Emotion

Theatre professor and psychology faculty expand research on drawing and anxiety

Sep 6, 2023

For the past six years, Bill Doan’s research and creative work has focused on how drawing can be a tool for managing mental health. He is now involved in a joint-funded project that is taking that work to a new level by measuring individuals’ physiological responses while drawing. Doan, professor…

Gatzke-Kopp featured on parenting podcast

Sep 27, 2021

SSRI cofund Lisa Gatzke-Kopp was recently interviewed on the Evolutionary Parenting Podcast to explore the issue of how parents can help their child’s emotion regulation development. She shares her research on the synchrony between parent and child from parenting in infancy.

Emotion expression database new resource for researchers

Mar 2, 2020

The ability to understand facial expressions is an important part of social communication. However, little is known about how complex facial expression signal emotions related to social behavior and inner thoughts. To answer these questions, Penn State researchers developed the Complex Emotion…

Bad break-ups may not trigger weight gain from emotional eating

Oct 22, 2019

That pint of ice cream after a nasty breakup may not do as much damage as you think. Despite the emotional turmoil, people on average do not report gaining weight after a relationship dissolution, according to new research. The study, which included researchers from Penn State, were investigating…

Emotions like anger and sadness may cause pain as well as being a result of it

Sep 10, 2018

While emotions such as anger or sadness are often thought of as being a result of stress or pain, findings recently published by Penn State researchers suggest that negative or mixed emotions could function as stressors themselves. The manuscript, published in the journal Psychological Reports on…

Suppressing negative emotions during health scare may whip up spiral of fear

Jul 11, 2018

Trying to suppress worries during a health scare, like the recent Zika outbreak, may lead to an ever-intensifying cycle of emotional suppression and fear, according to a team of researchers. In a study of pregnant women in areas of the United States vulnerable to the Zika virus, the researchers…

$2.3 million grant will fund research on oxytocin neurons and social behavior

May 25, 2018

A team of Penn State researchers is planning to create a new map of the brain that will establish a neural circuit diagram of oxytocin, a compound often associated with affection and emotional behavior. Researchers hope the map will give them insight into how oxytocin in the brain drives social…

Holding on to stress-related emotions negatively effects health a decade later

May 18, 2018

by PRI Affiliate David Almeida Stress and an individual’s reaction to it are known to impact health, yet less is known about whether lingering emotions after a stressor effects long-term health.This was the focus of a recent study by NIA-funded investigators. Analyses were conducted using data from…