Scott Vrana, Ph.D.

Emeritus Professor
Clinical Psychology
srvrana@vcu.edu
Emeritus, Professor
Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Virginia
Fellow, International Organization of Psychophysiology
Ph.D. (1988), University of Florida
Doctoral Program Affiliations
Primary: Clinical Psychology
Secondary: Social Psychology
Research and Clinical Interests
My research interests involve the study of emotion from an information processing and a psychophysiological perspective. Current specific interests include studies of emotional and attentional processes during emotional imagery, the psychophysiology of social interaction and the effect of ethnic/cultural differences and social context on emotion and on social interaction. New research interests are: 1) latent semantic analysis of text, with applications including expressive writing and doctor-patient communication, and 2) disorders of decreased sound tolerance, including misophonia and hyperacusis. My clinical interests include intellectual assessment and the assessment and treatment of anxiety disorders.
Select Publications
Bourdon, J. L., Moore, A. A., Savage, J. E., Hazlett, L., Vrana, S. R., Hettema, J. M., & Roberson-Nay, R. (2018). The heritability of resting heart rate variability (HRV) in adolescents and young adults. Behavior Genetics. DOI: 10.1007/s10519-018-9915-1
Cusack, S., Cash, T., & Vrana, S. R. (2018). An examination of the relationship between misophonia, anxiety sensitivity, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 18, 67-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocrd.2018.06.004
Sheerin, C.M., Konig, A., Eonta, A.M., & Vrana, S.R. (2018). Effect of expressive and neutral writing on respiratory sinus arrhythmia response over time. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 59, 129-133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2018.01.003
Vrana, S. R., Vrana, D. T., Penner, L. A., Eggly, S., Slatcher, R. B., Hagiwara, N. (2018). Latent Semantic Analysis: A new measure of patient-physician communication. Social Science & Medicine, 198, 22-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.12.021
Clark, S. W., Gulin, S. L., Heller, M. B., & Vrana, S. R. (2017). Graduate training implications of the Q-interactive platform for administering Wechsler intelligence tests. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 11, 148-155. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/tep0000155
Vrana, S. R. & Vrana, D. T. (2017). Can a computer administer a Wechsler intelligence test? Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 48, 191-198. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pro0000128
Roberson-Nay, R., Gorlin, E. I., Beadel, J. R., Cash, T., Vrana, S. R., & Teachman, B. A. (2017). Temporal stability of multiple response systems to 7.5% carbon dioxide challenge. Biological Psychology, 124, 111-118. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2017.01.014
Recent Courses
- Individual Tests of Intelligence, graduate level
- Anxiety Disorders practicum, graduate level
- Assessment Clinic practicum, graduate level