RESEARCH
Current and past research projects I have worked on
DISSERTATION PROJECT: WHAT IS PERCEIVED AS RESPONSIVENESS ACROSS DIFFERENT CULTURES
My dissertation examines how perceived responsiveness changes depending on cultural values. Specifically, what specific behaviors, such as encouraging sayings or just being physically present and available, are perceived as more responsive depending on one's cultural background and how individualistic and/or collectivistic they are. I will not only explore what behaviors are perceived as responsive but also when these behaviors are perceived as responsive, such as in support-seeking vs. capitalization contexts. Study 1 uses mixed methods to find what behaviors are perceived as responsive by different cultural groups, and Study 2 uses a daily diary methodology, where participants will keep track of social interactions they've had with close others and what they perceived as responsive during those interactions.
Further details TBA.
THE EFFECTS OF VERBAL SUPPORT AND AFFECTIONATE TOUCH ON STRESS REACTIVITY
This project compares the effects of receiving (and not receiving) verbal and affectionate touch support on couple members’ cortisol levels and psychological measures of stress and relational well-being. Couples were brought into the lab, where one partner (speech-giver, SG) was instructed to perform a stressful task (a public speech for an evaluator). The other couple member (support provider, SP) was assigned to 1) provide support via words only, 2) provide support via touch only, 3) provide support via words and touch, or 4) provide no support at all, before the SG performed the stressful task. Cortisol samples were also collected throughout the study to assess its trajectory and how it was impacted by support and relationship variables.
Poster Presentation for SPSP 2019 ("Can Affectionate Touch and Intimacy Level Influence Willingness to Sacrifice?")
CULTURE AND RESPONSIVENESS
Perceived responsiveness is a core component for why and how close relationships promote health and well-being. In particular, past research focused on the role of perceived responsiveness, feeling sensitively cared for by a close other, in social support. However, the assumptions and applications of perceived responsiveness have been primarily based on the goals and values of individualistic cultures (e.g., Wu et al., 2021). Drawing from the social support literature, this project offers another perspective of what may be perceived as responsive according to collectivism and the importance of considering cultural fit in responsiveness. Crucially, collectivists want to maintain social harmony and minimize interpersonal costs, while individualists prioritize maintaining self-esteem and exercising agency. For collectivists, we theorize that responsive behaviors are those that support maintaining social harmony, such as minimizing one's emotional expression and adjusting to one's circumstances, and for individualists, responsive behaviors aligns more with actions that instead promote expression of the self and exercising primary control on one's environment. The overarching goal of the studies in this project is to explore how these cultural values dictate what is perceived as responsive as well as the psychological mechanisms that explains these differences as well as how they impact well-being.
Related publication:
Wu, D.C., Kim, H.S., & Collins, N.L. (2021). Perceived Responsiveness across Cultures: The Role of
Cultural Fit in Social Support Use. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 15(9), e12634.
RECRUITMENT BIAS IN ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS
Although relationships research has made great strides, a common methodological issue is that most studies are based on people who volunteer for these studies. This recruitment technique brings up the question: Are people who volunteer for relationships study differ in their relationships from those who don't volunteer? Across two studies, we assessed various relationship constructs, such as relationship satisfaction, commitment, forgiveness, attributions made in a relationship, support provided, etc., after participants chose to participate in a relationship or a personality study.
This project is in collaboration with University of Houston.
Close Relationships Lab and Undergraduate Research Assistants at UCSB