She received her Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Texas A&M University. Carpenter's research focuses on employee workplace behaviors: counterproductivity, withdrawal and citizenship, with emphasis on improving the measurement of employee and leader performance. Her work has been published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, Journal of Management, Academy of Management Annals and Organizational Research Methods. She serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Applied Psychology, Psychological Bulletin and Journal of Organizational Behavior.