Kristen Van Swearingen

Hometown: Winston-Salem, NC
Education:

• B.S. in Psychology, High Point University
• M.A. in Psychological Science, University of North Carolina Wilmington

Advisor: Dr. Sara Levens
Program Track: Behavioral Science

Research Interests: Broadly, my research interests involve understanding how emotions impact health behaviors such as physical activity and alcohol use. More specifically, I am interested in how daily fluctuations in emotions can impact attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and intention to engage in health behaviors, and the use of health behaviors to cope with stress. My goal with this research is to inform behavior change that may help to guide health promotion interventions. 

Concentration Perspectives: An aspect of the Behavioral Science concentration that sets us apart from other concentrations and programs is our Experimental Seminar. The seminar allows us an opportunity to share research experiences and collaborate with our interdisciplinary faculty in other departments, hear guest speaker presentations, and learn more about career opportunities.

Hobbies: Yoga, paddle boarding, trying new restaurants, watching reality-competition TV, listening to podcasts