معرفی
Dr. Amy Gentzler is a Professor of Life-Span Developmental Psychology at West Virginia University (WVU), leading the IDEA Lab. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Miami University, Ohio, and a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology (Social Psychology) from Kent State University. Her postdoctoral training included a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) fellowship in developmental psychopathology at George Washington University, followed by research at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the University of Pittsburgh’s childhood depression program. She joined WVU in 2007.
Research Focus: The IDEA Lab investigates emotion regulation, particularly how individuals develop strategies for managing emotions through familial and social influences. Key areas include:
- Social Media Use: Examines platform-specific impacts on mental health, especially among teens and college students. Recent work highlights moderators like personality traits (e.g., extraversion) and attachment styles.
- Positive Emotion Regulation: Explores strategies like savoring and dampening, including their effects on well-being and the risks of overvaluing happiness.
- Developmental Influences: Studies parental socialization, attachment theory, and how early relationships shape emotion beliefs and regulation.
Methodological Contributions: Developed tools such as the Positive Events and Responses Survey (PEARS) and Parental Reactions to Children’s Positive Events (PRCPE) to measure emotion regulation processes across ages.
Lab & Collaborations: Collaborates with researchers like Drs. Iris Mauss and Maria Kovacs on NIH-funded longitudinal studies tracking youth well-being. The lab also investigates emotion regulation in special populations, including actors and parents with depressive symptoms.
