Faculty Profile for Dr. Rhonda Nicole Balzarini

profile photo for Dr. Rhonda Nicole Balzarini
Dr. Rhonda Nicole Balzarini
Assistant Professor — Psychology
UAC 253
phone: (512) 245-2526
Scholarly/Creative Work
Awards
Grants
Service

Biography Section

Biography and Education

 Dr. Balzarini received a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Women's and Gender Studies from Sonoma State University in 2009. She assisted in labs at Harvard, University Massachusetts Boston, and Boston College from 2010-2012 before completing a Masters in Science from Stony Brook in 2013. Dr. Balzarini pursued a Ph.D. from Western University from 2014 to 2018 and received the prestigious Trillium Award to fund her doctoral studies. Dr. Balzarini then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at York University from 2018-2019 before beginning at Texas State as an Assistant Professor in the Psychology department.

Selected Scholarly/Creative Work

  • Balzarini, R. N., Muise, A., Dobson, K. D., Kohut, T., Raposo, S., & Campbell, L. (2021). The detriments of unmet sexual ideals and buffering effect of sexual responsiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
  • Bevan, J., Murphy, M., Lannutti, P., Slatcher, R., & Balzarini, R. N. (2023). A descriptive literature review of early research on COVID-19 and close relationships. Journal of Personal and Social Relationships.
  • Uppot, A., Raposo, S., Rosen, N. O., Corsini-Munt, S., Balzarini, R. N., & Muise, A. (n.d.). Responsiveness in the face of sexual challenges: The role of sexual growth and destiny beliefs. Journal of Sex Research.
  • Mogilski, J., Rodrigues, D., Lehmiller, J., & Balzarini, R. N. (2023). Maintaining multi-partner relationships: Evolution, sexual ethics, and consensual non-monogamy. In The Oxford handbook of evolutionary psychology and romantic relationships. Oxford Publishing.
  • Rodrigues, D., de Visser, R., Lopes, D., Prada, M., Garrido, undefined M., & Balzarini, R. N. (n.d.). Prevent2Protect project: Regulatory focus differences in sexual health knowledge and practices. Archives of Sexual Behavior.

Selected Awards

  • Award / Honor Recipient: Kenneth R. Haslam, MD Relationship Diversity Research Award, Kinsey Institute, Indiana University. December 2022 - Present
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Kinsey Institute Affiliation, The Kinsey Institute, Indiana University. February 2022 - Present
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Pre-Registration Challenge Award ($1000), Open Science Framework. December 2018 - Present
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Graduate Travel Award ($500), International Association of Relationship Research. March 2018 - Present
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Graduate Travel Award ($500), Society for Personality and Social Psychology. February 2018 - Present

Selected Grants

  • Balzarini, Rhonda Nicole (Principal), Ijzerman, Hans (Co-Principal), Moors, Amy (Co-Principal). How technology is changing our social relationships: Current evidence and future research directions, Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), Private / Foundation / Corporate, $7000. (Submitted: 2020, Funded: April 2020 - April 2021). Grant.
  • Muise, Amy (Principal), Balzarini, Rhonda Nicole (Co-Principal). “Virtually” connected: Relational self-expansion in virtual reality can enhance couples’ satisfaction, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Development Grant, Federal, $64830. (Funded: December 2019 - December 2021). Grant.
  • Balzarini, Rhonda Nicole (Principal). Virtually connected: Can virtual reality technology foster closeness and intimacy in romantic relationships?, Mitacs and Facebook, Federal, $120000. (Funded: June 2019 - September 2020). Grant.
  • Balzarini, Rhonda Nicole (Principal). Keeping the spark alive: How novelty and responsiveness can enhance intimate relationships, Mitacs and Standard Innovations, Private / Foundation / Corporate, $110000. (Funded: June 2018 - June 2020). Grant.

Selected Service Activities

Member
Undergraduate Program Committee
September 2022-Present
Editorial Review Board Member
Frontiers in Psychology (section on Gender, Sex, and Sexualities)
September 15, 2022-Present
Member
Inclusive Excellence Committee
September 2021-Present
Reviewer / Referee
Sexuality and Psychology
November 2020-Present
Co-Chair
The Porn, Sex Tech, and Sex Work Special Interest Group at the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS)
November 2020-Present