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.
  • Uppot, A., Raposo, S., Rosen, N. O., Corsini-Munt, S., Balzarini, R. N., & Muise, A. (2024). Responsiveness in the face of sexual challenges: The role of sexual growth and destiny beliefs. Journal of Sex Research, 61(2), 228–245.
  • Balzarini, R. N., Blair, K., Walter, M., & Handlarski, D. (2024). What is a marriage? The rise of more diverse unions. In Modern relationships: The evolution of romance, friendship, and family. Oxford University Press.
  • Rodrigues, D., Brooks, T., Balzarini, R. N., Moors, A., & Lopes, D. (2024). Internalized negativity, stigma, self- and partner dehumanization among non-monogamous individuals. Archives of Sexual Behavior.
  • Balzarini, R. N., & Muise. (n.d.). Does diversifying sexual need fulfilment across partners in polyamorous relationships buffer the detriments of unmet sexual ideals? Archives of Sexual Behavior.

Selected Awards

  • Award / Honor Recipient: Kenneth R. Haslam, MD Relationship Diversity Research Award, Kinsey Institute, Indiana University. January 2023
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Lester A. Kirkendall Outstanding Mentor Award, The Society of the Scientific Study of Sexuality. November 2023
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Kinsey Institute Affiliation, The Kinsey Institute, Indiana University. February 2022
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Pre-Registration Challenge Award ($1000), Open Science Framework. December 2018
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Ontario’s Trillium Scholarship ($160,000), Western University. August 2014 - August 2018

Selected Grants

  • Balzarini, Rhonda Nicole. "Virtually” connected: Examining the effects of a romantic partner’s presence during time of stress in virtual reality, Research Enhancement Program, Texas State University, $4000. (Funded: February 2024 - August 2024). Grant.
  • 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

Editor
Associate Editor for the Archives of Sexual Behavior
January 2024-Present
Co-Chair
The Porn, Sex Tech, and Sex Work Special Interest Group at the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS)
November 2023-Present
Member
Brownbag committee
August 2023-Present
Editor
Frontiers in Psychology (section on Social Psychology)
January 2023-Present
Member
Undergraduate Program Committee
September 2022-Present