The Emotion Group is an activity for the trainees appointed to the Training Program in Emotion Research. If you would like to be added or removed from the email announcement list, please contact us at emotiont32grant@bi.wisc.edu. To view past Emotion Group schedules, visit the Emotion Group Archives.
Schedule of Emotion Group Meetings for 2024-2025
Friday, September 13th, 11:30 am-12:30 pm
Discussion Leader: Stephanie Ward
Topic: Conceptualizing Emotions: Fundamental Questions for Affective Scientists
Article: Stephanie has selected the following historical review paper. The discussion will revolve around foundational theoretical perspectives and their implications for how we understand and empirically investigate the experience and expression of emotions.
Ekman, P. (1992). An argument for basic emotions. Cognition and Emotion, 6(3-4), 169-200. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699939208411068
Meeting location (hybrid):
In person: Room 124 Kennedy Building, 625 W. Washington Ave. (The room is across from the reception desk.)
Meeting link: Zoom
Friday, October 11th, 11:30 am-12:30 pm
Discussion Leader: Estelle Higgins
Topic: Constructing Emotion: Physiology, Cognition, and the Brain
Articles: These two papers represent milestones in constructionist approaches to understanding emotion. Our discussion will consider how this perspective has evolved, shaping scientific study, clinical application, and everyday understandings of emotion.
Schachter, S., Singer, J. (1962). Cognitive, social, and physiological determinants of emotional state. Psychological Review, 69 (5), 379 – 399.
Barrett, L. (2017). The theory of constructed emotion: an active inference account of interoception and categorization. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 12(1), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsw154
Meeting location (hybrid):
In person: Room 124 Kennedy Building, 625 W. Washington Ave. (The room is across from the reception desk.)
Meeting link: Zoom
Friday, November 22nd, 11:30 am-12:30 pm
Discussion Leader: Dr. Hadley Rahrig
Topic: The Biological Embedding of Racism-Related Affective Stress
Articles:
Background Reading:
Carter, S., Mekawi, Y., Sheikh, I., Sanders, A. S., Packard, G., Harnett, N. G., & Metzger, I. W. (2022). Approaching mental health equity in neuroscience for black women across the lifespan: Biological embedding of racism from black feminist conceptual frameworks. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 7(12), 1235-1241.
Primary Research Article:
Dumornay, N. M., Lebois, L. A., Ressler, K. J., & Harnett, N. G. (2023). Racial disparities in adversity during childhood and the false appearance of race-related differences in brain structure. American Journal of Psychiatry, 180(2), 127-138.
Meeting location (hybrid):
In person: Room 124 Kennedy Building, 625 W. Washington Ave. (The room is across from the reception desk.)
Meeting link: Zoom
Friday, December 13th 11:30 am-12:30 pm
Discussion Leader: Laura Jett
Topic: A Process Model Perspective on Emotion Beliefs
Articles:
Main article:
Ford, B. Q., & Gross, J. J. (2019). Why beliefs about emotion matter: An emotion regulation perspective. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 28(1), 74–81. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721418806697
Meeting location (hybrid):
In person: Room 124 Kennedy Building, 625 W. Washington Ave. (The room is across from the reception desk.)
Meeting link: Zoom
Friday, January 24th 11:30 am-12:30 pm
Discussion Leader: Caroline Swords
Topic: Consequences, causes, mechanisms and treatment of rumination
Articles: First paper (Nolen-Hoeksema, 1999) explores social (strain) and cognitive factors (rumination) contributing to the gender gap in depression. I chose this study for its historical significance in rumination research and its relevance 25 years later. The second paper (Watkins & Roberts, 2020) reviews recent advancements in rumination research since Dr. Nolen-Hoeksema’s work ignited this line of inquiry in the early 1990s.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Larson, J., & Grayson, C. (1999). Explaining the gender difference in depressive symptoms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(5), 1061-1072. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.77.5.1061
Watkins, E. R. & Henrietta, R. (2020). Reflecting on rumination: Consequences, causes, mechanisms and treatment of rumination. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 127, 103573, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2020.103573
Meeting location (hybrid):
In person: Room 124 Kennedy Building, 625 W. Washington Ave. (The room is across from the reception desk.)
Meeting link: Zoom
Friday, February 28th 11:30 am-12:30 pm
Discussion Leader: Hannah Kramer
Topic: Thinking critically about arousal in emotion research
Required Reading:
Smith, K. E., Woodward, K., & Pollak, S. D. (2025) Arousal may not be anything to get excited about. Emotion Review, 17(1), 3-15. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/10.1177/17540739241303499
Recommended Readings (Commentaries):
Sander, D. (2025). Is “arousal,” as a scientific concept, worse than useless? Emotion Review, 17(1), 19-22. https://doi.org/10.1177/175407392413035
Dror, O. E., (2025). The feeling “without any name” Emotion Review, 17(1), 16-18. https://doi.org/10.1177/175407392413034
Thayer, J. F. & Friedman, B. H., (2025). Arousal: Reports of its demise may be premature. Emotion Review, 17(1), 23-25. https://doi.org/10.1177/17540739241309477
Smith, K. E & Pollak, S. D., (2025). The need for new perspectives on arousal in emotion theory. Emotion Review, 17(1), 26-29. https://doi.org/10.1177/17540739241303503
Meeting location (hybrid):
In person: Room 124 Kennedy Building, 625 W. Washington Ave. (The room is across from the reception desk.)
Meeting link: Zoom
Friday, April 11th 11:00 am-12:30 pm
Special Event: Elevator Pitch Session
Meeting location (hybrid):
In person: Room 124 Kennedy Building, 625 W. Washington Ave. (The room is across from the reception desk.)
Meeting link: Zoom
Questions, comments, or concerns can be sent to Jane Lambert at emotiont32grant@bi.wisc.edu.