Sandra L. Murray, UB professor of psychology, has received the 2012 Career Trajectory Award from the Society of Experimental Social Psychology.

The award, presented at the society’s annual conference in October, “celebrates scientific contributions made in the early-to-mid stages of a research career (and) is intended to recognize uniquely creative and influential scholarly productivity at or near the peak of one’s scientific career.”

It is one of several honors that have recognized Murray’s scholarship, among them the Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contributions to Psychology from the American Psychological Association, the Theoretical Innovation Award from the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, the Early Career Award from the International Society for Self and Identity, and the New Contribution Award from the International Association for Relationship Research.

Murray’s research, which has been supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Science Foundation, examines motivated cognition in the context of close relationships.

“Specifically,” she says, “(it) examines how individuals in romantic relationships interpret and construct reality in ways that protect them from potential threats to commitment, such as the perception of a partner’s faults, the risks inherent in depending on another and the potential of rejection.”