Director
Richard W. Robins, PhD
In addition to his academic appointment in Psychology, Richard W. Robins is Director of the Personality, Self, and Emotion Lab; Director of the California Families Project, and a member of the core faculty for the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Training Program in Affective Science. He is currently Associate Editor of Personality and Social Psychological Review, and he has served as Associate Editor for the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and Editor of several books including the Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research and the Handbook of Research Methods in Personality Psychology. His research is funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health.
Professor Robins’ research focuses on: (a) the development of personality and its consequences for important life outcomes; (b) the nature and development of self-esteem and narcissism, (c) the regulation and expression of social/self-conscious emotions (pride, shame, guilt, contempt), and (d) the development of Mexican-origin youth. His work incorporates both longitudinal and experimental designs, and uses multiple methods and data sources (from biological to sociocultural) to study people in naturalistic contexts, with an emphasis on individual differences as well as general processes. Much of his research centers around the NIH-funded California Families Project, an ongoing 16-year longitudinal study of Mexican-origin youth and their families.
Email: rwrobins@ucdavis.edu CV Google Scholar
Visiting Faculty
Bing Shi, PhD
I am an associate professor in Department of Psychology at Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China, and a visiting associate professor in Department of Psychology at University of California-Davis. My research focuses on peer socialization processes of adolescent maladaptive behavior. With the key term “social status”, I examine interconnected topics such as high-status peer influences on adolescents’ antisocial behavior, the impacts of peer group features on adolescents’ aggression, peer influences on adolescents’ materialistic values and relevant status-driven purchases. Currently, in Personality, Self, and Emotion Lab, I am working with Professor Robins on the developmental trajectory of Mexican-origin adolescents’ materialistic values, and other interesting topics. I am also interested in cross-cultural studies, in particular, cultural studies across American and Chinese young individuals.
Email: bshi@ucdavis.edu CV Google Scholar
Graduate Students
Sarah Heuckeroth
Sarah is a graduate student in the Personality, Self, and Emotion Lab. She received her B.A. in Psychology from Washington University of St. Louis in 2014 and her M.A. in Psychology from Wake Forest University in 2018.
Email: saheuckeroth@ucdavis.edu
Winkie Ma
Winkie is a graduate student in the Personality, Self, and Emotion Lab working with Professor Robins and Professor Beck. She received her B.A. in Psychology from Emory University in 2021. Winkie is currently interested in studying the antecedents, consequences, and development of narcissism and self-esteem in various sociocultural contexts using both nomothetic and idiographic approaches. In her free time, she enjoys rock climbing and creative writing.
Email: wnkma@ucdavis.edu
Evan Warfel
Evan is a graduate student in the Personality, Self, and Emotion Lab. He received his B.S. in Cognitive Science from UC Berkeley in…
Email: eawarfel@ucdavis.edu
Kailey Lawson
Kailey received her Ph.D. in the spring of 2022 after five years in the Personality, Self, and Emotion Lab. In 2017, she graduated from Pomona College with BA degrees in Cognitive Science and Philosophy. Kailey’s research examines the nature, development, and assessment of personality traits such as self-control and negative emotionality, and the influence of these traits on mental health, academic achievement, occupational success, and other life outcomes. She is especially interested in teaching and mentoring, and will begin as an assistant professor at Rhodes College in the Fall of 2023. Outside of academia, Kailey enjoys horseback riding, cooking, and trivia.
Email: kmlawson@ucdavis.edu CV Google Scholar
Rongxin Cheng
Rongxin is a second-year graduate student in the Personality, Self, and Emotion Lab. She received her B.A in Social Science from New York University Shanghai in 2019, and her M.A. in Social Psychology from New York University in 2021. Rongxin’s research examines how changes in individual factors (e.g., personality and psychopathology), contextual factors (e.g., parenting, school experience), and the interaction between factors at different levels of the ecological system predict educational outcomes. She is also enthusiastic about applying new quantitative methods and statistical models to research. Besides doing research, she likes to play Guqin (古琴).
Email: rxcheng@ucdavis.edu CV