Nic M. Weststrate, PhD
Assistant Professor
Educational Psychology
Member, Center for Research on Health & Aging
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Contact
Building & Room:
3521 ETMSW
Address:
1040 W. Harrison St.
Office Phone:
Email:
About
Dr. Nic Weststrate’s research program investigates optimal psychosocial development across the adult lifespan. His research examines human development at the intersection of personal, social, cultural, and historical forces. He is primarily interested in Eriksonian developmental constructs, including personal and collective identity, generativity, ego integrity, and, especially, the development, manifestation, and transmission of wisdom. In recent research, Nic has been exploring the influence of intergenerational storytelling on psychosocial development. He is currently examining this within the context of families and the LGBTQ+ community.
Nic's research orientation is informed by lifespan developmental, personality, narrative, and cultural psychology. He incorporates diverse quantitative and qualitative methodologies in his work, with an emphasis on narrative methods that capture the diversity, complexity, and cultural embeddedness of human development.
Courses Taught
EPSY 242 - Introduction to Sexuality Development Across the Lifespan
EPSY 257 - Adult Development & Aging in Contemporary Society
EPSY 340 - Self & Identity Development Across the Lifespan
Selected Grants
UIC Student Affairs Faculty Research Fellow Program, LGBTQ+ Campus Climate Study, Principal Investigator
Selected Publications
Grossmann, I., Weststrate, N. M., Ardelt, M., Brienza, J. P., Dong, M., Ferrari, M., Fournier, M. A., Hu, C. S., Nusbaum, H. C., & Vervaeke, J. (2020). The science of wisdom in a polarized world: Knowns and unknowns. Psychological Inquiry, 31, 103-133. https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2020.1750917
Weststrate, N. M. (in press). Using life story methods to capture cultural-historical dimensions of LGBTQ identity development across the generations. In K. C. McLean (Ed.), Cultural methodologies in psychology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Weststrate, N. M. (2019). “Violence begets violence; hate begets hate”: A wisdom-based analysis of contemporary social activism. In R. J. Sternberg, H. Nusbaum, & J. Glück (Eds.), Applying wisdom to contemporary world problems. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20287-3_6
Weststrate, N. M., Bluck, S., & Glück, J. (2019). Wisdom of the crowd: Exploring people’s conceptions of wisdom. In R. J. Sternberg & J. Glück (Eds.), Cambridge handbook of wisdom. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108568272.006
Weststrate, N. M., Ferrari, M., Fournier, M. A., & McLean, K. C. (2018). “It was the best worst day of my life”: Narrative content, structure, and process in wisdom-fostering life event memories. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 73, 1359-1373. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gby005
Weststrate, N. M., & Glück, J. (2017). Hard-earned wisdom: Exploratory processing of difficult life experience is positively associated with wisdom. Developmental Psychology, 53, 800-814. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000286
Weststrate, N. M., Ferrari, M., & Ardelt, M. (2016). The many faces of wisdom: An investigation of cultural-historical wisdom exemplars reveals practical, philosophical, and benevolent prototypes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 42, 662-676. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167216638075
Ferrari, M., & Weststrate, N. M. (Eds.). (2013). The scientific study of personal wisdom: From contemplative traditions to neuroscience. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7987-7
Weststrate, N. M., & McLean, K. C. (2010). The rise and fall of gay: A cultural-historical approach to gay identity development. Memory, 18, 225-240. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658210903153923
Education
2017 - PhD, University of Toronto, Developmental Psychology and Education
2011 - MA, University of Toronto, Developmental Psychology and Education
2007 - HBSc, University of Toronto, Psychology and Philosophy
Professional Memberships
Association for Research in Personality
European Association of Personality Psychology
Gerontological Society of America
Society for Personality and Social Psychology
Society for Study of Emerging Adulthood