Paul E. Plonski

I am a PhD candidate for a dual degree in Psychology and Cognitive Science at Tufts. My target graduation date is August 2024. I work in the Emotion, Brain, and Behavior Lab, where we study emotion – how emotions occur in the mind and body, how people regulate their emotions, and the impacts of affective processes on individual and collective problems.

One line of work is on emotion regulation and performance in stressful contexts, specifically focused on spatial performance under conditions of time pressure. Another line of work explores how people experience and regulate emotions when faced with climate change information, and how those emotion processes are associated with climate change solutions.

I have worked as a research assistant in numerous healthcare settings, communities, and laboratories. My early training was in social psychology, behavioral health, and neuroscience. My MA is in Psychological Sciences from Northern Arizona University, where I studied Satipaṭṭhāna-style mindfulness. My BS is in Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University, where I studied dispositional mindfulness.

I think open science practices and transparency are important.

“‘It’s all like an ocean!’ cried Dostoevski. I say it’s all like cellophane.”

– Kurt Vonnegut, Breakfast of Champions