David Chester

Dr. David Chester is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), where he directs the Social Psychology and Neurology (SPN) Lab and the VCU Social Psychology Doctoral Program. His research focuses on understanding the psychological and biological mechanisms underlying human aggression, including the role of neural reward systems and emotion regulation.

• Education: Ph.D. in Social Psychology (University of Kentucky, 2016)
• Research Highlights: Aggression as a reward-seeking behavior, neural correlates of revenge, mindfulness interventions for aggression
• Teaching: Graduate and undergraduate courses in Social Psychology and Personality

The SPN Lab’s research, funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, explores how social pain, personality traits, and neural processes interact to drive aggressive behavior. His work has been recognized with awards such as the 2019 VCU Psychology Outstanding Faculty Scholarship Award and the 2016 International Society for Research on Aggression Young Investigator Program Award.

Dr. Chester’s recent publications examine topics like the reinforcement model of aggression, prosocial aggression, and the measurement of aggression expectancies. His articles frequently employ neuroimaging and behavioral paradigms to dissect the complexities of aggressive responses.

• Scientific Awards:
  • VCU Psychology Outstanding Faculty Scholarship Award (2019)
  • Preregistration Challenge Winner (Center for Open Science, 2018)
  • Rising Star (Association for Psychological Science, 2017)
  • Young Investigator Program Award (International Society for Research on Aggression, 2016)
  • Dissertation Research Award (Heritage Foundation, 2015)