Dr. Andreea Ursu: Exploring Self-regulation and Romantic Relationships

I was born in the beautiful city of Iași, Romania, which is the most north-eastern city of the European Union. During the past six years I have been living in Turkey, Spain, Jordan and Greece.

 I am a psychology researcher interested in how emotional processes influence intimate partners’ dynamics. More specifically, I am interested to examine how specific individual emotion regulation, such as acceptance and positive cognitive reappraisal, influence the intimate partners’ closeness. 

Concerning the relevance of this topic it has to be highlighted the importance of satisfying romantic relationships to the personal physical and mental health and community well-ness. Thus, it is crucial to know more about what and how personal variables (such as emotional regulation strategies) influence our intimate relationships and the interactions with our partners.

Fun fact: Once, during my Erasmus, I have said that I am studying psychology and sometimes psychologists use projective tests during counselling or therapy sessions. My colleagues got excited and intrigued and they waited in line to analyse and interpret their tree (Baum test supposes drawing a tree and there are specific elements to be analysed).