Suzanne Segerstrom Explained

Suzanne Segerstrom
Occupation:	Professor of Psychology
Workplaces:	University of Kentucky
Alma Mater:	Lewis and Clark College; University of California, Los Angeles; University of Kentucky
Awards:	Templeton Positive Psychology Prize (2002)

Suzanne C. Segerstrom is a professor of Psychology and biostatistician at the University of Kentucky. She is known for her clinical research on optimism and pessimism in relation to health, stress, and general well-being.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Segerstrom was the 2002 first prize recipient of the Templeton Positive Psychology Prize^[4] for her work "aimed at understanding the processes behind optimistic dispositions and beliefs and, in particular, how these processes relate to the functioning of the immune system".^[5] She is Editor-in-chief of Psychosomatic Medicine.^[6] She previously served as president of the American Psychosomatic Society.^[7] Segerstrom is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science.^[8]

Biography

Segerstrom was born in Boston, MA and grew up in Oregon. She attended Lewis and Clark College^[9] where she received a bachelor's degree in psychology and music in 1990. Segerstrom went on to complete M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in clinical psychology at UCLA (1997), and a clinical internship in psychology at Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Center (University of British Columbia). She subsequently earned a M.P.H. degree in biostatistics from the University of Kentucky (2017).^[10]

As a graduate student at UCLA, Segerstrom worked under the supervision of Shelley E. Taylor, Margaret Kemeny, and Michelle Craske. Her dissertation titled "Optimism is associated with mood, coping, and immune change in response to stress"^[11] received the American Psychological Association Martin E. P. Seligman Award for Outstanding Dissertation Research on the Science of Optimism and Hope.

Segerstrom's research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Aging.^[12]

Research

Segerstrom's research examines individual differences in cognition, emotion, and personality factors (e.g., dispositional optimism) in relation to psychological well-being, health, and physiological functions (e.g., immune system). This includes studies of the effects of disappointment^[13] and emotional approach coping^[14] on health. Her collaborative research with Sandra Sephton has explored how law students' expectations for their future affect their immune response,^{[15] [16]} and suggests that optimism yields health benefits, including protection against viral infections.^[17] Such findings align with other work indicating that people who have positive attitudes have better health outcomes.^[18]

Segerstrom is the author of Breaking Murphy's Law: How Optimists Get What They Want and Pessimists Can Too^[19] and the editor of The Oxford Handbook of Psychoneuroimmunology.^[20]

Selected works

• Nes, L. S., & Segerstrom, S. C. (2006). Dispositional optimism and coping: A meta-analytic review. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10(3), 235–251.
• Segerstrom, S. C. (2007). Optimism and resources: Effects on each other and on health over 10 years. Journal of Research in Personality, 41(4), 772–786.
• Segerstrom, S. C., & Miller, G. E. (2004). Psychological stress and the human immune system: A meta-analytic study of 30 years of inquiry. Psychological Bulletin, 130(4), 601–630.
• Segerstrom, S. C., & Nes, L. S. (2007). Heart rate variability reflects self-regulatory strength, effort, and fatigue. Psychological Science, 18(3), 275–281.
• Segerstrom, S. C., Taylor, S. E., Kemeny, M. E., & Fahey, J. L. (1998). Optimism is associated with mood, coping, and immune change in response to stress. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(6), 1646–1655.
• Segerstrom, S. C., Tsao, J. C., Alden, L. E., & Craske, M. G. (2000). Worry and rumination: Repetitive thought as a concomitant and predictor of negative mood. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 24(6), 671–688.

External links

• Faculty Page
• Psychoneuroimmunology Lab Page

Notes and References

1. News: Reddy . Sumathi . 2014-08-05 . A Perfect Dose of Pessimism . en-US . Wall Street Journal . 2022-03-13 . 0099-9660.
2. News: Becker . Dana . 2013-03-29 . Five myths about stress . en-US . Washington Post . 2022-03-13 . 0190-8286.
3. Song . Sora . 2004-07-12 . The Price Of Pressure . en-US . Time . 2022-03-13 . 0040-781X.
4. Web site: Crawford . Nicole . Positivity pays off for winners of psychology's top monetary prize . American Psychological Association.
5. Web site: Psychologists Receive Profession's Largest Monetary Prize for Research on the Effect Positive Traits Such as Optimism Have on Psychological and Physical Health. APA.
6. Web site: 2021-12-02 . American Psychosomatic Society Appoints Suzanne Segerstrom, PhD, MPH as the next Editor-in-Chief of Psychosomatic Medicine . 2022-03-13 . American Psychosomatic Society . en-US.
7. Web site: APS Newsletter. www.psychosomatic.org. 16 May 2017. 2018-10-10.
8. Web site: Segerstrom Named APS Fellow for Outstanding Contribution to Psychology University of Kentucky Research. www.research.uky.edu. en. 2018-10-10.
9. Web site: Schwartz . Todd . Positive Thinking . 2022-03-13 . www.lclark.edu . en.
10. Web site: Suzanne Segerstrom Psychology. psychology.as.uky.edu. en. 2018-10-10.
11. Segerstrom . Suzanne C. . Taylor . Shelley E. . Kemeny . Margaret E. . Fahey . John L. . 1998 . Optimism is associated with mood, coping, and immune change in response to stress. . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology . en . 74 . 6 . 1646–1655 . 10.1037/0022-3514.74.6.1646 . 9654763 . 1939-1315.
12. Web site: $3.3 Million Grant Goes to Segerstrom to Study Brain Health Psychology . 2022-03-13 . psychology.as.uky.edu . en.
13. Segerstrom . Suzanne C. . 2006 . How does optimism suppress immunity? Evaluation of three affective pathways. . Health Psychology . en . 25 . 5 . 653–657 . 10.1037/0278-6133.25.5.653 . 1930-7810 . 1613541 . 17014284.
14. Hoyt . Michael A. . Wang . Ashley Wei-Ting . Boggero . Ian A. . Eisenlohr-Moul . Tory A. . Stanton . Annette L. . Segerstrom . Suzanne C. . 2020 . Emotional approach coping in older adults as predictor of physical and mental health. . Psychology and Aging . en . 35 . 4 . 591–603 . 10.1037/pag0000463 . 1939-1498 . 8199838 . 32271069.
15. Segerstrom . Suzanne C. . Sephton . Sandra E. . 2010-02-24 . Optimistic Expectancies and Cell-Mediated Immunity . Psychological Science . en . 21 . 3 . 448–455 . 10.1177/0956797610362061 . 3933956 . 20424083.
16. Segerstrom . Suzanne C. . Sephton . Sandra E. . Westgate . Philip M. . 2017-04-01 . Intraindividual variability in cortisol: Approaches, illustrations, and recommendations . Psychoneuroendocrinology . en . 78 . 114–124 . 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.01.026 . 0306-4530 . 5362320 . 28192775.
17. Web site: Jacobs . Tom . Optimism's Links to Immunity . 2022-03-13 . Pacific Standard . en.
18. Web site: Allen-West. Catherine. Optimism Boosts the Immune System. Association for Psychological Science.
19. Book: C., Segerstrom, Suzanne. Breaking Murphy's law : how optimists get what they want from life-- and pessimists can too. 2006. Guilford Press. 9781593855925. New York. 62525100.
20. Book: The Oxford handbook of psychoneuroimmunology. 2012. Oxford University Press. Segerstrom, Suzanne C.. 9780195394399. New York. 775894214.