Andrew Geers
My primary interests are in the areas of optimism, health behavior, assimilation and contrast models, and the psychological components of analgesia and successful medical treatments. Linking these research activities together is my focus on expectations. Expectations serve as a critical initial condition—fundamentally shaping experience and swaying future thought, feelings, and action. Although expectations often lead to confirmation, they can also have no influence and, in other cases, produce contrasting reactions. My research centers on (1) identifying the cognitive and affective pathways underlying expectation effects, (2) clarifying the variables that modulate expectations effects—revealing when expectations are followed, ignored, or used as a point of contrast, and (3) determining how best to harness and magnify the health benefits that positive expectations can provide.
Primary Interests:
- Applied Social Psychology
- Emotion, Mood, Affect
- Health Psychology
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Motivation, Goal Setting
- Personality, Individual Differences
- Persuasion, Social Influence
- Self and Identity
- Social Cognition
Research Group or Laboratory:
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Journal Articles:
- Geers, A. L., & Rose, J. P. (2011). Treatment choice and placebo expectation effects. Personality and Social Psychology Compass, 10, 734-750.
- Geers, A. L., Rose, J. P., Fowler, S. L., Rasinski, H. M., Brown, J. A., & Helfer, S. G. (in press). Why does choice enhance treatment effectiveness? Using placebo treatments to demonstrate the role of personal control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
- Geers, A. L., Weiland, P. E., Kosbab, K., Landry, S. J., & Helfer, S. G. (2005). Goal activation, expectations, and the placebo effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 143-160.
- Geers, A. L., Wellman, J. A., & Fowler, S. L. (2013). Unique and interactive effects of comparative and dispositional optimism. Psychology and Health, 28, 30-48.
- Geers, A. L., Wellman, J. A., Fowler, S. L., Helfer, S. G., & France, C. R. (2010). Dispositional optimism predicts placebo analgesia. Journal of Pain, 11, 1165-1171.
- Geers, A. L., Wellman, J. A., Helfer, S. G., Fowler, S. L., & France, C. R. (2008). Dispositional optimism and thoughts of well-being determine sensitivity to an experimental pain task. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 36, 304-313.
- Geers, A. L., Wellman, J. A., & Lassiter, G. D. (2009). Dispositional optimism and engagement: The moderating influence of goal prioritization. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96, 913-932.
- Neff, L. A., & Geers, A. L. (2013). Optimistic expectations in marriage: A resource or vulnerability for adaptive relationship functioning? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105, 38-60.
- Rose, J. P., Geers, A. L., Fowler, S. L., & Rasinski, H. M. (in press). Choice-making, expectations, and treatment positivity: How and when choosing shapes aversive experiences. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making.
Courses Taught:
- Advanced Social Psychology
- Introductory Social Psychology
- Introductory Statistics
- Social Cognition
Andrew Geers
Department of Psychology
University of Toledo
2801 West Bancroft Street
Toledo, Ohio 43606
United States of America
- Phone: (419) 530-8530
- Fax: (419) 530-8479