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Mark Seery

On the broadest level, my research centers on stress and coping. Potentially stressful situations that require active coping responses -- for example, test taking, job interviews, approaching possible romantic
partners -- are ubiquitous and often represent some of the most important moments that people face in life. The research conducted in my laboratory investigates these motivated performance situations from several interrelated perspectives: (1) examining the determinants of experiencing the motivational states of challenge (when personal resources meet or exceed situational demands) vs. threat (when demands exceed resources) during such situations; (2) exploring the relationships between challenge and threat, cardiovascular responses, quality of task performance, and other behaviors; and (3) using cardiovascular responses as covert measures of challenge and threat in order to understand the factors that contribute to resilience and vulnerability to potential stress. My work in this domain emphasizes aspects of the self and group membership. In addition to this laboratory work, my research incorporates field approaches to studying resilience and vulnerability in the context of coping with traumatic life events.

Primary Interests:

  • Health Psychology
  • Intergroup Relations
  • Interpersonal Processes
  • Motivation, Goal Setting
  • Neuroscience, Psychophysiology
  • Personality, Individual Differences
  • Self and Identity
  • Health Psychology
  • Intergroup Relations
  • Interpersonal Processes
  • Motivation, Goal Setting
  • Neuroscience, Psychophysiology
  • Personality, Individual Differences
  • Self and Identity

Journal Articles:

  • Blascovich, J., Seery, M. D., Mugridge, C. A., Norris, R. K., & Weisbuch, M. (2004). Predicting athletic performance from cardiovascular indexes of challenge and threat. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 40, 683-688.
  • Chu, T. Q., Seery, M. D., Ence, W. A., Holman, E. A., & Silver, R. C. (2006). Ethnicity and gender in the face of a terrorist attack: A national longitudinal study of immediate responses and outcomes two years after September 11. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 28, 291-301.
  • Lupien, S. P., Seery, M. D., & Almonte, J. L. (in press). Unstable high self-esteem and the eliciting conditions of self-doubt. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.
  • Lupien, S. P., Seery, M. D., & Almonte, J. L. (2010). Discrepant and congruent high self-esteem: Behavioral self-handicapping as a preemptive defensive strategy. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46, 1105-1108.
  • Mendes, W. B., Reis, H., Seery, M. D., & Blascovich, J. (2003). Cardiovascular correlates of emotional expression and suppression: Do content and gender context matter? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 771-792.
  • Seery, M. D. (2011). Challenge or threat? Cardiovascular indexes of resilience and vulnerability to potential stress in humans. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 35, 1603-1610.
  • Seery, M. D. (2011). Resilience: A silver lining to experiencing adverse life events? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20, 390-394.
  • Seery, M. D., Blascovich, J., Weisbuch, M., & Vick, S. B. (2004). The relationship between self-esteem level, self-esteem stability, and cardiovascular reactions to performance feedback. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87, 133-145.
  • Seery, M. D., Holman, E. A., & Silver, R. C. (2010). Whatever does not kill us: Cumulative lifetime adversity, vulnerability, and resilience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99, 1025-1041.
  • Seery, M. D., Leo, R. J., Holman, E. A., & Silver, R. C. (2010). Lifetime exposure to adversity predicts functional impairment and healthcare utilization among individuals with chronic back pain. Pain, 150, 507-515.
  • Seery, M. D., Silver, R. C., Holman, E. A., Ence, W. A., & Chu, T. Q. (2008). Expressing thoughts and feelings following a collective trauma: Immediate responses to 9/11 predict negative outcomes in a national sample. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76, 657-667.
  • Seery, M. D., Weisbuch, M., & Blascovich, J. (2009). Something to gain, something to lose: The cardiovascular consequences of outcome framing. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 73, 308-312.
  • Seery, M. D., Weisbuch, M., Hetenyi, M., & Blascovich, J. (2010). Cardiovascular measures independently predict performance in a university course. Psychophysiology, 47, 535-539.
  • Seery, M. D., West, T. V., Weisbuch, M., & Blascovich, J. (2008). The effects of negative reflection for defensive pessimists: Dissipation or harnessing of threat? Personality and Individual Differences, 45, 515-520.
  • Shimizu, M., Seery, M. D., Weisbuch, M., & Lupien, S. P. (2011). Trait social anxiety and physiological activation: Cardiovascular threat during social interaction. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37, 94-106.
  • Vick, S. B., Seery, M. D., Blascovich, J., & Weisbuch, M. (2008). The effect of gender stereotype activation on challenge and threat motivational states. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44, 624-630.
  • Weisbuch, M., Seery, M. D., Ambady, N., & Blascovich, J. (2009). On the correspondence between physiological and nonverbal responses: Nonverbal behavior accompanying challenge and threat. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 33, 141-148.
  • Weisbuch-Remington, M., Mendes, W. B., Seery, M. D., & Blascovich, J. (2005). The non-conscious influence of religious symbols in motivated performance situations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, 1203-1216.

Other Publications:

  • Blascovich, J., & Seery, M. D. (2007). Visceral and somatic indexes of social psychological constructs: History, principles, propositions, and case studies. In A. W. Kruglanski & E. T. Higgins (Eds.), Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles (pp. 19-38). New York: Guilford.

Courses Taught:

  • Mind-Body Connection in a Social World
  • Social Psychology
  • Social Psychophysiology
  • Mind-Body Connection in a Social World
  • Social Psychology
  • Social Psychophysiology

Mark Seery
Department of Psychology
University at Buffalo, Park Hall
Buffalo, NY 14260-4110
United States

Phone: (716) 645-0239
Fax: (716) 645-3801

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Last edited by profile holder: January 22, 2012
Visits since October 7, 2005: 16,335