My scholarship examines how relationships with family and pets affect health and well-being, how self-nature representations promote environmental stewardship, and how people form impressions of others, with this work supported over the years by National Institutes of Health (NICHD and NIMH) and National Science Foundation grants.

Previously, I served as a Program Director at the National Science Foundation, Editor in Chief of Social Psychological and Personality Science, Associate Editor of Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and of Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, President of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology and of the Midwestern Psychological Association, and chair of a large academic department.

My recognitions include being named University Distinguished Professor, Lewis Endowed Professor, and University Distinguished Scholar, and I have received some of Miami’s top honors (e.g., Benjamin Harrison Medallion for career achievement, Prodesse Quam Conspici Award for exemplary service). I teach undergraduate and graduate courses in social psychology, intergroup relations, sustainability, and positive emotions and well-being. Finally, my expertise has been applied to consumer behavior, to environmental conservation, and to trial consulting, and my scholarship has been presented in many legal venues, including in briefs argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.