Thank youuuuu! Yeah really fun to think through. Almost as fun as all your awesome psycholinguistic discoveries π
Posts by Erik Nook π³οΈβπ
New paper: Jamil Zaki and I integrate theories of empathy + emotion regulation to describe how therapists have to regulate a "therapeutic emotional circuit" in each session. Lots of applications and avenues for new research. Just published in CPS! journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
APPLY APPLY APPLY!
NC folks: I am recruiting participants for an NIMH funded R01 on preteen suicide risk. The study is fully remote, and we're trying to enroll participants from across our state. We'd love to see this map get filled in with participants from every county. Please share our flyer with folks in your area
Had THE BEST time hearing about alllll the exciting developmental affective science happening at @affectscience.bsky.social. Huuuuuuge thanks to @profmorningstar.bsky.social for being an amazing precon co-organizer π
Here for @affectscience.bsky.social #sas2026 to kick off with a symposium dive into AI, empathetic support, and therapy
Our lab has a new postdoc position that is ideal for someone interested in a career in data science or statistical consulting and an interest in gender diversity / trans health. apply.interfolio.com/182278
We're excited about SAS 2026! Mark your calendars to check out our lab's latest work.
Beginning with the Thursday preconferences, we have two lab members presenting at the Dev Precon and the Clinical Precon!
@affectscience.bsky.social
Later in the day on Thursday, we also have four amazing posters at Poster Session I.
@affectscience.bsky.social
So excited to have my whole lab at @affectscience.bsky.social this year! Come see what the IDEA Lab is up to!
I know this feels pointless but everyone has to call their congressional reps and say they oppose war with Iran and they oppose Trump illegally starting one without congressional approval β both
5 Calls can help you make the call:
5calls.org/issue/iran-i...
Only a few weeks until #SAS2026!
We are proud to be partnering with @inclivio.com to support SAS researchers with an intuitive platform for running EMA studies.
Like (1 entry) and repost (3 entries) to enter a drawing for 1 of 3 licenses to run your EMA
study for free on Inclivio!
inclivio.com
Huge congrats to @logicemotionlab.bsky.social PhD student Steven on his excellent work!
π§΅New paper out in @commspsychol.nature.com We tested whether language-based assessments (LBAs) can predict not just subjective well-being (life satisfaction) but also psychological well-being (autonomy). Across 3 studies, we found that LBAs work well for some constructsβbut not all! 1/
Are you a junior faculty member interested in spending 2-4 weeks at Princeton Psych? Consider applying for our Microsabbatical program! Itβs a fully funded visit for professional development and creating long-term collaborations.
psych.princeton.edu/diversity/mi...
Imagination in bonobos!
I am thrilled to share a new paper w/ Amalia Bastos, out now in @science.org
We provide the first experimental evidence that a nonhuman animal can follow along a pretend scenario & track imaginary objects. Work w/ Kanzi, the bonobo, at Ape Initiative
youtu.be/NUSHcQQz2Ko
We're hiring! The Computational Clinical Science Lab @ Yale is seeking a full-time lab manager/research coordinator to start in early summer 2026.
For more information about the position and to apply: forms.gle/LtQwVgPUfaGk...
Please share widely & consider applying!
** Recruiting a Postdoctoral Researcher! **
We are seeking a postdoc to help examine how brain networks might change within individuals across transitional times, such as adolescence & pregnancy!
Please share widely and apply at the link! #NeuroJobs
uva.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/UVAJobs/job/...
A few days left to apply to join my lab as a PhD student! We study how people explore, how new ideas form, and how thinking develops. Learn more at liquinlab.github.io. Application review begins 1/15.
#PsychSciSky #CogPsyc #CogSci #DevPsyc
@affectscience.bsky.social notices are out! π If youβre going to #SAS2026, consider attending its very first Developmental Affective Science pre-conference too! @eriknook.bsky.social and I hope to see you there. π€π» Spread the word!
Abstract When we empathize with someone going through something, we often draw on our past experiences with the someone and the something. These kinds of experiences ground "thick empathy", a form of empathy that has been largely overlooked in the psychology and neuroscience literature. Consider how a mother, empathizing with her daughter about to give birth, can draw on her own experience of childbirth, and her relationship with her daughter, to deeply grasp what her daughter is going through in a way that others who lack those experiences cannot. I argue that thick empathy deserves more empirical attention because it is associated with well-being and helps us build networks of effective mutual social support. My analysis highlights novel risks and dilemmas posed by "empathy machines" that promise to enhance or even replace human empathy and are becoming increasingly popular as a potential solution to widespread loneliness. Even when empathy machines provide value to individuals, their widespread adoption risks imposing collective emotional and epistemic costs that ultimately make it harder for us to empathize well. Keywords: empathy, understanding, experience, thick description, ethnography, phenomenal knowledge, interpersonal knowledge, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, chatbots
New preprint: Empathy, Thick and Thin
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
It is perhaps foolhardy to attempt to say something new about a topic as widely studied as empathy. I tried anyway! 1/
Come discuss new insights into emotion development at this year's Developmental Affective Science preconference at SAS!
Delighted to share our latest article on brain mechanisms of pain, appetitive & aversive learning, led by @yilizhao.bsky.social & In-seon Lee, out now in @sfnjournals.bsky.social! We show that brain mechanisms of expectancy are domain general, not unique to pain! www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
New preprint alertπ¨
We often rely on 0-10 scales to assess suicide urges in EMA and clinical settings. But we rarely ask a surprisingly important question:
What do these numbers mean?
In our new paper, we examine what these ratings mean and how consistently people use them.
More info β¬οΈ
The Stanford Psychophysiology Lab (PI: James Gross) is hiring a new lab manager! If you have a superstar student interested in emotion, please share this ad with them! Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Job ad: careersearch.stanford.edu/jobs/social-...
#psychjobs
π£ Digital Research Community!
The new UK Adolescent Health Study will follow 100k young people (8β18yrs) for 10+ years. Please share what digital technology measures you think it should include.
Please complete this survey (by 24th November 2025 @ 9AM): cambridge.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Less than 3 weeks to submit an abstract for ICCG14! please pass it on: iccg14.oa-event.com June 4-7, 2026