Prof. Batja Mesquita is the author of the best-seller ‘Between us: How cultures create emotions’, and a pioneering cultural psychologist studying the dynamic relationship between culture and emotions such as emotional acculturation, and emotions in groups and dyads. Contrary to the generally held belief, she argues that emotions are not innate nor universal, but shaped through our relations with others and the world around us. In other words: my anger is not your anger, and my fear is not your fear. Batja will illustrate these claims by taking us on a journey from Western MINE-emotions (Mental feelings, INside the person, and Essences) that work from the inside out, to OURS-emotions (OUtside the person, Relational acts, and Situated) that shape from the outside in, also illustrating the biases that she herself experienced as a researcher with MINE-emotions; an insight that will be valuable to all looking to grow awareness of our own preconceptions. Furthermore, she will propose an alternative model of emotions based on old and new data from different cultures that will help us understand features of emotions outside ‘our’ MINE-framework. As emotion is at the heart of BSI research, this talk is a must-see for all!
About the speaker
Batja Mesquita is Professor and Director of the Center of Social and Cultural Psychology at the University of Leuven (Belgium). She is a Senior and Associate Editor for Psychological Science, a member of the Royal Belgian Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for Arts and Sciences, and a 2018 recipient of an ERC Advanced Grant on Emotions as Gateways for Minority Inclusion. She is the author of Between Us: How Cultures Create Emotions (Norton, 2022).
