Professor of Social Psychology Department of Psychological Sciences Science & Learning Center 304 562.907.5031 cscott@whittier.edu
B.S., Occidental College M.S., Ph.D., Kansas State University
Christina Scott is a Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Whittier College where she has been a member of the faculty since 2010. A graduate of Occidental College, she double majored in psychology and theater, and she has continued her interdisciplinary love of learning ever since. Dr. Scott received her Ph.D. in social psychology from Kansas State University and refined her teaching practice with universities across the nation before bringing the best of her dynamic teaching style to Whittier College. Dr. Scott was honored to receive the Harry W. Nerhood Teaching Excellence Award in 2018 and served as a faculty member on the spring 2019 voyage of Semester at Sea. In 2023, Dr. Scott was awarded a Fulbright Scholar Fellowship to teach courses in Sexuality and the American Media at the University of Tokyo and Kyoritsu Women’s University in Japan.
Dr. Scott welcomes undergraduate research assistants to participate in her program of research focusing on gender issues, specifically women’s self-concept and sexual decision making. From locating empirical articles to collecting and analyzing data, her undergraduate research assistants participate in every step of the research process and present their findings at a regional or national psychological conference. Dr. Scott has co-authored research publications with her undergraduate research assistants in a wide range of books and journals and she continues to collaborate with research faculty in the United States and internationally. Beyond the Whittier College community, Dr. Scott is passionate about sex education and volunteers to speak with local high schools and LGBTQ+ youth groups about healthy relationships and safe sexual practices.
Podarita, I. & Scott, C.L. (2025). It’s about survivors, not sex: Exploring future aspirations of undergraduate survivors of sexual assault. Contemporary Perspectives in Family Research, Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing Limited.
Wilder, S., Scott, C. L., & Chavarin, M. (2023). Breaking up is hard to do: Investigating breakup distress and sexual regret in undergraduates’ casual and committed sexual relationships. In A. J. Cuevas Hernandez & S. L. Blair (Eds.), Conjugal Trajectories: Relationship Beginnings, Change, and Dissolutions (pp. 25-40). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Wilder, S. & Scott, C. L. (2022). Sex at sea: Undergraduates’ perceptions of sexual relationships during their Semester at Sea voyage. Sexuality & Culture, 26, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-022-09980-8
Wilder, S., & Scott, C. L. (2022). “The world is your campus”: Exploring Generation Z students’ experiences in the Semester at Sea program. Sociological Viewpoints, 36, 44-60.
Scott, C.L., Williams, H. M. & Wilder, S. (Eds.). (2022). Facing death: Familial responses to illness and death. Contemporary Perspectives in Family Research, Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing Limited.
Blair, S. L. & Scott, C.L. (2021). The gendered nature of marriage aspirations in China Sociological Viewpoints, 35 (1), 27-48.
Scott, C. L, Wilder, S., & Bennett, J. (2019). “Going it alone:” A multigenerational investigation of women’s perceptions of single mothers by choice versus circumstance. Childbearing and the Changing Nature of Parenthood, Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing Limited, Ch 7, 143-164
Blair, S. L. & Scott, C. L. (2019). “It started with a kiss”: The initiation of sexual intimacy among Young Adults in China.” Sexuality & Culture, 23(4), 1147-1166. DOI 10.1007/s12119-019-09608-4
