KC at the UIUC Relationships Research Lab.

My research investigates the developmental origins of behavior in close relationships. I am particularly interested in how earlier experiences are associated with outcomes in adolescence and early adulthood, with emphasis on adult attachment representations and romantic relationship processes. I am also interested in how attachment history is carried forward to subsequent interpersonal contexts in terms of mental representations, behavior, and physiological reactivity. The larger goal of this work is to understand how earlier experiences are related to later social developmental adaptations, and how earlier experiences in relationships prepare individuals on multiple levels to engage in close relationships across the lifespan. In pursuing these questions, I have acquired extensive training in longitudinal, observational, and interview methods as a graduate student at the University of Minnesota, as well as training in experimental and psychophysiological methods during    
                                                                   my postdoctoral work at the University of Illinois.

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Recent work
-   Methodological advances in the study of attachment-related  
    individual differences
-   Shared and distinctive antecedents of adult attachment representations
-   Developmental antecedents of adults' romantic conflict strategies

Current projects
-   Behavioral and physiological interdependence between romantic     partners
-   Relational correlates of stress during the transition to adulthood
-   Developmental inputs on romantic partner selection