Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles
Relationships with others provide us with many benefits and are generally important for our mental and physical health and wellbeing. On the flip side, when things go wrong in a relationship or when we feel isolated from others the costs can be great. In our lab we investigate both the good and the bad of relationships. We look at how relationships help people thrive and we try to understand why some people are better able to establish and maintain well-functioning relationships. Additionally, we look at how negative relationship-related events (such as rejection or loneliness) harm health and wellbeing and we try to understand why some people are better at coping with these events. Finally, we investigate interventions designed to help people cope with negative relationship events.
Our research incorporates and integrates theory from both social psychology and health psychology. We use varied methodologies and assessments, including experimental, observational, and daily diary methods, as well as cardiovascular and neuroendocrine assessments in order to explore links between cognition, affect, social behavior, and physiology.
We hope that our research findings will contribute to a better understanding of the value of social relationships and will be used to promote adaptive responses to relationship events.
