Robert F.
Simons
Professional Affiliations
Professor
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, 1980
rsimons@udel.edu
Office: Room 215 Wolf Hall
Phone: (302) 831-2389: Office (302) 831-1041: Lab (302) 831-3645: Fax
Research Interests
Psychophysiological approaches to human emotion and cognition. Current studies
involve the impact of specific media properties such as
motion, color and sound on the emotion dimensions of valence and arousal.
In addition to our long-standing interest in emotion-processing deficits such as
anhedonia and arousal, our most recent studies use brain-potential (ERP)
and reflex (startle) measures to explore executive function in subjects with
anxiety disorders.
Some Interesting (we think) and Recent Publications
- Simons, R.F. & Perlstein, W.P. (1997).
A Tale of Two Reflexes: An ERP Analysis of Prepulse Inhibition and
Orienting. In P.J. Lang, R.F. Simons & M.T. Balaban (Eds.). Attention
and Orienting: Sensory and Motivational Processes. Erlbaum: Hillsdale,
NJ.
- Simons, R.F., Detenber, B.H., Roedema, T.M. & Reiss,
J.E. (1999). Emotion-Processing in
Three Systems: The Medium and the Message. Psychophysiology, 36,
619-627.
- Perlstein,
W.P., Simons, R.F. & Graham,
F.K.
(2001).
Prepulse effects as a function of cortical projection system.
Biological Psychology, 56, 83-111.
- Simons,
R.F., Graham, F.K., Miles, M.A. & Chen, X. (2001). On
the Relationship of P3a and the Novelty-P3. Biological
Psychology, 56, 207-218.
- Hajcak,
G. & Simons, R.F. (2002). Error-Related Brain Activity
in Obsessive-Compulsive Undergraduates. Psychiatry Research, 110,
63-72.
-
Hajcak, G.,
McDonald, N. & Simons, R.F. (2003). To err is autonomic:
Error-related brain potentials, ANS activity, and post-error compensatory
behavior. Psychophysiology, 40, 895-903.
-
Hajcak, G., Moser, J.S.,
Holroyd, C.B. & Simons, R.F. (2006). The feedback-related
negativity reflects the binary evaluation of good versus bad outcomes.
Biological Psychology, 71, 148-154.
-
Moser, J.S., Hajcak, G., Bukay, E. &
Simons, R.F. (2006). Intentional modulation of emotional responding to
unpleasant pictures: An ERP study. Psychophysiology, 43, 292-296.
Graduate Student Interests and Activities
- Jason Moser (B.A. Penn State University) -- In
general, I’m interested in the psychophysiological (ERP, heart rate, skin
conductance, EMG) correlates of emotion-cognition interactions. Currently
my research focuses on two issues: 1) the psychophysiological correlates of
normal and abnormal emotion regulation (Moser,
Hajcak, Bukay & Simons, 2007) and
2) the psychophysiological correlates of information
processing abnormalities in anxious and depressed populations
(Moser, Huppert, Duval & Simons,
2006).
- Jason Krompinger (B.A. University of Notre Dame) -- I
am interested in the interaction betweeen cognitive control and emotion as
it is reflected in event-related brain potentials (ERPs) and peripheral
psychophysiology. Specifically, cognitive control of the emotional response
itself (i.e. emotion regulation; Krompinger, Moser, &
Simons, 2008), and the modulation of the cognitive control system in
various affective contexts. Additionally, I am interested in examining both
cognitive control dysfunction and emotional biases among individuals with
clinical and sub-clinical levels of depression and anxiety, and the extent
to which such dysfunction can be remediated.
- Damion Grasso (B.A.
Skidmore College; M.A. Wesleyan University) – My work focuses on: (a)
understanding the biological and environmental underpinnings involved in the
development and maintenance of the parent-child relationship, and (b)
exploring the influence of this relationship on psychological consequences
of stress and trauma. One study examined event-related potentials (ERPs)
associated with attention and arousal as mothers viewed pictures of their
own children and other children and adults (Grasso,
Moser, Dozier & Simons, 2007). A second study sought to
determine if adolescents viewing their parents’ pictures vs. other pictures
would show attenuated acoustic startle reflexes and ERP patterns reflective
of increased attention and arousal.
Undergraduate Student Research
Recent Honors Theses (Good luck -- We miss you
already)
- Ashlie Maquire
- Jennifer
Petrongolo
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