| Education | Ph.D. Psychology, Ohio State University (2007) Major Area: Social Psychology Minor Areas: Quantitative Psychology, Behavioral Neuroscience M.A. Psychology, Ohio State University (2003) B.A. Psychology, summa cum laude, University of Texas (2000) |
| Research Interests | The goal of my research is to understand psychosocial factors that influence psychological and physical health, as well as social attitudes. I am particularly interested in negative cognitive processes that underlie depression, anxiety, and pain, and the extent to which mindfulness may improve these conditions. I also study psychological disease avoidance processes (e.g., disgust, germ aversion) and how they shape health, social, and political attitudes and behaviors. Finally, I am interested in mental and physical health disparities experienced by different racial/ethnic, age, sexual, and gender identity groups. |
| Grant Funding | 2021-2022. University of Connecticut, School of Nursing; Dean’s Award for Pilot Research, Innovation, and Scholarship Projects. Identifying Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Black Communities. $5,000 (role: PI).
2020-2021. OVPR COVID-19 Rapid Start Funding Program. Reducing COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy. $10,000 (role: PI).
2020-2025. Health Resources and Services Administration. Scholarships for Health Professions Students from Disadvantaged Backgrounds. $1,348,325 (role: Co-I).
2020-2021. UConn Brain Imaging Research Center, Seed Grant. Identifying Neural Pathways Implicated in Older Adults’ Emotional Well-being. $10,000 (role: PI).
2020-2021. National Science Foundation; Social Psychology Program. RAPID: Changes in Social Attitudes and Behavior in Response to COVID-19. $182,574 (role: PI).
2020. UConn Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy; Rapid Response to Examine Social and Behavioral Implications of COVID-19. Predictors and Consequences of Preventative Health Behaviors during the COVID-19 Pandemic, $5,000 (role: PI).
2019. American Psychological Association Summer Undergraduate Psychology Research Experience grant. $25,360 (role: PI).
2019. Politics and Life Sciences; Disgust and Political Attitudes Special Issue. Testing the Effects of Pathogen Threat and Sexual Strategies on Political Ideology. $1,500 (role: PI).
2017-2018. Texas Woman’s University; Chancellor’s Research Fellow Program. Interpersonal Disgust and the Maintenance of Romantic Relationships. $3,000 (role: mentor/Co-I).
2016. WVU Research Corporation; Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. Effects of Intergroup Contact on Academic Success and Retention in Higher Education. $17,522 (role: PI).
2015-2018. National Science Foundation; Decision, Risk, and Management Sciences Program. The Relation between Decision Making and Valence Asymmetries: A Comparison of Older and Younger Adults, $458,547 (role: PI).
2014-2015. WVU Senate Research Grant. Persistence of Negativity Bias: A Comparison of Younger and Older Adults, $18,500 (role: PI).
2013-2016. NARSAD Young Investigator Grant. A Performance-Based Measure of Negative Cognitive Style for Diagnosis of Depression and Assessment of Treatment Efficacy. $60,000 (role: PI).
2011. E-Support Program for Academic and Research Enhancement. The Effect of Disgust on Prejudice toward Outgroup Members, $500 (role: PI).
2010-2011. VCU Department of Psychology Research Incentive Program Award. BeanFest: An Objective Measure of Negative Cognitive Style, $5,000 (role: PI).
2010. VCU Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship Program. The Impact of Interracial Roommate Relationships at VCU, $500 (role: PI). |
Natalie J. Shook
