Research and Current Projects
Overview
Affective states (processes that include mood, stress, pain, and emotion) and our ability to manage and regulate them have tremendous implications for overall well-being and health. Using multi-method approaches, my research broadly investigates affect and affect regulation processes and their implications for psychological and physical health. I am particularly interested in the different ways to make affect regulation easier. From this general interest, I have developed several lines of research.
See below for descriptions of ongoing research projects.
Affective states (processes that include mood, stress, pain, and emotion) and our ability to manage and regulate them have tremendous implications for overall well-being and health. Using multi-method approaches, my research broadly investigates affect and affect regulation processes and their implications for psychological and physical health. I am particularly interested in the different ways to make affect regulation easier. From this general interest, I have developed several lines of research.
See below for descriptions of ongoing research projects.
Outsourcing affect regulation to non-deceptive placebos
Placebos offer a powerful way to help regulate a variety of clinical symptoms and non-clinical conditions. However, there is a ubiquitous belief that in order for placebos to work, people need to be deceived into thinking they are receiving an active treatment. Fortunately, new research has provided evidence that placebos may still work even without deception (Kaptchuk et al., 2010). This opens up the possibility of leveraging placebo effects without deception in regulating a variety of affective experiences, including mood, stress, pain, and emotion. My collaborators and I are beginning to explore the regulatory effectiveness of non-deceptive placebos on different affective processes compared to well-established regulation strategies.
Placebos offer a powerful way to help regulate a variety of clinical symptoms and non-clinical conditions. However, there is a ubiquitous belief that in order for placebos to work, people need to be deceived into thinking they are receiving an active treatment. Fortunately, new research has provided evidence that placebos may still work even without deception (Kaptchuk et al., 2010). This opens up the possibility of leveraging placebo effects without deception in regulating a variety of affective experiences, including mood, stress, pain, and emotion. My collaborators and I are beginning to explore the regulatory effectiveness of non-deceptive placebos on different affective processes compared to well-established regulation strategies.
Leveraging time cognition in affect regulation
Human beings’ unique ability to conceptualize time has implications for how we experience different affective states. For example, we can relive a past experience or imagine how we might feel in a future situation. My collaborators and I are exploring how thinking about time can be used to regulate pain and emotion. Moreover, we plan to investigate how time cognition compares to other regulation strategies in terms of effectiveness, cognitive demand, and effort.
Human beings’ unique ability to conceptualize time has implications for how we experience different affective states. For example, we can relive a past experience or imagine how we might feel in a future situation. My collaborators and I are exploring how thinking about time can be used to regulate pain and emotion. Moreover, we plan to investigate how time cognition compares to other regulation strategies in terms of effectiveness, cognitive demand, and effort.
Examining vulnerability factors in stress and affective symptoms
Ovarian hormones permeate many brain regions linked with cognitive and affective processes. As such, they have important implications for different psychological states. In this project, we are examining natural hormonal changes in women's menstrual cycles and their relationship to cognition, affect, behavior, and brain activity.
Ovarian hormones permeate many brain regions linked with cognitive and affective processes. As such, they have important implications for different psychological states. In this project, we are examining natural hormonal changes in women's menstrual cycles and their relationship to cognition, affect, behavior, and brain activity.
Examining the effects of consumer behavior on well-being
A fixture of modern society is spending discretionary income on material items, experiential products, and life experiences. These different purchase types have distinctive consequences for well-being, with material items providing lower levels of well-being compared to experiential products and life experiences (Guevarra & Howell, 2015). My collaborators and I are exploring how consumer characteristics and purchase features interact to increase or decrease consumer satisfaction. We hope to provide a more nuanced understanding of the effects of different purchases on different types of consumers.
A fixture of modern society is spending discretionary income on material items, experiential products, and life experiences. These different purchase types have distinctive consequences for well-being, with material items providing lower levels of well-being compared to experiential products and life experiences (Guevarra & Howell, 2015). My collaborators and I are exploring how consumer characteristics and purchase features interact to increase or decrease consumer satisfaction. We hope to provide a more nuanced understanding of the effects of different purchases on different types of consumers.
