People

Dr Veronica Lamarche

Senior Lecturer
Department of Psychology
Dr Veronica Lamarche

Profile

Biography

Veronica Lamarche completed her PhD in Social-Personality Psychology in 2017 at the University at Buffalo, SUNY, in Buffalo, New York. She also holds a B.A. in Psychology (Honours) and Business which she completed in 2010 at the University of Waterloo, in Waterloo, Ontario. Veronica joined the department as a lecturer in July 2017. Veronica's research focuses on understanding how people regulate trust and dependence in their romantic relationships, and how feelings of uncertainty or vulnerability can influence relationship stability. Her work is guided by two main research questions: 1) What are the individual differences that predict greater relationship resiliency in the face of uncertainty; and, 2) Do self-regulatory systems managing responses to uncertainty outside of the relationship influence relationship regulatory responses within the relationship. Follow Veronica on Twitter: @v_lamarche .

Qualifications

  • PhD Social-Personality Psychology University at Buffalo, State University of New York, (2017)

  • M.A. Psychology University at Buffalo, State University of New York, (2015)

  • B.A. (Honours) Psychology & Business University of Waterloo, (2010)

Appointments

University of Essex

  • Senior Lecturer, Psychology, University of Essex (2020 - present)

  • Lecturer, Psychology, University of Essex (2017 - 2020)

Research and professional activities

Research interests

Trust and interdependence

Open to supervise

Motivated cognition and relationship maintenance

Open to supervise

Risk, vulnerability and uncertainty regulation

Open to supervise

Romantic relationships

Open to supervise

Teaching and supervision

Current teaching responsibilities

  • Understanding Our Place in the World (PS101)

  • Growing in the World (PS102)

  • Experiencing Emotion (PS103)

  • Thinking and the Mind (PS104)

  • The Social World (PS105)

  • The Social Brain (PS106)

  • From Me to We: Understanding Gender, Sexuality and Romantic Relationships (PS511)

Previous supervision

Shaaba Bilqees Lotun
Shaaba Bilqees Lotun
Thesis title: Social Media for Social Good: Understanding, Creating and Harnessing the Strength of Parasocial Relationships
Degree subject: Psychology
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 1/7/2022
Samuel James Ingram
Samuel James Ingram
Thesis title: Self-Curated Temptation: Attention to Alternatives in the Age of Social Media
Degree subject: Psychology
Degree type: Master of Science (by Dissertation)
Awarded date: 9/4/2020

Publications

Journal articles (41)

Lotun, S., Lamarche, VM., Matran-Fernandez, A. and Sandstrom, GM., (2024). People perceive parasocial relationships to be effective at fulfilling emotional needs. Scientific Reports. 14 (1), 8185-

Lotun, S., Lamarche, VM., Matran‑Fernandez, A. and Sandstrom, GM., (2024). Author Correction: People perceive parasocial relationships to be effective at fulfilling emotional needs. Scientific Reports. 14 (1), 9986-

Lamarche, VM., Kung, FYH., Finkel, EJ., Jayawickreme, E., Rattan, A. and Wheatley, T., (2024). How to give great research talks to any audience. Nature Human Behaviour. 8 (4), 616-621

Lamarche, VM., Blackie, LER. and McLean, KC., (2024). The story of ‘us’ is the story of ‘me’: A cross-sectional test of the influence of insecure attachment on narratives of romantic transgressions and high points. PLOS ONE. 19 (9), e0306838-e0306838

Jolles, D., Lamarche, VM., Rolison, JJ. and Juanchich, M., (2023). Who will I be when I retire? The role of organizational commitment, group memberships and retirement transition framing on older worker’s anticipated identity change in retirement. Current Psychology. 42 (18), 15727-15741

Murray, SL., Xia, J., Lamarche, VM., Seery, MD., McNulty, JK., Ward, DE., Griffin, D. and Hicks, LL., (2023). Sensitizing the behavioral-immune system: The power of social pain. Social Psychological and Personality Science. 14 (4), 371-380

Lamarche, VM., Tan, K., Stanton, SCE. and Carswell, KL., (2023). Editorial: Not so WEIRD after all? Relationship science in diverse samples and contexts. Frontiers in Psychology. 14

Dorrance Hall, E., Sharabi, LL., James-Hawkins, L., Croft, A., Alexopoulos, C., Roache, DJ., Lamarche, V., Uhlich, M. and Timmermans, E., (2023). Needing Space During Lockdown: A Longitudinal Test of Relational Turbulence Theory in the Context of Conversations About Physical and Emotional Space During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Communication Research. 50 (8), 943-964

Murray, SL., Xia, J., Lamarche, VM., Seery, MD., McNulty, JK., Jung, H., Griffin, DW., Hicks, LL. and Dubois, D., (2023). A Moth to a Flame? Fulfilling Connectedness Needs Through Romantic Relationships Protects Conspiracy Theorists Against COVID-19 Misinformation. Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology. 4, 100111-100111

Murray, SL., Xia, J., Lamarche, VM., Seery, MD., McNulty, JK., Griffin, DW., Ward, DE., Han, J., Hicks, LL. and Dubois, D., (2023). A Moth to a Flame? Fulfilling Connectedness Needs Through Romantic Relationships Protects Conspiracy Theorists Against COVID-19 Misinformation. Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology. 4

Laughlin, E., Pettitt, M., Lamarche, VM. and James-Hawkins, L., (2023). Just one shot? The contextual effects of matched and unmatched intoxication on perceptions of consent in ambiguous alcohol-fueled sexual encounters. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 38 (21-22), 11445-11474

Murray, SL., McNulty, JK., Xia, J., Lamarche, VM., Seery, MD., Ward, DE., Griffin, DW., Hicks, LL. and Jung, HY., (2023). Pursuing Safety in Social Connection Regulates the Risk-Regulation, Social-Safety and Behavioral-Immune Systems. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 125 (3), 519-547

Lamarche, V. and James-Hawkins, L., (2022). It Happened to a Friend of Mine: The Influence of Perspective-Taking on the Acknowledgement of Sexual Assault Following Ambiguous Sexual Encounters. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 37 (9-10), NP7343-NP7368

Lamarche, VM., (2022). Interdependent Transformations: Integrating Insights from Relationship Science to Advance Post-Traumatic Growth and Personality Change Research. European Journal of Personality. 36 (4), 640-652

Lotun, S., Lamarche, V., Samothrakis, S., Sandstrom, G. and Matran-Fernandez, A., (2022). Parasocial relationships on YouTube reduce prejudice towards mental health issues. Scientific Reports. 12 (1), 16565-

Lamarche, VM., Seery, MD., Murray, SL., Kondrak, CL., Saltsman, TL. and Streamer, L., (2022). Lovers in a dangerous time: Ecologically motivated relationship safety regulation. Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology. 3, 100061-100061

Gutierrez-Sigut, E., Lamarche, VM., Rowley, K., Lago, EF., Pardo-Guijarro, MJ., Saenz, I., Frigola, B., Frigola, S., Aliaga, D. and Goldberg, L., (2022). How do face masks impact communication amongst deaf/HoH people?. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 7 (1), 81-

Sun, Q., Geeraert, N. and Lamarche, V., (2022). Home is Where the Heart is: Implications of Dyadic Acculturation for Migrant Couples' Personal and Relational Well-being. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 50 (4), 550-570

Murray, SL., Xia, J., Lamarche, VM., Seery, M., McNulty, JK., Griffin, DW., Ward, DE. and Hicks, LL., (2022). Trust as a daily defense against collective disease threats. Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology. 3, 100071-100071

Rolison, J. and Lamarche, V., (2022). Do older adults construct more emotionally gratifying social environments than younger adults? Evidence from a social network decision task. Current Psychology. 42 (33), 29418-29434

Lamarche, VM., Atkinson, C. and Croft, A., (2021). A Cognitive Uncoupling: Masculinity Threats and the Rejection of Relationship Interdependence. Social Psychological and Personality Science. Online (6), 920-929

Saltsman, TL., Seery, MD., Ward, DE., Radsvick, TM., Panlilio, ZA., Lamarche, VM. and Kondrak, CL., (2021). Facing the Facets: No Association Between Dispositional Mindfulness Facets and Positive Momentary Stress Responses During Active Stressors. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 47 (7), 1057-1070

Murray, S., Lamarche, VM., Seery, M., Jung, HY., Griffin, D. and Brinkman, C., (2021). The Social-Safety System: Fortifying Relationships in the Face of the Unforeseeable. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 120 (1), 99-130

Saltsman, TL., Seery, MD., Ward, DE., Lamarche, VM. and Kondrak, CL., (2021). Is satisficing really satisfying? Satisficers exhibit greater threat than maximizers during choice overload.. Psychophysiology. 58 (1), e13705-

Lamarche, VM. and Rolison, JJ., (2021). Hand-in-hand in the golden years: Cognitive interdependence, partner involvement in retirement planning, and the transition into retirement. PLoS One. 16 (12), e0261251-e0261251

Alexopoulos, C., Timmermans, E., Sharabi, LL., Roaché, DJ., Croft, A., Dorrance Hall, E., James-Hawkins, L., Lamarche, V. and Uhlich, M., (2021). Settling down without settling: Perceived changes in partner preferences in response to COVID-19 concern. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. 38 (6), 1901-1919

Murray, SL., Seery, MD., Lamarche, VM., Jung, HY., Saltsman, TL., Griffin, DW., Dubois, D., Xia, J., Ward, DE. and McNulty, J., (2021). Looking for Safety in all the Right Places: When Threatening Political Reality Strengthens Family Relationship Bonds. Social Psychological and Personality Science. 12 (7), 1193-1202

Lamarche, VM., Seery, MD., Kondrak, CL., Saltsman, TL. and Streamer, L., (2020). Clever girl: Benevolent sexism and cardiovascular threat. Biological Psychology. 149, 107781-107781

Lamarche, VM., (2020). Socially connected and COVID-19 prepared: The influence of sociorelational safety on perceived importance of COVID-19 precautions and trust in government responses.. Social Psychological Bulletin. 15 (4)

Murray, SL., Seery, MD., Lamarche, VM., Kondrak, CL. and Gomillion, S., (2019). Implicitly imprinting the past on the present: Automatic partner attitudes and the transition to parenthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 116 (1), 69-100

Le, PQ., Saltsman, TL., Seery, MD., Ward, DE., Kondrak, CL. and Lamarche, VM., (2019). When a small self means manageable obstacles: Spontaneous self-distancing predicts divergent effects of awe during a subsequent performance stressor. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 80, 59-66

Saltsman, TL., Seery, MD., Kondrak, CL., Lamarche, VM. and Streamer, L., (2019). Too Many Fish in the Sea: A Motivational Examination of the Choice Overload Experience. Biological Psychology. 145, 17-30

Lamarche, VM. and Seery, MD., (2019). Come on, give it to me baby: Self-esteem, narcissism, and endorsing sexual coercion following social rejection. Personality and Individual Differences. 149, 315-325

Murray, SL., Lamarche, VM. and Seery, MD., (2018). Romantic relationships as shared reality defense. Current Opinion in Psychology. 23, 34-37

Streamer, L., Seery, MD., Kondrak, CL., Lamarche, VM. and Saltsman, TL., (2017). Not I, but she: The beneficial effects of self-distancing on challenge/threat cardiovascular responses. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 70, 235-241

Murray, SL., Lamarche, VM., Gomillion, S., Seery, MD. and Kondrak, C., (2017). In defense of commitment: The curative power of violated expectations in relationships.. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 113 (5), 697-729

Seery, MD., Kondrak, CL., Streamer, L., Saltsman, T. and Lamarche, VM., (2016). Preejection period can be calculated using R peak instead of Q. Psychophysiology. 53 (8), 1232-1240

Gomillion, S., Murray, SL. and Lamarche, VM., (2015). Losing the Wind Beneath Your Wings The Prospective Influence of Romantic Breakup on Goal Progress. Social Psychological and Personality Science. 6 (5), 513-520

Gomillion, S., Lamarche, VM., Murray, SL. and Harris, B., (2014). Protected By Your Self-Control The Influence of Partners’ Self-Control on Actors’ Responses to Interpersonal Risk. Social Psychological and Personality Science. 5 (8), 873-882

Lamarche, VM. and Murray, SL., (2014). Selectively Myopic? Self-Esteem and Attentional Bias in Response to Potential Relationship Threats. Social Psychological and Personality Science. 5 (7), 786-795

Murray, SL., Gomillion, S., Holmes, JG., Harris, B. and Lamarche, V., (2013). The dynamics of relationship promotion: Controlling the automatic inclination to trust.. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 104 (2), 305-334

Book chapters (1)

James-Hawkins, L. and Lamarche, VM., (2023). Two Wrongs Make It Right. In: Consent. Routledge. 105- 117

Reports and Papers (1)

Daughters, K., Meadows, A., Lamarche, V., Geeraert, N., Loakthar, Z. and Humphris, E., Understanding the sociocultural barriers to mental healthcare among Muslim women in Colchester

Grants and funding

2023

Relationships and Social Structures: Testing the Long-term Consequences of the Social-Safety System among Couples from High and Low-Income Households

University of California, Los Angeles (Funder)

The impact of cardiovascular stress responses on women's career engagement

The Royal Society

2022

Understanding the sociocultural barriers to mental healthcare among Muslim women in Colchester

University of Essex (ESRC IAA)

Family Resilience: Reflections on Lessons Learned During COVID and the Happy Families Campaign

University of Essex (CPPE)

A Typology of Completed Suicides in Essex using Coroner Data

University of Essex (ESRC IAA)

A Typology of Completed Suicides in Essex using Coroner Data

Essex County Council

2021

Relationships and Social Structures: Testing the Long-term Consequences of the Social-Safety System among Couples from High and Low-Income Households

University of California, Los Angeles (Funder)

An Investigation into the Associations Between Masculinity Threats and Intimate Partner Violence Among Straight and Gay Men

British Academy

2020

Family Resilience at the Front Lines of COVID-19

University of Essex (ESRC IAA)

Family Resilience at the Front Lines of COVID-19

University of Essex (ESRC IAA)

2018

The Impact of Befriending Programs on the Health & Well-being of Socially Isolated Older Adults

University of Essex

Contact

v.lamarche@essex.ac.uk
+44 (0) 1206 873818

Location:

2.711, Colchester Campus