Hello! I’m Taylor.

I study what cultivates and hinders positive interactions with strangers and weak ties, such as acquaintances and coworkers, and develop interventions to strengthen these connections to advance individual and collective flourishing. Drawing on research on positive emotions and interpersonal processes, my work examines how seemingly small everyday interactions can shape how people relate to the broader social world, including the communities and organizations to which they belong.

I am a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology (PEP) Lab within the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience.

I currently serve as the Principal Investigator on a multi-country research project funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation, which investigates whether and how improving social connection with strangers in everyday life promotes beliefs and behaviors conducive to collective flourishing.