardship and troubles can leave us in a better place than we were before. Psychological scientists have become increasingly interested in studying the positive life changes that people report in the aftermath of highly stressful life events including (but by no means limited to) diagnosis with terminal illness, bereavement, and sexual assault. This notion has been referred to with many different names, but the construct is most commonly referred to by scientists as adversarial growth, posttraumatic growth, stress-related growth, altruism born of suffering and benefit finding. These positive changes relate to the development of important qualities of character, such as diligence, generosity, love, purpose, and humility. Thus, adversity may provide opportunities for the development of important character traits, echoing St. Paul’s insight that “suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Romans 5: 3-4). While the theme of “strength from adversity” is a central theme in many works of philosophy, theology, and literature, the empirical evidence remains mixed. In this class, we will discuss the question of redemption, whether adversity is in fact needed for the full development of character, and engage with Project Re-Entry, a program that offers educational and support services to former offenders before and after their release from prison, in discussing the possibilities for redemption in the context of structural inequality and issues related to mass incarceration.
PSY 315: Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness
2019; 2018; 2017; Fall 2016; Spring 2016; Spring 2013; Fall 2012
What are the conditions that allow people to be happy and live well; that is, to flourish? We will try to answer this question from the perspective of a new area within psychology: positive psychology. We will review the history of positive psychology and the contributions that positive psychology has made to several traditional research areas in psychology. We will also examine some of the great truths and the insights into mind and heart that poets and philosophers have bequeathed to us. In addition, we shall attempt to define and unpack the complex concept of happiness, and examining the mechanisms that cause and maintain it.
PSY 310: Methods in Psychological Research (for Psychology Minors)
Fall 2021; Fall 2019; Fall 2018; Fall 2017; Fall 2016; Fall 2015; Fall 2014; Fall 2013
PSY 310 is designed for students who minor in Psychology. The emphasis of this course is on becoming a knowledgeable user and consumer of scientific research. We will explore research design, data analysis, and interpretation of findings. Although we will be exploring the research process through the lens of Psychology, many of the principles and techniques are applicable across disciplines, especially those in the social sciences.
PSY 260: Social Psychology
Spring 2016; Fall 2015
This course introduces you to the field of social psychology – the scientific study of how ordinary people think about, feel about, interact with, influence, and relate to one another. Social psychology is a topic to which every person can relate. The theories covered in this course will apply directly to your everyday experiences (including your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors) and your relationships with others. Because social psychology is so accessible, one common misconception about it is that it is mostly common sense. Social psychological theories are based on scientific research. Thus, as a science, it separates the false myths from the fundamental truths about human nature. One major focus of this class will be on the scientific method as a tool for uncovering these truths and providing answers to important questions about how and why people function the way they do. We will also discuss how social psychological theories relate to everyday life and the functioning of society as a whole.
PSY 315: Special Topics in Personality Psychology: The Happiness of the People: Wellbeing and Public Policy
Spring 2014
This seminar will examine the potential of happiness and well-being research to inform public policy. We will contrast standard economic indicators such as GNP with these alternate approaches. While psychological research on well-being will be prioritized, we will also discuss the capabilities approach and other theories in the substantive goods tradition and behavioral economics.
Books read:
Ed Diener, Richard Lucas, Ulrich Schimmack & John Helliwell—Well-Being & Public Policy (Oxford University Press, ISBN-13: 978-0195334074)
Amartya Sen, Inequality Reexamined (Harvard University Press, ISBN-13: 978-0674452565)
Richard Thaler & Cass Sunstein, Nudge (Penguin, ISBN-13: 978-0143115267)
Angus Deaton: Health, Wealth and the Origins of Inequality (Princeton University Press: ISBN-13: 978-0691153544)