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About Me
About Me
I am a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Southern California studying how adolescents’ social experiences and regulatory processes shape empathy, helping, and mental health. My research brings together measures of autonomic physiology, brain function, and behavior to examine when emotional responses confer adaptive socioaffiliative development, and when they do not. I also investigate how family relationships, school climate, and neighborhood conditions shape these processes over time. Across experimental and large-scale longitudinal studies, my goal is to understand the pathways through which youth adapt and thrive in their social environments.
Recent Publications
Hodge, R. T., & Hastings, P. D. (in press). Physiology of empathy and prosocial behavior. In D. Lapsley, M. Alfano, M. Stichter, & M. S. Vaccarezza (Eds.), Elgar Encyclopedia of Moral Psychology. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Hodge, R. T. (2026). Adolescent prosocial development: Integrating neural and autonomic
perspectives on emotion regulation. In R. Cobo-Rendón, D. García-Álvarez, A. Sánchez-Oñate, D. Bruna Jofré, & P. Vergara Barra (Eds.), Perspectives and Strategies of Well-Being Across the Lifespan: A Multidimensional Approach (pp. 295–314). Springer.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-20072-3_16
Hastings, P. D., Hodge, R. T., & Partington, L. C. (2023). The developmental psychophysiology
of prosociality. In M. Davidov & T. Malti (Eds.), Cambridge Handbook of Prosociality (pp. 85-107). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108876681.006
Hodge, R. T., Partington, L. C., Knapp, M. E., Ugarte, E., & Hastings, P. D. (2025).
Associations of emotion regulation and distress with altruistic and egoistic prosociality
during COVID-19. Emotion. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001604
Hodge, R. T., Klimes-Dougan, B., Zahn-Waxler, C., Shirtcliff, E., & Hastings, P. D. (2025).
Parasympathetic Reactivity to Recalled Emotional Experiences and Adolescent Prosociality. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 35(2), 633–650. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.70033
Hastings, P. D., Miller, J. G., Weissman, D. G., Hodge, R. T., Robins, R. W., Carlo, G., & Guyer, A. E. (2024). Parasympathetic regulation and support from family and friends predict prosocial development in U.S. Mexican-origin adolescents. Developmental Psychology. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/dev0001780
Hastings, P. D., & Hodge, R. T. (2023). Considering the experiences and adjustment of sexual and gender minority youths during the COVID-19 pandemic. Current Opinion in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2023.101660
Hodge, R. T., Guyer, A. E., Carlo, G., & Hastings, P. D. (2023). Cognitive reappraisal and need to belong predict prosociality in Mexican-origin adolescents. Social Development, 32(2), 633–650. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12651
Knapp, M. E., Partington, L. C., Hodge, R. T., Ugarte, E., & Hastings, P. D. (2021). We’re all in
this together: Focus on community attenuates effects of pandemic-related financial hardship on reactance to COVID-19 public health regulations. PloS One, 16(12). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260782
Teaching
My teaching experience spans undergraduate and graduate levels, with a focus on developmental psychology, research methods, and psychophysiology. I have designed and led lectures, seminars, and labs that emphasize active learning and the application of theory to real-world contexts. Beyond the classroom, I have taught students how to collect, process, and interpret psychophysiological data, and I have collaborated internationally to support training in these methods. I also bring experience facilitating groups of high school students, including work with sexual minority youth, which has deepened my commitment to fostering inclusive, supportive learning environments. Through these experiences, I strive to make complex concepts approachable, connect scientific ideas to practical examples, and create spaces where students feel engaged, respected, and motivated to learn.
My teaching experience spans undergraduate and graduate levels, with a focus on developmental psychology, research methods, and psychophysiology. I have designed and led lectures, seminars, and labs that emphasize active learning and the application of theory to real-world contexts. Beyond the classroom, I have taught students how to collect, process, and interpret psychophysiological data, and I have collaborated internationally to support training in these methods. I also bring experience facilitating groups of high school students, including work with sexual minority youth, which has deepened my commitment to fostering inclusive, supportive learning environments. Through these experiences, I strive to make complex concepts approachable, connect scientific ideas to practical examples, and create spaces where students feel engaged, respected, and motivated to learn.
Courses Taught:
University of California, Davis
HDE 120: Research Methods in Human Development
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