Social and Personality Psychology
Social and personality psychology examines how individuals think, feel, and behave in social contexts and what makes each person unique. Our renowned faculty study attitudes, relationships, group dynamics, identity, and individual differences. Their work illuminates social influence, prejudice, motivation, and personality traits, informing our understanding of human interaction, wellbeing, and behavior across diverse situations.
Members
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Dr. Albuja studies how multiple identities, including biracial and bicultural, are lived and perceived in a society that largely views social categories as distinct and static.
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Dr. Barrett develops systems-level brain and body models unifying human affect, emotion, cognition, and action, drawing on psychology, neuroscience, physiology, philosophy, linguistics, biology, computer science, and engineering.
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Dr. Berent’s research explores human nature through the capacity for language, using phonology as a case study to examine whether it is constrained by abstract universal principles shared across speech and sign modalities.
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Dr. Davidow’s research bridges psychology, neuroscience, and computer science to investigate how different types of learning change across development in children, adolescents, and adults, influencing memory, decision-making, and goals.
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Dr. DeSteno studies how affective states impact decision-making and behavior, using a multilevel, multiprocess approach to examine the psychological functions, phenomenologies, and consequences associated with distinct emotional states.
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Dr. Marsella’s multidisciplinary research centers on computational modeling of human cognition, emotion, and social behavior, with applications in health interventions, social skills training, and planning operations.
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Dr. Rodman bridges developmental cognitive neuroscience and clinical science to examine how teens’ social experiences interact with brain development to increase adolescent mental health risk, aiming to improve adolescent wellbeing.
Interested in working with us?
In the news
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Research
‘Digital phenotyping’ project studying social media’s effects on adolescents expands to include character development
In her research, Rodman studies social media’s effects on adolescents as they mature, and especially how they respond in stressful circumstances. In the Character Virtue Development program, Rodman identified an overlap: an interest in the overall well-being of adolescents. -
Research
How teens make decisions: Juliet Davidow’s research sheds light on motivation and the adolescent mind
Juliet Davidow, assistant psychology professor, has been awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER Award to explore how motivated learning develops during this critical period of life. -
Our brains trick us into thinking consciousness can reside outside the body, new Northeastern research says
The origins of consciousness have been debated by philosophers for centuries. Each conscious person has a sense of “being me,” which invariably gives rise to the question of where that sense originated — from within or outside the body, says Northeastern University psychology professor Iris Berent. “How do human brains give rise to this experience?… -
Where are you really from? An incoming assistant professor explores the psychology of being biracial
Science Fellow in the psychology and applied psychology department Analia Albuja has dedicated her research career to understanding how racial and cultural labeling affects people who do not fall neatly into the categories society.