FEEL Study (Feeling Emotions in Everyday Life)

Supervising Faculty: Lauren M. Bylsma, PhD and Lori Scott, PhD

Contact: Lauren M. Bylsma, bylsmal@pitt.edu

Area of Research: Clinical Psychology

Description of Research: My lab's overall program of research focuses on physiological processes underlying emotion reactivity and regulation in the laboratory and in daily life in relation to depression, anxiety and other affective disorders from adolescence through adulthood. Current directed study opportunities are available in the FEEL Study (Feeling Emotions in Everyday Life), which is an NIMH-funded project in collaboration with the University of Western Australia. In this project, we are interested in the association between emotion regulation capacity in the laboratory and emotion regulation effectiveness in daily life in adults with elevated depression and anxiety symptoms using laboratory and ambulatory psychophysiological assessment. There are also opportunities for joint experiences to work in both the FEEL Study and DEAR Study (with Dr. Scott--see DEAR Study listing).

Duties of Students: All students will attend weekly project meetings and journal club and will compete literature reviews and readings to understand the conceptual and theoretical bases for the research. All students will assist with processing (i.e., artifact correction) and analysis of psychophysiology data, as well as general data management tasks, which may be completed either on site or virtually. On-site opportunities may be available to assist with running participants through the laboratory/physiological data collection tasks. Other project specific opportunities may include conducting clinical phone screens with potential participants, scheduling participants, providing instructions to participants for the ecological momentary assessment/ambulatory assessment tasks, and observing clinical interviews. Students will complete a paper, poster, or journal club presentation at the end of the course. Advanced students are encouraged to engage in data analysis and conference presentations or manuscript preparation (including working with archival data collected from other related projects), depending on specific background and interests.

Requirements:

  • Overall GPA of 3.0 or higher
  • 12 credits of Psychology (including current term)
  • STAT 0200/1000/1100 Statistics
  • PSY 0036 Research Methods Lecture
  • PSY 0037 Research Methods Lab
  • Register for 2-3 units of directed research (6-9 hours per week)
  • Minimum 2 semester commitment
  • Strong interpersonal and organizational skills

Additional Information: Having some prior experience with research, working with clinical populations, and statistical or programming experience are helpful to get the most out of this experience.

Recruitment Process: Students who express interest via e-mail will be asked to submit a CV or resume and a brief cover letter. If the student’s interests align with the research opportunities offered in my lab, and if student positions are available, we will organize an in-person or virtual interview with myself, Dr. Scott, and/or a postgraduate (postdoc or research administrator) working with Dr. Scott. To reduce bias and ensure equity in consideration of candidates, all students will be asked a uniform set of questions regarding their prior experience, research interests, goals for directed study, and career goals. We will provide detailed information about the research opportunities offered and expectations for students, and candidates will be given opportunities to ask any questions.

Terms offered: Fall, Spring, Summer

Number of Students: 6