Dr. Melissa Cyders
Assistant Professor
Office: LD 120G
Phone: (317) 274-6752
Email: mcyders@iupui.edu
2003 B.A. Psychology, Ohio University
2003 B.A. Spanish, Ohio University
2005, M.S. Clinical Psychology, University of Kentucky
2009 Clinical Psychology Internship, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System and the University of Michigan Medical School
2009 Ph.D. Clinical Psychology, University of Kentucky
View my Vita
View my Web page
Current Research Interests:
My primary research area is the role of concerning the important role of emotional experiences in risk processes for a wide range of maladaptive health behaviors, including alcohol use, drug use, gambling, and eating disorders. To summarize, much research concerning impulsivity as a risk factor for maladaptive behaviors has included a wide range of traits under the broad concept of “impulsivity.” Impulsivity actually subsumes many different tendencies toward rash action, including tendencies toward risky behaviors while in extreme mood states, both positive and negative. These two specific tendencies, referred to as positive and negative urgency in the literature, respectively, tend to predispose an individual toward more extreme risk behaviors that tend to have a higher rate of negative outcomes. Although these distal trait predictors are important for risk prediction, they, alone cannot determine behavior. They do, however, influence an individual to develop positive outcome expectancies for risk behaviors, which in turn are reinforced by participation in the risk behaviors. Generally, the distal urgency traits predispose an individual to a wide range of risky behaviors and the specific outcome expectancies influence the specific behavior in which the individual participates (be it binge eating, alcohol consumption, or risky sexual practices). I have studied these traits cross-sectionally, longitudinally, and experimentally (see vitae for references).
Generally, emotions have a functional, adaptive role in nature: they serve to motivate behavior and to draw one’s attention to important and salient aspects of any given situation. Humans have a limited number of cognitive resources at any given time, and emotions are one means by which individuals decide how to allocate these resources. Many brain systems and neurotransmitter interaction serve to reinforce this connection: Regulation of the frontal lobe by areas of the brain devoted to emotional experiences speaks to the importance that emotions play in our every day life. Additionally, serotonin and dopamine pathways tend to interact, and may do so to the extent that they reinforce the ability for quick and rash action when in extreme emotional conditions. Furthermore, emotions signal a need for action, such as a need to solve a problem at hand, or a need to pursue sexual interest; when actions are in line with these signals, emotions very effectively help us to address particular needs and desires. However, a more maladaptive process occurs with some individuals, in which the actions in which they participate do not address the original precipitating need. For example, an individual may choose to consume alcohol or to gamble in response to stress at work; these actions do not address the precipitating need and serve only as a means of distraction, leaving the original need wholly unmet. Additionally, these actions can inhibit an individual from returning to address the need in the first place.
Future research goals are as follows:
- Examining the meditational role of risky behaviors in the relationship between emotional experience and negative health outcomes, such as increased pain, fibromyalgia, heart problems, and other health complications. Direct links between emotions and health outcomes have been documented previously, and I hope to show that the relationship is partially mediated by the urgency traits.
- Additionally, I have a particular interest in the overlap between PTSD and chronic pain (as well as other health complications). Recent research I have conducted has shown that PTSD predicts increased pain, which is partially mediated by depressive symptoms and sleep disturbance, in orofacial pain patients. I hope to examine the clusters of PTSD symptoms, namely hyperarousal, avoidance, and intrusive symptoms, and their differential relationship to pain complaints. Additionally, endorsement of maldaptive thoughts about the self, world, and others that are common in PTSD are likely to relate to health outcomes, such as treatment adherence, autonomic nervous system arousal, and the discontinuation of maladaptive behaviors such as drinking and smoking.
- I hope to examine further the moderational role of the urgency traits for complications with treatment adherence. It appears that some individuals are more likely to follow suggestions of health-care providers, such as to quit smoking or drinking, but for others, likely those who tend to act rashly in extreme mood states, these abstinence models would be difficult. I suggest that the urgency traits will moderate this relationship.
- I hope to examine the role of these traits through the measurement of emotional arousal levels and autonomic nervous system arousal to show how these traits affect (1) level of emotional arousal and (2) urge to act.
- Ecological momentary assessment will help to clarify that these traits, which are often measured through self-report and interview methods, actually affect behaviors in the real-life setting.
- Finally, Collaborative research with neuroscientists will be the ultimate test of the hypotheses that I have offered in Cyders & Smith (2008) concerning key brain systems and neurotransmitter processes underlying positive and negative urgency. I believe strongly that studies that integrate knowledge from different fields of psychology, such as neuropsychology and personality, have the most potential to inform researchers and clinicians about etiological phenomena.
