For Psychology Professor Christian Waugh, optimism is both a research topic and a way of life. Waugh studies how positive emotions and resilience influence stress regulation, but says that the most meaningful work of his career is in the classroom, where he has the opportunity to spend time with enthusiastic students. 

From a Griffin to a Demon Deacon, and everything in between

Waugh first studied psychology in high school in his home state of Maryland, where “the questions that had to do with the mind and how people do stuff and when they do stuff, just grabbed [him].” He continued to explore the discipline as an undergraduate student at the College of William & Mary.

The now proud Demon Deacon turned down an acceptance to Wake Forest at the time and is glad that he did so. Without the influence of his undergraduate honors advisor, Lee Kirkpatrick, Waugh said, he would have never been exposed to the collegiate world of science and its lab aspects. 

At William & Mary, Waugh embraced the laboratory perspective of psychology and learned that “one of the coolest ways to do psychology, and the science of psychology, would be as a professor, right? Because not only do you get to do the science of it, but you also get [to be] the teacher.” 

Discovering this passion motivated Waugh to pursue a PhD in social psychology at the University of Michigan and to work as a postdoctoral fellow in psychology at Stanford University.

Waugh said that one of the most important moments of his academic career came from his first year working at Wake Forest in 2010. 

“I…came in at Wake Forest teaching with my hands up, like…a defensive posture,” Waugh said, adding a comparison between former students and those at Wake Forest, saying that previously he had a “rigid” style, focusing on “what [he] wanted [them] to know,” but shifted when he learned that “Wake Forest students were generally interested in learning.” 

Waugh embraced teaching and, in the years since, has found that his best memories of Wake Forest have come from spending time with his students. Whether through developing engaging lesson plans for Psych 342: Research in Emotion, his favorite class to teach, participating in a lie detector test or working with students in his stress and positive emotions research laboratory, Waugh enjoys building connections. 

He loves to get to know students, stating that some of his favorite moments are when “we’re meeting one on one and going over ideas and projects… [getting to] know where you’re from. I know what your dreams and aspirations are, because we talked about it, and I know eventually, hopefully, you care enough about what we are doing together… as opposed to just getting a good grade.”

Waugh has also led semester study abroad programs at Wake Forest’s Casa Artom in Venice, Italy, and Flow House in Vienna, Austria. He reminisced fondly about watching the Super Bowl in the middle of the night with his students while abroad. Waugh said he was able to “get a completely different picture” of his students through these experiences.

“You’re reminded that… individual human beings have these really intricate lives that go beyond our class and they’re just fun,” Waugh said. 

Researching emotional balance

In the laboratory, Waugh researches positive emotions and their relationship with stress. 

“People tend to focus on the negative emotions of stress, like anxiety, worry, anger, and fear, which makes sense,” Waugh said. “But what hasn’t received as much attention is that we also have rich, positive emotional lives, and those positive emotions can help us deal with stress too.” 

Waugh explained that negative emotions aren’t always barriers to a balanced emotional state. In a study he conducted after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Waugh found that “those who felt positive emotions, not necessarily less negative emotions,” experienced better mental recovery. 

Waugh also studies “positive reappraisal,” or the practice of reframing emotional situations in manageable ways, and described the concept as applicable for students. For instance, while a poor exam grade might initially spark frustration or disappointment, a student could reappraise the experience by focusing on what they learned from their mistakes and how they can improve moving forward, Waugh said.

Advice from a professor of emotion

When asked what advice he would give to young adults, Waugh emphasized the importance of community.

“Finding people that you feel like you belong [with], where you belong, makes all the difference in the world for coming into a new place,” Waugh said. He strives to live by this advice himself by participating in pickleball with other faculty and staff and attending football and basketball games with his coworkers. 

Waugh also encouraged students to approach their lives with curiosity.

“Be curious about yourself, which helps you get out of your own patterns and defensiveness, about others, which helps you get past any squabbles or stereotypes you have [with] them [and] about academics, which might help you get to classes that you might otherwise not have taken,” Waugh said.

Waugh said curiosity has been vital in his own life and career. Waugh is glad to have pursued work in academia; he “wouldn’t have been able to really express [his] curiosity” in an industry role. 

“That’s the cool thing about being a professor, being a scientist…if I am curious about something, I can try to answer the question,” Waugh said.

Waugh said he hopes to impart similar lessons to his students. Seeing his former students succeed is one of his primary motivators.

“I really like it when I see my former students happy with where they’re at in their lives,” Waugh said.