Projects

Work in the Creating Healthy People Lab is devoted to generating new knowledge that can be used to help create healthier people. Much of the research focuses on the way in which the social environment affects health. Some of the work we do in the lab is described below.

Policy

Policy changes are broad-based interventions aimed to enhance public health. Our work focuses on understanding how to evaluate the impact of policy on individual-level behavior. We seek to understand when, why, and with what effect these policies lead to better health outcomes. We currently study this in the context of marijuana, but this work is highly relevant to other areas as well (e.g., tobacco regulation, dietary supplements).

Self-Regulation

Successful self-regulation is necessary for physical and psychological health. We often know what is needed to make ourselves healthy, yet fail to follow through on the things that bring about health. Research in our lab examines how to incorporate factors such as affect, information delivery, and feedback into health-related contexts (e.g., exercise, healthcare visits) to foster stronger connections between intention and behavioral action.

Physical Activity

Physical activity is a key predictor of human health. Why is it that many people love to exercise while others loathe it? What can we do to foster enjoyment of exercise? We aim to identify social, contextual, and individual mechanisms that facilitate exercise adoption and maintenance.

Substance Misuse and Abuse

Substance misuse and abuse interfere with physical and psychological health. Our work aims to understand factors in the social environment that facilitate and inhibit misuse and abuse. We focus on factors such as policy, physical activity, and self-regulation. Research in our lab applies this perspective to better understand how to prevent or intervene on substances such as alcohol, marijuana, opioids, and performance enhancers.