Mapping the HEART across Cultures and the Lifespan
Our lab explores how love, emotional experiences, and social bonds shape well-being across cultures and throughout the lifespan. We combine cutting-edge experience sampling approaches—such as Ecological Momentary Assessment, the Day Reconstruction Method, and daily diaries—with innovative analytic frameworks that capture the complexity of human experience. These include dynamical systems modeling to trace emotional change, Bayesian psychometric approaches to uncover shared and individual belief systems, social network analysis to map relational contexts, and machine learning techniques to enhance prediction and intervention design. By integrating advanced measurement with sophisticated analyses, our lab examines indicators of well-being, particularly affective states and relational processes, from a multi-level, dynamic, and culturally grounded perspective.
CROSS-CULTURAL LOVE PROJECT
Love is a universal phenomenon that shapes our emotions, relationships, and wellbeing—but its meaning can differ across cultures. Funded by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation, our multicultural research study examines what makes people feel loved in everyday life.
Lab Director
Saida Heshmati, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Positive Developmental Psychology
Division of Behavioral and Organizational Sciences
Claremont Graduate University
International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) 2023 Early Career Researcher Award Recipient
Recent News & Updates!
Recent News & Updates!
News & Updates
🇧🇷 we WRAPPED UP DATA COLLECTION IN BRAZIL! 🇧🇷 - february 2026
After a deeply fulfilling month in Rio De Janeiro, Dr. Saida Heshmati, Jaymes Rombaoa, and our incredible team of local collaborators wrapped up their field research. Learn more about the data collection process, as well as findings from 100+ interviews and focus group discussions, in the Love Across Cultures project blog, AKA “Logs of Love.”
New publication in scientific reports - december 2025
Our Dynamic Network PERMA paper, “Dynamic network models reveal personalized patterns of well-being in young adult daily lives” was published in in Scientific Reports!
CONGRATULATIONS — JOHN TEMPLETON FOUNDATION GRANT
Congratulations to Dr. Saida Heshmati (Project Leader) and Dr. Zita Oravecz (Project Co-Leader) for recently being awarded a John Templeton Grant (#63364). Their project is titled, “Embracing Love Across Cultures: Decoding Cultural Beliefs on Love and Their Impact on Wellbeing” and is a 5-year cross-cultural study that will last from 2024–2028.
Be on the lookout for detailed updates about this new project and our multi-year journey!
Meet the HEART Lab team
Learn more about our team of graduate students and faculty working on making a difference in people’s lives through research projects centered on love, positive development and well-being.
CURRENT PROJECTS
Find out about our current research projects, such as our love project, mindfulness project, and more!
Questions, Research Participation & Collaborations
Contact us for any further information about our projects, if you would like to participate in a research study, or if you would like to collaborate with us!
