Olivia E. Atherton, PhD
Lab Director
Dr. Olivia Atherton is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Houston. Before joining UH, she completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. She received her PhD in Social-Personality Psychology from the University of California Davis, and her BS in Psychology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Atherton’s research program lies at the intersection of social-personality, health, and developmental psychology. The focus of her work revolves around three overarching questions: 1) how do self-regulatory traits develop across the lifespan from early life to old age?; 2) what are the sociocultural factors that predict self-regulation development?; and 3) how do self-regulatory traits impact mental and physical health with age? To answer these questions, Dr. Atherton typically uses large longitudinal studies with data spanning multiple developmental periods and generations (i.e., family studies), in combination with diverse samples and multi-method measurement (e.g., self- and informant-reports, administrative records). She also has expertise in statistical techniques including structural equation modeling, multilevel modeling, survival analysis, and coordinated data analysis. In her free time, Olivia enjoys exploring the Houston food scene, going to barre and hiit classes, and trying to keep her plants alive.
curriculum vitae
Priscilla Whang
PhD Student
Priscilla Whang is a first-year doctoral student in the Social, Personality, and Health Psychology Program at the University of Houston. Prior to her graduate studies, she earned her BS in Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2018. At the broadest level, her research interests lie in individual differences and how they relate to and explain health behaviors and outcomes, taking contextual factors into account. More specifically at the time of this bio, she is investigating the intersection of parenting practices and adolescent personality development. In her free time, she enjoys exploring new coffee shops (and attempting to copy latte recipes at home), spending time with her cat Mouse, and indulging in reality TV and true crime/conspiracy documentaries.
curriculum vitae
Sarah Belew
Senior Honors Thesis Student
Sarah Belew joined the lab as an Undergraduate Research Assistant, but as a 4th year student, she is now working on a Senior Honors Thesis under the supervision of Dr. Atherton. Upon graduation, she hopes to continue her education in the Clinical or Counseling field on the road to becoming a licensed psychologist. Currently, her research interests regard development, either in academic settings or within family dynamics, and in the context of various sociocultural identities. In her free time, she enjoys binge watching The Office and perfecting her yoga poses.
curriculum vitae
Jasmine Gozalo
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Jasmine Gozalo is a 3rd year Undergraduate Psychology Student. She recently joined the lab as a Research Assistant in preparation for completing a Senior Honors Thesis with Dr. Atherton the following academic year. Upon graduation, she plans to pursue further education in Counseling or Pediatrics with the end goal of becoming a licensed psychologist. Currently, she’s most interested in research related to family dynamics, specifically parent-child relationships and their effect on early development, and the psychological effects of living and growing up with a chronic condition on children. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and baking in the kitchen (to varying degrees of success), watering her plants (also to varying degrees of success), and spending quality time with her friends (with great success!)
SRCH LAB 