School of Education

I am a tenured Professor in the Counseling and Counseling Psychology Programs at Indiana University. My research interests are in (a) positive psychology (especially the psychology of gratitude and the psychology of encouragement), (b) Asian/Asian American mental health (especially suicide-related outcomes), and (c) the psychology of men and masculinities. I coedited two books on the psychology of men and masculinities: the APA Handbook of Men and Masculinities (Wong & Wester, 2016) and the Psychology of Men and Masculinities (Levant & Wong, 2017).

I am a fellow of the American Psychological Association (Division 17, 45, and 51) and of the Asian American Psychological Association.

I am the Editor of the APA journal, Psychology and Men and Masculinities.

Regarding my clinical interests, I have developed a psychoeducational group program to cultivate gratitude.

I am open to admitting a doctoral student for the 2023/2024 academic year. Although my research spans several areas, I would be most interested in admitting students who have an interest in studying gratitude interventions and practices, because these reflect my main (but not exclusive) area of research over the next few years. Some of my ideas for future research on gratitude interventions can be found in this paper that is in press in the journal, Affective Science. The following are examples of the types of research questions I’m interested in exploring:

• What types of interpersonal gratitude expressions are positively perceived by gratitude recipients?
• What are the benefits of observing, receiving, and expressing gratitude in group settings?
• How might gratitude activities be used as an adjunctive intervention in psychotherapy?
• In what ways can gratitude be used as a social justice intervention?

If you are interested in applying to the Ph.D. program in Counseling Psychology and would like me to be your advisor, I hope the following information will be helpful to you:

1. Students who are interested in working with me are welcome to contact me via email. Please feel free to introduce yourself and ask me questions.
   I have a strong track record of admitting students of color. Most of my current advisees are students of color.
2. I value social justice – please click here for more information about the principles that have shaped my thinking on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
3. Mentoring doctoral students is one of my favorite activities!
4. I am more likely to be a good fit with you if (a) you have a strong and genuine interest in research and (b) your research interests align with mine.
5. Although I value the contributions of qualitative research, my research is primarily quantitative in nature.
6. If you’re interested in working with me, please state so explicitly in your personal statement. Also, I encourage you to propose a few research questions that you would be interested in exploring as a doctoral student.
7. My purpose in life is to promote mattering through words of affirmation, which includes enabling people to feel valued and to add value (Prilleltensky, 2020). I will readily admit that I'm not always successful, but I aspire to live out this mission through my research, teaching, mentoring, and service activities.