Graduate Students |
Research Interests |
|
|---|---|---|
Elise Clerkin (currently on internship) |
 |
My main research interests involve the ways in which information processing
biases and perceptual biases contribute to the etiology and maintenance of
OC spectrum disorders and anxiety disorders more broadly. I am particularly
interested in Body Dysmorphic Disorder, and am currently working on a
project designed to examine the relationship between facial perception and
cognitive factors among individuals with a variety of body image concerns. |
| Meghan Cody |  |
I am interested in the role of cognition in anxiety disorders, particularly social phobia. How do dysfunctional ways of thinking contribute to the development and maintenance of social anxiety? How can these ways of thinking be changed? I am also interested in how anxiety affects perception and how perceptual distortions might be related to other markers of fears and phobias. |
| Jessica Beadel Cruz |  |
My primary interests involve understanding how information processing biases contribute to the development and maintenance of anxiety disorders. Currently, I am embarking on a project using diverse measures to investigate the mechanisms through which cognitive bias modification is effective at attenuating emotional vulnerability. I am also interested in developmental differences in anxiety, and am working on a study examining age-related differences in distress and frequency for intrusive thoughts. |
Joshua Magee (currently on internship) |
 |
My research investigates the ways people process common unpleasant mental experiences like unwanted thoughts. I attempt to use cognitive theories to explain why unwanted thoughts seem to vex some people while sparing others. I am particularly interested in lifespan factors that may influence the development and maintenance of emotion dysregulation after experiencing these unwanted thoughts. I am currently also involved in several lines of research with various collaborators involving the role of anxiety in the usage of internet interventions and the management of diabetes, among other topics. |
| Jennifer Simpson |  |
I research the role of contamination fears in obsessive-compulsive disorder. In particular, I study the implicit associations between potentially contaminated objects and fear, disgust, and avoidance reactions. Currently, I am examining ways to reduce contamination fears through implicit association training. I am also interested in the occurrence of intrusive thoughts and in how the content of such thoughts may be differentially distressing for older versus younger adults. |
| Shari Steinman |  |
My research interests involve examining information processing biases and perceptual biases in anxious populations. I am particularly interested in finding ways to decrease these biases through training procedures. Currently, I am working on a project in which we examine the importance of cognitive bias modification in height phobia treatment. |
Former Lab Members |
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Tynessa Gordon |
 |
Cross-cultural research highlights the influence of ethnicity and culture in emotional processes. Specifically, previous studies suggest important differences in the experience of anxiety across groups. I am interested in investigating how ethnicity and culture influence the triggers, symptoms, and development of anxiety pathology for diverse populations. In addition, I have recently become involved in designing a project that will examine age differences in the appraisals of somatic sensations of anxiety. Currently on post doc and staff at Emory. |
Jena Saporito |
 |
My interests lie in the role of stigma in affecting individuals’ attitudes toward and likelihood of seeking mental health treatment. I currently have two studies underway investigating this link. The first, “Thoughts about Mental Health”, investigates the association between stigma attitudes toward mental health/mental health treatment and individuals’ attitudes about and willingness to seek mental health treatment with specific mental health professionals. The second study, “Health Education”, extends the results of the first study, to consider the impact of an educational intervention for high school students. This intervention is aimed at reducing stigma toward mental health/mental health treatment and increasing behavioral intentions to seek mental health treatment. Currently on post doc and staff at Cherokee Health Systems. |
Shannan Smith-Janik |
 |
My primary research interests involve the role of information processing biases in the onset and maintenance of emotional dysregulation in anxious children and adults. Information processing biases refer to distortions in the way people attend to, interpret, and remember information. Currently on staff at Penn State CAPS. |