Current Research Projects

Cultural Variation in Affect Valuation
These studies examine how culture shapes the affective states that people ideally want to feel (their "ideal affect") and the behavioral choices that people make to achieve those desired states in the United States, Beijing, and Hong Kong (in collaboration with Drs. Xiulan Zhang of Beijing Normal University, and Helene Fung of Chinese University of Hong Kong).

Culture, Age, and Affect Valuation
These studies examine how the affective states that people ideally want to feel (their "ideal affect") changes across the life span in a sample of European Americans and Chinese Americans between the ages of 18-80.

Socialization of Affect Valuation
These studies examine how children and adults learn to value specific states through interpersonal interaction, religion, and exposure to popular media.

Cultural Variation in Emotional Response
These studies examine how culture shapes the physiological, subjective, and behavioral (facial and verbal) aspects of emotional responding during emotional events (e.g., while watching emotional films, reliving emotional episodes, discussing an area of conflict with a romantic partner.

Depression and Emotion Across Cultures
These studies examine the effects of depression on emotional responding in European Americans and Asian Americans.

The Effects of Buddhist Meditation on Compassion
Using a measure of compassion that we developed, these studies examine whether Buddhist meditation affects compassionate feelings, attitudes, and behaviors.