Howard Berenbaum

An Experimental Examination of the Effect of Unpleasant Mood on the Impact of Emotion on Reasoning

Abstract Previous research indicates that: (a) people reason more accurately when unpleasant facial expressions (i.e., anger and fear) of others are present and are relevant to a reasoning problem; and (b) people reason less accurately when unpleasant facial expressions of others...

Safety, efficacy and acceptability of human-GenAI single-session exposure-based intervention for academic anxiety: randomized controlled trials

Generative AI (GenAI) may expand access to exposure therapy, a gold-standard anxiety treatment, but its safety, efficacy, and acceptability remain untested. We developed a hybrid human–GenAI single-session exposure program targeting academic anxiety and evaluated it across two ra...

Randomized controlled trial of GenAI coach feedback efficacy, acceptability and mechanisms in anxiety worry logs

Abstract Anxiety disorders are prevalent worldwide, yet access to evidence-based interventions remains limited. Digital worry-log interventions are scalable, but unguided use may limit engagement and efficacy, while human-delivered feedback may improve outcomes, yet is labor-inte...