Ohio State nav bar

Can Good Mood Boost Brain Power?

January 27 - January 28, 2015
11:30PM - 12:30AM
2411 East Main Street, Columbus 43209

Date Range
Add to Calendar 2015-01-27 23:30:00 2015-01-28 00:30:00 Can Good Mood Boost Brain Power? Event Host: Bexley Library Ellen Peters is professor of psychology and director of the Behavioral Decision Making Initiative at The Ohio State University. She conducts basic and applied research in judgment and decision making. She has worked extensively with the U.S. National Cancer Institute and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to advance the science of human decision making as it applies to health and health policy.In 2013, Peters co-authored the first study showing the power of positive moods in boosting memory and improving decision making among older people. The study was published in the journal Cognition and Emotion.“Working memory is important in decision making,” Peters said. “Given the current concern about cognitive declines in the aged, our findings are important for showing how simple methods to improve mood can help improve cognitive functioning and decision performance in older adults, just like they do in younger people.”In other areas of research, Peters focuses on understanding the basic building blocks of human judgment and decision making. She is particularly interested in how affective, intuitive and deliberative processes help people to make decisions in an increasingly complex world. She studies decision making as an interaction of characteristics of the decision situation and characteristics of the individual.Peters is also interested in issues of risk perception and risk communication in health, financial, and environmental contexts, including how to present information to facilitate its comprehension and use. Recently, she has been quite interested in the psychological mechanisms underlying tobacco use and prevention and how to “nudge” people towards healthier behaviors.Peters has been chair of FDA’s Risk Communication Advisory Committee and is a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and president-elect of the Society for Judgment and Decision Making. Her research has been funded extensively by the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health. 2411 East Main Street, Columbus 43209 College of Arts and Sciences asccomm@osu.edu America/New_York public
Event Host: Bexley Library


Ellen Peters is professor of psychology and director of the Behavioral Decision Making Initiative at The Ohio State University. She conducts basic and applied research in judgment and decision making. She has worked extensively with the U.S. National Cancer Institute and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to advance the science of human decision making as it applies to health and health policy.

In 2013, Peters co-authored the first study showing the power of positive moods in boosting memory and improving decision making among older people. The study was published in the journal Cognition and Emotion.

“Working memory is important in decision making,” Peters said. “Given the current concern about cognitive declines in the aged, our findings are important for showing how simple methods to improve mood can help improve cognitive functioning and decision performance in older adults, just like they do in younger people.”

In other areas of research, Peters focuses on understanding the basic building blocks of human judgment and decision making. She is particularly interested in how affective, intuitive and deliberative processes help people to make decisions in an increasingly complex world. She studies decision making as an interaction of characteristics of the decision situation and characteristics of the individual.

Peters is also interested in issues of risk perception and risk communication in health, financial, and environmental contexts, including how to present information to facilitate its comprehension and use. Recently, she has been quite interested in the psychological mechanisms underlying tobacco use and prevention and how to “nudge” people towards healthier behaviors.

Peters has been chair of FDA’s Risk Communication Advisory Committee and is a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and president-elect of the Society for Judgment and Decision Making. Her research has been funded extensively by the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health.

Events Filters: