Rebecca Carey

Rebecca Carey is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Princeton University's School of Arts and Sciences, where she conducts research on social class as a cultural context that shapes psychological processes through relationships. Her work examines how social class influences close relationships and how these relationships either mitigate or exacerbate social disparities.

Dr. Carey received her Ph.D. from Stanford University and maintains the Adversity and Relationships in Context Lab at Princeton. Her research addresses two central questions: how social class shapes the nature of close relationships, and what role close relationships play in mitigating or exacerbating disparities across social class.

Her research interests focus on how economic inequality in the U.S. shapes people's experiences through social class, which determines health, happiness, and success. She examines how social class contexts foster different relational realities - with lower class contexts creating dense, interdependent networks that promote survival, and higher class contexts creating diverse, loosely connected networks that promote opportunity. Her work bridges psychology, sociology, and public policy to address social inequality.

Dr. Carey's publications reveal a consistent focus on social class as a fundamental cultural context, with recent work examining first-generation college students, pandemic effects on inequality, and the role of cross-race and cross-class interactions in educational settings. Her research demonstrates how relational structures differ across class contexts and how these differences impact educational outcomes, health disparities, and social mobility.

Scientific Awards:

• President's Award for Distinguished Teaching

Dr. Carey advises several graduate students including Priscilla Diaz-Gonzalez, Nicole Columbaro Johnson, and Madeline Paxson. Her research has been supported by various grants focused on understanding social class disparities in educational and health contexts. She has developed innovative methodologies for conducting research with people in lower-socioeconomic-status contexts, emphasizing ethical considerations and cultural sensitivity.

At Princeton, Dr. Carey leads the Adversity and Relationships in Context Lab, which brings together graduate and undergraduate researchers to investigate how social class shapes relationships and psychological processes. The lab focuses on both theoretical contributions to understanding class-based cultural models and practical applications for reducing inequality through relationship-focused interventions.