Faculty and Staff
Associate Professor of Psychology Anthony Mancini, PhD, has become a leading voice in research on trauma and resilience, sharing his insights on NPR’s podcast and in
Anthony Mancini
Professor
Dyson College of Arts and Sciences
Psychology PLV
Westchester
Biography
Faculty Bio
Anthony Mancini is a clinical psychologist who studies a variety of potentially traumatic events, including interpersonal loss, military deployment, mass trauma, traumatic injury, and life-threatening illness. He also examines the ways acute adversity stimulates social behavior, increases trust and cooperation at a group level, and can, under some conditions, directly improve psychological functioning.
Awards and Honors
- APA, Division 22, 2011, Harold Yuker Award for Research Excellence (awarded to the best paper published in Psychological Rehabilitation)
- National Institutes of Health, 2011, Loan Repayment Grant Program (renewal)
- National Institutes of Health, 2009, Loan Repayment Grant Program
Education
PhD, Columbia University, 2004
MS, Columbia University, 1999
M.Phil, Columbia University, 1999
BA, Hunter College, City University of New York, 1995
Research and Creative Works
Research Interest
Three primary inter-related questions have guided his research thus far: 1) What are the varieties of people’s reactions to acute stress? 2) Why does one person manage the storms of acute stress, while another struggles and, in some cases, succumbs to posttraumatic stress disorder or prolonged grief? 3) Why, in some cases, does acute stress stimulate psychological improvement among people who were struggling? To answer these questions, he has worked on longitudinal datasets to better understand individually varying patterns of response. He has also used experimental designs and analogue stressors to identify underlying mechanisms of adaptive stress responses and changes in social behavior, including other-focused emotions, reductions in self-focus, and feelings of awe. He recently developed a theoretical model to better understand these effects or "psychosocial gains from adversity." A description of the model, published in Psychological Review, is here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331876048_When_Acute_Adversity_Improves_Psychological_Health_A_Social-Contextual_Framework
Courses Taught
Past Courses
MHC 613: Prsptvs on Psttrmtc Strs Dsrdr
MHC 614: Crrnt Prspctvs on Grief Cnslng
MHC 622: Trauma & Loss: Empirical Prspc
MHC 677: Research & Program Evaluation
MHC 741: Threat Mgt:Clinical Approachs
MHC 830: Rsrch Dsgn: Spec Tpcs Semnr
MHC 831: Doctoral Dissertation Sem I
MHC 832: Doctoral Dissertation Sem II
MM 802: Maintain Matriculation-PhD
MM 802: Maintain Matriculation-Phd
PSY 112: Introduction to Psychology
PSY 230: Personality and Social Psych:
PSY 327: Mentored Lab Class Semester 1
PSY 328: Mentored Lab Class Semester 2
PSY 395: Indpndnt Study in Psychology
PSY 600: Grad Psy / Indpndnt Study
PSY 614: Crrnt Prspctvs on Grief Cnslng
PSY 622: Trauma & Loss: Empirical Prspc
PSY 630: Cnslng Theories and Tchnqs I
PSY 631: Cnslng Theories & Tchnqs II
PSY 651: Post Traumatic Stress & Cnslng
PSY 651: Topics in Psychology
PSY 658: Group Dynamics
PSY 660: Death, Loss, and Bereavement
PSY 661: Grief Counseling
PSY 677: Research & Program Evaluation
PSY 686: Appraisal and Assessment
PSY 689: Psychological Resilience
PSY 693: Rsrch Smnr in Mntl Hlth Cnslng
Publications and Presentations
Publications
(2019). When acute adversity improves psychological health: A social-contextual framework. Psychological Review, 126, 486-505
Mancini, A. D. Psychological Review.
Related News and Stories
In the Media
"People are considerably more resilient than is commonly assumed, so I did not anticipate substantial mental health effects," said Anthony Mancini (opens in new tab), a clinical psychologist at who was not involved in the current study but who published similar findings in the journal (opens in new tab) in 2021. Lockdowns may have cut both ways on mental health, Mancini added. Although they ripped people from their daily routines and increased isolation, they also cut down on stressful day-to-day hassles like commuting.
In the Media
Every human being will experience grief at some point in their lives — it’s a fundamental human experience. “I think it’s important to underscore that people are equipped to grieve, and for the most part people do it OK,” says Anthony Mancini, a psychological researcher at in Pleasantville, New York.