Dr A's Bio

Dr. Aspinwall's Biographical Information

Lisa G. Aspinwall, Ph.D.

Lisa G. Aspinwall (Associate Professor) received her undergraduate degree from Stanford University in 1987 and her Ph.D. from UCLA in 1991. Her research interests include the study of self-regulation (how people control and direct their own actions) and the role of personal and social resources in this process. Specific areas of current interest include optimism, proactive coping, social comparison theory, health psychology, and the relation of positive states and beliefs to the processing of negative events and information. She has also published research on preventive health behavior and coping with chronic illness. She is the recipient of a research grant from the National Science Foundation.

Selected Publications
Classes Taught
Editorships and Editorial Boards

Selected Publications
Self-Regulation

Aspinwall, L.G., & Taylor, S.E. (1997). A stitch in time: Self-regulation and proactive coping. Psychological Bulletin, 121, 417-436.

Aspinwall, L.G. (1998). Rethinking the role of positive affect in self-regulation. Motivation and Emotion, 22, 1-32.

Aspinwall, L.G. (in prep). Dealing with adversity: Adaptation, coping, health, and well-being. In A. Tesser & N. Schwarz (Eds.), The Blackwell handbook of social psychology: Vol. 1, Intraindividual processes.

Optimism

Aspinwall, L.G., & Brunhart, S.M. (1996). Distinguishing optimism from denial: Optimistic beliefs predict attention to health threats. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 993-1003.

Aspinwall, L.G., & Brunhart, S.M. (in press). What I do know won't hurt me: Optimism, attention to negative information, coping, and health. In J. Gillham (Ed.), The Science of Optimism: Research and Essays in Honor of Martin Seligman. Philadelphia: Templeton Foundation.

Aspinwall, L.G., Richter, L., & Hoffman, R.R. (in press). Understanding how optimism "works": Mediators, moderators, and future research directions. In E.C. Chang (Ed.), Optimism and pessimism: Theory, research, and practice. Washington: American Psychological Association.

Aspinwall, L.G., & Taylor, S.E. (1992). Modeling cognitive adaptation: A longitudinal investigation of the impact of individual differences and coping on college adjustment and performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 989-1003.

Taylor, S.E., Kemeny, M.E., Aspinwall, L.G., Schneider, S.G., Rodriguez, R., Herbert, M., & Dudley, J. (1992). Optimism, coping, psychological distress, and high-risk sexual behavior among men at risk for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 460-473.

Aspinwall, L.G., & Richter, L. (1998). Optimism and Self-Mastery Predict More Rapid Disengagement from Unsolvable Tasks in the Presence of Alternatives. Manuscript submitted for publication.

Proactive Coping

Aspinwall, L.G., & Taylor, S.E. (1997). A stitch in time: Self-regulation and proactive coping. Psychological Bulletin, 121, 417-436.

Aspinwall, L.G. (1997). Where planning meets coping: Proactive coping and the detection and management of potential stressors. In S.L. Friedman & E.K. Scholnick (Eds.) Why, how, and when do we plan? The developmental psychology of planning (pp. 285-320). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Aspinwall, L.G. (1997). Future-oriented aspects of social comparisons: A framework for studying health-related comparison activity. In B.P. Buunk & F.X. Gibbons (Eds.), Health, coping, and well-being: Perspectives from social comparison theory (pp. 125-165). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Social Comparison Theory

Aspinwall, L.G. (1998). Social comparison. In E. Blechman & K. Brownell (Eds.), Behavioral medicine and women: A comprehensive handbook (pp. 176-182). New York: Guilford.

Aspinwall, L.G., & Taylor, S.E. (1993). The effects of social comparison direction, threat, and self-esteem on affect, self-evaluation, and expected success. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 708-72

Taylor, S.E., Aspinwall, L.G., Giuliano, T.A., Dakof, G.A., & Reardon, K. (1993). Storytelling and coping with stressful events. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 23, 703-733.

Taylor, S.E., Buunk, B.P., & Aspinwall, L.G. (1990). Social comparison, stress and coping. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 16, 74-89.

Health Psychology

Aspinwall, L.G. (1998). Social comparison. In E. Blechman & K. Brownell (Eds.), Behavioral medicine and women: A comprehensive handbook (pp. 176-182). New York: Guilford.

Aspinwall, L.G., & Duràn, R.E.F. (1999). Psychology applied to health. In A.M. Stec & D.A. Bernstein (Eds.), Psychology: Fields of Application (pp. 17-38). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Aspinwall, L.G. (in prep). Persuasion for the purpose of cancer risk reduction. Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Taylor, S.E., & Aspinwall, L.G. (1990). Psychosocial aspects of chronic illness. In P.T. Costa, Jr., & G.R. VandenBos (Eds.), Psychological aspects of serious illness: Chronic conditions, fatal disease, and clinical care (pp. 3-60). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Taylor, S.E., & Aspinwall, L.G. (1996). Mediating and moderating processes in psychosocial stress: Appraisal, coping, resistance and vulnerability. In H.B. Kaplan (Ed.) Psychosocial stress: Perspectives on structure, theory, life-course, and methods (pp. 71-110). San Diego: Academic Press.

Relation of Positive States and Positive Beliefs to the Processing of Negative Events and Information

Aspinwall, L.G. (1998). Rethinking the role of positive affect in self-regulation. Motivation and Emotion, 22, 1-32.

Aspinwall, L.G., & Brunhart, S.M. (1996). Distinguishing optimism from denial: Optimistic beliefs predict attention to health threats. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 993-1003.

Reed, M.B., & Aspinwall, L.G. (1998). Self-affirmation reduces biased processing of health-risk information. Motivation and Emotion, 22, 99-132.

Taylor, S.E., Collins, R.L., Skokan, L.A., & Aspinwall, L.G. (1989). Maintaining positive illusions in the face of negative information: Getting the facts without letting them get to you. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 8, 114-129.

Preventive Health Behavior

Aspinwall, L.G., Kemeny, M.E., Taylor, S.E., Schneider, S.G., & Dudley, J.P. (1991). Psychosocial predictors of gay men's AIDS risk-reduction behavior. Health Psychology, 10, 432-444.

Reed, M.B., & Aspinwall, L.G. (1998). Self-affirmation reduces biased processing of health-risk information. Motivation and Emotion, 22, 99-132.

Taylor, S.E., Kemeny, M.E., Schneider, S.G., & Aspinwall, L.G. (1993). Coping with the threat of AIDS. In J.B. Pryor & G.D. Reeder (Eds.), The social psychology of HIV infection (pp. 305-332). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Aspinwall, L.G. (in prep). Persuasion for the purpose of cancer risk reduction. Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Coping with Chronic Illness and Other Stressors

Aspinwall, L.G., & Taylor, S.E. (1997). A stitch in time: Self-regulation and proactive coping. Psychological Bulletin, 121, 417-436.

Taylor, S.E., & Aspinwall, L.G. (1993). Coping with the stress of chronic illness. In L. Goldberger & S. Breznitz (Eds.), Handbook on stress (pp. 511-531). New York: Free Press.

Taylor, S.E., Aspinwall, L.G., & Giuliano, T.A. (1993). Emotions as psychological achievements. In S.M.H. Van Goozen, N.E. Van de Poll, & J.A. Sergeant (Eds.), Emotions: Essays on current issues in the field of emotion theory. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Taylor, S.E., Aspinwall, L.G., Giuliano, T.A., Dakof, G.A., & Reardon, K. (1993). Storytelling and coping with stressful events. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 23, 703-733.

Taylor, S.E., Kemeny, M.E., Reed, G.M., & Aspinwall, L.G. (1991). Assault on the self: Positive illusions and adjustment to threatening events. In G.A. Goethals & J.A. Strauss (Eds.), The self: An interdisciplinary perspective (pp. 239-254). New York: Springer-Verlag.

[then, under my description, please put the following headings, linked to text, as below: Selected Publications; Classes Taught; Editorships and Editorial Boards.]

Classes Taught

Psychology 221, Introduction to Social Psychology
Psychology 498H, Health Psychology
Psychology 744, Multivariate Methods in Social Psychology
Psychology 748, Current Topics in Self-Regulation
Psychology 749, Current Topics in Social Psychology

Psychology 221, Introduction to Social Psychology

Through a series of lectures, films, and demonstrations, this undergraduate lecture course examines the influence people have on each other's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. There are three major objectives of this course: 1) to show you the range and power of the influence people have on each others' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, 2) to present and to evaluate the major theories of social psychology, and 3) to discuss how social science research may be applied to social problems, such as violence and intergroup conflict. Please note that versions of this course offered by other instructors may have a different emphasis.

Click here for a copy of the syllabus from Dr Aspinwall's Spring 1999 class.

Click here for Gretchen Sechrist's Psyc 221 class webpage. (link under construction)

Click here for Dr. Strangor's Psyc 221 class weboage (link under construction)

Psychology 498H, Health Psychology

Health psychology combines theories and methods from a number of fields -- social psychology, clinical psychology, behavioral medicine, and immunology, to name a few -- to examine individual and social factors in human mental and physical health. This undergraduate honors seminar examines current theory and research on the following topics: 1) different conceptualizations of mental health and quality of life as they apply to medical decision making; 2) the effects of serious illness and other stressful life events on people's world view, self-concept, and hope for the future; 3) ways of coping with stressful events and their relation to psychological well-being; 4) reciprocal pathways between mental and physical health; 5) health and illness in social context, including an introduction to social comparison processes in stressed populations, the benefits and liabilities of different kinds of social support, and the effects of serious illness on interpersonal relationships; 6) theories of health behavior, with a special focus on AIDS-related behavior change; and, finally, 7) novel and successful interventions to facilitate illness prevention and to increase patient compliance. For each topic, students read articles selected by the professor to introduce relevant theories and findings. In addition, students prepare weekly discussion questions. Click here for a copy of the syllabus and reading list from Fall 1998.

This honors course has limited enrollment; however, interested students who are not members of the psychology department honors program should contact Dr. Aspinwall to discuss the possibility of enrollment in this course. If space allows, preference for enrollment by students who are not in the department honors program will be given to students who have completed Psyc 221 and Psyc 420 or who have work or life experience relevant to health psychology.

The course is currently scheduled to be offered next in the 1999-2000 academic year (semester to be announced).

Please note that this course number (Psyc 498H) is used for a number of different honors seminars. For more information, please contact the instructor listed for the particular version of Psyc 498H in any given semester. The above information applies only to Dr. Aspinwall's version of Psyc 498H.

For comments about Psyc 498H please e-mail Dr. Aspinwall at lga@wam.umd.edu

Psychology 744, Multivariate Methods in Social Psychology

The focus of this course of this advanced graduate seminar is the conduct, interpretation, and reporting of multivariate statistical analyses frequently used to test social psychological theory.

This course is a social area core course with limited enrollment. Graduate students from outside the social area should contact Dr. Aspinwall for permission to enroll.

The course will be offered in Fall 1999.

For comments about Psyc 744 please e-mail Dr. Aspinwall at lga@wam.umd.edu

Psychology 748, Current Topics in Self-Regulation

This advanced graduate seminar examines current research and theory on self-regulatory processes with a focus on the skills, resources, beliefs, and goals implicated in problem-solving and coping with stress. Topics include resource models of self-regulation; the role of positive and negative affect in self-regulation; proactive coping, planning and mental simulations; optimism; current topics in the study of psychological control and disengagement; and adaptational processes and outcomes. We will focus on these topics with respect to their underlying social cognitive processes and their potential importance in understanding stress, coping, and adaptation. Click here for a copy of the syllabus from Fall 1998.

Graduate students from outside the social area should contact Dr. Aspinwall for permission to enroll. This course is not scheduled to be offered in the 1999-2000 academic year, but is likely to be offered the following year.

Please note that this course number (Psyc 748) is used for several different advanced seminars in social psychology. For more information, please contact the instructor listed for each offering.

For comments about Psyc 748 please e-mail Dr. Aspinwall at lga@wam.umd.edu

Psychology 749, Current Topics in Social Psychology

This weekly lecture series presents speakers from other universities and departments, as well as our own students and faculty. We typically meet Mondays from 4-5:30 in BP 3132. All members of the campus community are welcome to attend, but only social psychology graduate students may take this course for credit. Click here for a copy of the Spring 1999 schedule.

For comments about Psyc 744 please e-mail Dr. Aspinwall at lga@wam.umd.edu

Editorships and Editorial Boards

Dr. Aspinwall is currently Associate Editor of Motivation and Emotion.

Dr. Aspinwall served as guest editor for a two-part special issue of Motivation and Emotion devoted to positive affect and self-regulation.

She is currently on the editorial board of the following journals:

Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 1996--present
Motivation and Emotion, 1998--present
Psychological Science, 1999-2001

She is a past member of the editorial board of the following journals:

Health Psychology
Women's Health: Research on Gender, Behavior, and Policy