The processes whereby people manage their emotions are jointly referred to as emotion regulation. Issues with emotion regulation are implicated in virtually all forms of psychopathology throughout the lifespan, from early childhood into old age. It is therefore vital for clinical and developmental psychologists to understand what causes people to fail or succeed at emotion regulation, and how people can be taught to regulate their emotions more effectively.  

Over the past twenty years, research on emotion regulation has developed into a vibrant and productive scientific discipline. The sheer volume of emotion regulation research is staggering, with thousands of articles appearing each year on this topic. The study of emotion regulation is inherently interdisciplinary, and involves vital contributions from developmental psychology, clinical psychology, social and personality psychology, psychophysiology and social-cognitive and affective neuroscience.

In our research, we seek to advance emotion regulation research in three main ways. First, we promote theoretical integration within the area, by developing integrative theories, writing literature reviews, and conducting meta-analytic studies. Second, we propose novel ideas, methods and empirical studies, which cover important aspects of emotion regulation that so far remained understudied. Third and last, we pioneer and develop innovative applications of emotion regulation research, in such areas as psychotherapy, treatment of cancer patients, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence.

Among the major foci of our research is embodied emotion regulation, or how people may use bodily states such as touch or postures in dealing with their emotions. Another focus is interpersonal emotion regulation, or the question of how people mutually influence and regulate their emotions. Finally, a third focus of our research is the use of artificial intelligence systems in emotion regulation.

STAFF MEMBERS

• Prof. dr. Sander Koole
• Ethel Prüss
• Xihan Jia
• Edgar Eler
• Yifan Mo