Announcements

We have an opening for a new graduate student! This year, we are looking for applicants who are interested in conducting studies that use fMRI with emerging adults (ages 18-29). Previous fMRI experience is not required. To begin Fall 2021!

Our Research

Although interpersonal relationships are considered both a protective and risk factor for psychopathology, including depression, the mechanisms are not yet sufficiently understood. To better understand these mechanisms, our work has focused on the following three interrelated lines of clinical and basic research using experimental and naturalistic methods (e.g., fMRI, ecological momentary assessment): (1) the role of interpersonal factors in depression; (2) the cognitive-affective benefits of the social regulation of emotion; and (3) the roles of social and reward neural circuitries in rewarding and supportive social experiences. Further, we have primarily focused on examining these three lines of research in adolescence and emerging adulthood (ages 18-29), as these are periods involving high depression risk, high sensitivity to social stimuli, and continued social and affective development.

Meet Our Team

Graduate Students

Dan Tassone

Scott McQuain

Stephanie Manuel

Research Staff

Honours Alumni

Anastasia Mikhailitchenko

 

Orly Lipsitz

Click here to learn more about the READY Lab Team Members!

Current Research Projects

Goals Study
Emerging adulthood (ages 18-25) is a developmental period that normatively includes vital life goals, including finding a romantic life partner and obtaining higher education. In order to achieve such large goals, emerging adults begin with striving for smaller daily goals (e.g., attend social gatherings to meet someone to date, study to do well on exams) that scaffold the larger life goals. In this study we are using experience sampling methodology to better understand the roles of interpersonal relationships/interactions, emotions, and personality traits in daily goal striving among first-year university students. This work is supported by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
 
Social and Intrapersonal
Emotion Regulation Studies
The majority of emotion regulation research focuses on intrapersonal emotion regulation, but social forms of emotion regulation also play a crucial role in how we manage our emotions. In a series of studies, we are examining how social forms of emotion regulation are distinct from intrapersonal forms in terms of neural circuitry and real-world use and effectiveness. To do so, we are integrating fMRI and experience sampling methods. This work is supported by funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

Luis E. Flores Jr. 
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychology
Centre for Neuroscience Studies
​Queen's University, Kingston
B.A. University of California, Berkeley, 2007
Ph.D., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2015
C. Psych. (Supervised Practice), College of Psychologists of Ontario
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T: 613-533-3177
E: luis.flores@queensu.ca