Skip to content

I'm looking for...

Courses Research People Something else

Unable to find any suggestions for your query...

Prefer to see our subject areas?

Browse courses by subject

Unable to find any suggestions for your query...

Looking for funded postgraduate opportunities?

View doctoral training partnerships Browse postgraduate research opportunities

Unable to find any suggestions for your query...

We are different and we are the same. #WeAreEssex

Unable to find any suggestions for your query...

Looking for student or staff information?

Student Directory Staff Directory

Courses

Unable to find any suggestions for your query...

Prefer to see our subject areas?

Browse courses by subject

Research

Unable to find any suggestions for your query...

Looking for funded postgraduate opportunities?

View doctoral training partnerships Browse postgraduate research opportunities

People

Unable to find any suggestions for your query...

We are different and we are the same. #WeAreEssex

Something else

Unable to find any suggestions for your query...

Looking for student or staff information?

Student Directory Staff Directory

Thinking About the World

Emotion

A person sitting with their elbows on their knees, their hands clasped and covering their face.

Emotions play a role in all aspects of our life.

They influence our memory, can impact on how we learn, what decisions we make, can affect our interactions with others, and even determine our behaviour.

Accordingly, we try to answer a range of questions from how we communicate emotions through voices, faces, or language, to how we cope with stress.

Other questions that we address as part of our endeavour to advance understanding around emotions include:

What are the mechanisms underlying test anxiety?
How do emotions impact on learning?
How do emotions affect our internal body perception?
Is mind-wandering beneficial to us?
What are the neural dynamics underpinning embodiment of emotion?
What happens in our brain when we experience pain?
How do we cope with boredom?

Our internationally renowned staff use a number of techniques including behavioural studies, electrophysiological studies, brain-lesion studies, and physiological measurements to address these question. We also research related areas including relationships, sex, and attraction, risk, judgement and decision making, and well-being.

Recent papers

2023

Baker, Joshua and Efthimiou, T and Scherer, Reinhold and Gartus, A and Elsenaar, A and Mehu, M and Korb, Sebastian (2023) Measurement of the N170 during facial neuromuscular electrical stimulation (fNMES). Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 393. p. 109877.
Basarkod, Geetanjali and Marsh, Herbert W and Guo, Jiesi and Parker, Philip D and Dicke, Theresa and Pekrun, Reinhard (2023) The Happy-Fish-Little-Pond Effect on Enjoyment: Generalizability Across Multiple Domains and Countries. Learning and Instruction, 85. p. 101733.
Beaumont, Joanna and Putwain, David W and Gallard, Diahann and Elizabeth, Elizabeth and Marsh, Herbert W and Pekrun, Reinhard (2023) Students’ Emotion Regulation and School-Related Wellbeing: Longitudinal Models Juxtaposing Between- and Within-Person Perspectives. Journal of Educational Psychology, 115 (7). pp. 932-950.
Goetz, Thomas and Gogol, Katarzyna and Pekrun, Reinhard and Lipnevich, Anastasiya A and Becker, Eva S and Krannich, Maike and Sticca, Fabio (2023) Our individual order of things directs how we think we feel. Cognition and Emotion, 37 (5). pp. 990-996.
Gyimes, Istvan Laszlo and Valentini, Elia (2023) Reminders of Mortality: Investigating the Effects of Different Mortality Saliences on Somatosensory Neural Activity. Brain Sciences, 13 (7). p. 1077.
Jordan, Tracy and Klabunde, Megan and Green, Tamar and Hong, David and Ross, Judith and Jo, Booil and Reiss, Allan (2023) Longitudinal Investigation of Cognition, Social Competence, and Anxiety in Children and Adolescents with Turner Syndrome. Hormones and Behaviour, 149. p. 105300.
Korb, Sebastian and Clarke, Alasdair and Massaccesi, Claudia and Willeit, Matthäus and Silani, Giorgia (2023) Facial mimicry is not modulated by dopamine D2/3 and opioid receptor antagonism. Psychopharmacology, 240 (10). pp. 2081-2091.
Mahadevan, Nikhila and Gregg, Aiden P and Sedikides, Constantine (2023) Daily Fluctuations in Social Status, Self-Esteem, and Clinically Relevant Emotions: Testing Hierometer Theory and Social Rank Theory at a Within-Person Level. Journal of Personality, 91 (2). pp. 519-536.
Pekrun, Reinhard and Marsh, Herbert W and Elliot, Andrew J and Loderer, Kristina and Perry, Raymond P and Elisabeth, Vogl and Goetz, Thomas and Van Tilburg, Wijnand AP and Lüdtke, Oliver and Vispoel, Walter (2023) A Three-Dimensional Taxonomy of Achievement Emotions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 124 (1). pp. 145-178.
Poerio, Giulia L and Succi, Angelica and Swart, Tom and Romei, Vincenzo and Gillmeister, Helge (2023) From touch to tingles: Assessing ASMR triggers and their consistency over time with the ASMR Trigger Checklist (ATC). Consciousness and Cognition, 115. p. 103584.
Putwain, David W and Symes, Wendy and Marsh-Henry, Zhané and Marsh, Herbert W and Pekrun, Reinhard (2023) COVID-19 Meets Control-Value Theory: Emotional Reactions to Canceled High-Stakes Examinations. Learning and Individual Differences, 105. p. 102319.
Shao, Kaiqi and Stockinger, Kristina and Pekrun, Reinhard and Marsh, Herbert W (2023) Applying Control-Value Theory for Examining Multiple Emotions in Second Language Classrooms: Validating the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire-Second Language Learning. Language Teaching Research. p. 136216882211444.
Tam, Katy and Van Tilburg, Wijnand and Chan, Christian (2023) Lay Beliefs about Boredom: A Mixed-Methods Investigation. Motivation and Emotion, 47 (6). pp. 1075-1094.
Van Der Biest, Mathias and Cracco, Emiel and Riva, Paolo and Valentini, Elia (2023) Should I trust you? Investigating trustworthiness judgements of painful facial expressions. Acta Psychologica, 235. p. 103893.
Van Tilburg, Wijnand (2023) Locating nostalgia among the emotions: A bridge from loss to love. Current Opinion in Psychology, 49. p. 101543.

2022

Charidza, Chengetai Alice and Gillmeister, Helge (2022) Differential beta desynchronisation responses to dynamic emotional facial expressions are attenuated in higher trait anxiety and autism. Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience, 22 (6). pp. 1404-1420.
Chen, Shilei and Van Tilburg, Wijnand and Leman, Patrick (2022) Self-objectification in women predicts approval motivation in online self-presentation. British Journal of Social Psychology, 61 (1). pp. 366-388.
Chiappini, Emilio and Silani, Giorgia and Korb, Sebastian (2022) Anticipatory and Consummatory Responses to Touch and Food Rewards: A Protocol for Human Research. Bio-protocol, 12 (4). e4325-.
Efthimiou, Themis Nikolas and Hanel, Paul HP and Korb, Sebastian (2022) Volunteers' concerns about facial neuromuscular electrical stimulation. BMC Psychology, 10 (1). 117-.
Erturk, Sinan and Van Tilburg, Wijnand and Igou, Eric (2022) Off the mark: Repetitive marking undermines essay evaluations due to boredom. Motivation and Emotion, 46 (2). pp. 264-275. (In Press)
Haase, Jennifer and Hanel, Paul HP (2022) Priming creativity: Math reduces creativity and happiness whereas short online games enhance them. Frontiers in Education, 7.
Han, Yiyuan and Valentini, Elia and Halder, Sebastian (2022) Classification of Tonic Pain Experience based on Phase Connectivity in the Alpha Frequency Band of the Electroencephalogram using Convolutional Neural Networks. In: 44th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine & Biology Society (EMBC), 2022-07-11 - 2022-07-15, Glasgow.
Korb, Sebastian and Mikus, Nace and Massaccesi, Claudia and Grey, Jack and Duggirala, Suvarnalata X and Kotz, Sonja A and Mehu, Marc (2022) EmoSex: Emotion prevails over sex in implicit judgments of faces and voices. Emotion, 23 (2). pp. 569-588.
Krpan, Dario and Van Tilburg, Wijnand (2022) The aesthetic quality model: Complexity and randomness as foundations of visual beauty by signaling quality. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. (In Press)
Maltezou-Papastylianou, Constantina and Russo, Riccardo and Wallace, Denise and Harmsworth, Chelsea and Paulmann, Silke (2022) Different stages of emotional prosody processing in healthy ageing-evidence from behavioural responses, ERPs, tDCS, and tRNS. PLoS One, 17 (7). e0270934-e0270934.
Massaccesi, Claudia and Korb, Sebastian and Willeit, Matthaeus and Quednow, Boris B and Silani, Giorgia (2022) Effects of the mu-opioid receptor agonist morphine on facial mimicry and emotion recognition. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 142. p. 105801.
Moynihan, Andrew and Igou, Eric and Van Tilburg, Wijnand (2022) Pornography consumption as existential escape from boredom. Personality and Individual Differences, 198. p. 111802.
Muis, Krista Renee and Sinatra,, Gale M and Pekrun, Reinhard and Kendeou, Panayiota and Mason, Lucia and Jacobs, Neil and Van Tilburg, Wijnand and Orcutt, Ellen and Zaccoletti, Sonia and Losenno, Kelsey M (2022) Flattening the COVID-19 curve: Emotions mediate the effects of a persuasive message on preventive action. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. 1047241-.
Pekrun, Reinhard and Marsh, Herbert W (2022) Research on situated motivation and emotion: Progress and open problems. Learning and Instruction, 81. p. 101664.
Schulz, Charlotte and von Klitzing, Kai and Deserno, Lorenz and Sheridan, Margaret A and Crowley, Michael J and Schoett, Margerete JS and Hoffmann, Ferdinand and Villringer, Arno and Vrticka, Pascal and White, Lars O (2022) Emotional maltreatment and neglect impact neural activation upon exclusion in early and mid-adolescence: An event-related fMRI study. Development and Psychopathology, 34 (2). pp. 573-585.
Van Tilburg, Wijnand AP and Pekrun, Reinhard and Igou, Eric R (2022) Consumed by Boredom: Food Choice Motivation and Weight Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Behavioral Sciences, 12 (10). p. 366.

2021

Brosowsky, Nick and Van Tilburg, Wijnand and Scholer, Abigail and Boylan, James and Seli, Paul and Danckert, James (2021) 'Boredom proneness, political orientation and adherence to social- distancing in the pandemic.' Motivation and Emotion, 45 (5). pp. 631-640. ISSN 0146-7239
Daughters, Katie and Manstead, Antony SR and van der Schalk, Job (2021) 'Oxytocin and emotion recognition: Investigating the possible roles of facial synchrony and eye gaze.' Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology, 2. p. 100019. ISSN 2666-6227
Daughters, Katie and Rees, Aled and Hunnikin, Laura and Wells, Amy and Hall, Jeremy and van Goozen, Stephanie (2021) 'Oxytocin administration versus emotion training in healthy males: Considerations for future research.' Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. ISSN 0962-8436 (In Press)
Grave, Joana and Madeira, Nuno and Martins, Maria João and Silva, Samuel and Korb, Sebastian and Soares, Sandra Cristina (2021) 'Slower access to visual awareness but otherwise intact implicit perception of emotional faces in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders.' Consciousness and Cognition, 93. p. 103165. ISSN 1053-8100
Klabunde, Megan and Piccirilli, Aaron and Bruno, Jennifer and Gendron, Maria and Reiss, Allan L (2021) 'Empathic accuracy in adolescent girls with Turner Syndrome.' Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. ISSN 0162-3257
Korb, Sebastian and Deniz, Tugba Ceren and Ünal, Bengi and Clarke, Alasdair and Silani, Giorgia (2021) 'Emotion perception bias associated with the hijab in Austrian and Turkish participants.' Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. p. 174702182110483. ISSN 1747-0218
Massaccesi, Claudia and Chiappini, Emilio and Paracampo, Riccardo and Korb, Sebastian (2021) 'Large Gatherings? No, Thank You. Devaluation of Crowded Social Scenes During the COVID-19 Pandemic.' Frontiers in Psychology, 12. 689162-. ISSN 1664-1078
Moynihan, Andrew and Igou, Eric and Van Tilburg, Wijnand (2021) 'Existential Escape of the Bored: A Review of Meaning-Regulation Processes Under Boredom.' European Review of Social Psychology, 32 (1). pp. 161-200. ISSN 1046-3283
Moynihan, Andrew B and Igou, Eric R and van Tilburg, Wijnand AP (2021) 'Bored stiff: The relationship between meaninglessness, sexual sensation seeking, and promiscuous attitudes via boredom susceptibility.' Personality and Individual Differences, 168. p. 110295. ISSN 0191-8869
Pekrun, Reinhard (2021) 'Emotions in Reading and Learning from Texts: Progress and Open Problems.' Discourse Processes. pp. 1-10. ISSN 0163-853X
Schwartze, Manuel M and Frenzel, Anne C and Goetz, Thomas and Pekrun, Reinhard and Reck, Corinna and Marx, Anton KG and Fiedler, Daniel (2021) 'Boredom Makes Me Sick: Adolescents' Boredom Trajectories and Their Health-Related Quality of Life.' International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18 (12). p. 6308. ISSN 1660-4601
Tam, Katy and Van Tilburg, Wijnand and Chan, Christian and Igou, Eric and Lau, Hakwan (2021) 'Attention Drifting in and out: The Boredom Feedback Model.' Personality and Social Psychology Review, 25 (3). pp. 251-272. ISSN 1088-8683 (In Press)
Tam, Katy YY and Van Tilburg, Wijnand and Chan, Christian S (2021) 'What is Boredom Proneness? A Comparison of Three Characterizations.' Journal of Personality, 89 (4). pp. 831-846. ISSN 0022-3506 (In Press)
Van Tilburg, Wijnand and Saadi, Amina and Mahadevan, Nikhila (2021) 'Citizen Vain? Exposure to the UK Citizenship Test Predicts Milder Demands from Immigrants Across the Political Spectrum.' British Journal of Social Psychology, 60 (3). pp. 888-901. ISSN 0144-6665

2020

Maher, Paul J and Igou, Eric R and van Tilburg, Wijnand AP (2020) 'Disillusionment: A prototype analysis.' Cognition and Emotion, 34 (5). 947 - 959. ISSN 0269-9931
Sel, Alejandra and Calvo-Merino, Beatriz and Tsakiris, Manos and Forster, Bettina (2020) 'The somatotopy of observed emotions.' Cortex, 129. 11 - 22. ISSN 0010-9452

2019

Furnes, Desire and Berg, Hege and Mitchell, Rachel M and Paulmann, Silke (2019) 'Exploring the Effects of Personality Traits on the Perception of Emotions From Prosody.' Frontiers in Psychology, 10. ISSN 1664-1078
Pekrun, Reinhard and Murayama, Kou and Marsh, Herbert W and Goetz, Thomas and Frenzel, Anne C (2019) 'Happy fish in little ponds: Testing a reference group model of achievement and emotion.' Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 117 (1). 166 - 185. ISSN 0022-3514

Academics

Dr Katie Daughters

Lecturer

Department of Psychology, University of Essex

Also interested in: Health behaviour; well-being; relationships, sex and attraction.

Dr Helge Gillmeister

Senior Lecturer

Department of Psychology, University of Essex

Also interested in: Health behaviours; motivation; interoception.

Dr Megan Klabunde

Lecturer

Department of Psychology, University of Essex

Also interested in: Development; interoception.

Dr Sebastian Korb

Senior Lecturer

Department of Psychology, University of Essex

Also interested in: Interoception; action understanding.

Dr Nikhila Mahadevan

Lecturer

Department of Psychology, University of Essex

Also interested in: Well-being; relationships, sex and attraction; justice, fairness and equality.

Dr Hong-Viet V Ngo-Dehning

Lecturer

Department of Psychology, University of Essex

Also interested in: Memory; Neuro-cognitive disorders; Wellbeing.

Professor Silke Paulmann

Professor

Department of Psychology, University of Essex

Also interested in: Communication and language; motivation; neuro-cognitive disorders; cross-cultural studies; well-being.

Professor Reinhard Pekrun

Professor

Department of Psychology, University of Essex

Also interested in: Educational psychology.

Dr Tracy Robinson

Senior Lecturer

Department of Psychology, University of Essex

Dr Nathaniel Schermerhorn

Lecturer

Department of Psychology, University of Essex

Also interested in: Political Psychology; Justice, Fairness and Equality.

Senior Lecturer

Department of Psychology, University of Essex

Also interested in: Action understanding; interoception.

Dr Elia Valentini

Senior Lecturer

Department of Psychology, University of Essex

Also interested in: Interoception; health behaviour.

Dr Wijnand Van Tilburg

Lecturer

Department of Psychology, University of Essex

Also interested in: Risk, judgement and decision making; relationships, sex and attraction; meaning in life, trust, and interdependence.

Dr Motonori Yamaguchi

Senior Lecturer

Department of Psychology, University of Essex

Also interested in: Risk, judgement and decision making; memory; motivation; relationships, sex and attraction; justice, fairness and equality; vision.

What it's like to live at Essex

Find your new home

Come see for yourself