Innovation Forums
Innovation forums are designed to ignite discussions that will push affective science forward. Forums will feature a chaired panel of 3-4 experts discussing a current issue in affective science together with the audience. They will dive into specific research topics, professional development issues, open debates, or future directions in the field.
Forum 1
Pavilion Ballroom
Friday, March 21, 2025
10:00 – 11:00 a.m
*all forums take place at the same time
Emotion Regulation Flexibility: Addressing Conceptual and Methodological Challenges
Forum Chair: Kaitlyn Werner, University of Oregon
Panel members: Brett Ford, University of Toronto; Elise Kalokerinos, University of Melbourne; Derek Isaacowitz, Washington University in St. Louis
Research on emotion regulation flexibility has grown dramatically in recent years, resulting in several approaches that generally operate in isolation. In this panel, we bring together experts from diverse backgrounds (e.g., social, lifespan, clinical) to address four themes: defining flexibility, integrating different perspectives, expanding beyond strategies, and improving measurement methods.
Forum 2
Broadway I/II
Friday, March 21, 2025
10:00 – 11:00 a.m
*all forums take place at the same time
The What, Why, and How of Emotion Development Research
Forum Chair: Erik Nook, Princeton University
Panel members: Karen Smith, Rutgers University; Casey Lew-Williams, Princeton University; Vanessa Lobue, Rutgers University
Come learn about recent discoveries in emotion development research: How language, stress, parents, and pets shape babies’, children’s, and teens’ emotions. We’ll also discuss why developmental methods are relevant to any affective scientist (e.g., disentangling underlying affective processes that emerge at distinct ages). We’ll end with concrete strategies for conducting developmental research.
Forum 3
Broadway III/IV
Friday, March 21, 2025
10:00 – 11:00 a.m
*all forums take place at the same time
What Can Affective Science Learn From Natural Language?
Forum Chair: Katie Hoemann, University of Kansas
Panel members: Ryan Boyd, University of Texas at Austin; Steve Rathje, New York University; Vera Vine, Queen’s University
Natural language captures how psychological phenomena manifest spontaneously and in real-world settings, providing insights into less accessible contexts, populations, and mental processes. Natural language processing (NLP) methods are an increasingly popular means of unlocking these insights.
This innovation forum brings together experts from social and clinical psychology, cognitive and computer science, and linguistics to discuss the state-of-the-art in affective NLP, the problems it can uniquely solve, and the challenges that remain.
Forum 4
Galleria I
Friday, March 21, 2025
10:00 – 11:00 a.m
*all forums take place at the same time
Generative Ai for Understanding and Supporting Affective Processes: Opportunities and Risks
Forum Chair: Shabnam Hakimi, Toyota Research Institute
Panel members: Desmond Ong, University of Texas at Austin; Maria Gendron, Yale University
The use of generative AI (GenAI) has proliferated, with potential impacts on research and understanding of affective processes. The panel will discuss opportunities and risks, focusing on current AI representations of affect and GenAI’s impacts on affective interventions. They will also consider ethical and sociocultural factors in defining best practices for the use of GenAI in affective science.
Forum 5
Galleria III
Friday, March 21, 2025
10:00 – 11:00 a.m
*all forums take place at the same time
What Is Affect’s Role In Decision-Making?
Forum Chair: Cendri Hutcherson, University of Toronto
Panel members: Amitai Shenhav, University of California, Berkeley; Antonio Rangel, California Institute of Technology
Is affect central or peripheral to decision making? Is it one of many evaluations that determine action (e.g., “hot” vs. “cold”) or a singular source of value? This forum brings together three decision-making experts with unique perspectives and backgrounds (behavioral economics, emotion regulation and social cognition, motivation and cognitive control) to address these longstanding debates.
Thank you to our Sponsors & Exhibitors
