Merced Experimental Social and Health (MESH) Psychology Laboratory

We aim to understand health decision making and behavior through a social psychological lens. Most of our work occurs at the intersection of health decision making and behavior (e.g., screening, sunscreen use) and the self (e.g., self-perception), and typically focuses on understanding how people prepare for and respond to bad news.

 

People in the MESH lab

Principal Investigator: Jennifer L. Howell, PhD

Dr. Jennifer Howell is an associate professor of health psychology at the University of California, Merced. She received her undergraduate degree in psychology from Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX, and her MS and PhD with a focus in Social Psychology from the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL.

Her research focuses on the intersection of social psychology and health. She is particularly interested in how processes surrounding the self (e.g., defensiveness, social comparison) influence health decision-making and behavior.

More about Dr. Howell and her vita are available here.

PhD Students

Avia Gray

Avia Gray began the Psychological Sciences program in 2017 after she earned her B.S. in Psychology from Abilene Christian University in 2014 and her M.A. in Psychological Research from Texas State University in 2016. She is particularly interested in understanding how different statistical methods are applied to improve quality of healthcare receipt. Her research uses an array of psychometric and structural equation model approaches to identify psychosocial factors that impede and disrupt chronic disease self-management, healthcare access and utilization, and health outcomes in socially vulnerable populations.

Email Avia
Photo of Angela Johnson

Angela Johnson

Angela Johnson started the PhD program in Health Psychology at the University of California, Merced in 2018. She earned her B.A. in psychology and M.A. in psychological research at Texas State University - San Marcos. Her research interests focus on promoting healthy behavior change, specifically looking at the social and environmental factors involved in food decision making and exercise behavior.

Email Angela

Bianca Hinojosa

Bianca Hinojosa started the Ph.D. program in Health Psychology at the University of California, Merced in 2019. She earned her B.A. in psychology at George Fox University and M.A. in experimental psychology at California State University, Fresno. Her research interests focus on social psychology and health, specifically looking at reactions to implicit bias.

Email Bianca

William Meese

Will started the PhD program in Health Psychology at University of California, Merced in 2020. He earned a B.A. in Psychology from Reed College in 2013 where he conducted independent research on stereotype threat. Will worked with an interdisciplinary team studying mindfulness-based relapse prevention for alcohol dependence. As a mental health practitioner at UCLA Health Semel Institute, Will worked with patients struggling with anorexia nervosa. Will is interested in understanding health disparities by conducting research that asks how psychological threats to the self influence self-regulation of health behavior.

Visit Will's Website: willmeesearch.com
Email Will

Undergraduate Students

Dr. Howell's MESH Lab, Fall 2020

From top to bottom & left to right:
Top Row: David Mejia, Jesus Palomares, Francisco 'Sal' Salazar, Angela Johnson (PhD Student), Angel Mariscal, Esmeralda Chaidez
Second Row: William Meese (PhD Student), Vivian Vera, Eliana Tovar, Fatima Rizvi, Zilay Ziliayi
Bottom Row: Dr. Jennifer Howell, Barbara Lopez, Navroop Saini, Audrey Goonetilleke, Alexa Corrales

Not pictured: Avia Gray (PhD Student), Bianca Hinojosa (PhD Student)
 

Join the MESH lab

Graduate Students


I am tentatively currently accepting graduate students (to begin in the 2023-2024 school year).

Details for those wishing to start Fall 2023: Applicants interested in joining the lab should submit their materials to the UCM graduate program http://graduatedivision.ucmerced.edu/prospective-students/how-apply.
Visit: http://psychology.ucmerced.edu/graduate-program for more information on applying.


Undergraduate Students


I recruit new students to work in my lab each semester. Research assistants are responsible for running participants in studies, helping with the development of study materials, piloting study materials, and entering and proofing data. As students advance, there can also be opportunities for lab management positions and individual or small-group research.

Undergraduates interested in working in my lab should send me and and Will Meese an email with their application form (link below) attached. The earlier the better!

I have four criteria in selecting undergraduate research assistants:

1. I require a two-semester commitment (Fall and Spring, or Spring and Fall; We may want volunteers over the summer, but it does not count toward the two-semester commitment).
2. Must be outgoing and extraverted.
3. Must be willing to work in the lab up to 8 hours per week (actual hours will vary throughout the semester) and attend a 1-hour weekly lab meeting (The lab meeting is at 10am on Fridays).
4. Must have completed introductory psychology with a B or better


Please note that we make decisions at the end of each semester for the next semester. So, if you apply early in the semester, it may be a little while before we make our decisions. To check on the status of your application, you can email Will Meese