My research integrates psychological and biological levels of analysis by applying social and emotional theories to the context of stress and health. Specifically, I focus on how cognitive processes such as rumination may influence physiological stress responses and sleep—two major health-relevant processes associated with morbidity and well-being. My work also aims to identify individual- and situation-level characteristics that may promote or prevent perseverative cognition (e.g., worry or rumination) and prolong physiological responses. For example, are some individuals predisposed to ruminate in response to stressors? Or, are certain types of stressors more likely to elicit rumination?

Primary Interests:

Emotion, Mood, Affect
Health Psychology
Interpersonal Processes
Personality, Individual Differences
Self and Identity
Social Cognition

Emotion, Mood, Affect
Health Psychology
Interpersonal Processes

Personality, Individual Differences
Self and Identity
Social Cognition

Research Group or Laboratory:

Psychosocial Processes and Health Laboratory
Interactive Map

Journal Articles:

Dickerson, S. S., Mycek (Zoccola), P. J., & Zaldivar, F. (2008). Negative social evaluation, but not mere social presence, elicits cortisol responses to a laboratory stressor task. Health Psychology, 27(1), 116-121.
Lam, S., Dickerson, S. S., Zoccola, P. M., & Zaldivar, F. (2009). Emotion regulation and cortisol reactivity to a social-evaluative speech task. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 34(9), 1355-1362.
Schlotz, W., Yim, I. S., Zoccola, P. M., Jansen, L., & Schulz, P. (2011). The Perceived Stress Reactivity Scale: measurement invariance, stability, and validity in three countries. Psychological Assessment, 23(1), 80-94.
Zoccola, P. M., Dickerson, S. S., & Lam, S. (2009). Rumination predicts longer sleep onset latency after an acute psychosocial stressor. Psychosomatic Medicine, 71(7), 771-775.
Zoccola, P. M., Dickerson, S. S., & Yim, I. S. (2011). Trait and state perseverative cognition and the cortisol awakening response. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 36(4), 592-595.
Zoccola, P. M., Dickerson, S. S., & Zaldivar, F. P. (2008). Rumination and cortisol responses to laboratory stressors. Psychosomatic Medicine, 70(6), 661-667.
Zoccola, P. M., Green, M. C., Karoutsos, E., Katona, S. M., & Sabini, J. (2011). The embarrassed bystander: Embarrassability and the inhibition of helping. Personality and Individual Differences, 51(8), 925-929.
Zoccola, P. M., Quas, J. A., & Yim, I. S. (2010). Salivary cortisol responses to a psychosocial laboratory stressor and later verbal recall of the stressor: The role of trait and state rumination. Stress, 13(5), 435-443.

Other Publications:

Dickerson, S. S., & Mycek (Zoccola), P. J. (2007). Health psychology. In R. F. Baumeister & K. D. Vohs (Eds.), The encyclopedia of social psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 415-419). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Dickerson, S. S., & Zoccola, P. M. (2009). Toward a biology of social support. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology (2nd ed., pp. 519-526). New York: Oxford University Press.

Peggy Mycek Zoccola
Psychology Department, 200 Porter Hall
Ohio University
Athens, OH 45701
United States

Phone: (740) 597-3300