She received her Ph.D. in social and personality psychology from the University of California, Riverside, in 2013, and her B.A. in psychology from the University of Virginia in 2008. Prof. Bao is a social and personality psychologist whose main research interests include happiness, pet ownership, and romantic relationships. She is particularly interested in how happiness can be sustained over time. Prof. Bao teaches core courses such as Fundamentals of Psychology and Statistics for the Social Sciences, as well as topical courses such as Personality Psychology and Psychology of Emotion.