Post-Doctoral Scholar
eml5781@psu.edu
Dr. Erica O’Brien received her Ph.D. in Psychology, with emphasis on lifespan development, from North Carolina State University. She currently works with Dr. Smyth as a postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Healthy Aging at The Pennsylvania State University. Erica’s research broadly aims to address the psychological factors that either promote or compromise health and well-being in older adults. Much of Erica’s work and interests have focused specifically on motivational constructs that influence how older adults select, appraise, and engage in activities associated with health benefits. During her postdoctoral training, she plans to investigate the daily link between motivation and health behavior in mid- to late life by using micro-scale assessment approaches. Erica’s long-term goal involves the design, implementation, and dissemination of interventions that target specific motivational and self-regulatory constructs to affect activity engagement.