Carrie Watson, PhD

Project Coordinator

Dr. Carrie A. Watson is a developmental psychologist. She earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Southern California. Her work examines how people seek, share, and make sense of information online, and how digital media shape their sense of identity, belonging, and place in the world. She focuses in particular on content creators, studying how the information they share helps their audiences learn, grow, and understand themselves – and what makes some creators more effective than others at fostering genuine connection and trust. Through this work, she aims to bridge research on human development with the everyday realities of life online.