Pauline Ho
Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology
Developmental psychology, educational psychology, adolescent development, identity development, and mixed methods research
2024 Ph.D. in Educational Psychology – Human Development, University of Wisconsin-Madison
2020 M.S. in Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
2017 B.A. in Education Science, University of California-Irvine
2017 B.A. in Social Policy & Public Service, University of California-Irvine
Research
I am an identity researcher whose primary goals are to understand when, why, and how identity develops; identify aspects that are both common and unique across different identities; and map connections among aspects of identity and educational experiences. Taking a lifespan perspective, I am especially interested in how adolescents and young adults, particularly members of ethnic and racial minorities, become who they are. My work is characterized by the integration of developmental science and personality psychology. I employ developmental contextualism (person ↔ context relation; Lerner, 1986) and narrative identity (an individual’s life story of self; McAdams, 2008) to better understand how individuals change and maintain their uniqueness over time. This interdisciplinary approach enriches our understanding of developmental changes in identity and allows for the introduction of developmental science to other disciplines.
Selected Recent Presentations
(Reed student co-authors bolded)
See CV for complete publications list [PDF]
Ho, P., Yao, Y, & Li, J. (2025). Language and Identity: Investigating Narrative Structure in Ethnic-RacialIdentity Turning Points. Poster accepted for presentation at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society forQualitative Inquiry in Psychology (SQIP).
Ho, P. (2025) Professional Nursing Identity: A Longitudinal Study of Professional Identity Development inDiverse Nursing Students. Paper presented for presentation at the 2025 AERA Annual Meeting.
Kim, A. A., Ho, P., Beck, J. , Kim, H., & Chapman, M. (2025) English Learner Identification of KindergartenLearners: Implementing a New English Language Proficiency Screener. Paper presented for presentation atthe 2025 KOTESOL International Conference.
Ho, P., Jiang, W.D., Li, J., & Yao, L. (2025). When and how does ethnic-racial identity change: Anexamination of turning point narratives of Asian American adolescents. Paper presented for presentation atthe 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA).
Selected Recent Publications
(Reed student co-authors bolded)
See CV for complete publications list [PDF]
Ho, P. (2025). Professional Identity among Nursing Students: A Longitudinal Analysis of Student Experiences and Developmental Pathways. Journal of Professional Nursing, 58, 104-111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2025.03.009
Ho, P., & Brown, B. B. (2024). Black Youths’ Ethnic and Racial Identity Development From Childhood to Emerging Adulthood. Developmental Psychology, 60(10), 1915–1927. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001765
Kim, A., Baghestani, S., MacGregor, D., & Ho, P. (2024). Supporting K-12 Educators’Language Assessment Literacy via Resources Informed by Validation Frameworks. In B. Baker & L. Taylor (Eds.), Language Assessment Literacy and Competence Volume 1: Research and Reflections from the Field. Cambridge University Press.
Wirz, C. D., Cate, A., Brauer, M., Brossard, D., Brown, L. D., Chen, K., Ho, P., Luter, D. G., Madden, H.,Schoenborn, S., Shaw, B., Sprinkel, C., Stanley, D., & Sumi, G. (2022). Science communication during COVID-19: when theory meets practice and best practices meet reality. Journal of Science Communication, 21(3), N01.
Ho, P., Chen, K., Shao, A., Bao, L., Ai, A., Tarfa, A., ... & Brauer, M. (2021). A mixed methods study of public perception of social distancing: Integrating qualitative and computational analyses for text data. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 15(3), 374-397.
Chen, K., Bao, L. Shao, A., Ho, P., Yang, S., Wirz, C., … Brown, L. (2020). How public perceptions of social distancing evolved over a critical time period: Communication lessons learnt from the American state of Wisconsin. Journal of Science Communication, 19(5), A11