Judith Herb College of Arts, Social Sciences and Education

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Dean's Office
University Hall
Third Floor, Room 3160
Mail Stop 906
419.530.2164
jhcase@UToledo.Edu

About the College

Contact Us

Dean's Office
University Hall
Third Floor, Room 3160
Mail Stop 906
419.530.2164
jhcase@UToledo.Edu

Andrew Geers, Ph.D.

Andrew Geers

Professor
Experimental Psychology - Social
UH 6524
419.530.8530
andrew.geers@utoledo.edu

Scholars Profile

Education

Ph.D., Ohio University, 2001

research interests 

  • expectations and persuasion
  • psychology of drug side effects
  • formation of affect and emotion
  • placebo effects
  • initiation and maintenance of health beliefs and behavior
  • decision making

selected publications 

  • Cummins, J., Faasse, K., Helfer, S. G., & Geers, A. L. (in press). Developing a new measure of implicit treatment expectations. Journal of Social Psychology.
  • Görner, K. J., Spotts, E. K., & Geers, A. L. (in press). Identifying the psychological effects of nocebo education: Results from two pre-registered experiments. Journal of Behavioral Medicine.
  • Sieg, M., Clemens, K. S., Colloca, L., Geers, A. L., & Vase, L. (in press). Nocebo belief and attitudes towards side effect disclosure: A general population-based online survey in Europe and North America. European Journal of Pain.
  • Clemens, K. S., Ruble, A., Vang, M., Vase, L., Colloca L., Seig, M., & Geers, A. L. (2024). The desire for side effect information: An experimental analysis of contextual and individual difference factors. Pain, 165, 383-391.
  • Geers, A. L., Seligman, L. D., Pituch, K. A., Colagiuri, B., Marusak, H. A., Rabinak, C. A., Al-Ado, S. L., Turner, N., & Nedley M. (2024). A test of pre-exposure spacing and multiple context pre-exposure on the mechanisms of latent inhibition of dental fear: A study protocol. BMC Psychology, 12(1), 85.
  • Clemens, K. S., Faasse, K., Tan, W., Colagiuri, B., Colloca, L., Webster, R., Vase, L., Jason, E., & Geers, A. L. (2023). Social communication pathways to COVID-19 vaccine side-effect expectations and experience. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 164, 111081.
  • Geers A. L., Clemens K. S., Faasse K., Colagiuri B., Webster R., Vase L., Siege M., Jason E., Colloca L. (2022). Psychosocial factors predict COVID-19 vaccine side effects. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 91, 136-138.
  • Mao, A., Barnes, K., Sharpe, L., Geers, A. L., Helfer, S. G., Faasse, K., & Colagiuri, B. (2021). Using positive attribute framing to attenuate nocebo side effects: A cybersickness study. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 55, 769–778.
  • Geers, A. L., Faasse, K., Guevarra, D., Clemens, K. S., Helfer, S. G., & Colagiuri, B. (2021). Affect and emotions in placebo and nocebo effects: What do we know so far? Social and Personality Psychology Compass 15, e12575.
  • Clemens, K., Tull, M. T., Murray, A., Boardley, D., Tipton, J., & Geers, A. L. (2020). Examination of the relationship between affect, values, and physical activity among cancer survivors. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 18, 68-74. 
  • Barnes, K., Faasse, K., Geers, A. L., Helfer, S. G., Sharpe, L., Colloca, L., & Colagiuri, B. (2019). Can positive framing reduce nocebo side-effects?: Current evidence and recommendations for future research. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 10, e167. 
  • Faasse, K., Huynh, A., Pearson, S., Geers, A.L., Helfer, S.G., & Colagiuri, B. (2019). The influence of side effect information framing on nocebo effects. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 53, 621-629. 
  • Geers, A. L., Briñol, P., & Petty, R. E. (2019). An analysis of the basic processes of formation and change of placebo expectations. Review of General Psychology, 23, 211-229. 
  • Geers, A. L., Close, S. R., Caplandies, F., Pertiwi, Y., Murray, A., Vogel, C., Handley, I.M., & Vase, L. A. (2019). Testing a positive affect induction to reduce verbally-induced nocebo hyperalgesia in an experimental pain paradigm. Pain, 160, 2290-2297. 
  • Caplandies, F., Brown, J. A., Murray, A., & Geers, A. L. (2018). Choice and enjoyment of exercise: A test of three moderating variables. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 38, 47-55.
  • Geers, A. L., Vanwasshenova, E., Murray, A. B., Mahas, R., Fahlman, M. M., & Boardley, D. (2017). Affective associations as predictors of health behavior in urban minority youth. Health Psychology, 36, 996-1005.
  • Brown, J. A., Oikawa, M., Rose, J. P., Haught, H., & Geers, A. L. (2015). Choosing across cultures: The effect of choice complexity on treatment outcomes. Journal of Behavioral Decision-Making, 28, 515-528.
  • Helfer, S. G., Elhai, J., & Geers, A. L. (2015). Affect and exercise: Positive affective expectations can increase post-exercise mood and exercise intentions. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 49, 269-279.
  • Geers, A. L., Rose, J. P., Fowler, S. L., Rasinski, H., Brown, J. A., & Helfer, S. G. (2013). Why does choice enhance treatment effectiveness: Using placebo treatments to demonstrate the role of personal control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105, 549-566.
  • Neff, L. A. & Geers, A. L. (2013). Optimistic expectations in marriage: A resource or vulnerability for adaptive relationship functioning? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105, 38-60.

current grants

"Identifying the mechanisms of latent inhibition to prevent dental fear"
Co-Principal Investigators: Andrew L. Geers PhD and Laura D. Seligman PhD
Agency: National Institutes of Health (National Institute for Dental Craniofacial Research)
Type: R01
Period: August 2021 – August 2025
Total costs: $1,285,871

"Living down to expectations: Generic medicines and the nocebo effect"
Principle Investigator: Kate Faasse PhD
Co-Investigator: Andrew L. Geers, PhD
Agency: Australian Research Council
Type: Discovery Project
Period: 2022 – 2025
Total cost: $328,444.

"A one-session treatment for dental phobia in youth in an underserved population"
Principal Investigator: Laura Seligman, PhD
Consultant: Andrew L. Geers PhD
Agency: National Institutes of Health (National Institute for Dental Craniofacial Research)
Type: UG3
Period: 2022 – 2029
Total costs: $4,278,952.

“From me to you and beyond: Understanding socially-induced nocebo effects”
Principle Investigator: Ben Colagiuri, PhD
Co-Investigator: Andrew L. Geers, PhD
Agency: Australian Research Council
Type: Discovery Project
Period: 2023 – 2026
Total cost: $349,402

“Role of explicit and implicit expectations in the efficacy of musculoskeletal rehabilitation”
Co-Principle Investigators: Andrew L. Geers, PhD and David Bazett-Jones, PhD
Agency: University of Toledo
Type: Interdisciplinary Research Initiative Award
Period: 2024 – 2025
Total cost: $34,000

Dean's Office
University Hall
Third Floor, Room 3160
Mail Stop 906
419.530.2164
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Last Updated: 6/30/25