Meet our researchers

Meaghan A. Barlow

Lifespan and Social Psychologist

About Me

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Wilfrid Laurier University. If you are interested in joining the Self-regulation, Emotion, and Aging (SEA) Lab, please e-mail me at mbarlow@wlu.ca. I will be considering applications for undergraduate and graduate students for Fall 2024.

I received my B.Sc. in Psychology from Bishop’s University, and my M.A. and Ph.D. in Psychology at Concordia University. I also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Emotion & Emotion Regulation Lab and the Berkeley Personality Lab in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.

My research interests are broad, spanning lifespan, social, personality, and health psychology. I explore the age-related structures, functions, and consequences of emotional experiences. In addition, I examine self-regulatory factors that protect older adults’ well-being and health well into advanced old age. Finally, I investigate experiences, beliefs, and definitions of well-being across the adult lifespan.

Meet the Team

  • Jocelyn Rutledge

    MA STUDENT

    I recently completed my undergraduate thesis in the SEA LAB. IT focused on the role of chronic illness and age on emotion control beliefs.

    For my MA thesis I am exploring age-related differences in the subjective and physiological experience of regret.

  • Kyra Simons

    PhD Student

    I recently graduated with an MSc in Social Sciences from Bishop’s University, and am beginning my PhD in Social Psychology under the supervision of Dr. Barlow and Dr. Kachanoff. 

    Some of my research interests include identity and intersectionality theory, mental health and well-being, and community-driven research methods.

  • Alexandra Dagher

    MA Student

    I recently completed my BA in Honours in Psychology at Concordia University. This Fall, I will begin my MA studies in the S.E.A. Lab, working under the supervision of Dr. Barlow.

    My research interests center on exploring how development throughout the lifespan influences the experience of emotions.

  • Alyssa Gagnon

    Research Assistant & Directed Studies student

    I am completing my Undergraduate Honours Thesis under Dr. Meaghan Barlow in the Self-Regulation, Emotion, and Aging Lab, where I am also a Research Assistant.

    I am interested in psychological responses which individuals have to the awareness of mortality, along with other questions concerning human awareness, perception, and how these affect us. Specifically, my thesis research will investigate how this type of awareness effects individual’s goal engagement.

  • Meghan Ash

    Research Assistant

    I am completing my Undergraduate Honours Thesis under the supervision of Dr. Meaghan Barlow in the Self-Regulation, Emotion, and Aging Lab. I am interested in age-related differences in motivation and emotion relative to activism participation, which will be the focus of my research this year.

  • Elena Turner

    Undergraduate Thesis Student

    I am currently working as a research assistant in the Self-Regulation, Emotion, and Aging lab at Wilfred Laurier University under Dr. Barlow. My interests in psychology include both clinical work and counselling.

  • Mariah Gribowski

    Research Assistant

    Mariah is currently working as a research assistant in the Self-Regulation, Emotion, and Aging Lab at Wilfrid Laurier University under the guidance of Dr. Barlow. Her research interests focus on examining how positive reappraisal influences responses to both positive and negative events throughout the lifespan. Mariah is grateful for this opportunity and eager to contribute to the lab’s ongoing research efforts.

  • Melody Hogervorst

    RESEARCH ASSISTANT

    I have been a research assistant at Wilfrid Laurier University under Meaghan Barlow since October 2022. I have been working on her study of self-regulation, emotions, and aging. My interests in psychology include clinical work and behavioural neuroscience

  • Gian Carlo Balajadia

    Gian Carlo Balajadia

    Research Assistant

    I am currently a volunteer research assistant for Dr. Barlow’s Self-regulation, Emotion, and Aging Lab. My interests in psychology include the relationship between emotional well-being and physiological health across lifespans.

Alumni

  • Cana Reuber

    Undergraduate Thesis Student

    I am completing my Undergraduate Honours Thesis under Dr. Meaghan Barlow, and will be investigating the impact of optimism on regret and negative emotional experiences.

    I am also working as a research assistant in the Self-Regulation, Emotion, and Aging Lab.

  • Hannah Rossi

    Undergraduate Thesis Student

    I am currently completing my undergraduate honours thesis under Dr. Meaghan Barlow in the Self-Regulation, Emotion, and Aging (S.E.A.) Lab. I am also working under her direction as a Research Assistant collecting data for current and upcoming studies.

    I am interested in personality and how it affects an individual's ability to interact with others and their environment. More specifically, my thesis research will investigate how the Big 5 personality traits, focusing on neuroticism, impact an individual's response to a regret induction task.