The Emotion & Self Lab
In the Emotion and Self Lab at the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia, we study the process, structure, expression, and regulation of emotions and self. Much of our research is focused on self-conscious emotions (pride, shame, embarrassment, and guilt) — emotions that are intricately entwined with complex self-evaluative processes. But we also study more basic level emotions, such as anger, fear, sadness, and happiness. We use a wide range of methods to study emotional processes, including behavioral observation and coding, social-cognitive techniques (e.g., reaction time assessment, eye-tracking), cross-cultural and cross-species comparisons, narrative assessment, and physiological (e.g., hormone) assessment; and we use experimental, cross-sectional, and longitudinal designs. In an effort to improve the study of self-conscious emotions, we have developed several measurement tools that are available to other researchers. These tools can be downloaded or copied and pasted from this website.
Featured Projects »
The Emergence of Status Hierarchies
Status differences are universal in all known human societies, and they partially determine patterns of resource allocation, conflict, mating, and group coordination. However, there’s little systematic research into questions of why and how hierarchies emerge. [...]
Read more »Origins and Functions of the Nonverbal Pride and Shame Expressions
This line of research examines the evolutionary origins and functions of the pride and shame expressions. [...]
Read more »Featured Blog Post »
Featured Media »
Two ways to the top: Evidence that dominance and prestige are distinct yet viable avenues to social rank and influence
Cheng, Tracy, Foulsham, Kingstone, & Henrich (2013).
This article has been featured on:
Featured Recruitment »
Undergraduate Research Participants
If you are a UBC student and would like to participate in a study currently being conducted in the Emotion and Self Lab, please go to the Subject Pool website and sign up. Our studies are conducted on the second and third floors of the Kenny Building at UBC (2136 West Mall), or on-line. We greatly appreciate your participation! If you want to know more about the purpose or findings of a study you participated in, send an email to jeff.emoselflab@gmail.com with the name of the study.
Read more »Latest News »
Dan Randles’ and Jess Tracy’s paper in Clinical Psych Science, showing that nonverbal displays of shame predict relapse and worsened health among recovering alcoholics, is a “Top-Read” article of 2013. Read the paper here. Read Huffington Post coverage here.
Now out in Scientific American Mind: Jess’ article “Pride brings out the best–and the worst–in humans.“
Joey Cheng, Jess Tracy, and Greg Miller show that narcissists reveal physiological fragility (i.e., higher levels of two biomarkers of stress) in the face of daily distresses, consistent with the fragile ego account of narcissism. Read the paper, now in press at Emotion.
New research by Alec Beall and Jess Tracy shows that women are more likely to dress in red when they are at peak fertility– first evidence for an observable behavioral display that cues ovulation. Read the paper, now published at Psych Science. Read the Online Supplement here.
Also read our response to a recent critique of this article here.
New research by Joey Cheng, Jess Tracy, and other UBC collaborators showing that Dominance and Prestige are both effective routes to social influence, now published at JPSP. Read the CNN story here.
Upcoming Talks »
Jess Tracy, “The Nature of Pride”
Stanford University Social Psychology Colloquium Series.
Palo Alto, CA, Feb. 10, 2014
Jess Tracy, “The Irrepressible Power of Pride Displays”
In the symposium, “The Non-Verbal Expression of Positive Emotions: Variations and Social Implications” (M. Shiota, Chair), at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Austin, TX.
February, 2014
Dan Randles, “Shamed into taking a drink? Shame displays predict likelihood of relapse among recovering alcoholics”.
Society for Personality and Social Psychology Annual Convention Data Blitz, Austin, TX.
February, 2014.
Jess Tracy, “The Social Functions of Pride”
Society for Affective Science Inaugural Conference.
Washington DC, April 2014
Jess Tracy, `The Nature of Pride“
Invited Talk. Association for Psychological Science Annual Convention, San Francisco, CA.
May, 2014
