Wendy Wood was born in England and immigrated to the United States with her family. She received her B.S. from the University of Illinois and her M.A. and Ph.D. (in 1980) in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts, advised by Alice H. Eagly. She then taught for two years at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. From 1982 until 2003, she was at Texas A&M University, where she was the Ella C. McFadden Professor of Liberal Arts. She also served as the Associate Vice President for Research and the Director of the Women’s Faculty Mentoring Program. While at Texas A&M, she received a teaching award from the undergraduate honors program. In 2004, she moved to Duke University as James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and Professor of Marketing. She lives with her husband, Steve, and (sometimes) two sons, Dylan and Garrett, in Durham, NC .

Wood is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (Division 8), the American Psychological Society, and founding member of the Society for Research Synthesis Methodology. She served several terms on the Executive Committee of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology. Wood currently is Associate Editor of Psychological Review and in the past has been Associate Editor of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, and Personality and Social Psychology Review. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Rockefeller Foundation.

Wood serves as Co-Director of the Social Science Research Institute, one of Duke University’s seven signature interdisciplinary institutes. SSRI's mission is to catalyze and produce pioneering social science research and methods across the social and behavioral sciences. This interdisciplinary institute is located in the historic Erwin Mill by Duke campus and serves the needs of its eight affiliated centers along with social and behavioral scientists and students across campus. While Co-Director, Wood founded the National Consortium of Interdisciplinary Social Science Institutes.