
SOCIAL & EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY LAB
Oklahoma State University
116 North Murray Hall
Stillwater, OK
What We Do
We're a SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY LAB. Research in our lab draws on theoretical perspectives from behavioral ecology, evolutionary biology, and animal behavior to address wide-ranging topics ---focusing on friendship, female cooperation and competition, and stigma and prejudice.
Employing group- and individual-level experiments, archival studies, and other methods, we investigate important aspects of social cognition and behavior.
The Krems Lab is one several core labs conducting evolutionary social science research at Oklahoma State University (other PIs: Jennifer-Byrd Craven, Mary Towner), with lab members participating in joint weekly lab meetings. For more, see THE OCEAN.
Current Projects
Many of our projects take place at the intersection of overlapping researching interests--most often exploring female sociality, friendship, stereotyping and prejudice.
Some of the research themes we're currently pursuing at OSU and with our collaborators:

Female cooperation & competition
Every woman has at least two stories: One about how she could not have survived without the support of a female friend, and one about how a female friend broke her heart. We investigate the often-overlooked complexities of female sociality.

Friendship
Our friends make us happy, keep us healthy, and can even promote our reproductive fitness. But friendships remain understudied in social psychology. We explore these important bonds.

Stigma & Prejudice
We use a functional approach to stigma to revolutionize our understanding of classic research in social psychology.

How do ecological variables shape everyday life?
Income inequality is a strong predictor of violence. Does increasing income inequality also change the ways that women compete? How does pathogen prevalence affect the job market?

Reputation & social cognition
Our minds are sensitive to how other people see us, and this sensitivity can influence whom we condemn, how much we want to punish others, and how we navigate relationships.

Functional Motivations
The sorts of activities that make us happy and fulfilled change as a function of our age, gender, and relationship status. We explore what makes us happy--and whether we can accurately predict what makes other people satisfied (or frustrated).

Life history strategy and religion
Religious people are highly trusted--and even other atheists often dislike atheists. Some religious people are also likely to hold negative perceptions of gays, women's reproductive rights, recreational drugs. Why?
Work led by collaborator Jordan Moon, a graduate student at Arizona State University

The social functions of disgust
A "disgust" sound is a most recognizable emotional vocalization. What would you do If someone made that sound at you, or looked at you with disgust? What if a friend looked at you with disgust--and did so just after someone you both found annoying entered the room? We're exploring disgust expressions and their often-triadic social functions
Who We Are
Assistant Professor of Psychology (Experimental)
Oklahoma State University
Dr. Krems received her Ph.D. from Arizona State University, an M.Sc. in Cognitive & Evolutionary Anthropology from the University of Oxford, an M.L.A. from the University of Pennsylvania (focusing on biological bases of behavior), and her A.B. in Archaeology from Bryn Mawr College.
She is a social psychologist with interdisciplinary training. Her research draws on theoretical perspectives from social psychology, behavioral ecology, evolutionary biology and anthropology, as well as animal behavior to address wide-ranging topics in social cognition and behavior. Her work primarily focuses on (a) female sociality and (b) the use of interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks to challenge our understanding of 'classic' topics in social psychology (e.g., stereotyping and prejudice, motivation).
jaimie.krems@okstate.edu

Jarrod Bock, M.S.
Graduate Student
Coordinator, Social & Evolutionary Psychology Lab
Jarrod is a fifth-year student working with Dr. Byrd-Craven and Dr. Krems. His research broadly examines prejudice and stigma. In particular, his primary research interests are in using a functional approach to understanding stigma at both the explicit and implicit levels, examining the impact of dehumanization on sexual assault-related attitudes, and the relationship between cultures of honor, suicide, and other forms of aggression. His research also examines the asymmetrical judgments of one's own and others' prejudices (e.g., racism, sexism).
jarrod.bock@okstate.edu

Ashley M. Rankin, M.S.
Graduate Student
Funded via NSF-GRFP
Ashley is a fifth-year student working with Dr. Byrd-Craven and Dr. Krems. Her primary research investigates in how individuals choose to allocate their resources to different types of social relationships (e.g., friendships, strategic allies, romantic partners) as well as the psychobiology underlying friendship quality--especially among women.
ashley.rankin@okstate.edu

Laureon Watson
Graduate Student
Social & Evolutionary Psychology Lab
Laureon is a first-year graduate student working with Dr. Krems and Dr. Byrd-Craven. Her interests are in female sociality, and in pairing both feminist and evolutionary perspectives to explore overlooked aspects of women's behavior.
Undergraduate RA Team
The Krems Lab is lucky to have a vibrant, engaged group of undergraduate RAs: (back row) De'Ja Broyles, graduate student Jarrod Bock, Kacie Platt, Dr. Krems, Malina Lemmons, (middle row) Kelsie Ballew, Callie Pollet, gradaute student Ashley Rankin, Abigail Ferrell, Anna Crosswhite, Madison Young, (front row) Maya West, Brett Keenan, Kassie Selanders, Mikayla Tolliver, graduate student Laureon Watson, Darling Arredondo, (not pictured) Garrett Dugan
The Krems Lab is one of several across Departments of Psychology and Integrative Biology, taking part in joint graduate lab meetings and furthering the OCEAN mission to: (1) conduct interdisciplinary research; (2) provide graduate students for careers as future faculty; (3) engage in educational outreach with the FOSSIL Conference + OCEAN Speaker Series
Collaborators
Meet some of the people our lab works with:
Join the lab!
We're always looking for curious and motivated research assistants!
If you would like to learn more about social psychology or evolutionary psychology---running experiments, how to think like a social psychologist---with hands-on training, reach out to us. In our lab, we expect conscientious and excited research assistants.
In our bi-weekly lab meetings, Dr. Krems, her graduate students, and research assistants discuss ongoing projects, how to get into graduate school, and the cutting-edge research at OSU.
We accept research assistants on a term-by-term basis, typically beginning in October for subsequent Spring terms and in March for subsequent Fall terms.
Fill out the form below or contact Laureon Watson (laureon.watson@okstate.edu) for an application.
Art on this website:

Firlei
Baez

Marcel Dzama

Marcel Dzama
Neil
Smith
Jaimie Arona Krems © 2018