Jeff Bowen

Teaching Faculty (Lecturer)

Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara

• jbowen@jhu.edu
• Ames Hall 131
• Research Interests: Dr. Bowen is the Principal Investigator of the SPARC Lab, an undergraduate research team examining the dynamics of close relationships. His work explores how romantic partners mentally represent one another and interpret situations that shape the well-being of their relationships. His research teams apply theories from social cognition, psycholinguistics, and motivation science, to understand how partners navigate conflicts of interest and frame high-stakes challenges that they face in trying to sustain rewarding and long-lasting partnerships.

Erica Choi

Senior

• Research Interests: Hello! I am Erica Choi and I am a senior studying Psychology. I'm most interested in studying social relationships and communication within those relationships. After graduating, I look forward to using all the skills I've gained in this research lab as a marketing research analyst.

Dionna Gant

Junior

• Research Interests: I am a psychology sociology double major with a minor in Africana studies. I am interested in long distance relationships, and plan on attending a clinical psychology grad program upon graduation. In my free time, I enjoy embroidery and watching movies.

Ria Gualano

Junior

• Research Interests: I plan to pursue a Ph.D. in Social Psychology directly after the completion of my B.A. in Psychology at Johns Hopkins. My research interests include: Interpersonal Attraction and Relationships, Perception, Motivation, Emotion, Personality, and Health and Mindset. My goal is to translate research findings into alternate forms of media and literature to make psychological research more accessible to people outside of the field.

Yuchen Li

Junior

• Research Interests: Interested in social psychology and interactions around people. Still developing more interests and open to new opportunities in the field of psychology. Rubik’s Cube lover.

Leo Nye

Senior

• Research Interests: I have been involved in Dr. Bowen’s undergraduate team since the spring term of my freshman year; I will be a senior this fall. I am a Writing Seminars and International Studies major. I enjoy studying how the words chosen by partners in romantic relationships reflect their thoughts and feelings about each other, and I’m interested in how these types of measurements can be used to research the language of political correspondence in international relations. I aspire to go into screenwriting, but I’m passionate about international studies, particularly Latin American culture and politics, so I’m keeping my options open regarding future career paths.

Ellie Taylor

Senior

• Research Interests: I’m specifically interested in dyadic phenomena and the factors that lead to effective conflict management. I hope to continue my education and examination of close relationships by pursuing a PhD in Developmental Psychology with specific interest in how family relationships in infancy impact later cognitive and social development. I also love to explore outside of the lab, and I once embarked on a twenty-one-day backpacking expedition in the Southern Sierras.

Cecilia Vorfeld

Class of 2020

• Research Interests: My research interests are in the psychology of romantic relationships, the language we use to talk about our loved ones, the impact of being long distance in relationships, for the purpose of helping people have healthier and happier relationships. My career goals are to use the knowledge and skills I have gained in this lab and at Hopkins in a field that makes a broad impact such as health policy. Fun fact: I am not a psychology major or minor (I majored in MSH) but that didn’t stop from loving the work I got to do with Dr. Bowen and the team. All are welcome and able to work in this great lab!

Madelynn Wellons

Class of 2020

• Research Interests: I'm a senior double-majoring in Sociology and Psychology. My research interests are in interpersonal relationships, social media, criminal justice, and mental health. I want to get a PhD in Sociology or Social Psychology and eventually run my own research lab!