Julie Longua Peterson presents at first Mainely Data Conference in Psychology at Colby College

Julie Longua Peterson, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology, gave a talk at the 1st annual Mainely Data (…Some Theory) Conference in Psychology at Colby College.  Dr. Peterson’s research presentation, entitled “Acceptance in Close Relationships: The effect of Relational Self-construal on Implicit Evaluations of Self and Other,” focused on how people high and low in relational self-construal regulate their implicit evaluations of the self and close others in response to an acceptance manipulation.  Across two experiments, Dr. Peterson showed that people with a low relational self-construal experience a decrease in implicit self and relational well-being in response to thinking of a time they felt loved and accepted.