As part of the University’s Year of the Humanities, the psychology department will be hosting a symposium that will describe cross-disciplinary approaches to the conceptualizations and study of emotion. The event will feature Daniel Gross, Associate Professor of English, University of California at Irvine; Stephanie Preston, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan; and Jeffrey Cohn, Professor of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh.

From a cognitive science perspective, Dr. Preston assumes that stable emotion prototypes and corresponding neural correlates exist, and explain the common belief in "basic emotions." However, because neural systems are dynamic and construct representations are online, such measurements are highly sensitive to context and experience, and more consistent with non-discrete emotion theories and sociological views. Understanding neural systems allows us to appreciate both sides of a typically contentious debate.

Professor Cohn will discuss emotion from the perspective of affective computing. He develops advanced methods of automatic analysis and synthesis of emotion expression and applies them to the study of emotion, social development, and psychopathology. Dr. Cohn will discuss his theoretical approach that integrates basic emotions and dimensional perspectives with a strong emphasis on interpersonal mechanisms.

Dr. Gross approaches emotion from a literary and rhetorical standpoint. His work on Emotion Studies runs through the history and theory of rhetoric, where he finds a traditional relationship between the rhetoric of passions, and the rhetoric of figures and tropes.

This event is also sponsored by the Department of Communications, the Department of English, and the Humanities Center. For more information, contact Daniel Shaw at danielshaw@pitt.edu.