Dr. Kailey Lawson, an assistant professor of psychology at Rhodes College, is making waves early in her career with her latest accolade. The Rhodes News reported that Dr. Lawson has been honored with the SAGE Emerging Scholar Award by the Society of Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), putting her research and academic achievements in the spotlight at a national level.
The award, a collaboration between SPSP and SAGE Publications, celebrates notable contributions to the field by scholars not long out of the gate from their doctoral programs. Having commenced her tenure at Rhodes College in 2023, after earning her Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis, Lawson's recognition at the SPSP annual meeting scheduled for February 2026 in Chicago is a testament to her impact despite recently joining the field.
Dr. Lawson's work is deeply rooted in understanding the complexities of human behavior. According to Rhodes News, her research centers on the "nature, development, and assessment of personality traits and the influence of these traits on mental health and academic achievement." With these interests at the forefront, she teaches courses at Rhodes in statistics, personality psychology, and adolescent development and plays a role in the college's pioneering data analytics program.
Apart from this latest award, she has received numerous other honors for her scholarly contributions, such as the Heritage Dissertation Award and Student Publication Award from SPSP. Before being honored with this award, Dr. Lawson had also previously secured the Emerging Scholar Award from the Association for Research in Personality, demonstrating her consistent trajectory in the pursuit of psychological understanding.
Dr. Lawson's publications include more than 20 peer-reviewed articles, and she is an esteemed member of editorial boards for the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and Personality and Social Psychology Review. In 2024, the Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science saw her potential by electing her to its executive committee. These achievements reflect her dedication to science and the advancement of her field.
