Emotions are a central dimension in nonverbal communication. We investigate skills in emotion recognition and emotion regulation, with applications to various aspects of clinical and work psychology.

Emotions are a central dimension in nonverbal communication. The capacity to (a) understand and interpret the emotions displayed by others and (b) to regulate one's own emotional displays are essential social skills, with crucial impacts on social functioning and individual well-being. Emotions are communicated not only via facial expressions but also vocal, gestural and postural expressions. In this research project the focus is on the ability to decode the emotional expressions displayed by others through combinations of facial and/or vocal displays. We work on the development of instruments (tests) to measure skills in this domain. Another focus of interest lies in the capacity to regulate one's own emotions and their display.

We are interested in differences in these aspects between groups (e.g. variations across life-span; differences between clinical groups) as well as how these abilities co-vary with other relevant variables. Areas of applications cover a wide-range of domains: clinical psychology, work psychology, education, health and well-being, social interactions.

Examples of specific questions we are addressing in connection to well-being in the workplace involve: (a) the extent to which managers' skills in emotion recognition affect the job- and life-satisfaction of their employees, or employee turnover; (b) which other aspects are characteristic of individuals scoring high on emotion recognition; (c) can we improve emotion recognition and emotion regulation skills through training programs.