Vrije University - Summer graduate programs

Dealing With Your Feelings: The Art and Science of Emotion Regulation

Hour division

• Classroom teaching & expert seminars: 22 hours
• Workgroups: 6 hours
• Excursions/workshops: 22 hours
• Self-study: 34 hours

Assessment

Participants in the course have to meet the following requirements: (1) read the signed material and submit two thought questions before each lecture. (2) Participants are to read all the thought questions from their fellow students and select the three questions they are most interested in, to be submitted the day before each class. (3) Participants are to write a research proposal (RP) or application proposal (AP). (4) Participants are to provide peer feedback to 3 draft proposals. T. (5) Participants are to provide a presentation of their proposal. (6) Participants are to participate in all classes.

Course content

Emotions don't just happen to people. Indeed, people try to change, alter, and manipulate their emotions in a myriad of ways. These processes of emotion regulation are the focus of this summer course. More specifically, we aim to introduce students to the state of the art in emotion regulation research. The course is taught at an academic level, with two levels of testing for a) Master’s students and PhD students; or b) Bachelor students. The course has a broad and interdisciplinary orientation, but it is particularly suited for students with a background in behavioural sciences (e.g., psychology, cognitive science, sociology, education science) or neurosciences.

The course covers a lot of ground in a short amount of time. Moreover, the course requires a great deal of preparation and active participation, probably more than you are used to. Please study this manual carefully, so that you will know what to expect and how to plan your studies accordingly. As you will see, there is much work ahead. But emotion regulation is a fascinating topic, so we expect that you will find your intellectual journey well worth the effort!

Overview

Classes are held during each of the five working days of a week. The classes consist of lectures/expert seminars, workshops, and student presentations.

Before each lecture or expert seminar, students are to write two thought questions about each of the assigned readings. In addition, they will read the entire set of thought questions from the class and select the 3 thought questions that are most interesting to them. The thought questions provide the basis for an active discussion during the class that is led by the teacher.

During the workshop, the instructor will teach practical skills, such as writing a successful research proposal.

During each student presentation students will give a 10-minute presentation on what they personally took away from the course (Bachelor level) or their research proposal (Master level). This presentation will be evaluated during the class by the main instructor (SK).

Finally, all students will write either a personal statement (Bachelor level) or a research proposal (Master/PhD student level) based on what they learned during the course. The grade of the research proposal will yield 50% of the final grade.

Introduction

Emotions are often portrayed as irresistible forces that exert a sweeping influence on our behaviour. There is reason to believe, however, that we are much more flexible in dealing with our emotions. The processes whereby we manage our emotions are commonly referred to as emotion regulation. Emotion regulation has been linked to such important outcomes as mental health, physical health, relationship satisfaction, and work performance. It thus seems vital to learn more about the psychology of emotion regulation.

Over the past twenty years, research on emotion regulation has developed into a vibrant and productive scientific discipline. The volume of emotion regulation research is staggering, with more than 20,000 articles appearing each year on this topic. Furthermore, the study of emotion regulation is inherently iinterdisciplinar and involves vital contributions from developmental psychology, clinical psychology, social and personality psychology, psychophysiology and social-cognitive and affective neuroscience. Consequently, it is challenging to get a firm grasp on the rapidly expanding emotion regulation literature.

Among the various topics and questions to be covered in the course are: Emotion regulation strategies – which strategies do people use? Are some strategies better than others And if so, why? Emotion regulation flexibility – when and how do people switch between different emotion regulation strategies? Mindfulness and acceptance – do they help or hinder emotion regulation? Interpersonal emotion regulation – how do people regulate another’s emotions?

This summer course aims to provide students with a) knowledge regarding central insights and methods in modern emotion regulation research; b) critical thinking skills to synthesize these insights and formulate new questions about emotion regulation; c) tools for developing real-world applications of emotion regulation research.

Course objectives

These general aims are translated into more specific learning objectives:

• Establish a sound knowledge of and insight into the major modern theories of, and scientific research on, emotion regulation.
• Learn to generate and discuss new and critical questions about emotion regulation research.
• Learn to develop a proposal for new, theory-driven empirical research in the area of emotion regulation; and to provide feedback to research proposals by peers; and/or
• Learn how to apply insights from emotion regulation research to address individual problems.
• Develop oral and written presentation skills to communicate effectively on scientific topics.

Methods of teaching

• Lectures (taught by instructors)
• Workshops (interactive sessions, guided by discussion questions)
• Generating and evaluating thought questions
• Present empirical research
• Writing and evaluating research proposals/personal application.

Examination

Participants in the course have to meet the following requirements:

• Read assigned material and submit two thought questions before each lecture. The thought questions must be submitted no later than two days before each lecture at 14:00;
• Participants are to read all the thought questions from their fellow students and select the three questions they are most interested in. These three thought questions are to be submitted no later than the day before class at 14:00. The purpose of this exercise is to ensure that you inform yourselves about another’s thought questions. This promotes discussions during class.
• Participants are to write a research proposal (RP) or application proposal (AP). The proposal outline should be submitted no later than XXX, at noon. The first complete draft of the proposal should be submitted no later than XXXX, at noon. The final draft of the proposal should be submitted no later than XXXX, at noon.
• Participants will provide peer feedback on 3 drafts of research proposals from their fellow students. The feedback to the proposal drafts should be submitted no later than XXXX, at noon.
• Participants are to provide a presentation of their proposal on XXXX.
• Participants are to participate in all classes.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Know and understand the major modern theories of, and scientific research on, emotion regulation.
• Generate and discuss new and critical questions about emotion regulation research.
• Develop a proposal for new, theory-driven empirical research in the area of emotion regulation; and provide feedback to research proposals by peers; and/or
• Know how to apply insights from emotion regulation research to address individual problems.
• Communicate effectively on these and other scientific topics.