people

Curriculum Vita
Advanced Social Psychology (PSY 5410/6410)
Graduate Seminar in Self-Regulation (PSY 7465)
Introduction to Social Psychology (PSY 3410)

Research Interests

My research interests include the study of self-regulation (how people plan, control, and revise their own actions as they pursue long-term goals that are important to them) and the roles played by emotions and expectations in this process. Specific areas of interest include future-oriented thinking (optimism, proactive coping, preventive behaviors), positive affect, and the processing of negative events and information.

My current research examines these processes in the context of cancer genetic testing and other health-risk communications that offer people the opportunity to proactively manage cancer risk through prevention and early detection.

Education

Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles (Psychology, 1991)
M.A. University of California, Los Angeles (Psychology, 1988)
B.A. Stanford University (Psychology, 1987)

Selected Publications

Aspinwall, L. G., & Tedeschi, R.G. (2010). The value of Positive Psychology for Health Psychology: Progress and pitfalls in examining the relation of positive phenomena to health. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 39, 4-15.

Aspinwall, L. G., Taber, J. M., Leaf, S. L., Kohlmann, W., & Leachman, S. A. (2011). Genetic testing for hereditary melanoma and pancreatic cancer: A longitudinal study of psychological outcome. Psycho-Oncology. Electronic publication ahead of print, October 7, 2011.

Leaf, S. L., Aspinwall, L. G., & Leachman, S. A. (2010). God and agency in the era of molecular medicine: Religious beliefs predict sun-protection behaviors following melanoma genetic test reporting. Archive for the Psychology of Religion, 32, 87-112.

Aspinwall, L. G. (2011). Future-oriented thinking, proactive coping, and the management of potential threats to health and well-being. In S. Folkman (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Stress, Health and Coping. New York: Oxford University Press (pp. 334-365).

Aspinwall, L. G., Leaf, S. L., & Leachman, S. A. (in press). Meaning and agency in the context of genetic testing for familial cancer. To appear in P.T.P. Wong (Ed.), The Human Quest for Meaning: Theories, Research, and Applications (2nd Edition). New York: Routlege.

Aspinwall, L. G., Leaf, S. L., Dola, E. R., Kohlmann, W., & Leachman, S. A. (2008). CDKN2A/p16 genetic test reporting improves early detection intentions and practices in high-risk melanoma families. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 17, 1510-1519.

Aspinwall, L. G., Leaf, S. L., Kohlmann, W., Dola, E. R., & Leachman, S. A. (2009). Patterns of photoprotection following CDKN2A/p16 genetic test reporting and counseling. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 60, 745-757.

My current graduate students

Jennifer Taber
Tammy Stump