The Interbeing Lab investigates how cognitive, emotional, technological, and environmental factors interact to shape everyday experience across the lifespan. Our work examines cognition in real-world contexts, including digital and physical environments, and translates research findings into practical resources that support well-being, learning, reflection, and sustainable living.
ABOUT US
The Interbeing Lab takes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding cognition and human development in everyday life. We are particularly interested in how cognitive processes unfold within the social, technological, and physical environments people encounter across the lifespan.
Our research draws on cognitive and developmental science while emphasizing real-world contexts, individual differences, and within-person change. We use approaches that capture everyday experiences and behavior as they occur.
Beyond research, the lab aims to translate scientific evidence into accessible educational materials, practical tools, and public-facing resources for individuals, families, educators, researchers, communities, and institutions. Through this work, we seek to support more reflective, evidence-informed, and sustainable ways of living, learning, and engaging with the world.
OUR CORE VALUES
The Interbeing Lab values interdisciplinary collaboration with researchers, educators, practitioners, and institutions across local, national, and international contexts. We welcome partnerships that bring together research, education, public engagement, and the development of evidence-informed resources.
Rinanda R. A. Shaleha, Ph.D., focuses on cognition and human development across the lifespan, with particular interest in how cognitive processes unfold in everyday life. Her research examines how cognition is shaped by technological, social, and physical environments, including digital engagement and other everyday contextual factors. She uses intensive longitudinal approaches, such as ecological momentary assessment (EMA), to investigate within-person fluctuations and between-person differences in cognition and lived experience.
The projects below highlight ongoing and completed work from The Interbeing Lab.
| Project Title | Project Summary | Methods / Approach | Collaborators |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline Nomophobia and Ambulatory Cognitive Performance in Adults’ Daily Lives | This project examines whether baseline nomophobia, or distress related to being unable to access one’s mobile phone, is associated with objective cognitive performance in adults’ daily lives. Using data from the Lifelong Development Program at Penn State, the study focuses on repeated smartphone-based assessments of processing speed and visuospatial working memory across a 10-day ecological momentary assessment burst. | Ecological momentary assessment; measurement-burst design; smartphone-based ambulatory cognitive assessment; Symbol Search; Grid Memory; linear mixed-effects modeling | Nelson A. Roque, Ph.D. (The Pennsylvania State University); data from the Lifelong Development Program, The Pennsylvania State University |
| Daily Screen Time and Cognitive Performance in Adults | This project examines whether day-to-day variation in self-reported screen time is associated with cognitive performance in adults’ daily lives. Using a 10-day ecological momentary assessment burst, the study distinguishes within-person fluctuations in screen exposure from between-person differences in average screen exposure and examines their associations with processing speed and visuospatial working memory. | Ecological momentary assessment; measurement-burst design; ambulatory cognitive assessment; day-level screen-time summaries; lagged autoregressive multilevel modeling; within-person and between-person decomposition | Nelson A. Roque, Ph.D. (The Pennsylvania State University); data from the Lifelong Development Program, The Pennsylvania State University |
| Functional Assessment Using Digital Technologies: What Exists, What Is on the Horizon | This scoping review maps existing and emerging digital technologies for assessing instrumental activities of daily living and everyday functioning. The project focuses on how technology-based tools, including mobile apps, sensors, wearables, smart home technologies, virtual reality, simulations, and other digital approaches, may support more objective and ecologically valid assessment of functional abilities in midlife and older adults. | Scoping review; literature screening; Covidence; JBI-informed evidence synthesis; PRISMA-ScR reporting; systematic database search; data charting; narrative and descriptive synthesis | Preeti Sunderaraman, Ph.D. (Brown University / Butler Hospital); Anna-Katharine Brem, Ph.D. (King’s College London / University of Bern); Nelson A. Roque, Ph.D. (The Pennsylvania State University); JPND DIGDEM Working Group |
NEWS, EVENTS & MEDIA COVERAGE
The Interbeing Lab shares updates, events, public writing, and media coverage that highlight our research and engagement with academic, professional, and public audiences.
| Title | Date | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Making the Most of Screen Time (Broadcast Media Mention / Research Featured CBS Mornings / Talk of the Table Research Featured) | June 12, 2026 | Rinanda Shaleha and Nelson Roque’s work on screen time was featured in a CBS Mornings segment on making the most of screen time. The segment highlighted that how people scroll… |
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| Q&A: When Is Screen Time Healthy and When Is It Not? | June 9, 2026 | Rinanda Shaleha was featured and quoted in a Penn State News Q&A with Nelson Roque on when screen time may support or harm well-being. In the article, she explains why… |
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| Graduate Exhibition: Daily Screen Time and Cognitive Performance in Adults | March 2026 | Rinanda Shaleha presented dissertation research examining daily screen time and cognitive performance in adults using ecological momentary assessment. The presentation was part of the 41st Penn State Graduate Exhibition at… |
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| Public Webinar: Overstimulated Love and Cognitive Overload in the Digital Era | December 2025 | The Interbeing Lab hosted a public webinar on attention, relationships, and cognitive overload in the digital era. The session featured Rinanda R. A. Shaleha and psychologist Daniar Dhara Fainsya as… |
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PUBLICATIONS
| Title | Citation | Short Description | Full Text |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen Use Measurement Tools: A Mapping of Instruments, Gaps, and Future Directions | Shaleha, R., Roque, N., Andrews, H., Calfee, K., & Lee, S. (2026). Screen Use Measurement Tools: A Mapping of Instruments, Gaps, and Future Directions. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 29(3), 140-150. https://doi.org/10.1177/21522715261417288 | This article discusses the development and evaluation of screen use measurement tools. It highlights their strengths, limitations, and research gaps. It emphasizes the need for more accurate, context-aware, and inclusive instruments to better understand how people use digital devices across different ages and life contexts. | Full Text › |
| Screen Time in Context: Toward a Theoretical Model of Digital Engagement Across the Lifespan | Shaleha, R., & Roque, N. (2026). Screen time in context: Toward a theoretical model of digital engagement across the lifespan. Developmental Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0002202 | This article proposes a lifespan-oriented theoretical model for understanding digital engagement beyond screen time duration alone. It highlights how mode of engagement, purpose, timing and context, content structure, and emotional valence shape cognitive, emotional, and developmental outcomes across different life stages. | Full Text › |
| Daily Stress, Cortisol Dysregulation, and Screen Time in Midlife and Older Adults: Findings from the MIDUS Study. | Shaleha, R., Almeida, D., & Roque, N. (2025). Daily Stress, Cortisol Dysregulation, and Screen Time in Midlife and Older Adults: Findings from the MIDUS Study. Innovation in Aging, 9(Suppl 2), igaf122.3065. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igaf122.3065 | This study examined how daily stress and cortisol dysregulation relate to screen-time behaviors among midlife and older adults, using data from the MIDUS Study. It highlights the complex relationship among stress regulation, aging, and everyday media use. | Full Text › |
The Interbeing Lab develops and shares research-informed materials and practical resources to support learning, academic work, research practice, and public engagement. These resources may include educational modules, guides, summaries, toolkits, and other materials designed for students, educators, researchers, families, and broader community audiences.
We welcome questions, collaboration inquiries, and opportunities to connect. Reach out by email, Instagram, or send us a message using the form.
