Stress, Emotion & Physical Health Lab
Current Studies
Stress, Emotion, and Energy (SEE) Study
Researchers: Sarah Pressman, Jazlyn Luu
Previous research has demonstrated that positive emotion can have significant benefits when it comes to physical and mental health. However, growing work indicates that not all positive emotions are created equally when it comes to health. Specifically, it is consistently feelings of vigor driving effects for important outcomes like sleep, likelihood of disease, and even risk of death, as opposed to other positive traits. In this study, we investigate the biological, behavioral, social, and psychological factors that are connected to feeling vigorous or energetic. We are also interested in whether there are age differences in any of these factors. In this 3-part study, participants take part in a series of tasks involving measures of physical fitness, physical and psychological health, and biogenetic markers. In addition, information regarding sleep, physical fitness, and emotion will be collected over the course of a week.
Social Bonds, Emotion, and the Gut Microbiome
Graduate Student Researcher: Desiree Delgadillo-Chase
Study Coordinator: Eric Falasiri
Past research has shown that social relationships are associated with a range of positive outcomes, with findings suggesting that higher quality social bonds confer health and physiological benefits. Further, the diverse community of bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes that inhabit the body, known as the microbiome, offers researchers a new angle from which to explore the intersections of human biology and psychology. This study builds upon prior research by examining the connections between the most important social and emotional milieu of development: Parent-child relationships, and how characteristics of this social environ relate to microbial communities within the gut microbiome. Our ultimate goal is that this program of research will lay the groundwork needed to create interventions to improve the parent-child bond and increase positive emotions in adults and children potentially supporting a thriving, resilient, and diverse microbial ecosystem in the gut.
Superwoman Schema and Psychophysiological Correlates of CVD Risks Among Black Women
Researchers: Kennedy Blevins, Sarah Pressman
In collaboration with Dr. Amber Johnson at CSU Long Beach, Dr. Sarah Pressman and Kennedy Blevins are examining discrimination, cognitive and cultural schemas (e.g., Superwoman schema), emotions/affect, and biological responses to stress (e.g., cortisol, salivary alpha amylase, IL-6, telomere length). This project assesses these processes in African American/Black women using an ecological momentary assessment paradigm (i.e., repeated survey and biological sampling over multiple days). African American women experience greater disparities in cardiovascular health compared to White men and women. The Superwoman Schema posits that African American women are naturally strong, resilient, and nurturing, shaping the way they experience and interact with the world. This may have implications for their emotional and biological responses to stress. The main goals of this study are (1) to understand which aspects of the Superwoman Schema (e.g., resilience versus nurturing) are associated with positive versus negative emotions and (2) how this relates to biological factors that have been linked with cardiovascular health, including cortisol (hormone function), salivary alpha amylase (autonomic function), IL-6 (inflammation), and telomere length (biological aging). Learn more about the study and check your eligibility to be a participant here.