Research Interests
1. Using experimental methodology to test mechanisms by which well-being impacts physical health, including health behaviors (e.g., healthy eating), biological markers (e.g., peripheral inflammation), and cardiovascular function (e.g., endothelial function).
In my first line of research, I test how interventions designed to increase well-being, like expressing gratitude or behaving prosocially, can improve physical health. I am interested in how increases in subjective well-being can cause individuals to engage in more health behaviors, including eating more healthfully, and can influence biological indicators of health, such as peripheral inflammation, gene expression, cardiometabolic risk, and endothelial function. I am especially interested in applying these interventions to promote cardiovascular health.
2. Using longitudinal, observational data to examine naturalistic associations between well-being and physical health, with a particular emphasis on disentangling the roles of positive affect versus other, related positive constructs, such as optimism and self-compassion.
In my second line of research, I use longitudinal, observational data to examine naturalistic associations between well-being and health (e.g., peripheral inflammation) across time. I am especially interested in elucidating the effects of subjective well-being (i.e., positive and negative affect, and life satisfaction), relative to related positive psychological constructs (e.g., self-compassion, optimism), on inflammation. My work seeks to clarify the relationship between subjective well-being and other distinct, yet seemingly positive correlates. I am ultimately interested in identifying which of these factors may be most predictive of physical health in naturalistic settings.
3. Focusing on life transitions, understudied populations, and ambulatory/EMA methods.
Across both lines of research, I am interested in tested these questions among understudied communities and populations, and in using online-delivered interventions, ambulatory measures, and ecological momentary assessment. Much of my work has focused on life transition points, specifically midlife women during the transition to menopause, 9th and 10th grade students during the transition to high school, and first-generation college students during the transition to college. I have also focused testing questions related to well-being among on ethnically and socioeconomically diverse community samples across the United States.
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Gratitude, Healthy Eating, & Self-Improvement MotivationCan expressing gratitude bolster individuals' motivation and commitment to making meaningful changes in their health behaviors?
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Prosocial Behavior, Gene Expression, & Telomere LengthWhy do prosocial individuals live longer, healthier lives? I am interested in testing how prosocial behavior may shift gene expression & cellular aging.
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Self-Compassion, Emotions, & InflammationCan self-compassion lead midlife women to experience more well-being in their daily lives and shift biological indicators of health?
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