Erika Langley

Professor Langley was born and raised in Southern California and attended UC Irvine, where she double majored in cognitive psychology and studio art. Her honors thesis combined both of her passions: an art exhibit titled “Prevarication” and a thesis paper exploring how personality and emotion can be expressed through portraiture. From early on, she was interested in exploring the more “positive” side of psychology. Two classes in particular stuck with her and later inspired her research pursuits: Psychology & Emotion (thanks Susan!) and Positive Psychology (thanks Ted!).

After graduating with her BA, she remained at UC Irvine to complete a post-baccalaureate in psychological science and volunteered in the Emotion and Healthy Aging Lab. These experiences led her to pursue a PhD in Social Psychology at Arizona State University, where she received comprehensive training in Social Psychology and Affective (Emotion) Science. Although she was originally set on pursuing a PhD in Cognitive or Health Psychology (and never living in Arizona), she ended up in a Social Psychology program in Arizona. Fortunately, she was able to take an interdisciplinary approach in her research, strategically blending social psychology frameworks, cognitive methodologies, and theories of emotion. During this time, she also learned to endure the 120°F summers and met and married her husband, Matt, during graduate school, making her Arizona experience worthwhile.

Dr. Langley is dedicated to investigating the psychological basis and social consequences of humor. While much of her work focuses on humor, her research more broadly seeks to identify the underlying mechanisms by which emotions influence individual well-being, close relationships, and intergroup dynamics. Her current work focuses on three key domains: how humor influences social relationships (both romantic and platonic), exploring coping and emotion regulation through humor, and investigating how individuals form reactions to intergroup and stereotype humor. Her goal is to oversee a lab that empowers undergraduates from diverse backgrounds to confidently engage with, conduct, and present research.

Teaching and mentorship are among her favorite things, making her position at Whitman College her dream job. She is extremely proud to be Whitman College’s first Hispanic tenure-track professor of Psychology. Her goals around teaching and mentorship focus on providing students with the information (i.e., “short cuts” that she didn't receive during her academic journey) they need to ensure they are set up for future success and creating a community in her classroom where all students learn to feel confident expressing their ideas. Her current courses include Introductory Psychology and Social Psychology, as well as thesis advising. She looks forward to developing courses in Positive Psychology, Psychology of Humor, and Psychology of Emotion.

She and her husband are excited to begin at Whitman College in Fall 2024 and are bringing quite the zoo with them to Walla Walla: Amelia (trans-pecos rat snake), Bernarnold “Beenard” (ball python), Charlie (leopard gecko), Darwin (reticulated python), Emerson (F1Bb labradoodle), and Fernando (F1Bb labradoodle and Emerson’s brother).