I am a doctoral candidate in social psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as part of the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Lab.
I conduct research on the impact of positive emotions on our perception of others' humanity and moral worth, and investigate, via my bodymind model of affiliation and health, the social-psychophysiological processes that combine to create affiliation in human beings.
Recent publications
Pek, J., Sterba, S. K., Kok, B.E. & Bauer, D. J. (in press). Estimating and visualizing nonlinear relations among latent variables: A semiparametric approach. Multivariate Behavioral Research.
Kok, B.E., Catalino, L. I. & Fredrickson, B.L. (2008). “The broadening, building, buffering effects of positive emotions.” In S. J. Lopez (Ed.), Positive psychology: Exploring the best of people: Vol. 3 Capitalizing on emotional experiences. (pp.1-19). Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Company.
Recent presentations
Kok, B.E. & Fredrickson, B.L. (May, 2009). Baseline vagal tone predicts social connectedness, positive emotion and may predict progesterone levels. Association for Psychological Science. San Francisco, CA. PDF
Kok, B.E. & Fredrickson, B.L. (February, 2009). A Bodymind Perspective on Affiliation and Health. Society for Personality and Social Psychology. Tampa, FL. PDF