About
Hi, I'm Kris.
I came to psychology by an uncommon route. I grew up in a rural community, was the first in my family to attend college, and got there as a varsity football player. As a result, long before I could name what I was studying, I was preoccupied with a question: how is it that people can face the same situation and end up in such different places? I eventually learned that mindset was one piece of the puzzle.
Today, I'm a social psychologist at Stanford studying how the mindsets we hold, and what we believe about those mindsets, shape health and performance. My dissertation introduced Mindset Regulation Theory and validated the Controllable Mindset construct across seven studies. I developed Mindset Yoga Training, an intervention combining mindset education with mindfulness practice. As a Wu Tsai Human Performance Fellow, I lead a project on the health, well-being, and performance of female college student-athletes.
I also teach, mentor, and consult — because the most rigorous finding isn't useful until someone can carry it home and integrate it into their lives.