Saida Heshmati is an assistant professor of psychology in the Division of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences at Claremont Graduate University. She is a positive developmental psychologist interested in how optimal development unfolds over time in diverse samples, especially in at-risk adults. Using her expertise in positive relationships and love, positive education, human development, and state-of-the-art analytical methods, Heshmati examines authentic or embedded assessments of large data sets related to individual and group characteristics that influence everyday well-being and positive development. Her work has brought together a suite of measurement tools such as experience sampling methods, observational analysis, cognitive psychometric modeling, and wearable physiology monitors in the service of understanding how individuals’ sense of well-being unfolds moment-to-moment in their everyday lives.
Co-authored with Z. Oravecz, et al. “Psychological well-being and personality traits are associated with experiencing love in everyday life.” Personality and Individual Differences (2020): 153.
Co-authored with Zita Oravecz, et al. “What does it mean to feel loved: Cultural consensus and individual differences.” Journal of Social and Personal Relationships (2017): 1-30.
Co-authored with Dave A. Sbarra and Ashley E. Mason. “The contemptuous breakup: Facial expressions of emotion and breakups in young adulthood.” Personal Relationships 24, no. 2 (2017): 453-469.
Co-authored with Timothy R. Brick, Robert W. Roeser, and Zita Oravecz. “EMA-adapted PERMA as a correlational network: Empirical evidence for daily measures of well-being via network analysis.” (Under review)
Co-authored with Timothy R. Brick and Zita Oravecz. “Developing an ecological momentary assessment measure of psychological well-being: A multilevel factor analysis.” (Under review)
Co-authored with Zita Oravecz. “Individual differences in beliefs on indicators of love relates to personality characteristics and well-being.” (Pending final review)
Academic Conference Presentations
Co-presented with Zita Oravecz. “Dynamical interplay of wellbeing elements based on the PERMA model in ecological momentary assessment settings.” Individual podium presentation at the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA), Montreal, CA. July, 2017.
“The effect of Positive Psychology and mindfulness interventions on well-being in daily life.” Workshop at the Association for Psychological Science (APS), Boston, MA. May, 2017.
Positive Relationships Across the Lifespan
Positive Education, The Science of Human Flourishing (transdisciplinary course), Emotions, Longitudinal Methods