Benjamin Karney (born 1968) is an American professor of
social psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the ...
at the
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...
interpersonal relationship
The concept of interpersonal relationship involves social associations, connections, or affiliations between two or more people. Interpersonal relationships vary in their degree of intimacy or self-disclosure, but also in their duration, in t ...
s and marriage, examining the effects of stress on marital processes, divorce rates in military marriages, intimate relationships among youth and young adults, and marriage in low-income populations.
Early life and education
Karney was born in 1968 in Los Angeles, to German and Israeli immigrants. Karney attended
Mirman School
Mirman School is an independent, co-educational school for highly gifted children located at 16180 Mulholland Drive in Bel-Air, Los Angeles, California, United States,
Karney attended
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
, with a degree in psychology in 1990. His most influential teacher at Harvard was Roger Brown, who inspired Karney to apply to the
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...
, social psychology program. He was also influenced by the work of Kurt Lewin and Stanley Milgram. Karney received the
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...
(APA) dissertation award for his work on how marriages changes: theoretical, methodological, and empirical considerations.
Career
Karney achieved his Ph.D. in social psychology from in June 1997, working with Thomas Bradbury. The same year, he accepted a position as an assistant professor of social psychology at the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
(UF). Karney has been honored by the professional community and received several awards, including the New Scholar Award from the International Network on Personal Relationships and, in 1996 and 1998, the Reuben Hill Research and Theory Award from the National Council on Family Relations. During his tenure at UF, he was given the Gerald R. Miller Award for Early Career Achievement by the International Association for Relationship Research and the Early Career Award by the Relationship Researchers Interest Group of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. Karney was also recognized by UF's Department of Psychology as a distinguished teacher. In 2004, Karney returned to Los Angeles, and since 2007 has been a Professor of Social Psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of California (UCLA). With Thomas Bradbury, Karney co-directs the Relationship Institute at UCLA. Karney currently serves on several editorial boards and reviews grants for the National Institute of Mental Health.
Karney has received grant support from the
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...
,
National Institute of Mental Health
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH, in turn, is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the prima ...
,
Administration for Children and Families
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is a division of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It is headed by the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Children and Families. It has a $49 billi ...
,
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...
, and the Fetzer Institute.
Books
Bradbury, T. N. & Karney, B. R. (2010). Intimate Relationships. New York: W. W. Norton.
Personal life
At UCLA, he was the faculty sponsor for the Scattertones a cappella group.