Lab Director
Sarah Borowski, Ph.D.
Dr. Sarah Borowski is the director of the Peer Relations Lab. She is an Assistant Professor at Lehigh University in the Department of Psychology. Dr. Borowski received a B.A. from Elon University, an M.A. in Experimental Psychology at the College of William & Mary, and a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology at the University of Missouri.
Dr. Borowski’s research focuses on focuses on how close friendships contribute to adolescents’ development and well-being, psychophysiological reactivity within the context of friendship interactions, and the role of gender in adolescents’ peer experiences. An additional focus of her work involves using meta-analytic approaches to summarizing the literature in her areas of study.
Undergraduate Researchers
Catherine Adams
My name is Catherine Adams and I am a sophomore Psychology major with concentration in Social Psychology and minors in Marketing and Apparel Design. I am the director of Marketing for University Productions and am involved in various clubs at Lehigh including the Marketing Club, Women in Business and the Coffee Club. In Dr. Borowski’s Lab I work on transcribing the recordings of adolescents in their conversations with friends and work on downloading articles for the meta-analysis. In the future I would like to use my psychology degree in the business field either in marketing or organizational/industrial psychology.
Emi Arai
My name is Emi Arai and I am a junior Psychology major with a minor in Business. I am involved in Break the Silence on campus, which is a peer education organization out of the Office of Gender Violence Education & Support. I spent most of my teenage years working with adolescents and witnessing friendship dynamics firsthand, which led me to the Peer Relations Lab. I am hoping to pursue a counseling psychology career that allows me to continue doing so!
Nina Burghouts
My name is Nina Burghouts and I’m a sophomore in the college of arts and sciences, studying as a Psychology B.S. major. I am involved in Diversity Peer Educators at Lehigh, which a student lead organization aiming to have a more inclusive environment on Lehigh’s campus. In the lab, I work on transcribing audios in which adolescents describe stories based on a given outline. In the future, I would like to use my psychology degree to go into counseling or therapy.
Sarah Manthorp
My name is Sarah Manthorp and I’m a Junior with a Psychology and Health, Medicine, and Society major and a Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies minor. I’m on Lehigh’s Swim and Dive team and a part of a Lehigh Athletics leadership program that promotes inclusion, diversity and equity within the athletic community. In Dr.Borowski’s lab I work to transcribe adolescent conversations regarding how to plan a party, which helps to reveal the dynamics of gendered friendships. In the future I’m interested in many areas of psychology, but after graduation I’m looking to continue psychology research or working in a drug rehabilitation center to help others.
Sarah McDermott
My name is Sarah McDermott, and I am a sophomore Psychology major with a double minor in Anthropology and Data Science. I am involved as an Admissions Tour Guide and a Homework Club Site Leader for Lehigh’s Community Service Office. I am working to obtain a well-rounded education that blends quantitative and qualitative components, so I can pursue a career that benefits people via data-driven research and unique analysis.
Daphne Ochoa
My name is Daphne Ochoa and I’m a junior Psychology major with a minor in Health, Medicine and Society. I am involved in F1RST, a club on campus that aims to promote an inclusive community for first generation college students at Lehigh. I am also involved with LUMAPS, a club for minority students at Lehigh who are interested in going into a health related field. In Dr.Borowski’s lab, I work on transcribing audios that involve adolescents telling a story using a prompt outline. After graduation, I plan on applying to Physician Assistant programs!
Xin Sui
My name is Xin Sui. I’m a junior in Psychology major at Lehigh with a philosophy minor. I’m involved in the CARE lab, which investigates Strange Situations and attachments types between a child and mom. In Dr. Borowski’s lab, I download articles about gender and friendship behaviors between adolescents for a meta-analysis. On the other hand, I edit and compile physiological data that assessed adolescents skin conductance response (i.e., sweat) into a database. After Lehigh, I’m looking for a graduate school to pursue my interest in developmental or counseling psychology.
Graduate Researchers
Chelsea Cortright
My name is Chelsea and I am a first year Psychology Graduate Student. I am currently working with my advisor Dr. Danming An on research involving the contextual factors that impact the socioemotional development of children and adolescents. I am specifically interested in looking at identity development of children and adolescents and how both personal factors, such as mental health, and contextual factors such as parent and peer relationships, influence it.
Currently I am working on research with my advisor, as well as working at several labs within the Developmental Psychology department. I am also working as a teaching assistant for undergraduate courses. My goals are to complete my Ph.D program in Psychology, and to pursue a career in teaching and research at the university level.