Current Research Projects

Question: How do the brain's neural mechanisms affect how LGBTQIA+ individuals manage emotions and perceive threats, and how can this understanding help improve mental well-being and resilience in this community?

 

Research: Our lab delves into the intricate interplay of societal stressors and emotion regulation within LGBTQIA+ communities. By exploring neural substrates and utilizing stools like ERPs via Electroencephalogram (EEG), we aim to uncover how heightened threat sensitivity impacts coping strategies and resilience in this population. Integrating psychophysiological measures with cognitive psychology frameworks, we strive to advance knowledge on how LGBTQIA+ individuals navigate adversity and develop tailored support strategies for enhanced mental well-being and resilience.

Question: Why do people engage in secondary tasks, such as talking on the phone, while driving? How are the cognitive processes required for driving and the secondary task affected when both tasks require significant attention?

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Research: While there are many studies that demonstrate the deleterious effects of phone use on driving, there are few empirical studies that examine why people engage in these behaviors and in turn, how these secondary behaviors are affected. One commonly reported reason for people using their phone on the road is that employees feel the need to be perpetually in contact with their office as well as be more productive in general. Thus, we are currently interested in how driving influences business-related communications, both in terms of work-performance and speech comprehension and production. We believe that in examining the bidirectional influences of negotiations and driving tasks, we can better understand the performance costs of conducting work-related phone calls while on the road.

Question: Can targeting adaptive metacognitive capacities in mindfulness training enhance its efficacy?

 

Research: My current project is comparing the efficacy of two different kinds of brief mindfulness training in improving cognitive and emotional regulatory abilities. One of which we have developed and are referring to as metacognitively focused mindfulness training (MMT), and the other is known as mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). Participants receive one of these forms of training and then engage in cognitive tasks requiring attentional control and meta-awareness of attentional lapses.

Question: How does exposure to different types of environments, specifically those with more urban or natural characteristics, affect creative ability? Additionally, how do these effects interact with working in groups compared to individually?

 

Research: Another area of investigation for the REACH lab is nature effects. These effects are assessed through the cognitive-based framework of Attention Restoration Theory (ART) and a related, explanatory brain network—the Default Mode Network (DMN). ART states nature is cognitively effortless and, through prolonged exposure, can lead to the recuperation of attentional resources which is supported to occur through the facilitation of the DMN. We investigate how exposure to real-life environments subsequently affects various measures of creativity performance as well as certain characteristics important to group work such as social perception.

Research: 

Emotion Processing and Concept Formation

One facet of cognition is our ability to create schemas or concepts of information. This information is grouped and edited based on our experience. Emotionally relevant information is organized similarly to other concepts and the associations of pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral stimuli can be observed via event-related potentials (ERPs).

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Differences in Emotion Processing

Our individual differences and experiences with our environment can change how we view valanced stimuli. Differences in mood and social interaction can affect how we perceive information. The strength and quality of interpersonal relationships may impact our mood or vice versa, our mood may impact our interpersonal relationships; both may have an impact on our perception and encoding of information.