Skip to content

Travis Research Institute

Wang Lab
Wang Lab
The Imperfect Culture

Office

Psychology Building 143
Fuller Theological Seminary
180 N. Oakland Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91101-1714

Email

ktwang@fuller.edu

Phone

626.304.3712

The Imperfect Culture (TIC) Lab focuses on three main areas of research – perfectionism, cross-cultural adjustment, and scale development. Culture intersects across these three topic areas. And our lab embraces the compassion to accept imperfection.

PROJECTS

Perfectionism

The Imperfect Culture lab’s research team and collaborators have worked on several studies on perfectionism. Projects include examining perfectionism across cultures (e.g., China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the United States, Russia, India, African American, and Latinx) and expanding the construct to family perfectionism, religious perfectionism, and perceived perfectionism from God. For more information on perfectionism measures, please visit Almost Perfect Scales.

Cross Cultural Adjustment

The lab has completed several longitudinal studies on the adjustment of Chinese international students. Dr. Wang’s team has also created measures to examine cross-cultural loss and international friendliness of college campuses. Currently, the team is studying third-culture kids (TCKs) and hopes to examine missionaries in the near future. For more information on the international friendly campus assessment project, please visit the InFA website.

Scale Development & Psychometrics

The lab has been involved in the development and psychometric evaluations of multiple psychological measures. Most notable are the Family Almost Perfect Scale (FAPS), Cross-Cultural Loss Scale (CCLS), International Friendly Campus Scale (IFCS), Religious Perfectionism Scale (RPS), Perceived Perfectionism from God Scale (PPGS), Religious Discrimination Scale (RDS), Attitudes Towards Religion Scale (ATRS), and Communion with God Scale (CGS).

People

Wang lab group

Faculty

Kenneth

Kenneth T. Wang

Professor of Psychology

BA, NATIONAL CHIAO-TUNG UNIVERSITY, TAIWAN
MA, WHEATON COLLEGE
PHD, PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
Allie

Allison Adams

Allison is a PsyD student currently on internship. Her research and clinical interests include working with college students, specifically college-athletes, in a university counseling center and utilizing art therapy in order to promote identity formation. Allison is currently working on her dissertation, which creates a group therapy manual focusing on college-athletes and their identity formation.

CHristy Lee

Christy J. Lee

Christy is a first-year PsyD student. She spent most of her life in California as a 1.5 generation Korean American. Her research and clinical interests include perfectionism, attachment, intra- and interpersonal trust, formation of cultural identity, complex trauma, and integration of psychology and theology.

Eltice

Eltice (Ching Ying) Lin

Eltice is in her fifth year of the PhD program. She received her MA in counseling ministries from Trinity International University in Chicago and worked as a counselor in faith-based settings in Taiwan for many years. Eltice is interested in learning more about religious perfectionism and culturally appropriate approaches to psychotherapy. (Publications:1, 2)

Grace

Grace Chang

Grace is a second-year PsyD student. In her previous career, she taught and counseled diverse groups of students and international students before developing an interest in studying the integration of theology and psychology. Her research and clinical interests include Asian American mental health, cross-cultural adjustment of missionaries, and immigrant parent-child relations.

Helen

Helen Jun

Helen is a fifth-year PhD student. She identifies as a 1.5 gen Korean American immigrant, and her research interests include Asian American and Asian international identity, racial trauma, and coping. Her clinical interests include complex trauma, racial trauma, and religious trauma. (Publications: 1, 2, 3)

Alex Liu

Hengzhi Alex Liu

Alex is a second-year PhD student from Nanjing, China. He came to the States in high school. Alex is passionate about studying multicultural psychology, cross-cultural adjustment, and international students. He is also interested in mental health in China and Asian communities in the U.S. He is particularly interested in psychodynamic therapy and hopes to practice therapy in both mandarin and English. 

Ivana

Ivana Ecklund

Ivana is a first-year PhD student. Her research interests lie in cross-cultural issues and how they relate to various health outcomes—as well as considering these relationships through advanced statistical modeling. Her clinical interests are in working with children and adults who experience adversity or adjustment difficulty due to a breadth of sociocultural factors.

woman smiling

Joanna Huang

Joanna is a PsyD student currently on internship. She identifies as a Third Culture Kid (TCK) as she was born in Taipei, Taiwan, and grew up living between Taiwan and the States. Her dissertation topic is on international student adjustment and her clinical interests include neuropsychology and assessment.

Melanie

Melanie Ngan

Melanie is a fourth-year PsyD student. Born in the US but raised in Hong Kong, she is used to bridging and integrating conflicting cultural narratives. She is passionate about the cross-cultural transitions of missionaries, TCKs, and Asian American psychology.

Mudi Lee

Mudi Li

Mudi is a first-year PsyD student. She was born and raised in northern China for 18 years. She then came to the States for education. Mudi is interested in cross-cultural studies because of her experiences. Family therapy and perfectionism also fascinate her. Mudi’s passion is to have sincere communication in a safe place for people to be who they were created to be.

Recent Graduates

woman smiling

Mabel Lo, PSYD [2022]

woman smiling

Anna Shanazari, PHD [2022]

Denette

Denette Boyd-King, PhD [2021]

Kimberly

Kimberly (Griswold) Tejada, PhD [2021]

Esther Tan

Esther C. Tan, PhD [2021]

Gabriel Qi

Wei (Gabriel) Qi, PhD [2020]

woman smiling

Yasha P. Shine, PsyD [2020]

Erika

Erika Steinwand, PhD [2019]

Selected Publications

Jun, H., Wang, K. T., Suh, H. N., & Yeung, J. G. (2022). Family profiles of maladaptive perfectionists among Asian international students. The Counseling Psychologist. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00110000221089643

Tan, E. C, Wang, K. T., & Cottrell, A. C. (2021). A Systematic Review of Third Culture Kids Empirical Research. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 82, 81-98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2021.03.002

Wang, K. T., Xie, Z. Y., Parsely, A. C., & Johnson, A. M. (2020). Religious Perfectionism Scale among believers of multiple faiths in China: Development and psychometric analysis. Journal of Religion & Health, 59, 318–333. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00784-z

Wang, K. T., Wei, M., Zhao, R., Chuang, C. C., & Li, F. (2015). The Cross-Cultural Loss Scale: Development and psychometric evaluation. Psychological Assessment, 27, 42-53. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000027

Wang, K. T., Heppner, P. P., Fu, C. C., Zhao, R., Li, F., & Chuang, C. C. (2012). Profiles of acculturative adjustment patterns among Chinese international students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 59, 424-436. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028532

Wang, K. T. (2010). The Family Almost Perfect Scale: Development, psychometric properties, and comparing Asian and European Americans. Asian American Journal of Psychology1, 186-199. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020732

Travis Research Institute logo
Contact Us
Staff

Jim Cummings, MDiv, MA
Research Administrator
jamescummings2@fuller.edu

Office Hours

Monday–Friday
8 am–5 pm

Address

Room 326
180 N. Oakland Ave

Pasadena, CA 91182