Biography
Kristina received her B.A. in Psychology with honors from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA. After completing the Master of Science in Psychological Science (MSPS) program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, she remained at the U of I to continue her research in a doctoral program.
Research Interests
- Close relationships
- Social and parasocial relationships
- Human-nonhuman animal interaction
- Moral condemnation
- True crime/horror fascination
Research Description
Kristina works under the supervision of Dr. R. Chris Fraley in the Attachment and Close Relationships Lab. Her primary line of research focuses on parasocial relationship contamination. Because people can be highly invested in the lives of media figures, who become important to them despite the lack of any mutual social connection, it is important to understand the circumstances under which these relationships are altered. Kristina’s work explores the impact that controversy has on such relationships – namely, the degree to which controversy might alter them.