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Quantitative Social Psychology

Basic Mechanisms: Emotions, Cognitions, Motivation and Physiology

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Emotions, desires, and motivation are fundamental components of everyday human experience and behaviour. These psychological processes are shaped by both biology and our social environments. This is reflected in our research approach, which examines emotion, motivation and cognition as ‘embodied’ processes that are underpinned by biological processes (e.g. changes in cortisol, neural or cardiovascular activity) but also responsive to social cues and contexts.  This research theme draws on the group’s expertise in psychophysiology, affective neuroscience, and social cognition to explore how emotional and motivational experiences and their biological correlates interact with the social world. We investigate both individual responses (e.g. through exposing participants to emotional or motivational stimuli) and social influences on behaviour, by sampling responses in different environments of theoretical or practical significance, such as diverse versus segregated settings. This allows us to uncover the mechanisms through which social interactions influence emotion regulation, motivation, and subsequent behaviour. Some of the research questions we address are: Are social media addictive? Does solitude help regulate emotions? Why do we get goosebumps? We use a range of methods, including behavioural experiments, diary studies, experience sampling, psychophysiological assessments, brain imaging (fMRI) and eye-tracking, to better understand the interplay between biological processes and social environments in shaping human behaviour. 

Theme Leads

For all queries regarding our work on basic mechanisms, please contact our theme leads below.

Name Research Keywords
Niklas Ihssen Reward; motivation; positive affect; social media

Here are some of our members who work on basic mechanisms.

Staff

Name Research Keywords

Kathleen Carswell

Passion; love; relational goal-pursuit and motivation
Trevor James Unconscious and implicit bias; threat and physiology
Michael Lengieza Eudaimonia; Hedonia; Self-transcendent emotions
Thuy-Vy Nguyen Solitude; emotion regulation; stress regulation
Stefania Paolini Intergroup anxiety learning; intergroup contact seeking and volition
Vladimir Ponizovskiy Values; value instantiation; culture and motivation
Fuschia Sirois Emotion regulation; motivation; physiological aspects of positive traits and states
Leanne Trick Mental health; physical health; stress; emotion-regulation
Mario Weick Psychophysiology; virtual reality applications; affect; motivation; self-regulation

Junior Researchers

Name Research Keywords
Xiangyu Deng Thoughts; cognitions; emotions; social media
Lucy Edgar Reward; motivation; positive affect; snacking; emotions
Jie Huang Intergroup contact volition, contact uptake/avoidance
Bhakti Khati Moral Disagreements; Psychophysiology; Emotions and Appraisals
Liang Wu Contact volition; intergroup contact uptake; expatriation willingness

Other Research Areas

Find out more about our other research areas.

Intergroup Relations

Diverse societies pose significant challenges in today’s society, like racism, sexism, nationalism, and other forms of prejudice, but also confer societal advantages.

Health and Well-being

Promoting and maintaining health and well-being has become increasingly important, especially in the wake of the recent global pandemic.

Workplace and Organisations

Creating inclusive work environments, supporting occupational health and well-being, and developing effective leadership are major challenges in today's workplaces.

Behavioural Change

We investigate factors that drive behaviour, with a particular focus on risk perception, social influence, and decision-making in a variety of applied settings

Environmental Psychology

Some of our research focuses on topics such as; pro-environmental behaviour, collective action, and policy support.

* The illustrations above have been generated using AI