Bistability and Affect Shift Dynamics in the Prediction of Psychological Well-being
Scientic Supervisor / Contact Person
Name and Surname
Pandelis Perakakis
ORCID (link)
Researcher ID (link)
Other ID (link)
Localization & Research Area
Faculty / Institute
Faculty of Psychology
Department
Social, Work and Differential Psychology
Research Area
Social Sciences and Humanities (SOC)
MSCA & ERC experience
Research group / research team hosted any MSCA fellow?
No
Research group / research team have any ERC beneficiaries?
No
Research Team & Research Topic
Research Team / Research Group Name (if any)
Psychological Styles, Gender and Health (EPSY)
Brief description of the Research Team / Research Group / Department
Since 2020, the EPSY group has produced 62 publications, including 55 peer-reviewed articles in well-regarded journals such as Emotion, Nature Human Behaviour, Neuroimage, Journal of Sleep Research, and Journal of Intelligence. The group has also co-authored 3 book chapters and 2 books.
The group has developed 9 research projects during this period, securing funding from a variety of sources. These include UCM calls, national grants from the Ministry of Science and Innovation, the Ministry of Equality, the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, and the Health Research Fund (FIS). They have also received support from programs such as the Santander Research Project Funding Program and the Caixa Bank Funding Program.
In addition to their research output, the EPSY group has supervised 10 doctoral theses in the last five years. Several of these candidates have gone on to secure notable grants, including the Marie Curie Fellowship and the Ramón y Cajal Fellowship, reflecting the group’s role in supporting early-career researchers. Together, these achievements highlight the EPSY group’s consistent contributions to research, funding acquisition, and academic mentorship.
The group, and particularly the line of research on affect dynamics leaded by Pandelis Perakakis, maintains collaborations with research teams and clinics in Spain, USA, Italy, Germany, UK, and Australia.
The group has developed 9 research projects during this period, securing funding from a variety of sources. These include UCM calls, national grants from the Ministry of Science and Innovation, the Ministry of Equality, the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, and the Health Research Fund (FIS). They have also received support from programs such as the Santander Research Project Funding Program and the Caixa Bank Funding Program.
In addition to their research output, the EPSY group has supervised 10 doctoral theses in the last five years. Several of these candidates have gone on to secure notable grants, including the Marie Curie Fellowship and the Ramón y Cajal Fellowship, reflecting the group’s role in supporting early-career researchers. Together, these achievements highlight the EPSY group’s consistent contributions to research, funding acquisition, and academic mentorship.
The group, and particularly the line of research on affect dynamics leaded by Pandelis Perakakis, maintains collaborations with research teams and clinics in Spain, USA, Italy, Germany, UK, and Australia.
Research lines / projects proposed
Our recent research on bistability and affect dynamics (https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/emo0001454) opens a wide array of research possibilities. Some examples include:
1. Affective Bistability and Psychological Well-being
* Investigate the prevalence of affective bistability in various populations, including clinical and non-clinical groups.
* Develop new metrics to quantify affective bistability and test their predictive power for psychological well-being.
* Explore how individual differences (e.g., personality, resilience) modulate the bistability landscape of affective states.
* Use machine learning methods (e.g., LASSO, Elastic Net) to identify the most robust predictors of psychological well-being from bistability metrics.
2. Free Energy Principle and Affect Dynamics
* Develop computational models of affect dynamics based on active inference and the free energy principle.
* Explore how emotional bistability and affect transitions can be modeled as attempts to minimize free energy.
* Investigate the role of prediction errors in emotional state switching and psychological adaptation.
3. Process-Based Psychotherapy and Personalized Interventions
* Adapt and validate the Process-Based Assessment Tool (PBAT) for measuring biopsychosocial factors in diverse populations.
* Use bistability metrics to identify the most influential biopsychosocial processes driving affective shifts.
* Design and test tailored therapeutic interventions (e.g., ACT) based on individual bistability profiles and PBAT findings.
4. Affect Dynamics and Mental Health Vulnerability
* Study how bistability in affective states predicts vulnerability to mood disorders such as depression and anxiety.
* Investigate early warning signs of affective instability using time-series analysis and dynamical systems modeling.
* Explore the potential for resilience training to reduce bistability and improve emotional regulation.
5. Cross-Cultural and Lifespan Studies on Affect Dynamics
* Compare patterns of affect bistability across different cultural and socio-economic contexts.
* Explore developmental changes in affect bistability from childhood to old age.
* Investigate how life events (e.g., trauma, major life transitions) impact the stability and switching dynamics of affective states.
1. Affective Bistability and Psychological Well-being
* Investigate the prevalence of affective bistability in various populations, including clinical and non-clinical groups.
* Develop new metrics to quantify affective bistability and test their predictive power for psychological well-being.
* Explore how individual differences (e.g., personality, resilience) modulate the bistability landscape of affective states.
* Use machine learning methods (e.g., LASSO, Elastic Net) to identify the most robust predictors of psychological well-being from bistability metrics.
2. Free Energy Principle and Affect Dynamics
* Develop computational models of affect dynamics based on active inference and the free energy principle.
* Explore how emotional bistability and affect transitions can be modeled as attempts to minimize free energy.
* Investigate the role of prediction errors in emotional state switching and psychological adaptation.
3. Process-Based Psychotherapy and Personalized Interventions
* Adapt and validate the Process-Based Assessment Tool (PBAT) for measuring biopsychosocial factors in diverse populations.
* Use bistability metrics to identify the most influential biopsychosocial processes driving affective shifts.
* Design and test tailored therapeutic interventions (e.g., ACT) based on individual bistability profiles and PBAT findings.
4. Affect Dynamics and Mental Health Vulnerability
* Study how bistability in affective states predicts vulnerability to mood disorders such as depression and anxiety.
* Investigate early warning signs of affective instability using time-series analysis and dynamical systems modeling.
* Explore the potential for resilience training to reduce bistability and improve emotional regulation.
5. Cross-Cultural and Lifespan Studies on Affect Dynamics
* Compare patterns of affect bistability across different cultural and socio-economic contexts.
* Explore developmental changes in affect bistability from childhood to old age.
* Investigate how life events (e.g., trauma, major life transitions) impact the stability and switching dynamics of affective states.
Key words
Application requirements
Professional Experience & Documents
CV, letter of motivation, data analysis skills (R, python), methodological skills (e.g., ecological momentary assessment)
One Page Proposal
You can attach the 'One Page Proposal' to enhance the attractiveness of your application. Supervisors usually appreciate it. Please take into account your background and the information provided in Research Team & Research Topic section to fill in it.
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