Abigail Caselli, social psychology Ph.D. student, received a grant, A Scientific Approach to Living in Love: A Framework for the Future, from The Love Consortium through the John Templeton Foundation for her research.

Caselli’s research project, An Examination of Conflict in Interracial Relationships: A Consideration of Constructive Accommodation, will “examine constructive accommodation (i.e., when partners actively or passively and optimistically wait for their relationship to improve) as a process to preserve commitment and to understand why some interracial relationships prevail despite challenges, such as conflict stemming from cultural differences.” Caselli will be working in collaboration with Dr. Brian Ogolsky, director of graduate studies and associate professor of human development and family studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Caselli previously attended Eastern Connecticut State University, where she earned her bachelor of science in psychology. It was during her undergraduate career that Caselli discovered a passion for social psychology research and relationship science. Caselli joined Syracuse University’s social psychology program in 2017. Since that time, she has been working within the Close Relationships Lab under the mentorship of Dr. Laura Machia.

Caselli hopes her research will “further the understanding of conflict in interracial relationships.” She will present her research next year at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) annual conference.