The Colby Emotion and Mood Lab integrates theories and methods of basic emotion research and clinical psychology to further our understanding of the impact of stress and interpersonal functioning on emotional reactivity and mood disorders. Our research primarily focuses on depression during the transition to young adulthood, while also examining basic emotion processes in healthy individuals. One question of interest to our lab is how a strong sense of belonging within one’s community and its opposite, belonging uncertainty, impact mental health. Our lab utilizes a variety of research methods, including ecological momentary assessment, interpersonal laboratory tasks, diagnostic interviews, and quantitative self-report measures.
Recent research projects in the Emotion and Mood Lab include 1) a randomized, controlled trial of a brief social belonging intervention to prevent depression, 2) the use of experience sampling methods to identify patterns of interpersonal stress, stress reactivity, and depression in young adults, and 3) a comparison of strategies to regulate anger.
For a more detailed description of current projects, select this link.
Selected Publications
(click on titles for PDFs)
* denotes Colby College student/alumnus author
Huebschmann, N. A., & Sheets, E. S. (2021). Don’t fear conflict: Relationship stress beliefs in friend, familial, and romantic relationships. Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research, 26(2), 252-261. https://doi.org/10.24839/2325-7342.JN26.2.252.
Sheets, E. S., & Armey, M. F. (2020). Daily interpersonal and noninterpersonal stress reactivity in current and remitted depression. Cognitive Therapy & Research, 44(4), 774-787. doi: 10.1007/s10608-020-10096-2
Huebschmann, N. A.*, & Sheets, E. S. (2020). The right mindset: Stress mindset moderates the association between perceived stress and depressive symptoms. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 33, 248-255. doi: 10.1080/10615806.2020.1736900
Rabasco, A. N.*, & Sheets, E. S. (2016). The effects of face-to-face and online social stress on emotion identification. Modern Psychological Studies, 22(1), 53-63.
Sheets, E. S., Bujarski, S., Leventhal, A. M., & Ray, L. A. (2015). Emotion differentiation and intensity during acute tobacco abstinence: A comparison of heavy and light smokers. Addictive Behaviors, 47, 70-73. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2015.03.024
Sheets, E. S., & Craighead, W. E. (2014). Comparing chronic interpersonal and noninterpersonal stress domains as predictors of depression recurrence in emerging adults. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 63, 36-42. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2014.09.001
Sheets, E. S., & Kraines, M.* (2014). Personality disorder traits as a moderator of poor social problem-solving skills and depressive symptoms. Journal of Individual Differences, 35(2), 103-110. doi: 10.1027/1614-0001/a000132
In the News
Dreaded Conflicts? Colby Magazine.
Stressed about Stress? Think Again-and Differently Colby Magazine.
What’s On Your Mind? Colby Magazine.
Erin Sheets
Lab Director, Associate Professor of Psychology
I received my A.B. in Psychology and Spanish from Duke University in 2001. I then attended graduate school at the University of Colorado at Boulder, completing my M.A. in 2004 and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 2008. After completing a predoctoral internship in adult clinical psychology at Brown University, I received specialized training as a postdoctoral fellow in mood disorders and perinatal mental health at Brown University and Butler Hospital. I joined the faculty of Colby College in Fall 2010.
My primary line of research focuses on the interplay of personality and stress on the course of depression, particularly during emerging adulthood (ages 18 – 29). I also have expanded this to a second line of research examining interpersonally-relevant emotion regulation skills in nonclinical samples. Overall, my work identifies particular behaviors and skills deficits that may disrupt interpersonal relationships, increase negative affect, and lead to the onset of depression. I aim for this research to inform future, interpersonally-based depression prevention efforts.
Recent Research Assistants
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Maggie Hall ’20
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SJ Sahagun ’20
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Sonia Tremblay ’20
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Lab Alumni
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Morganne Kraines,’11
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Jessica Blais,’12
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Stephanie (LaRose) Sienkiewicz,’12
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Kira Novak,’12 |
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Shelley Kind,’13
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Mariah Smith-Dutton,’13
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Rhiannon Archer,’14
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Kelsey Park,’14
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Monica Li,’15 |
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Ana Rabasco,’15
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Jared Scharf,’15 |
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Meredith Zakon ’15
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Anna Herling, ’16
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Misha Strage ’16
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Mollie Rich ’17
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Celine El-Abboud ’18 |
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Robbi Melvin ’18 |
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Yanlin Zhao ’18 |
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Mahal Alvarez-Backus ’19
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Cari Daniels ’19
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Nathan Huebschmann ’19
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2017
- Mollie and Mahal present a poster on rumination and social belonging in first-generation and continuing generation college students at the Society for Affective Science conference, April 2017.
2015
- Monica and Meredith present a poster on anger regulation at the Society for Affective Science conference, April 2015.
- Anna presents a poster on an online version of the Trier Social Stress Test at the Society for Affective Science conference, April 2015.
2013
- Shelley and Erin present a poster on social problem-solving in depressed and non-depressed emerging adults at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies convention, November 2013.
- Kelsey and Anna at the Waterville Farmers’ Market for our end of summer lab dinner.
- Anna Rabasco and Kelsey Park present research on barriers to social belonging at the Colby Undergraduate Summer Research Retreat, July 2013.
- Kelsey Park, Rhiannon Archer, Mariah Smith, Monica Li, Shelley Kind, and Meredith Zakon at our spring lab dinner, May 2013.
- Kelsey Park presents social media and emotion processing research at the Colby Undergraduate Research Symposium, April 2013.
2012
- Erin and Steph LaRose celebrate her honors research and graduation, May 2012.
- Steph LaRose, Kira Novak, Jess Blais, and Rhiannon Archer – all coding superstars – at our spring lab dinner, May 2012.
2011
- Morganne Kraines, the first Emotion and Mood Lab research assistant, and Erin during Morganne’s graduation weekend, May 2011.
