Who are the writers on ScienceOfRelationships.com?

First and foremost, our writers are relationship scientists who research the very topics we feature on the site. Our writers are true experts that have intimate knowledge of the types of research that appear in our articles. Not surprisingly, when journalists, book authors, and writers for other websites or blogs need an expert opinion about a relationship topic, who do they turn to? You guessed it. Us. 

The majority of us have a Ph.D. and hold positions as professors at academic institutions where we teach about relationships, conduct and publish our own research findings in peer-reviewed academic journals, write books, and serve as reviewers or editorial board members for the major journals in our field. A few of our stellar writers are in the process of completing their Ph.D. 

Most importantly, we are a group of people who care passionately about making sure that our articles are free of personal bias, grounded in quality science, and written in an enjoyable and useful style.

If you're a relationship scientist who would like to share your expertise by writing for us, please let us know.

Site Administrators & Editors

Benjamin Le - Associate Professor of Psychology, Haverford College
Ph.D., Purdue University

Ben's research focuses on the role of commitment in romantic relationships, including the factors associated with commitment and its role in promoting relationship maintenance. He has published on the topics of breakup, geographic separation, infidelity, social networks, cognition, and need fulfillment and emotions in relationships. Prof. Le teaches classes on Statistics & Research Methods, Social Psychology, and Close Relationships at Haverford College, and he is a member of the editorial board of Personal Relationships. Click here for Dr. Le's Science of Relationships articles.

Gary Lewandowski - Professor of Psychology, Monmouth University
Ph.D., Stony Brook University

Gary’s research explores the role of the self in romantic relationships (e.g., attraction, relationship maintenance, infidelity, break-up), with a specific focus on self-expansion. He has authored dozens of publications for both academic and non-academic audiences and is a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. Dr. Lewandowski's work has appeared in media outlets such as CNN, the New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Women’s Health, Ladies' Home Journal, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Men’s Health, Self Magazine, USA Today, and WebMD. Click here for Dr. Lewandowski's Science of Relationships articles.

Tim Loving - Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin
Ph.D., Purdue University

Tim's primary research program addresses the mental and physical health impact of relationship transitions, with a particular focus on affectively positive transitions (e.g., falling in love) and the role friends and family serve as relationship partners adapt to these transitions. He has served on the editoral board of top journals in the field (e.g., Journal of Personality and Social Psychology) and was an Associate Editor of Personal Relationships.  His research has been funded by a grant from the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development. He is also an award-winning instructor, having received several major teaching awards at The University of Texas. Click here for Dr. Loving's Science of Relationships articles.

Jennifer Harman - Assistant Professor of Psychology, Colorado State University
Ph.D., University of Connecticut

Jennifer's primary research interests examine relationship behaviors that put people at-risk for physical and psychological health problems. Specifically, she has been examining how feelings and beliefs about risk (e.g., sexual risk taking, communication problems) can be biased when in an intimate relationship. Recently, she also has been examining the role of power on commitment to intimate relationships. Dr. Harman is also available for relationship coaching. Click here for Dr. Harman's Science of Relationships articles.

Lydia Emery - Research Coordinator, Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania
B.A., Haverford College

Lydia's research interests broadly include the role of the self-concept in romantic relationships, especially how relationships change the self, and in turn, how the self-concept influences commitment and thoughts about relationships. She is also interested in how people's perceptions of their relationships affect relationship quality, and how people portray their relationships to outsiders, particularly in the context of social networking websites.

Staff Writers

Sonia Ip - Doctoral Candidate, Clinical Psychology, The Australian National University

Sonia is a Registered Psychologist in Australia and is currently undertaking the doctoral program in clinical psychology at The Australian National University. Her thesis research examines the role of alcohol in the early stages of romantic relationships, as well as the characteristics of intimate relationships among individuals with alcohol use disorders. Outside of her research, she sees clients with interpersonal/relationship difficulties in various mental health settings. Click here for Sonia's Science of Relationships articles.

Samantha Joel - Graduate Student, Psychology, University of Toronto
M.A., University of Toronto 

Samantha's research examines how people make decisions about their romantic relationships. For example, what sort of factors do people take into consideration when they try to decide whether to pursue a potential date, invest in a new relationship, or break up with a romantic partner? Samantha is particularly interested in states of ambivalence or indecisiveness over these important relationship choices. Her work often integrates judgment and decision making techniques and concepts, as well as attachment theory. Click here for Samantha's Science of Relationships articles.

Michelle Kaufman - Researcher, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Center for Communication Programs
Ph.D., University of Connecticut

Michelle conducts research internationally primarily on sexual health and how power in heterosexual relationships influences sexual risk and family planning. She has conducted research in South Africa, Nepal, Tanzania, and Indonesia, and teaches a course on Qualitative Research Methods at Jimma University in Ethiopia. She has published her work in various international journals on the topics of HIV risk behavior, gender-based violence, sex trafficking, cross-generational sex, polygyny, and partner communication about sex. Click here for Michelle's Science of Relationships articles.

Sadie Leder - Assistant Professor of Psychology and Assistant Director, Survey Research Center, High Point University
Ph.D., University at Buffalo, SUNY

Sadie’s research examines close relationships from a risk regulation perspective, focusing on how people balance their competing desires for closeness and protection against rejection, specifically during partner selection. Other lines of research examine this goal negotiation within the context of established romantic relationships, as well as look specifically at the experience of romantic love, hurt feelings, and relationship rekindling. Sadie was the 2010 recipient of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology’s Wilbert J. McKeachie Teaching Excellence Award and instructs classes including Social Psychology, Close Relationships, and Love/Hate in Cyberspace. Click here for Dr. Leder's Science of Relationships articles.

Justin Lehmiller - Lecturer, Department of Psychology, Harvard University
Ph.D., Purdue University

Justin’s research program focuses largely on how secrecy and stigmatization impact both relationship quality and partners’ physical and psychological health. He also conducts research on the topics of commitment, sexuality, and safer-sex practices. To date, Dr. Lehmiller has published over 20 scholarly papers, several of which have received prominent media coverage in outlets such as the National Geographic Channel, Psychology Today, Men’s Health, and The Sunday Times. Click here for Dr. Lehmiller's Science of Relationships articles from his column Lusting, Loving, & Leaving.

Jana Lembke - Graduate Student, The University of Massachusetts-Amherst
B.A., The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Jana's research focuses on close relationships, interpersonal processes, and positive emotions. She completed her B.A. in Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is currently working towards her Master's degree in social psychology at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Her current research focuses on conflict recovery in newlywed couples. She enjoys using a variety of methodologies such as participant self-reports, behavioral coding, psychophysiology, and biological measures to study well-being at the individual level as well as the relationship level. Click here for Jana's Science of Relationships articles.

Helen Lee Lin - Research Scientist, Ankara, Turkey
Ph.D., University of Houston

Helen's past research has focused on potential problems in romantic relationships, such as keeping secrets about oneself from a significant other. She is also interested in communication in and about relationships, as well as the use and consumption of media in relationships. She is planning to work in applied contexts for her future projects. Click here for Helen's Science of Relationships articles.

Charlotte Markey - Associate Professor of Psychology, Rutgers University
Ph.D., University of California, Riverside

Charlotte’s research addresses issues central to both developmental and health psychology. A primary focus of her research is social influences on eating-related behaviors (i.e., eating, dieting, body image) in both parent-child and romantic relationships. An additional line of research focuses on the role that personality plays in individuals’ health-related behaviors. My current research combines these two lines and investigates both young adult heterosexual couples and lesbian couples and the role that both their relationships and their personalities play in influencing their health behaviors. Click here for Dr. Markey's Science of Relationships articles.

Patrick Markey - Associate Professor of Psychology, Villanova University
Ph.D., University of California, Riverside

Patrick's research focuses on how behavioral tendencies develop and are expressed within social relationships. His work has examined range of contexts, from fairly mundane interpersonal behaviors (e.g., acting warmly during an interaction) to behaviors of real life importance (e.g., unhealthy dieting, civic behavior, personality judgment, interpersonal aggression after playing violent video games, etc.). In order to examine how these behavioral tendencies develop and are expressed in social contexts, he has examined a multitude of social relationships (e.g., parent-child relations, peer relationships, romantic relationships, internet interactions, etc.) at different stages of life. Click here for Dr. Markey's Science of Relationships articles.

Brent Mattingly - Assistant Professor of Psychology, Ashland University
Ph.D., Saint Louis University

Brent’s research, broadly conceptualized, focuses on the intersection of romantic relationships and the self. His specific lines of research all examine how individual-level constructs (e.g., motivation, attachment, self-regulation) are associated with various relational processes. Click here for Dr. Mattingly's Science of Relationships articles.

Amy Muise - Post-Doctoral Fellow, Psychology, University of Toronto
Ph.D., University of Guelph

Amy’s research focuses on sexuality in close relationships, including the role of sexual motives in maintaining sexual desire in long-term relationships, and sexual well-being. She also studies the relational effects of new media; specifically how new technologies have changed the dating script and how social network sites such as Facebook influence relationships and the experience of jealousy. Amy teaches courses on social psychology, and couple and family relationships, and also has a blog at Psychology Today called The Passion Paradox. Click here for Dr. Muise's Science of Relationships articles and here for her featured column Sex Musings. 

John Sakaluk - Ph.D. Candidate, Psychology, University of Kansas
M.A., University of Kansas  

John is interested in the applications of experimental existential psychology to the study of sexual health, broadly defined. He relies on theories such as attachment, terror management, and conceptual metaphor, while researching topics such as condom use attitudes and behaviors, and sexual strategies. John has also studied cultural sexual scripts (i.e., rules guiding sexual behavior), sexual double standards, and other sexual attitudes. Click here for John's Science of Relationships articles.

Melissa Schneider - Licensed Couples Therapist, New York City
M.S. in Clinical Social Work, Columbia University

Melissa is a couples therapist and writer interested in the dynamics of early dating as predictors of relationship termination or stability. She earned her B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State University and her Masters in Clinical Social Work from Columbia University. She is currently working on a collection of true stories about love and marriage in modern China. Read more about dating, mating, and breaking up on her blog “Where Is This Going?” or follow her on Twitter @WhereIsThsGoing. Click here for Melissa's Science of Relationships articles.

Elizabeth A. Schoenfeld - Human Development and Family Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin
M.A., The University of Texas at Austin

Liz’s research focuses on love, particularly its development over time and its reported and actual expression in day-to-day life.  She also studies the impact of romantic relationships on physical health, as well as how individuals’ sexual relationships are tied to their personal attributes and broader relationship dynamics.  She works closely with colleagues at the University of Zagreb in Croatia, as well as the University of Novi Sad in Serbia.  Her work has been featured in media outlets such as Men’s Health, US News & World Report, the Chicago Tribune, and the Daily Telegraph. Click here for Liz's Science of Relationships articles.

Dylan Selterman - Visiting Professor of Psychology, University of Maryland College Park
Ph.D., Stony Brook University

Dylan's research focuses on the role of secure vs. insecure attachment in relationships, for both parent-child and adult romantic relationships. He has done research on dreams of people in relationships, specifically, how people dream about their romantic partners (and alternatives). In addition to studying dreams, Dylan also studies secure base support in couples, jealousy, morality, and autobiographical memory. Dylan has taught Social Psychology, Statistics, Research Methods, Close Relationships, and Human Development, and has published in Dreaming and In-Mind Magazine. Click here for Dylan's Science of Relationships articles.

Stan Treger - Ph.D. Candidate, Psychology, DePaul University
M.A., Illinois State University

In his research, Stan is interested in three broad topics: (1) interpersonal connectedness and closeness; (2) attraction and relationship initiation; (3) sexuality. He has published on topics such as infidelity, sexual attitutdes, and women’s sexuality, and is currently pursuing projects investigating affective forecasting of close partners, humor use and attraction, the influence of self-construal on sexual attitudes, and the development of transactive memory in close relationships. Stan is also interested in the integration of the theoretical principles of ecological psychology into relationship research, and is influenced by ecological psychology in his own work. Click here for Stan's Science of Relationships articles.

 Guest Contributors

Matt Baldwin - Graduate Student, Social Psychology, University of Kansas
M.A., University of Kansas

Matt is interested in existential, humanistic, and cultural psychological approaches to understanding the self, as well as the role of the self in intergroup and interpersonal relations. His most recent work explores the psychological implications of nostalgia from both humanistic and existential psychological perspectives. Using theories such as terror management, broaden and build, and self determination, Matt's research has shown that nostalgia promotes psychological growth and exploration as well as opens a "window" into the true and authentic self. Matt is also examining the effect of nostalgia on political ideologies as well as the role of nostalgia in forming (or undermining) collective identities. Click here for Matt's Science of Relationships articles.

Jennifer Bevan - Associate Professor of Communication Studies, Chapman University
Ph.D., University of Georgia

Jennifer’s research and teaching interests center upon interpersonal and health communication within close relationships. Specific research topics include the negotiation of difficult interactions such as ongoing conflict, jealousy, sexual resistance, uncertainty, and topic avoidance, as well as related psychological and physical health correlates of these experiences. She teaches courses in interpersonal communication, nonverbal communication, conflict, and empirical research methods. Click here for Dr. Bevan's Science of Relationships articles.

Jana Richert - Research Associate, Social/Health Psychology, Oregon State Univerity
Ph.D., Freie Universitat Berlin, Germany/Portland State University 

Jana's research examines what makes people engage in health risk behaviors, e.g., refusing to use condoms, and what makes them change these behaviors. Jana is particularly interested in the question of how to communicate information in a way that people will accept the information as personally relevant. She is currently working on a web-based intervention promoting the HPV vaccination. In her work she draws on stage theories of health behavior change. Click here for Jana's Science of Relationships articles.

Lisa Reddoch - Graduate Student, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
MSc, University of Victoria

Lisa's research examines how personality traits like self-esteem and attachment influence interpersonal processes in ambiguous social situations -- situations affording both rewards and costs -- such as social support contexts, relationship initiation, and marriage proposals. Within these situations, Lisa observes and codes people's objective behavior, assesses what people think their behavior is telling others, and evaluates others' impressions of the individual. Another line of research examines people's theories of matching within romantic relationships and how those theories predict relationship behaviors like mate poaching. Click here for Lisa's Science of Relationships articles.

Lindsey Rodriguez - Ph.D. Candidate, Psychology, University of Houston
M.A., University of Houston  

Lindsey completed her B.S. in Psychology at the University of Florida and is currently working on her dissertation at the University of Houston. She considers herself the brainchild of Drs. C. Raymond Knee, a relationship researcher, and Clayton Neighbors, an alcohol researcher, in pursuit of integrating relationship research with addictive behaviors in Social Psychology. Her long-term interests include the development of a comprehensive, dyadic perspective for examining how problematic alcohol use and interpersonal relationship processes interact to influence various physical, emotional, and relational outcomes for individuals and their relationship partners. Click here for Lindsey's Science of Relationships articles.

Sabrina Thai - Graduate Student, Psychology, The University of Toronto

Sabrina’s research focuses on comparisons to better-off and worse-off others in the context of romantic relationships. In particular, Sabrina studies how individuals respond after learning that their romantic partner has performed better or worst than them and what factors influence these responses. Sabrina is also interested in how individuals respond to encounters with highly successful relationships. Click here for Sabrina's Science of Relationships articles.

Yanna Weisberg - Assistant Professor of Psychology, Linfield College
Ph.D., University of Minnesota

Yanna’s research focuses on the interplay between personality and relationship functioning. Specifically, she is interested in how personality affects perceptions of and behaviors within relationships, and how these relationship qualities in turn affect personality change. Additional research interests include evolutionary theory, affiliation, trust, and happiness. Click here for Yanna's Science of Relationships articles.
Previous Contributors