Grace White's Research at UCF: Exploring Relationships, Personality, and Mental Health
Dr. Grace White has been a valued member of the UCF regional campus faculty since 2011. Her research primarily focuses on romantic relationships and interpersonal dynamics, integrating personality assessment with relationship development. Understanding the intricate social and psychological processes influencing mental health is key to crafting effective treatments, and Dr. White's work addresses this critical area.
Academic Background and Research Focus
Dr. White earned her Ph.D. in Personality and Social Psychology from The University of Iowa, with a secondary emphasis in psychometrics. During her time at U of I, she held joint research appointments with the Marriage and Family Development lab under Dr. Erika Lawrence and the HEARTs lab under Dr.. Her graduate study emphasized research which examined personality and romantic, interpersonal relationships, the dyadic process of relationship and marital functioning, and the social psychological constructs which affect how a person interacts with and views his or her world.
The Personality & Relationship Development/Dynamics (PRDD) Research Group
Dr. White formed the Personality and Relationship Development/Dynamics (PRDD) research group to focus on the exploration of romantic relationships and interpersonal dynamics using the Big Five theory of personality. The Personality & Relationship Development/Dynamics Research Group was established at The University of Central Florida-Cocoa in 2011 by Grace White, Ph.D. As the principal investigator and director of PRDD, Dr. White guides undergraduate Psychology majors, who serve as research assistants, gaining extensive experiences in the process of research, the opportunity to cultivate skills in critical thinking as well as engage in both leadership opportunities and collaborative interpersonal tasks.
The lab investigates factors that contribute to the initiation of interpersonal relationships, such as friendship and sexual attraction, as well as the behavioral dynamics that influence relationship maintenance and overall outcomes like satisfaction and dissolution. Students interested in completing an independent research project hold the primary responsibility for the development of the study hypotheses, submission to IRB for approval and completion of data analysis. In all of these aforementioned areas, as the supervising faculty, Dr. White is available for assistance and guidance. Dr. White has also been a committee member for Honors in the Major (HIM) research projects. Students are encouraged to develop projects primarily in the student's area of interest but also relevant to domains of personality psychology or social psychology broadly, as these are areas of expertise and research areas in which Dr. White is available for assistance.
Recognition for Teaching and Mentoring
As a faculty mentor to numerous undergraduate students, Dr. White has been recognized as one of the recipients of the College of Sciences Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Awards. She has received Quality/High Quality Course [High Quality Blended Course Review - UCF] designations for many of the courses she teaches and is acknowledged as a Research-Intensive Instructor [Research-Intensive Course Designation - Undergraduate Research (ucf.edu)] for her section of the Research Methods in Psychology course.
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Key Research Areas and Findings
Dr. White's research spans several key areas within relationship dynamics, personality psychology, and mental health, including infidelity, the impact of technology on relationships, and the role of personality traits in relationship satisfaction.
Infidelity and Relationship Dynamics
One significant area of Dr. White's research explores the complex factors influencing reactions to infidelity in romantic relationships. Intimate romantic relationships play an important role in individual well-being. The aftermath of relationship dissolution can have devastating emotional effects, particularly in cases of deception or betrayal, such as infidelity. Her study, "Finding Forgiveness: Links Between Personality, Self-Esteem, Attachment, and Commitment on Women’s Actual and Anticipated Reactions to Infidelity," published in The Journal of Psychology, delves into women's actual and anticipated responses to infidelity in their romantic relationships. Specifically, this study focused on the roles of personality, self-esteem, adult attachment, and commitment in forgiveness and relationship continuation.
In this study, four hundred heterosexual women (M = 22.27 years old, SD = 6.30) responded to study measures. About 49% of the sample reported real experiences of partner cheating, and 43% of those women chose to stay post-infidelity. The research findings suggest that previous experiences with infidelity and personality, specifically extraversion, may be predictive of women's anticipated reactions to a partner's affair (p = .002). Attachment style and self-esteem may also weakly relate to forgiveness and relationship stability for imagined instances of infidelity. For actual reactions to infidelity, results related to intrapersonal variables and past cheating experiences were inconclusive (p = .894). In this sample, women were more inclined to forgive emotional infidelity than sexual infidelity. Due to the small effects observed, the results of this study should be interpreted with caution. Future research into the underlying intrapersonal factors influencing responses to infidelity is warranted.
Another study, "Does Distance Matter?: Predictors Of Infidelity And Jealousy In Geographically Close Versus Long Distance Romantic Relationship," also examines infidelity.
Technology and Relationships
Dr. White's work also addresses the intersection of technology, social media, and relationships. Her research, "Tweet Your Heart Out:”: The personality correlates and affective consequences of social media use on close relationships and psychological health," explores the personality correlates and affective consequences of social media use on close relationships and psychological health. Additionally, her article "Technology Use and Mental Health Disorders: Dueling Aspects of Technology as a Problem and a Solution for Mental Health" discusses technology as both a potential problem and a solution for mental health.
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Personality and Relationship Satisfaction
Several of Dr. White's publications investigate the role of personality traits in relationship satisfaction. "Imperfect love”: the effect of borderline personality disorder symptoms and relationship commitment on relationship satisfaction" examines the effect of borderline personality disorder symptoms and relationship commitment on relationship satisfaction. "Intimate Introverts: Influence of Introversion on Self-Disclosure and Emotional Intimacy in Close Friendships" explores the influence of introversion on self-disclosure and emotional intimacy in close friendships.
Selected Publications
Here are some notable publications by Dr. Grace White:
- Finding Forgiveness: Links Between Personality, Self-Esteem, Attachment, and Commitment on Women’s Actual and Anticipated Reactions to Infidelity: The Journal of Psychology (2026)
- The indirect effects of physical exercise on romantic relationship satisfaction: the mediating role of body image: Current Psychology (2026)
- “I’ma strong independent Black woman”: The strong Black woman schema and mental health in college-aged Black women: Psychology of Women Quarterly (2022)
- Imperfect love”: the effect of borderline personality disorder symptoms and relationship commitment on relationship satisfaction: Journal of Mental Health and Social Behaviour (2021)
- Body Image, Self-Objectification, and Appearance Maintenance Among College-Aged Women: Direct Original Research: Research in Psychology and Behavior (2023)
- Intimate Introverts: Influence of Introversion on Self-Disclosure and Emotional Intimacy in Close Friendships: Journal of Mental Health and Social Behaviour (2024)
- Tweet Your Heart Out:”: The personality correlates and affective consequences of social media use on close relationships and psychological health: Journal of Mental Health and Social Behaviour (2023)
- Unmasking the Nexus between Maladaptive Alcohol use and Dark Triad Personality Traits: Journal of Clinical Research and Reports (2024)
- Technology Use and Mental Health Disorders: Dueling Aspects of Technology as a Problem and a Solution for Mental Health: Journal of Mental Health Disorders (2023)
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