By Kim Spurr, College of Arts and Sciences
Adrienne Bonar, a doctoral candidate in the department of psychology and neuroscience, examines the social, psychological and physiological factors that shape our emotions.
Adrienne Bonar was a huge fan of television crime shows in high school. One of her favorites, “Lie to Me,” featured world-renowned deception researcher and psychologist Cal Lightman, who examined criminal suspects’ facial movements, body language and tone of voice to determine if they were lying.
During her first semester as a Carolina undergraduate, Bonar followed her interests and took an introductory psychology class. In the spring, she enrolled in “Psychology of Emotion,” a first-year seminar taught by then-Ph.D. candidate Jennifer MacCormack. (MacCormack is now an assistant professor at the University of Virginia.)
Bonar later learned that the science behind her beloved TV show was a little gray, but MacCormack ignited her interest in studying emotions and encouraged her to get involved in the Carolina Affective Science Lab.
“One thing that intrigued me early on was that emotions are such a core part of what it means to be human,” said Bonar, who is a Waxhaw, North Carolina, native. “Jenn was interested in the factors that affect the way people behave and respond to stress.”
Bonar went on to major in psychology and women’s and gender studies. After graduation in 2018, she spent two years as a research assistant in the Child Imaging Research on Cognition and Life Experiences Lab, working with faculty members Margaret Sheridan and Adam Bryant Miller.
Today, she is a Ph.D. candidate and part of the Carolina Affective Science Lab — the same lab where she had a transformative research experience as an undergraduate. A Royster Fellowship from UNC’s Graduate School and a National Science Foundation Fellowship have supported her doctoral studies.
“The question that I find super interesting is why do people respond differently in the face of stress?” Bonar said. “Why is one person as cool as a cucumber, while another person is freaking out?”
Beneath that large research umbrella — examining the social, psychological and physiological factors that shape emotion — Bonar is working on several projects.
One examines the differences in how people describe their emotional experience — when you ask some people how they are feeling, they can be really detailed about breaking that down, she said.
“Research has shown us that the ability to be precise and nuanced about how you feel is really beneficial to your well-being,” she said.
Bonar is also interested in how body sensations and body image inform how people make sense of their emotions and how stress can “get under the skin” to affect emotional processes and subsequent health.
“I am interested in how stressful life experiences end up affecting the brain and the body — both early on and at any point in life,” she said. “How can this have a negative impact on physical and mental health? How does stress change the way the brain and body function?”
Bonar knows that college can be a stressful time. Based on her own research into emotions, she has some advice for students on taking care of their own mental health.
It’s helpful to be able to articulate how you are feeling, she said. And even though it seems like simple advice, science backs the benefits of sleep, exercise and proper hydration.
“Social support is also important,” Bonar added. “Find those people you can commiserate and celebrate with — even just one person you can turn to when things are challenging and that you can spend quality time with.”
Bonar said she sets an alarm that tells her when to go to bed each night. To keep her motivated to exercise, she has gym memberships for Pilates and cycling. She’s been busy this semester working on her Ph.D. dissertation, but she has also enjoyed activities like pottery classes at the Carrboro ArtsCenter.
Finally, Bonar urged students to be willing to embrace a non-linear academic path and to follow their passions.
“It’s super easy to believe you have to have everything figured out, but that’s not how life works,” she said. “Find something that interests you and stick with it.”