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Robert Levenson Professor Ph.D., Vanderbilt University
Robert W. Levenson works in the areas of human psychophysiology and affective neuroscience, both of which involve studying the interplay between psychological and physiological processes. Much of his work focuses on the nature of human emotion, in terms of its physiological manifestations, variations in emotion associated with age, gender, culture and clinical pathology, and the role emotion plays in interpersonal interactions. Dr. Levenson's research group is currently focusing primarily on two major projects: a study of emotion and aging and a study of the impact of neurodegenerative diseases on emotional functioning, both supported by grants from the National Institute of Aging. Emotion and Aging The centerpiece of this work has been an ongoing longitudinal study of a large sample of long-term first marriages in middle and old age. This work uses an observational methodology in which couples come to the laboratory and engage in naturalistic discussions about important topics related to their relationship. These interactions are studied to determine if there are signs in emotional experience, behavior, language, and physiology that can be used to discriminate between the interactions of couples who are satisfied and dissatisfied with their relationships, to discriminate between couples at different stages of the life span, and to predict what will happen to the level of couples' relationship satisfaction over time. Couples are studied as they progress through prototypical later-life transitions (children leaving home for middle-aged couples, retirement and health changes for older couples), trying to determine what kinds of couples fare well as they cope with these transitions and what kinds of couples fare poorly. The other focus of this work is to learn about normative changes in emotion that occur with age. Here, emotional reactivity, emotional regulation, and emotional knowledge/understanding are assessed in the laboratory in participants at different ages (cross-sectionally and longitudinally) to determine how human emotions change as we age. Unlike many other aspects of human functioning which show pronounced declines with age (e.g., memory, psychomotor skills), certain aspects of emotional functioning appear to be relatively spared as we age, and some even show signs of continuing improvement and positive development in late life. Emotion in Neurodegenerative Disorders In these studies, we are examining the ways that emotion (especially reactivity, regulation, and empathy), personality, language, and social behavior (especially marital interaction) are altered in the early stages of organic brain syndromes (frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and orbitofrontal brain injuries). Of particular interest are those patients who show neural loss in brain areas thought to be critical to emotional functioning. This work builds upon our extensive prior work studying normative emotional processes, which should enable us to detect even subtle changes in the emotion system that are associated with the onset and course of neuropathology. Patients will be studied longitudinally so that changes in the emotional realm can be associated with neural loss in particular brain regions. This research is being conducted in collaboration with a group of neurologists at UCSF and Berkeley and is currently being expanded to include a component concerned with the genetics of these disorders and another concerned with the differential diagnosis of the dementias in clinical practice. OTHER RESEARCH 
A number of other research projects are also being conducted in Dr. Levenson's laboratory. Culture, Ethnicity and Emotion In this project, we have been studying the ways that culture and ethnicity influence the behavioral, subjective, communicative, and physiological aspects of emotions. In a series of studies, we are examining emotional reactivity (to a wide range of stimuli), emotional control (as people try to inhibit their emotional responses), emotional perception (the extent to which one person can know how another person of the same or different ethnicity is feeling), and emotional interactions of dating and married couples. This work is being conducted with samples of African American, Chinese American, European American, and Mexican American individuals, with special attention given to the impact of acculturation on emotion. Basic Studies of the Physiology of Emotions In these studies, physiological changes (in both the autonomic nervous system and in the muscles that produce facial expressions) are studied during the emotions of anger, contempt, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise. Emotions are produced in the laboratory using a number of different methods (including emotional memories, posed emotional facial expressions, emotion-eliciting films, the interactions of couples in committed relationships, and musical selections). This research addresses the question of how these primary emotions differ physiologically, and how physiology reflects variations in emotions as they occur at different intensities, in blended combinations, in complex sequences, and as they ebb and flow over time. Studies of Emotional Communication and Control In these studies, more complex aspects of emotion are being examined. These include: (a) emotional language--the words and metaphors people use to convey their feelings and the relationships between emotional language and accompanying expressive and physiological signs of emotion; (b) empathy--the relationships between physiological state and being able to know the feelings being experienced by another person; (c) emotional control--the subjective, behavioral, and physiological consequences of intentionally inhibiting emotion in both young and older subjects; and (d) emotional interaction in gay and lesbian couples--dyadic interactions are being examined to help understand the interplay between gender and gender-roles in committed relationships. Representative Student Research Projects Students working with Dr. Levenson typically learn the skills associated with psychophysiological measurement, the use of computers to process and analyze physiological data, the assessment of emotion by analyzing facial muscle movement, and other methods of behavioral coding. In addition to their course work in the Clinical Science Program, his students typically take courses in physiology, neuroanatomy, culture, emotion, and human aging. Additional Training Students working with Dr. Levenson typically learn the skills associated with psychophysiological measurement, the use of computers to process and analyze physiological data, the assessment of emotion by analyzing facial muscle movement, and other methods of behavioral coding. In addition to their course work in the Clinical Science Program, his students typically take courses in physiology, neuroanatomy, culture, emotion, and human aging. Selected Publications Tsai, J.L., Levenson, R.W., & McCoy, K. (2006). Cultural and Temperamental Variation in Emotional Response. Emotion, 6(3), 484-497. Sturm, V.E., Rosen, H.J., Allison, S., Miller, B.L., & Levenson, R.W. (2006). Self-conscious emotion deficits in frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Brain, 129(9):2508-2516 Kunzmann, U., Kupperbusch, C.S., & Levenson, R.W. (2005). Behavioral inhibition and amplification during emotional arousal: a comparison of two age groups. Psychology and Aging, 20(1), 144-158. Mauss, I.B., Levenson, R.W., McCarter, L., & Wilhelm, F.W., & Gross, J.J. (2005). The tie that binds? Coherence among emotion experience, behavior, and physiology. Emotion, 5(2), 175-190. Soto, J. A., Levenson, R.W., & Ebling, R. (2005). Cultures of moderation and expression: Emotional experience, behavior, and physiology in Chinese Americans and Mexican Americans. Emotion, 5(2), 154-165. Levenson, R.W. (2004). Blood, sweat, and fears: The autonomic architecture of emotion. In P. Ekman, J.J. Campos, R.J. Davidson, & F.B.M. de Waal. Emotions inside out. New York: The New York Academy of Sciences. Ebling, R., & Levenson, R.W. (2003). Who are the marital experts? Journal of Marriage and Family, 65, 130-142. Roberts, N.A., & Levenson. R.W. (2001). The Remains of the Workday: Impact of job stress and exhaustion on marital interaction in police couples. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 63, 1052-1067.. Levenson, R. W. (1999). The intrapersonal functions of emotion. Cognition and Emotion, 13, 481-504. Fredrickson, B. L., & Levenson, R. W. (1998). Positive emotions speed recovery from the cardiovascular sequelae of negative emotions. Cognition & Emotion, 12(2), 191-220. Tsai, J. L., & Levenson, R. W. (1997). Cultural influences of emotional responding: Chinese American and European American dating couples during interpersonal conflict. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 28(5), 600-625. Gross, J. J., & Levenson, R. W. (1997). Hiding feelings: The acute effects of inhibiting negative and positive emotion. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 106, 95-103. August 2007
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