Generously funded by the Templeton Religion Trust, this grant will study patience through asking 6 big questions regarding the: 1) definition, 2) sibling constructs, 3) dynamic processes and development, 4) person-situation interactions, 5) functions, and 6) cultivation of patience. Studying people facing challenges can shed light on what predicts whether a person in adversity develops patience and on mechanisms by which patience enables a person to act and live well in adversity.
Considering patience as a state, trait, and virtue, this project aims to discover the dynamic processes by which patience is enacted in daily life and across the life course, ways persons and situations interact to facilitate or inhibit patience, functions of patience, and mechanisms by which people cultivate patience as a virtue. A mixed-methods longitudinal study will collect data 4 times (1 yr. apart) from participants recruited from 3 samples who face adverse circumstances: parents of adolescents with disabilities, Muslim-American parents of adolescents, and parents of adolescents in a diverse sample in Southern California. Data collected includes quantitative self-/informant-reports, qualitative interviews, lab tasks, Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA), and Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) activity. Philosophers will be embedded in research sites to advise on study design, findings interpretation, and synthesis with theory. The project will run an RFP for early-career researchers in psychology, who will engage in multiple phases of training, and an RFP for early-career scholars in philosophy/religion to participate in a 1-week summer seminar. Eminent scholars in religion/theology will produce public media discussing patience as a resource for interfaith engagement, and we will award prizes for the best religion/philosophy articles on patience.
Considering patience as a state, trait, and virtue, this project aims to discover the dynamic processes by which patience is enacted in daily life and across the life course, ways persons and situations interact to facilitate or inhibit patience, functions of patience, and mechanisms by which people cultivate patience as a virtue. A mixed-methods longitudinal study will collect data 4 times (1 yr. apart) from participants recruited from 3 samples who face adverse circumstances: parents of adolescents with disabilities, Muslim-American parents of adolescents, and parents of adolescents in a diverse sample in Southern California. Data collected includes quantitative self-/informant-reports, qualitative interviews, lab tasks, Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA), and Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) activity. Philosophers will be embedded in research sites to advise on study design, findings interpretation, and synthesis with theory. The project will run an RFP for early-career researchers in psychology, who will engage in multiple phases of training, and an RFP for early-career scholars in philosophy/religion to participate in a 1-week summer seminar. Eminent scholars in religion/theology will produce public media discussing patience as a resource for interfaith engagement, and we will award prizes for the best religion/philosophy articles on patience.
Leadership Team
Sarah Schnitker
Dr. Sarah Schnitker is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Baylor University as well as the Director of the BRIGHTS (Baylor Research in Growth and Human Thriving Science) Center. She holds a PhD and an MA in Personality and Social Psychology from the University of California, Davis, and a BA in Psychology from Grove City College. Schnitker studies virtue and character development in adolescents and emerging adults, with a focus on the role of spirituality and religion in virtue formation. She specializes in the study of patience, self-control, gratitude, generosity, and thrift. Schnitker has published more than 100 peer-review articles and edited chapters, and she has procured more than $10 million in funding as a principal investigator on multiple research grants. Schnitker is an Associate Editor for Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, an Editorial Board member for Journal of Research in Personality, and a co-editor of the Handbook of Positive Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality. She is a dedicated mentor, having served as dissertation advisor for more than 20 doctoral students, whom she helps to cultivate intellectual virtues alongside scientific competencies. She is the recipient of the Virginia Sexton American Psychological Association’s Division 36 Mentoring Award and Student International Positive Psychology Association Mentor Award.
Kate Sweeny
Kate Sweeny is a Professor of Psychology and the Associate Dean for Graduate Academic Affairs at the University of California, Riverside. She earned her doctorate degree in social psychology at the University of Florida, where she first became interested in uncertainty and topics relevant to patience. Her primary research focus for over a decade has been the stressful experience of awaiting important news. She has published more than 100 papers and chapters on waiting and related topics, which have collectively revealed complex and uniquely challenging dynamics of stress and coping during uncertain waiting periods. This work has been covered extensively in the media, including on NPR, on various podcasts, and in the New York Times and Washington Post. She has now turned her attention to the broader experience of patience. She brings together her expertise in affective science, well-being science, and social, personality, and health psychology to develop new theoretical and empirical approaches to the psychology of patience.
Kate Sweeny is a Professor of Psychology and the Associate Dean for Graduate Academic Affairs at the University of California, Riverside. She earned her doctorate degree in social psychology at the University of Florida, where she first became interested in uncertainty and topics relevant to patience. Her primary research focus for over a decade has been the stressful experience of awaiting important news. She has published more than 100 papers and chapters on waiting and related topics, which have collectively revealed complex and uniquely challenging dynamics of stress and coping during uncertain waiting periods. This work has been covered extensively in the media, including on NPR, on various podcasts, and in the New York Times and Washington Post. She has now turned her attention to the broader experience of patience. She brings together her expertise in affective science, well-being science, and social, personality, and health psychology to develop new theoretical and empirical approaches to the psychology of patience.
Anne Jeffrey
Dr. Anne Jeffrey is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Affiliate Professor of Medical Humanities at Baylor University, as well as Affiliate Professor of Ethics at Baylor College of Medicine. Her research focuses primarily on moral development within a virtue ethical framework. She has also published on topics in philosophy of religion, metaethics, and political philosophy. She has written extensively on Aristotelian virtue ethics and her forthcoming monograph, Being and Becoming Good: on the Diversity of Human Goodnesses and Virtues (Oxford University Press) defends a revisionary version of Aristotelian ethics integrating insights from the social and biological sciences. In 2019-2021, she collaborated with Dr. Krista Mehari, Dr. Joseph Currier, Marie Chastang, and a community in Mobile, Alabama to create, implement, and test a virtue-promoting intervention—Empowered— for adolescents in a high-violence urban area through a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation. Empowered is currently being used and tested in a community in Venezuela. Her collaborative work at the intersection of ethics and psychology has appeared in venues such as Journal of Personality and Journal of Positive Psychology.
Dr. Anne Jeffrey is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Affiliate Professor of Medical Humanities at Baylor University, as well as Affiliate Professor of Ethics at Baylor College of Medicine. Her research focuses primarily on moral development within a virtue ethical framework. She has also published on topics in philosophy of religion, metaethics, and political philosophy. She has written extensively on Aristotelian virtue ethics and her forthcoming monograph, Being and Becoming Good: on the Diversity of Human Goodnesses and Virtues (Oxford University Press) defends a revisionary version of Aristotelian ethics integrating insights from the social and biological sciences. In 2019-2021, she collaborated with Dr. Krista Mehari, Dr. Joseph Currier, Marie Chastang, and a community in Mobile, Alabama to create, implement, and test a virtue-promoting intervention—Empowered— for adolescents in a high-violence urban area through a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation. Empowered is currently being used and tested in a community in Venezuela. Her collaborative work at the intersection of ethics and psychology has appeared in venues such as Journal of Personality and Journal of Positive Psychology.
Other Research Team Members
Juliette Ratchford
Dr. Juliette Ratchford is a postdoctoral fellow at Wake Forest University. She earned a B.S. from Gardner-Webb University and a Ph.D. in social psychology from Baylor University. Her main research interests lie in the intersection of personality, social, and positive psychology. She is specifically interested in developing contextually-valid, personality-based measures of virtue. Her measurement work to date focuses on goal-based approaches to virtue.
Dr. Juliette Ratchford is a postdoctoral fellow at Wake Forest University. She earned a B.S. from Gardner-Webb University and a Ph.D. in social psychology from Baylor University. Her main research interests lie in the intersection of personality, social, and positive psychology. She is specifically interested in developing contextually-valid, personality-based measures of virtue. Her measurement work to date focuses on goal-based approaches to virtue.
Erik Carter
Erik Carter, Ph.D., is the Luther Sweet Endowed Chair in Disabilities at Baylor University and Executive Director of the Baylor Center for Developmental Disabilities. He received his doctorate in research methods and severe disabilities from Vanderbilt University. His research and writing focus on principle-driven and research-based strategies for promoting inclusion and valued roles in school, work, congregational, and community settings for adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities. One longstanding strand addresses the spiritual lives and flourishing of people with disabilities and their families, the practices and postures of religious communities related to disability, and faith-based partnerships with disability service systems. He has published 220 peer-reviewed journal articles, 42 chapters, and 7 books. In addition, he has been an investigator on more than 25 major grants and contracts addressing services and supports for individuals with disabilities and their families, totaling more than $32 million. These include grants from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs, Office of Postsecondary Education, and Institute for Education Sciences, the Administration on Community Living, the Lilly Endowment, and the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. He has served as editor or associate editor for six leading journals.
Erik Carter, Ph.D., is the Luther Sweet Endowed Chair in Disabilities at Baylor University and Executive Director of the Baylor Center for Developmental Disabilities. He received his doctorate in research methods and severe disabilities from Vanderbilt University. His research and writing focus on principle-driven and research-based strategies for promoting inclusion and valued roles in school, work, congregational, and community settings for adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities. One longstanding strand addresses the spiritual lives and flourishing of people with disabilities and their families, the practices and postures of religious communities related to disability, and faith-based partnerships with disability service systems. He has published 220 peer-reviewed journal articles, 42 chapters, and 7 books. In addition, he has been an investigator on more than 25 major grants and contracts addressing services and supports for individuals with disabilities and their families, totaling more than $32 million. These include grants from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs, Office of Postsecondary Education, and Institute for Education Sciences, the Administration on Community Living, the Lilly Endowment, and the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. He has served as editor or associate editor for six leading journals.
Terrill Saxon
Terrill Saxon, Ph.D., Professor of Educational Psychology and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Global Engagement at Baylor University. He received his doctorate of Educational Psychology and Research from the University of Kansas. His research has focused on parenting behaviors that promote language and cognitive development in infants and young children, cross-cultural contexts of education, positive youth development programs and underserved youth. He has published over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles. He has also been an investigator on grants addressing at-risk and underserved youth.
Terrill Saxon, Ph.D., Professor of Educational Psychology and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Global Engagement at Baylor University. He received his doctorate of Educational Psychology and Research from the University of Kansas. His research has focused on parenting behaviors that promote language and cognitive development in infants and young children, cross-cultural contexts of education, positive youth development programs and underserved youth. He has published over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles. He has also been an investigator on grants addressing at-risk and underserved youth.
Sarah Mire
Sarah Mire, PhD is Associate Professor of School Psychology and Faculty Affiliate for the Baylor Center for Developmental Disabilities, as well as director for the School Psychology Autism Research Collaboration (*sparc) and Core Faculty for the LoneStar LEND (Leadership Education in Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities). She earned her PhD at the University of Houston. Dr. Mire is an applied researcher whose scholarship focuses on enhancing capacity of and strengthening partnerships between important adults in the lives of autistic youth across home, school, community, and medical settings. She has published more than 50 manuscripts and book chapters; her work as a principal or co-investigator has been supported by federal, state, and foundation mechanisms.
Sarah Mire, PhD is Associate Professor of School Psychology and Faculty Affiliate for the Baylor Center for Developmental Disabilities, as well as director for the School Psychology Autism Research Collaboration (*sparc) and Core Faculty for the LoneStar LEND (Leadership Education in Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities). She earned her PhD at the University of Houston. Dr. Mire is an applied researcher whose scholarship focuses on enhancing capacity of and strengthening partnerships between important adults in the lives of autistic youth across home, school, community, and medical settings. She has published more than 50 manuscripts and book chapters; her work as a principal or co-investigator has been supported by federal, state, and foundation mechanisms.
Elizabeth Davis
Elizabeth Davis is a Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside and a Faculty Equity Advisor for the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. She is a developmental psychologist whose research focuses on cognition-emotion interactions in childhood, how children learn to regulate their negative emotions and stress, the psychobiology of emotional development, and the sociocultural contexts (like the parent-child relationship and broader environment) that shape child development. She earned her doctorate in Psychology and Social Behavior from the University of California, Irvine in 2009 and completed postdoctoral training in Psychology at the Pennsylvania State University from 2009-2012. Since joining the faculty at UC Riverside in 2012, her research has primarily considered links between childhood experiences of emotion and emotion regulation for subsequent health and well-being, psychopathology, and learning. Her expertise in developmental and affective science, psychophysiology and psychobiology, and social contexts of development can be leveraged to inform novel theoretical and empirical approaches to the psychology of patience.
Eranda Jayawickreme
Eranda Jayawickreme is the Harold W. Tribble Professor of Psychology and Senior Research Fellow at the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University. He earned a B.A. from Franklin and Marshall College and a Ph.D. in positive and social/personality psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on post-traumatic growth, personality, character, and well-being. His awards include the 2023 Early Career Research Award from the International Society for the Study of Existential Psychology, the 2015 Rising Star award from the Association for Psychological Science, Wake Forest University’s Award for Excellence in Research, and a Mellon Refugee Initiative Fund Fellowship. His work has been profiled in the New York Times, the BBC, the Guardian, NPR (including on NPR's Hidden Brain), the Philadelphia Inquirer, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, and Slate. He is currently co-editor of Social Psychological and Personality Science, as well as an associate editor for the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: PPID, and Personality and Social Psychology Review.
Merve Balkaya-Ince
Dr. Merve Balkaya-Ince is an Applied Developmental Psychologist whose research specializes in the intersection of culture, context, and minority youth development, with a primary interest in Muslim American adolescents’ character development. Currently, she serves as an Assistant Research Scientist in the Psychology and Neuroscience Department at Baylor University and is preparing to join Wake Forest University as an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Fall 2024. Her research delves into the nuanced interplay between cultural dynamics and the positive development of Muslim American adolescents, with a particular interest in factors influencing their character development. She has received over $1.2 Million in funding for her research from various national and international organizations and has published in a variety of esteemed journals.
Merve Balkaya-Ince
Dr. Merve Balkaya-Ince is an Applied Developmental Psychologist whose research specializes in the intersection of culture, context, and minority youth development, with a primary interest in Muslim American adolescents’ character development. Currently, she serves as an Assistant Research Scientist in the Psychology and Neuroscience Department at Baylor University and is preparing to join Wake Forest University as an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Fall 2024. Her research delves into the nuanced interplay between cultural dynamics and the positive development of Muslim American adolescents, with a particular interest in factors influencing their character development. She has received over $1.2 Million in funding for her research from various national and international organizations and has published in a variety of esteemed journals.
Kendall Cotton Bronk
Dr. Kendall Cotton Bronk is the Principal Investigator for the Adolescent Moral Development Lab and a Professor of Psychology in the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the Claremont Graduate University. She is a developmental scientist interested in studying and promoting positive youth development and the moral growth of young people. Along with studying character strengths, including humility, gratitude, hope, and patience, she has most commonly investigated young people’s purposes in life. She has published more than 60 journal articles and book chapters, and her research has been featured on NPR, in Forbes Magazine, and in the Wall Street Journal. Her work has been funded by the Spencer Foundation, the John Templeton Foundation, the Templeton Religion Trust, the Walton Family Foundation, and the Fulbright Foundation.