Areas of expertise/research interests

• emotional communication, contagion and empathy
• psychology of religion and coping
• autism

Current research and projects

I study emotions and coping, using survey, laboratory and psychophysiological methods, and typical and clinical populations to understand phenomena in these domains.

In my coping research, I study how social and cognitive resources influence emotional adjustment, broadly defined. I am particularly interested in responses to traumatic events, uncontrollability or high levels of stress, and on the role of religion.

In my emotions research, I examine basic interpersonal processes in emotion. Specifically, I focus on mimicry, facial feedback, emotion perception and communication, and empathy. I examine the nature and consequences of these processes in typical and clinical populations, such as people with autism.

Professional biography

My research investigates emotions, coping, and the psychology of religion. I am particularly interested in non-verbal communication, mimicry and empathy, and how religious beliefs and social interactions influence how we respond to negative events. My teaching has focused on social psychology and emotions. I am currently serving as the Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences; I have previously served as chair of the Department of Psychology and as Director of the University Honors Program.

Education

• PhD, psychology, University of Michigan, 1992
• MA, psychology, University of Michigan, 1989
• BA, summa cum laude, psychology, University of Denver, 1987

Selected Publications

• Blocker, H. S. & McIntosh, D. N. (2017). Not all outgroups are equal: Group type may influence group effect on matching behavior. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 41, 395-413. doi: 10.1007/s10919-017-0258-z
• Moody, E. J., Reed, C. L., Van Bommel, T., App. B., McIntosh, D. N. (2017). Emotional mimicry beyond the face? Rapid face and body responses to facial expressions. Social Psychological and Personality Science. doi: 10.1177/1948550617726832
• Van Tongeren, D. R., McIntosh, D. N., Raad, J. M., Pae, J. (2013). The existential function of intrinsic religiousness: Moderation of effects of priming religion on intercultural tolerance and afterlife anxiety, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 52,508-523.
• McIntosh, D. N., & Newton, A. (2013). An explicit request for minitheories in the psychology of religion and spirituality.  International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 23(4), in press.
• App, B., McIntosh, D. N., Reed, C. L., & Hertenstein, M. J. (2011). Nonverbal channel use in communication of emotion: How may depend on why. Emotion, 11, 603-617. DOI: 10.1037/a0023164.
• McIntosh, D. N., Poulin, M. J., Silver, R. C., Holman, E. A. (2011). The distinct roles of spirituality and religiosity in physical and mental health after collective trauma: A national longitudinal study of responses to the 9/11 attacks. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 34, 497–507. DOI: 10.1007/s10865-011-9331-y.
• McIntosh, D. N., Reichmann-Decker, A., Winkielman, P., & Wilbarger, J. L. (2006). When the social mirror breaks: Deficits in automatic, but not voluntary mimicry of emotional facial expressions in autism). Developmental Science, 9, 295-302.
• McIntosh, D. N., Miller, L. J., Shyu, V., Hagerman, R. J. (1999). Sensory-modulation disruption, electrodermal responses, and functional behaviors. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 41, 608-615. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8749.1999.tb00664.x.
• McIntosh, D. N. (1995). Religion as schema, with implications for the relation between religion and coping. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 5, 1-16. DOI: 10.1207/s15327582ijpr0501_1.
• McIntosh, D. N., Silver, R. C., & Wortman, C. B. (1993). Religion's role in adjustment to a negative life event: Coping with the loss of a child. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 812-821. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.65.4.812.