Dr. Jessica Stern

Jessie is a Post Doctoral Research Fellow that joined the department in August 2019 to work with the Adolescence Research Group as well as the research labs of Tobias Grossman and Amrisha Vaish. She received her B.A. in Psychology from Pomona College in 2012 and Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Maryland in 2019. As a California native, she loves being outdoors, hiking and biking, reading by the Rivanna River, and helping with local ecological efforts. Beyond psychology, she has long-standing passions for the environment and social justice; here at UVA, she serves on the Office of Sustainability Teaching & Research Subcommittee and the Dept. of Psychology Race Ethnicity Gender & Sexuality (REGS) committee.

Research Interests

How do close relationships shape our capacity to care for others across the life span? Jessie's work examines the development of attachment, empathy, and prosocial behavior in infancy (with the UVA BabyLab) and adolescence (with the Adolescent Research Group). She's also interested in the power of empathy to promote positive relationships in adulthood, including romantic relationships, parent-child and teacher-student relationships, and more compassionate and equitable interactions between racial/ethnic groups.