In the Platt Lab at the University of Pennsylvania, we have been investigating which behaviors and factors help people maintain and improve their well-being (e.g., during the pandemic). We are also testing interventions to improve mental well-being. Main areas of focus are relationship quality, mindfulness, arts and humanities, and coping behaviors. In addition, we have been studying how basic, primal beliefs about the world (e.g., whether the world is a good or bad place) have changed during the pandemic, taking into account individual differences in adversity experienced (e.g., see here).
In collaboration with other researchers from the Positive Psychology Center, we are applying surveys derived from positive psychology and mental health research. We combine these with behavioral decision-making tasks, such as virtual foraging tasks, to investigate how changes in well-being, anxiety and depression relate to decision-making.