Current Research

In the CoPE lab, we seek to understand the ways in which cognitive and emotional processes affect problems like depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We are particularly interested in cognitive processes that increase risk for psychopathology, such as negative cognitive biases (a tendency to focus on the negative) and rumination (thinking passively and repetitively about how bad one feels). We are also interested in cognitive emotion regulation (self-distancing, reappraisal), or the ways in which people consciously try to change their thoughts in order to improve their mood, and when these strategies are helpful or harmful. A current focus in the lab is understanding trauma reactivity, or strong emotional or physiological reactions to trauma cues, among those with PTSD. We are particularly interested in using ambulatory assessment to gain insight into processes affecting trauma reactivity in naturalistic settings. We measure both cognition and emotion across multiple units of analysis, including self-report, behavioral (response time, accuracy), and physiological (heart rate variability, skin conductance) measures.