Faculty Name:Katherine Alexander, PhD

Dr. Alexander has long been interested in the way that social relationships affect the body, brain, and behavior. Early in her career, she studied how pair bonding alters the growth of new neurons in the brains of birds. She then transitioned to investigating the role of attachment style in emotional eating and binge eating in humans. Currently, she is working with her students to investigate the social and emotional mechanisms that influence eating behavior. This work also deals with the issues of weight related prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination. Dr. Alexander enjoys connecting students with science. Please contact her if you are interested in research opportunities in her lab.

Areas of Interest

• Social/emotional aspects of eating behavior: emotional eating, binge eating, weight bias
• Social psychology
• Team-based learning/group dynamics

Publications

• Alexander, K.E. (2021) Attachment insecurity and enjoyment of breastfeeding among women in online support groups: The mediating role of self-efficacy and maternal body image., Breastfeeding Review, 29 (1), 31-38
• Alexander, K.E. (2017). “Attachment anxiety is associated with a fear of becoming fat which is mediated by binge eating,” PeerJ, 5:e3034  Click to view
• Alexander, K. E., & Siegel, H. I. (2013). Perceived hunger mediates the relationship between attachment anxiety and emotional eating. Eating behaviors, 14(3), 374-377.
• Dios, A. M., Alexander, K., Hanson, S. J., & Cheng, M. F. (2013). Specific neural representation for a conceptual set of behavior: pair bonding. Research and Reports in Biology, 4, 33-38.
• Cheng, M. F., Alexander, K., Zhou, S., Bonder, E., & Chuang, L. S. (2011). Newborn GnRH neurons in the adult forebrain of the ring dove. Hormones and behavior, 60(1), 94-104.