Research Interests
- Adult development and aging
- Views of aging
- Health behavior, change, and promotion and activity engagement
- Intensive longitudinal assessment
- Intervention
Biography
Dr. Erica O’Brien is a developmental psychologist and health scientist, and an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at the University of Mississippi. Her research focuses broadly on understanding relationships between psychological factors and engagement in behaviors that have impacts on the health of individuals as they age. She has particular interest in examining relationships that unfold in the natural contexts of everyday life – by measuring individuals repeatedly over short periods of time with wearable activity trackers and mobile applications – and understanding the role played by individuals’ self-knowledge, self-concept, and their subjective attitudes, feelings, and experiences of aging. A goal of Dr. O’Brien’s work is to inform and deliver interventions that promote healthy aging.
Education
Ph.D. Psychology, North Carolina State University-Raleigh (2019)