| Intro | American social psychologist |
| Is |
Psychologist Social psychologist |
| From | United States of America |
| Type | Healthcare |
| Gender | female |
| Birth | New York City, United States of America |
Serena Chen is an American social psychologist. She is a professor of psychology at University of California, Berkeley. Her work focuses on self and relationships, which utilizes a social-cognition framework.
Education
Chen completed her undergraduate degree at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
In 1997, she received her PhD in psychology from New York University. During graduate school, she was mentored by Susan Andersen, who focuses on interpersonal relationships, and Shelly Chaiken, who studied attitude. Her education at New York University was largely focused on social cognition, however she was more interested in studying the self and relationships. She also trained at Indiana University under mentors Dick McFall, Rick Viken, John Kruschke and Robert Nosofsky.
Research and career
One of Chen’s main research areas is focused on the self. She has written numerous articles and publications that focus on concepts of self and how an individual perceives themselves in terms of close relationships and intergroup relations. She also utilizes a social-cognition approach towards these concepts due to her background.
Chen first worked at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In January 2001, she became a Professor of Psychology at University of California, Berkeley, where she is currently the Marian E. and Daniel E. Koshland, Jr. Distinguished Chair for Innovative Teaching and Research. Chen is also the Vice Chair of Undergraduate Affairs of the Psychology Department. In this department, she also runs the ‘Self, Identity, and Relationships’ (SIR) laboratory, which conducts ongoing research. Chen’s research on identity formation was utilized by TJ Maxx in 2018 to create the Maxx You Project, which hosts workshops that focus on empowering women and celebrating their differences. She has also co-authored a social psychology text book, Social Psychology, with Thomas Gilovich, Dacher Keltner, and Richard E. Nisbett.
Honors and awards
In 2006, Chen won the Early Career Award from the International Society for Self and Identity, which is an award given to an individual who has made advancements in the field within 10 years of obtaining their PhD. In 2007, she was named as a ‘Rising Star’ by the Association for Psychological Science. She also won the Distinguished Teaching Award from the Social Sciences Division of the University of California, Berkeley, in 2010.