The Affect and Relationships Lab, directed by Prof. Eshkol Rafaeli tries to advance the understanding of two key components of daily life; our affect (that is, our moods and emotions, both disordered and non-disordered) and our relationships (and particularly the intimate bonds connecting committed couples).
The lab was founded in 2003, at Barnard College, Columbia University. Since 2009, Eshkol (and the lab) have been located at the Psychology Department and the Gonda Brain Research Center at Bar-Ilan University.
The lab was founded in 2003, at Barnard College, Columbia University. Since 2009, Eshkol (and the lab) have been located at the Psychology Department and the Gonda Brain Research Center at Bar-Ilan University.
Much of our current research is focused on the interplay between positive and negative, good and bad.
In studying affect, we ask questions such as: Are positive and negative moods such as happiness and sadness truly opposites for everyone, or would some people tend to experience them in synchrony? Is it more or less adaptive to experience positive and negative emotions in discrete or nuanced ways? Are individuals who are less successful at regulating their own moods characterized by different patterns of mood fluctuations, and are these patterns different for positive and negative moods?
In our relationship studies, we look at partners' attempts to make sense of each others' thoughts, feelings, and needs, as well as at the interplay of good (supportive) and bad (hindering) actions that happen in the life of any couple. We ask questions such as: What is it that makes well-meaning support less effective than it could be? And what are the factors that predict more skillful support? We also explore the role of sexual motivation and activity in the daily life of committed couples.
In studying affect, we ask questions such as: Are positive and negative moods such as happiness and sadness truly opposites for everyone, or would some people tend to experience them in synchrony? Is it more or less adaptive to experience positive and negative emotions in discrete or nuanced ways? Are individuals who are less successful at regulating their own moods characterized by different patterns of mood fluctuations, and are these patterns different for positive and negative moods?
In our relationship studies, we look at partners' attempts to make sense of each others' thoughts, feelings, and needs, as well as at the interplay of good (supportive) and bad (hindering) actions that happen in the life of any couple. We ask questions such as: What is it that makes well-meaning support less effective than it could be? And what are the factors that predict more skillful support? We also explore the role of sexual motivation and activity in the daily life of committed couples.
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Our projects have included ones studying affect and social cognition in individuals with personality disorders (funded in part by the Borderline Personality Disorder Research Foundation and the National Institute of Mental Health), as well as ones focused on the affect and social-cognition of non-distressed individuals in romantic relationships (funded in part by the Israel Science Foundation).
Across these different domains, we primarily conduct basic research, though we are now beginning to delve into more clinical studies (currently exploring Schema Therapy for avoidant personality disorder).
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