Investigating affective reactivity in mood and anxiety disorders

Disturbances in the intensity and stability of emotions are among the core features of mood and anxiety disorders. One phenotype of particular interest is affective reactivity: the degree to which an individual’s emotional state fluctuates in response to events in their environment. A number of psychological disorders have been linked with elevated affective reactivity, including major depression, bipolar disorder, and generalised anxiety disorder. This project will investigate the associations between emotion disorder symptoms and affective reactivity to rewarding stimuli (in both clinical and non-clinical samples), and would suit a candidate with interests in the intersection between clinical and cognitive psychology.