I conduct research on the self, paying special attention to the importance of feeling understood by others. This focus showed up in my earlier work on stigma consciousness and affective forecasting, but it emerges most vividly in my current work on existential isolation and connection.  People who feel existentially isolated feel alone in their experience of reality and this has implications for their well-being and their interpersonal life.  My collaborators and I study ways of addressing existential isolation as well as what happens when people feel existentially connected.  For instance, our work on I-sharing – moments when we feel we have an identical, in-the-moment experience to one or more people – demonstrates the pivotal role it plays in liking for others, as well as its effects on prosocial outcomes such as giving and helping.  I-sharing is an especially potent way of addressing intergroup issues, such as the tendency to prefer ingroup members over outgroup members and the tendency to dehumanize outgroup members.     

I also study the effects of meditation, diet, and nutrition on overall well-being and interpersonal functioning.  Coming mostly from an Ayurvedic perspective, my collaborators and I ask questions such as whether the food people eat affects their physical and psychological well-being as well as their ability to interact with others effectively, meaningfully, and productively.

Laboratory

Members of the Seeing I Laboratory pursue research on I-sharing, existential isolation, meditation, existential connection, and dietary factors influencing overall well-being an interpersonal functioning.  We strive to collect data from nationally representative samples, underrepresented populations, and countries other than the United States.  We consider the far-reaching implications of existential isolation, including its impact on members of non-normative groups and its clinical significance.