Research Interests

Dr. Kennedy-Metz’s primary research interest includes characterizing psychophysiological indicators of underlying emotional and cognitive states using non-invasive sensors.  Specific topics she is currently interested in include:

• identifying psychophysiological signatures of stress across distinct populations (e.g., students, student-athletes, police officers, healthcare workers, kitchen staff, etc.)
• developing population-specific, tailored biofeedback-based approaches to stress management interventions
• classifying the psychophysiological impact of and recovery from isolated emotional events

What Dr. Kennedy-Metz is looking for in a Research Assistant

Research assistants may be involved with many aspects of the research process, including conducting literature reviews, troubleshooting equipment as necessary, developing experimental materials and protocols, collecting data (in and outside of the lab), and entering and analyzing data.  Highly motivated students will have opportunities for more involvement in study design, statistical analysis, presenting work at public forums, writing and submitting manuscripts based on work done in the lab, and other more advanced tasks.

All students working as research assistants in Dr. Kennedy-Metz’s lab are expected to be highly conscientious and hard-working, able to juggle a variety of tasks, have timely/strong communication skills, and be resourceful in general.  Although she will consider every student individually for a research position, here are some general guidelines for Dr. Kennedy-Metz’s preferences for research students:

• Work Study Research Assistants
  • GPA: 2.0 or higher
  • Class year: Any
  • Classwork: No requirements
  • Preferred skills: Experience with Microsoft Office (especially Excel and Word); familiarity with library resources and performing lit searches
• Research Experience Students
  • GPA: 2.0 or higher
  • Class year: Any
  • Classwork: No requirements
  • Preferred skills: Experience with Microsoft Office (especially Excel and Word); familiarity with library resources and performing lit searches
• Research Practicum Students
  • GPA: 2.5 or higher
  • Classification: Sophomore or higher
  • Classwork: PSYC 202 or 204 required
  • Preferred skills: Experience with Microsoft Office (especially Excel and Word) and SPSS/Jamovi; familiarity with library resources and performing lit searches
• Independent Study Students
  • GPA: 3.0 or higher
  • Classification: Junior or higher
  • Classwork: PSYC 202 and 204 required
  • Preferred skills: Experience with Microsoft Office (especially Excel and Word) and SPSS/Jamovi; familiarity with library resources and performing lit searches; strong writing and communication skills

If you are interested in working with Dr. Kennedy-Metz, please get in touch via email (kennedymetz@roanoke.edu), and complete the application for research assistants.

Current Research  

Everyone experiences stress differently, and my ultimate goal is to understand how that experience unfolds for groups of people operating in different environments.  For example, it’s unlikely that a police officer experiences and copes with stressors in the same way that a surgeon does, given inherent differences in the workload imposed by the demands in each environment, the training that has prepared folks to deal with this, and individual differences, among other factors.  In these types of populations, it’s helpful to observe and collect data from individuals as they operate in their natural environment.  My aim is to use objective data about physiological changes to infer psychological states, but physiological information alone won’t tell the whole story.

Another branch of my research includes gaining an in-depth understanding of the personal experience of stress across various groups of people.  Understanding the nuances and impact of work-specific stressors requires qualitative data collection and analysis in a way that is designed to explain sensor-derived, quantitative data.  With this more holistic understanding in mind, my final goal is to design tailored approaches to coping with stressors that will vary according to distinct demographics.  In this regard, I’m also very interested in developing, implementing, and measuring biofeedback interventions.

In addition to front-line workers, it’s worthwhile to understand the everyday stress we experience as students, student-athletes, and instructors.  One way to approach these groups is to incorporate the same approaches described above, which may include more hypothesis-generating, observational methods.  Another way of doing so is to focus on hypothesis-testing, experimental methods.  To do so, we can invite participants into the lab to take part in experiments that have a higher degree of control.

I’m very interested in using a range of sensors to derive a more comprehensive picture of underlying psychophysiological states.  These may include measures such as electrocardiography to measure heart rate, electromyography to measure muscle tension, electroencephalography to measure brainwaves, functional near infrared spectroscopy to measure cerebral oxygenation levels, galvanic skin response to measure skin conductance, electrooculography to measure eye movements, respiration, and others.

Recent Student Research Projects

One example of a current student-led research project involves comparing physiological responses to a horror-based videogame while playing on either PC or in a virtual environment.  This is a great example of the broad application of psychophysiological approaches incorporating multiple types of equipment to understand underlying emotional states more deeply.