Science

The EARL operates largely from an experimental psychopathology framework. That is, we utilize basic experimental research methods to inform our understanding of anxiety and its disorders. The EARL also operates from a translational framework in that the basic emotion research that we conduct serves the purpose of informing clinical practice. Accordingly, we are also interested in applied clinical studies that extend our basic emotion research to the treatment and prevention of anxiety disorders. The EARL is also a teaching laboratory, training undergraduates and graduate students in the experimental psychopathology of emotion in the context of anxiety and its disorders.

Anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric conditions, affecting between 15% and 20% of the adult population at some time in their lives. They often result in severe emotional distress and impairment in social, occupational, academic, and leisure functioning. Anxiety disorders are also associated with increased medical problems. For these reasons understanding the nature of anxiety problems, and how best to treat them, is crucial.

Select Publications

2025

Olatunji, B.O., Adamis, A.M., Mosby, M., & Liu, Q. (2025). Self-reported executive dysfunction predicts COVID-19 traumatic stress: A prospective study. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 9. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0002020
Jessup, S.C., Armstrong, T., Jakes, K.S., Dalmaijer, E.S., & Olatunji, B.O. Seeing the Worst or Saying the Words? A Multilevel Comparison of Occasional Reinforcement and Affect Labeling as Strategies to Augment an Imagery-Based Exposure Intervention. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology. 2025;16(2). doi:10.1177/20438087251345874
Jakes, K.S., Jessup, S.C., Rosenfield, D., & Olatunji, B.O. (2025). Effects of Text Message Reminders of Safety Behavior Reduction on Health Anxiety: A Randomized Control Trial. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 104790. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2025.104790
Adamis, A.M., Jessup, S.C., & Olatunji, B.O. (2025). Unique and interactive effects of intolerance of uncertainty and emotion regulation on daily negative emotionality. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/16506073.2025.2509178
Cox, R.C., Knowles, K.A., Jessup, S.C., & Olatunji, B.O. (2025). Psychometric properties of an ecological momentary assessment measure of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001939
Adamis, A.M., Walske, S., & Olatunji, B.O. (2025). Attention mechanisms of social anxiety in daily life: Unique effects of negative self-focused attention on post-event processing. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 104759. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2025.104759
Adamis, A.M., Jessup, S.C., Cole, D.A., & Olatunji, B.O. (2024). Ecological momentary assessment of the unique effects of trait worry on daily negative emotionality: does arousal matter? Cognition and Emotion, 39(3), 714–721. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2024.2386124
Adamis, A.M., Jessup, S.C., & Olatunji, B.O. Effects of Internal, External, and Neutral Attentional Allocation on Post-Event Processing in Social Anxiety. Cogn Ther Res 49, 350–361 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-024-10521-w
Jessup, S.C., Armstrong, T., Hord, C.M., Dalmaijer, E.S., & Olatunji, B.O. (2025). A multilevel examination of an inhibitory retrieval approach to exposure: Differentiating the unique and combined effects of multiple-context and multiple-stimulus cues. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 86, 101986. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2024.101986
Jessup, S.C., Armstrong, T., Rast, C.E., Woronko, S.E., Jackson, M., Anwyl-Irvine, A.L., … Olatunji, B.O. (2025). Benefits of the “worst-case scenario”: a multi-level examination of the effects of confronting the feared outcome during imagery-based exposure. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 54(5), 644–663. https://doi.org/10.1080/16506073.2025.2456479
Olatunji, B.O. & Liu, Q. & Knowles, K.A., & Jessup, S.C. (2025). State and Trait Disgust Uniquely Predict Avoidance in Contamination Fear: Specificity of Disease-Specific and Nonspecific Individual Differences. Behavior Therapy. 10.1016/j.beth.2024.06.005.
Jessup, S.C., Adamis, A.M., & Olatunji, B.O. (2025). Preliminary Examination of Sympathetic Magic as a Psychological Endophenotype for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Behavior Therapy, 56(1), 83-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2024.04.009
Adamis, A.M., Boyne, A.S., Harper, C., & Olatunji, B.O. (2025). Specificity of attentional control deficits in predicting symptoms of social anxiety. Journal of Affective Disorders, 368, 8-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.09.052
Olatunji, B. O., & Adamis, A. M. (2025). Disgust proneness influences the effects of political orientation on xenophobia during the COVID-19 pandemic. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 95(2), 176–185. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000777
2024

Olatunji, B.O., & Adamis, A.M. Federal funding shapes knowledge in clinical science. Nat Rev Psychol 3, 644–645 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44159-024-00357-2
Olatunji, B.O., Knowles, K.A., Adamis, A.M., & Cole, D.A. (2024). Linking a latent variable trait-state-occasion model of emotion regulation to cognitive control. Cognition and Emotion. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2024.2332594.
Adamis, A.M., & Olatunji, B.O. (2024). Reconciling attentional bias in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 42, 100896. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocrd.2024.100896
Jessup, S.C., & Olatunji, B.O. (2024). The Ethics and Experience of Brief Therapy: The Case of Exposure Therapy. In: Davis III, T.E., Storch, E.A. (eds) Brief CBT and Science-Based Tailoring for Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults. CBT: Science Into Practice. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-60746-2_2
Olatunji, B.O., Liu, Q., Cox, R., & Jessup, S.C. (2024). Ecological Momentary Assessment of Positive and Negative Affect in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment. 46. 1-13. 10.1007/s10862-024-10126-3.
Jessup, S.C., Adamis, A.M., Rast, C.E., Cox, R.C., & Olatunji, B.O. Unique and interactive effects of emotion regulation difficulties and perceived stress on COVID-19 traumatic stress, anxiety, and safety behavior use: A four-year prospective study. Behav Res Ther. 2024 May;176:104503. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2024.104503. Epub 2024 Mar 16. PMID: 38518395.
Adamis, A.M., & Olatunji, B.O. Specific emotion regulation difficulties and executive function explain the link between worry and subsequent stress: A prospective moderated mediation study. J Affect Disord. 2024 Mar 1;348:88-96. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.12.029. Epub 2023 Dec 20. PMID: 38135221.
Adamis, A.M., Cole, D.A., & Olatunji, B.O. (2024). Intolerance of uncertainty and worry prospectively predict COVID-19 anxiety and distress: A 4-year longitudinal study. Behavior Therapy, 55(2), 320–330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2023.07.009.
2023

RC Cox, KA Knowles, SC Jessup, AM Adamis, BO Olatunji (2023). Psychometric properties of a daily obsessive-compulsive symptom scale for ecological momentary assessment. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders. 39, 10084022023.
AM Adamis, SC Jessup, BO Olatunji (2023). Strengths and shortcomings of a mindful approach to the treatment of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. Educational Publishing Foundation. 30 (3), 2442023.
RC Cox, AN Garcia, SC Jessup, SE Woronko, CE Rast, BO Olatunji (2023). Subjective sleep disturbances in sexual assault survivors: associations with trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder symptom severity. Behavior therapy. 54 (5), 863-87522023.
AM Adamis, BO Olatunji (2023). The promise and potential pitfalls of iCBT for obsessive–compulsive disorder. Educational Publishing Foundation. 30 (2), 1632023.
BO Olatunji, KA Knowles, RC Cox, DA Cole (2023) Linking repetitive negative thinking and insomnia symptoms: A longitudinal trait-state model. Journal of Anxiety Disorders. 97, 10273262023.
KA Knowles, BO Olatunji (2023). Intolerance of uncertainty as a cognitive vulnerability for obsessive-compulsive disorder: A qualitative review. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice.102023.
BO Olatunji, RC Cox, Q Liu, A Garcia, SC Jessup (2023). Linking self-disgust, negative affect, and PTSD in sexual assault: An ecological momentary assessment approach. Psychological trauma: theory, research, practice, and policy. 15 (4), 56732023.
C Rast, S Woronko, SC Jessup, BO Olatunji (2023). Treatment of disgust in specific emotional disorders. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic 87 (Supplement A), 5-3032023.
KA Knowles, SC Jessup, BO Olatunji (2023). Facing uncertainty: A comparison of hierarchical and variable exposure interventions for contamination fear. Journal of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. 36, 10077722023.
ES Woods, SC Jessup, BO Olatunji (2023). Fear of fat in eating disorders: The mediating role of individual differences in self-disgust. Journal of Affective Disorders Reports. 11, 10045212023.
2022

Cox, R. C., & Olatunji, B. O. (2022). Delayed circadian rhythms and insomnia symptoms in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, 318, 94-102.
Olatunji, B. O., Cox, R. C., & Cole, D. A. (2022). Longitudinal trajectories of coronavirus fear and health behavior use before and after the U.S. 2020 presidential election: The effects political orientation. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 92, 102643.
Jessup, S. & Olatunji, B. O. (2022). Effects of confronting the feared outcome during exposure therapy on the return of fear: An analogue study. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 76, 101747.
Knowles, K. A., Kavi, J., & Olatunji, B. O. (2022). Obsessive-compulsive disorder and illness anxiety: Examining commonalities and comorbidity. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 36, 327-340.
Knowles, K. A., Cole, D. C., Cox, R. C., & Olatunji, B. O. (2022). Time varying and time invariant dimensions in intolerance of uncertainty: Specificity in the prediction of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Behavior Therapy, 53, 686-700.
Olatunji, B. O., Cox, R. C., & Blackford, J. (2022). Fear reacquisition and symptoms of combat-related PTSD: Specificity and preliminary examination of the influence of the 5-HT3A receptor gene. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 153, 104085.
Cox, R. C.,Jessup, S. & Olatunji, B. O. (2022). The effects of worry proneness on diurnal anxiety: An ecological momentary assessment approach. Personality and Individual Differences, 190, 111592.
Olatunji, B, O., Liu, Q., Zald, H. D., & Cole, D. C. (2022). Emotional induced attentional blink in trauma-exposed Veterans: Associations with trauma specific and nonspecific symptoms. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 87, 102541.
Cox, R.C. & Olatunji, B.O. (2022). Concurrent and prospective links between sleep disturbance and repetitive negative thinking: Specificity and effects of cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia. Journal of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy, 32, 57-66.
Clausen, A. N., Fercho, K. A., Monsour, M., Disner, S., Salminen, L., Haswell, C.C., et al. (2022). Assessment of brain age in posttraumatic stress disorder: Findings from the ENIGMA PTSD and brain age working groups. Brain and Behavior, 12, e2413.
Olatunji, B. O., Cole, D., McGuire, J. F., Schneider, S. C., Small, B. J., Murphy, T. K., Wilhelm, S., Geller, D. A., & Stroch, E. A. (2022). Decoupling of obsessions and compulsions during cognitive behavioral therapy for youth with OCD. Clinical Psychological Science, 10, 175-185.
2021

Berg, H., Hunt, C., Cooper, S. E., Olatunji, B. O., & Lissek, S. (2021). Generalization of conditioned disgust and the attendant maladaptive avoidance: Validation of a novel paradigm and effects of trait disgust-proneness. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 103966.
Olatunji, B. O., Knowles, K. A., & Cole, D. A. (2021). A longitudinal trait-state model of attentional control: Implications for repetitive negative thinking. Journal of Affective Disorders, 294, 939-948.
Cox, R. C. & Olatunji, B.O. (2021). Sleep in a pandemic: Implications of COVID-19 for sleep through the lens of the 3P model of insomnia. American Psychologist, 76, 1159–1171.
Jessup, S. Cox, R. C., & Olatunji, B. O. (2021). Differential effects of attention control domains on the association between rumination and PTSD symptoms in trauma exposed Veterans. Personality and Individual Differences, 178, 110886.
Cox, R. C., & Olatunji, B. O. (2021). Eveningness predicts negative affect following sleep restriction. Behavior Therapy, 52, 797-805.
Gruber, J., Prinstein, M.J., Abramowitz, J.S., Albano, A.M., Aldao, A., Borelli, J.L., Chung, T., Clark, L.A., Davila, J., Forbes, E.E., Gee, D. G., Hall, G.C.N., Hallion, L.S., Hinshaw, S.P., Hofmann, S.G., Hollon, S.D., Joormann, J., Kazdin, A.E., Klein, D.N., La Greca, A.M., Levenson, R.W., MacDonald, A.W., McKay, D., McLaughlin, K.A., Mendle, J., Miller, A.B., Neblett, E.W., Nock, M.K., Olatunji, B.O., Persons, J.B., Rottenberg, J., Rozek, D.C., Schleider, J.L., Slavich, G.M., Teachman, B.A., Vine, V.J., Weinstock, L.M. (2011). Mental health and clinical psychological science in the time of COVID-19: Challenges, opportunities, and a call to action. American Psychologist, 76, 409-426.
Olatunji, B O. (2021). Emotional induced attentional blink in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, 283, 101-107.
Armstrong, T., Federman, S., Hampson, K., Crabtree., & Olatunji, B. O. (2021). Fear learning in veterans with combat-related PTSD is linked to anxiety sensitivity: Evidence from self-report and pupillometry. Behavior Therapy, 52, 149-161.
Cox, R. C., & Olatunji, B. O. (2021). Linking insomnia and OCD symptoms during the coronavirus pandemic: Examination of prospective association. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 77, 102341.
Knowles. K., & Olatunji, B. O. (2021). Anxiety and safety behavior usage during the COVID-19 pandemic: The prospective role of contamination fear. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 77, 102323.
2020

Cox, R. C., Jessup, S. C., Luber, M. J., & Olatunji, B. O. (2020). Pre-pandemic disgust proneness predicts increased coronavirus fear and safety behaviors: Evidence for a diathesis-stress model. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 76, 102315.
Knowles. K., & Olatunji, B. O. (2020). Specificity of trait anxiety in anxiety and depression: Meta-analysis of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Clinical Psychology Review, 82, 101928.
Olatunji, B. O., Cox, R. C., & Cole, D. (2020). The longitudinal structure of disgust proneness: Testing a latent trait-state model in relation to obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 135, 10374.
Olatunji, B. O., Christian, C., Strachan, E., & Levinson, C. S. (2020). Central and peripheral symptoms in network analysis are differentially heritable: A twin study of anxious misery. Journal of Affective Disorders, 274, 986-994.
Olatunji, B. O., Cox, R. C., & Li, I. (2020). Disgust regulation between menstrual cycle phases: Differential effects of emotional suppression and reappraisal. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 68, 101543.
Cox, R.C., Parmar, A.M., & Olatunji, B. O. (2020). Sleep in obsessive-compulsive and related disorders: A selective review and synthesis. Current Opinion in Psychology, 34, 23-26.
Jessup, S., Tomarken, A., Viar-Paxton, M, & Olatunji, B. O. (2020). Effects of repeated exposure to fearful and disgusting stimuli on fear renewal in blood-injection-injury phobia. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 74, 102272.
Olatunji, B. O., & Viar-Paxton, M. (2020). Effects of ‘dirty’ information on disgust responding to an unknown animal in children: The moderating role of maternal disgust proneness. Behavior Therapy, 51, 634-645.
Cox, R. C., & Olatunji, B. O. (2020). Sleep in the anxiety-related disorders: A meta-analysis of subjective and objective research. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 51, 101282.
Cox, R. C., Taylor, S., Strachan, E., & Olatunji, B. O. (2020). Insomnia and posttraumatic stress symptoms: Evidence of shared etiology. Psychiatry Research, 286, 112548.
Cox, R. C., Upender, R. P., & Olatunji, B. O. (2020). Linking inhibition and anxiety symptoms following sleep restriction: The moderating role of prior sleep efficiency. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 127, 103575.
Gruber, J., Borelli, J. L., Prinstein, M. J., Clark, L. A., Davila, J., Gee, D. G., Klein, D. N., Levenson, R. W., Mendle, J., Olatunji, B. O., Rose, G. L., Saxbe, D., & Weinstock, L. M. (2020). Best practices in research mentoring in clinical science. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 129, 70–81.
Olatunji, B. O. (2020). Linking Pavlovian disgust conditioning and eating disorder symptoms: An analogue study. Behavior Therapy, 51, 178-189.