people

Marcella H. Boynton

Postdoctoral Associate

Marcy Boynton joined the Center as a postdoctoral associate in August 2009. She recently successfully defended her dissertation to receive a Ph.D. in social psychology at the University of Connecticut. The title of the dissertation was: The Impact of Acculturation on Health-Decision Making in a Young Latino Population: A Daily Diary Study.

Boynton's areas of specialization are attitude-behavior relations, acculturation, and the advancement of quantitative research methods. Her work has concentrated on how health intervention methods and content can be better informed by basic social psychology research, examining this issue using a variety of methods (e.g., meta-analysis, correlational and experimental studies, daily diary techniques) and focusing on a number of topics (e.g., smoking, alcohol use, HIV risk, cardiovascular health). Funded by both a predoctoral NRSA as well as an NSF doctoral dissertation improvement grant, Boynton’s dissertation was a daily diary study examining the impact of acculturation on HIV risk, alcohol use, exercise and nutrition in young Latinos.

Boynton actively participates in professional service opportunities, recently serving on the American Psychological Association (APA) Science Student Council, APA membership board and on the editorial board of the Journal of Social Issues. Currently, she is a member of the Society of Behavioral Medicine’s membership council and serves as an ad hoc reviewer for several major health and psychology journals.