Research Labs

Director: Candace Lapan, PhD

Description: The Performance Understanding and Person Perception in Youth (P.U.P.P.Y.) Lab focuses on two main lines of research: (1) How children form academic self-perceptions via social comparison. (2) How children form beliefs about other people, including stereotypes and prejudice. In addition to her child development research, Dr. Lapan also conducts research on teaching practices, particularly the impact of Service-Learning on students' learning experiences.

Director: Patrick Young, PhD

Description: The Performance and Athlete Well-being (PAW) Lab focuses on investigating the psychological variables that can enhance performance across multiple domains (e.g., sport, exercise, business, esports/gaming, performing arts, and academics) as well as examining the well-being of athletes and others in performance domains. Current projects include the use of psychological skills by esport/gaming athletes and examining the mental health of action sport athletes (e.g., skateboarders, snowboarders, rock climbers, skydivers, etc.).

Principal Investigator: Terese Lund, PhD

Description: Dr. Lund is a Principal Investigator in the Purpose Lab, a joint lab with Dr. Belle Liang at Boston College. Purpose in life, defined as a long-term aspiration to make a difference in the world, is a developmental asset cultivated in adolescence and emerging adulthood. Put simply, our purpose is our why that propels us to achieve our goals and lead happier, healthier lives. With colleagues and students at Boston College, Dr. Lund and her students at Wingate pursue three lines of research on purpose in life. First, she examines positive psychosocial outcomes (e.g., academic achievement and improved mental health) that result from possessing a sense of purpose. Second, she investigates factors that foster purpose in life among adolescents and emerging adults. These factors include meaningful relationships and adverse experiences that help us uncover our why. Finally, she and her colleagues implement and assess interventions designed to cultivate purpose in young people.

Director: Matt Davis, PhD

Description: Our research lab seeks to better understand the role of cognitive abilities in decision making and the factors that affect academic achievement. Two main lines of inquiry concern (1) how the way information is presented impacts subsequent decisions and (2) what key factors affect and influence retention at colleges and universities.

Director: Chris Breeden, PhD

Description: Dr. Breeden is a social psychologist whose research typically investigates human behavior through some combination of trait-based (e.g., Five-Factor Model) and social-cognition-based frameworks (e.g., impression management). Currently, his research centers around three primary interests: (a) the influence of Dark Tetrad personality traits on both antisocial behaviors (e.g., lying to help the self) and prosocial behaviors (e.g., lying to help a friend’s reputation); (b) the social-cognitive and personality trait underpinnings of magical or pseudoscientific belief systems (e.g., belief in astrology; belief in aliens; belief in witchcraft); (c) applying principles of social and personality psychology to the workplace to promote more positive attitudes about work and better organizational communication.

Director: Megan Deibel, PhD

Description: This lab focuses on understanding the cognitive processes underlying our ability to read. This includes, but is not limited to, understanding how we identify individual words in print, how readers learn new words encountered while reading, and how individual differences in reading ability affect these processes. Current projects include an investigation on how personality traits impact reading habits and our ability to learn newly encountered homophones of existing words while reading. 

Director: Chloe Beck, PhD

Description: Our research focuses on how our social identities can affect our interactions with others. This can be in prosocial and beneficial ways such as pursuing relationships with others but can also lead to antisocial behavior such as prejudice or discrimination. Current projects include examining inequity in education based on gender & racial/ethnic minority status, LGBTQ+ issues, and emotional consequences of being hangry.