Ximena Arriaga

Dr. Ximena Arriaga is a Professor of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University. She studies how close relational bonds can help people thrive within and beyond their relationships, but also how some bonds can cause considerable pain and harm. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Mental Health, and other organizations, and it is widely recognized for its social impact and relevance, which she leverages in her work with community organizations. Dr. Arriaga has an exceptional record of service. She served as Program Officer for Social Psychology at the National Science Foundation in 2020 – 2022, and prior to that she served in numerous editorial positions and held several elected and appointed roles for psychological professional organizations. Her commitment to fostering others’ success involves both broad and specific efforts. For example, in 2015, Dr. Arriaga worked with Purdue University’s leadership to chart a plan for Purdue’s campus inclusion efforts, which laid the foundation for many equity and inclusion efforts that persist on campus today. Shortly thereafter she established and directed Purdue’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Science Consortium, which advances scientific literacy on helping people overcome barriers to success in campus settings. She has provided mentoring and support to many students and colleagues, and she continues to be involved in efforts to improve instruction and training of future scholars.

Tributes

Congratulations Ximena for entering the SPSP Heritage Wall. This is such a well-deserved accomplishment. Please let me express my gratitude for all the good times we have spent together over the years. Your contagious joy and elegance, both as a scholar and a person, are remarkable. Beyond celebrating good times, I would like to thank you for your contribution to research and service and for the lasting impact on the field. I am thrilled to be your friend and colleague!!"

• – Pablo Briñol

Ximena is one of those people who contributes immensely to her field and university through her research, leadership, and commitment and to everyone who knows her through her kind and fun personality.  She has excelled in research, service, and teaching, and just as important, as a human being.  Ximena's research on close relationships has been extraordinarily important and influential.  She has assumed numerous leadership roles both at Purdue (working especially on diversity and inclusion issues as a Provost Fellow and as Director of the Purdue DEI Science Consortium) and in the field of Psychology (serving as an associate editor at numerous journals, a Program Director at the National Science Foundation, and President of the Midwestern Psychological Association.)  Her outstanding teaching has been recognized through several prestigious teaching awards at Purdue University.  And she has been a wonderful friend and inspiration to her colleagues at Purdue and elsewhere.  I consider myself very fortunate to have been one of them.

• – Don Carlston

Ximena has been an ever-present force in the field of close relationships. Her many outstanding contributions to the literature on investment and commitment processes, intimate partner violence, and attachment/relationship dynamics only tell part of the story that is her legacy. Rather, I'll cherish the many ways in which she's served as an informal mentor to junior scholars, her willingness to take on leadership roles in the field and in professional contexts, and how she looks for ways of bridging divides and enhancing the field of close relationships. I've learned a lot from reading Ximena's scholarship and hearing her speak over the years. When I tell my students about how the close relationships field is very nice and supportive (hey, maybe we learned something from researching it!), I'm mostly thinking of Ximena as the prominent ideal and foremost example of that. It's rare to find someone so supportive and who simultaneously motivates others to do better science. We're blessed to have Ximena Arriaga as a member of our community.

• – William Chopik

Working with Ximena while I was in graduate school at Purdue University had a major impact on my future. She inspired me to work on understanding and ameliorating intimate partner violence. My publications with Ximena are some of my proudest professional accomplishments to date.

• – Wind Goodfriend

Ximena Arriaga is one of those rare scholars to transform the field of social psychology across theoretical perspectives. Her papers on interdependence theory, the investment model of commitment and attachment (such as the attachment security enhancement model) have dramatically expanded relationship science as well as bridged the gap between theory and practice. Her service to our field, most recently at NSF, is also notable. She's a dedicated and supportive mentor and we're so lucky to have her in our field.

• – Jeffrey D. Green

Ximena is a true pioneer in relationship science. Her early work on the characteristics of newly formed romantic relationships and recent work on attachment change have been the two pillars of our research program on relationship development. Our deep respect for Ximena only grew when we had the pleasure of meeting her in person. We not only witnessed her support and encouragement toward others in the field, but also benefitted from her sage guidance ourselves in our professional lives. We both feel honored to know Ximena and sincerely thank her for her contributions to our field. Her insightful ideas and innovative research will continue to inspire many generations to come.

• – Gul Gunaydin & Emre Selcuk

I have followed Ximena Arriaga's research achievements for a long time. Initially that was because Ximena was a grad student with my dear friend Caryl Rusbult at my alma mater UNC Chapel Hill. Her early work on commitment processes was truly excellent and brought my attention to her talents. Later, on a visit to Purdue to give a talk, I learned about her ground-breaking work on variability in key constructs, such as trust, and what that implied for the relationship. More recently, she contributed a superb analysis of processes that might counter a person's insecurities about a partner's feelings for them. Ximena is a truly talented theoretician, a lively and warm person, and a wonderful colleague we are fortunate to have in our field

• – John Holmes

Ximena profoundly impacted my career. As a master's student at Claremont Graduate University, she guided my cohort through reading the entire 1998 edition of the Handbook of Social Psychology and also taught us research methods. When it was time to choose a PhD program, she suggested OSU because she thought I would like the social cognition focus. This focus on her students, not just her advisees, which carried over to her work for NSF, is why she's an amazing advisor and mentor.

• – Camille Johnson

It is brilliant to be able to celebrate Ximena Arriaga and her many contributions to relationship science and to the field of personality and social psychology. Her keen insights, dedication, and creative thought processes have resulted in innovative research, offering a deeper understanding of how and why relationships endure and how and when close relationships promote attachment security. She is also dedicated to service to the field and to promoting supportive, inclusive environments in which individuals from different backgrounds can thrive. It really has been such a pleasure to work with you, Ximena. You are an inspiring collaborator and a wonderful friend.

• – Madoka Kumashiro

How wonderful it is to see you honored in this way, Ximena. Ever since we first met, when you were a bright-eyed graduate student working under Caryl Rusbult's wing, I've been smitten with your strong sense of theory, your keen eye for the things that really matter, your leadership and mentoring, and your passion for our science. And now you are (already) a senior scholar! It's been a real treat watching your evolution as a scholar—just look at the many topics in which your work has made a real difference: commitment, interdependence, interpersonal violence and coercion, and now, changes in attachment security (which is, in my opinion, the most exciting new work to come out of this area in the past couple of decades). It was a particular pleasure writing the Interdependence Theory chapter with you way back in 2015. Your deep knowledge of the theory together with your incredible patience and kindness made that a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Social psychology needs more Ximena Arriagas!

• – Harry Reis

I have known Ximena Arriaga for almost 20 years. She is one of the most influential social psychologists studying intimate relationships today and has made countless contributions to our field. From her early Investment Model work with Caryl Rusbult, to her papers on fluctuations in relationship satisfaction and commitment over time, to her important work on dating violence, Ximena has consistently pushed relationship science forward in new and exciting directions. Her theoretical work on how people's attachment security can be enhanced, especially, is sure to stand the test of time. Beyond being an incredible researcher, Ximena is an incredible mentor to her students, an ideal colleague, and one of the kindest people that I know. She is an inspiration to me and a wonderful friend, and my wife Julia and I send her our warmest congratulations on this well-deserved recognition.

• – Richard B. Slatcher

Ximena Arriaga is so deserving of this award.  She has contributed important work to many important research areas in social psychology, including relationship abuse and the process of bolstering attachment security. Her early work with Caryl Rusbult and her continuing work on Interdependence Theory are significant contributions to the social psychology of relationships. Many years ago, I had the honor of working with her on an editorial team for the journal, Personal Relationships. Her professionalism, integrity, and dedication to work were evidenced in her editorial work, and continue to shine through in all of her accomplishments.  Congratulations, Ximena!

• – Susan Sprecher

One of the first papers I was ever exposed to and remember being very much in awe of was Ximena's paper on fluctuations in satisfaction. No doubt, I was immensely grateful and fortunate to have met Ximena in graduate school at Purdue. Imagine being in America for the first time and meeting an academic hero! She has had a profound impact on me, both professionally and personally. I know her to be sharp and incisive in her thinking, advanced and rigorous in her designs and methods, but above all, demanding and focused on theory in her work. With her guidance, I believe I have developed a greater insight for important and meaningful questions, and I am extremely appreciative for it. Beyond academic research, Ximena truly epitomises having "meaningful impact", engaging in time and effort to engage in issues related to diversity and inclusion. As someone who was an international student and being of minority status on campus, it was important to have that sense of belonging to stay afloat, and Ximena definitely provided that. Ximena continues to be an inspiring light, and I am glad to have crossed paths with Ximena. Thank you for being a mentor and a friend.

• – Kenneth Tan Yu-Yang