Relationships and Stress Lab

The Relationships and Stress Lab’s research is designed to determine causal mechanisms and contextual factors that contribute to the occurrence of psychological and physical aggression in close relationships. A particular emphasis is placed on how exposure to stress and trauma-related psychopathology interact with early-stage social information processing (e.g., individuals’ attention to, and perception of, emotionally and physically threatening social stimuli) to lead to aggression in intimate and parent-child relationships. This model includes the study of developmental and intra- and interpersonal processes that contribute to changes in information processing that are important to the maintenance of adaptive close relationships and recovery from post-traumatic sequelae.