Lab Director

Amie M. Gordon is an assistant professor of social psychology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Her research focuses on understanding the social cognitive, affective, and biological factors that shape our closest relationships. She is particularly interested in how relationship partners influence each other in the moment and over time. A main goal of her research is to better understand how people can maintain high-quality relationships.
Her research is driven by the belief that our interpersonal relationships underscore every aspect of our lives, influencing the health and well-being of individuals, families, groups, and organizations.
Dr. Gordon received her PhD in Social-Personality Psychology from UC Berkeley and her BA in Psychology with a minor in Political Science from UCLA.
CV | Google Scholar | Research Gate
Postdoctoral Fellow

Tatum Jolink is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Michigan in the WHIRLab. Tatum studies positive adaptive behaviors that help to initiate and strengthen close relationships (e.g., affectionate touch, shared laughter, sex) and how the body contributes to and is affected by those relationships (e.g., the immune system, sleep processes). You can read more about Tatum’s work here.
Dr. Jolink received her PhD in Social Psychology with a Quantitative Psychology Concentration from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2023.
Lab Manager

Helen Devine started her undergraduate degree in 2020 at the University of Michigan. She is majoring in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience and is interested in how stress and sleep quality affect the relationship quality of romantic couples. After obtaining her B.S., she hopes to pursue graduate studies in forensic/legal psychology and continue working in psychology research.
Graduate Students

Emily Diamond started her PhD in 2022 in the Social Psychology area. She studies positive emotional processes in close relationships. Specifically, she is interested in understanding the behavioral, physiological, and linguistic underpinnings of social connection.

Annika From started her PhD in 2020 in the Personality and Social Contexts Psychology area. She studies the influence of individual differences such as personality and attachment on romantic relationships. Specifically, she is interested in how the ways partners differ from each other hinder or contribute to relationship quality.

Micaela Rodriguez started her PhD in 2021 in the Social Psychology area. Broadly, she studies emotion regulation, loneliness, solitude, and social media. She is particularly interested in understanding how the beliefs we hold shape our experiences of loneliness, and how cognitive change may help alleviate loneliness.

Savannah Adams started her PhD in 2020 in the Social Psychology area. She broadly studies how moral behaviors shape the impressions people form about others and how those behaviors help or hinder cooperation across contexts. Within the WHIRLab, she is specifically interested in how perceptions of moral values shape couple interactions and beliefs about compatibility.
Lab Alumni (Lab Managers, Graduate Students, Postdocs)
Emma Morse (Honors Student 2023)
Esra Ascigil (PhD Student 2022)
Maria Luciani (Lab Manager 2020-2022)
Lara Zammit (Honors Student 2022)
Current Research Assistants
Allison Youtt
Avery Vota
Fred Kassab
Jasmine Cajigas
Jasmine Galdamez
Olivia Jeong
Paige Bost
Sophia Weng
Thadashy Nunez
Zoe Sinkford
Former Research Assistants
Amala Nayak
Avelyn Menn
Calle Harwin
Carolyn Ji
Chad Cao
Elizabeth Kolias
Jenny Zhao
Grace Yaldoo
Steven Petrovski
Catherine Garton
Abby Bush
Kiara Siebler
Jordy Agins
Rayyan Latif
Whitney Gallagher
Allison Weltman
Erna Chiu
Ruby Zheng
Emma Elmouchi
Sara Franson
Sylvia Chen
Anna Azim
Meghana Lodhavia
Jack Porte
Amber Shi