About Us
The Society for Affective Science is a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering basic and applied research in the variety of fields that study affect broadly defined.
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Membership
Click to find out about the benefits of SAS Membership!
What is Affective Science?
Affective science is the scientific study of emotion and related phenomena (e.g., moods, stress, attitudes, valuation, motivation). Research in affective science focuses on a broad set of topics, including the role of emotions and related phenomena in social perceptions, group processes, interpersonal relationships, communication, personality, memory and learning, decision making, artificial intelligence, pain, and mental and physical health. Affective science also concerns how these phenomena impact and are impacted by lifespan development, culture, and language. Affective science is of critical importance for addressing some of the most pressing issues in human society, including interventions for health and well-being, development of government policy, fostering political tolerance, social justice, educational achievement, developments in computing, and advancements in medical practice and treatment.
Our Vision
An enlightened world where humanity fully understands the origins, functions, and impact of emotions on all aspects of human life. Guided by strong leadership and a spirit of innovation, we strive to advance affective science, nurture the next generation of scholars, and share our discoveries to improve lives and create a better future for all.
Our Mission
Advance, innovate, and disseminate affective science, serving as the natural home for those engaged in affective science, in both basic and translational areas of the field.
How do we do this?
Through a strong governance structure and culture of innovation, we advance and promote the science of our members, train the next generation of scientists, and disseminate our science to the world for the benefit of humankind.
Our Core Values
At SAS, we value:
- Diversity: Engaging members from all walks of life, disciplines, and career stages to foster collaborations and scholarly discourse that advances the field
- Support: Providing all members with opportunities for career-long professional development
- Sharing: Facilitating open access to resources of all kinds
- Innovation: Leading a culture of evidence-based innovation that advances the field and supports it members
Board of Directors
Stephanie Carpenter
Director-at-Large
Membership & Outreach Chair
Website
Luis Flores
Director-at-Large
Fundraising Chair
Website
Katie Hoemann
Director-at-Large
2026 Program Co-Chair
Website
Desmond Ong
Director-at-Large
2026 Program Co-Chair
Website
Awards Committee
Chair: Maital Neta, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Past Chair: Maya Tamir, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Sean Dae Houlihan, MIT, Dartmouth
Casey Brown, Georgetown University
Iris Mauss, University of California, Berkeley
Phoebe Ellsworth, University of Michigan
Brett Ford, University of Toronto
Kristen Lindquist, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Seth Pollak, University of Wisconsin
Jonathan Stange, University of Southern California
Anthony Vaccaro, University of Southern California
Fundraising Committee
Co-Chair: Virginia Sturm, University of California [email]
Co-Chair: Monika Lohani, University of Utah [email]
Co-Chair: Luis Flores, Rutgers University – New Brunswick [email]
Darwin Guevarra, Miami University
Ozge Ugurlu, University of California, Berkeley
Vera Vine, Queen’s University
Past Co-Chair: Nicole Giuliani, University of Oregon
Membership/Outreach Committee
Co-Chair: Stephanie M. Carpenter, Arizona State University (email)
Co-Chair: Nicole A. Roberts, Arizona State University (email)
Co-Chair: Jolie B. Wormwood, University of New Hampshire (email)
Newsletter Subcommittee
Lead: Katie Hoemann, University of Kansas
Angelina Sung, Colorado State University
Magdalena Rychlowska, Queen’s University Belfast
Pooja Kulkarni, Saarland University
Listserv Subcommittee
Lead: Jolie Wormwood, University of New Hampshire
Daisuke Ueno, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine
Jennifer Ouyang, University of Southern California
Year-Round Events Subcommittee
Lead: Darwin Guevarra, University of California, San Francisco
Anthony Atkinson, Durham University
Jolie Wormwood, University of New Hampshire
Website Review Subcommittee
Lead: Marissa Ogren, Rutgers University
Anthony Atkinson, Durham University
Daisuke Ueno, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine
Angelina Sung, Colorado State University
Social Media Subcommittee
Lead: Tabea Springstein, University of California, Riverside
Jennifer MacCormack, University of Virginia
2026 Program Committee
Co-Chair: Katie Hoemann, University of Kansas
Co-Chair: Desmond Ong, University of Texas at Austin
Past Co-Chairs: Jonas Everaert, Tilburg University & KU Leuven, Yael Millgram, Tel Aviv University
Innovation officer: Claudia Haase, Northwestern University
Abstracts Committee
Chair: Katie Hoemann, KU Leuven/University of Kansas
Lior Abramson, Columbia University
Justin Kim, Sungkyunkwan University
Daphne Liu, University of Denver
Ella Moeck, University of Adelaide
Vera Vine, Queen’s University
Hongbo Yu, UC Santa Barbara
Methods Co-chair: Yasemin Erbas, Tilburg University
Methods Co-chair: Joao Guassi Morreira, University of Wisconsin -Madison
Salons Co-chair: Maia Pujara, Sarah Lawrence College
Salons Co-chair: Adrienne Wood, University of Virginia
Networking
Shir Atzil Hebrew, University of Jerusalem
Jenna Wells, Cornell University
Preconference
Chair: Casey Brown, Georgetown University
Kuan-Hua Chen, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Student Committee
Chair: Eva Liu, Yale University
Membership & Outreach
Stephanie Carpenter, Arizona State University
Nicole Roberts, Arizona State University
Jolie Wormwood, University of New Hampshire
Fundraising
Co-chair: Virginia Sturm, UCSF
Co-chair: Monika Lohani, University of Utah
Co-chair: Luis Flores, Rutgers University – New Brunswick [email]
Darwin Guevarra, University of California, San Francisco
Vera Vine, Queen’s University
Ozge Ugurlu, University of California, Berkeley
Social media
Jennifer MacCormack, University of Virginia
Tabea Springstein, University of California, Riverside
Student Committee
Chair: Eva Liu Yale University
Co-Vice Chair: Livia Sacchi University of Lausanne
Co-Vice Chair: Victoria Hart-Derrick, Yale University
Past Chair: Kyle Barrentine, University of Virginia
Natali Barragan, Arizona State University
Amy Gregory, McGill University
Pooja Kulkarni, University of Mumbai
Jennifer Ouyang, University of Southern California
Angelina Sung, Colorado State University
Dasha Yermol, The University of Kansas
Ellen Zheng, Arizona State University
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee
Co-Chairs:
Michelle “Lani” Shiota, Arizona State University
Hongbo Yu, University of California, Santa Barbara
Committee:
Derek Isaacowitz, Northeastern University
Joseph Mikels, DePaul University
Yuri Miyamoto, Hitotsubashi University
Jose Soto, Pennsylvania State University
Kyle Barrentine, University of Virginia
Livia Sacchi, University of Lausanne
Leadership Archive
Founders: Lisa Feldman Barrett and James Gross
Past Presidents:
2014: James Gross, Stanford University
2015: Lisa Feldman Barrett, Northeastern University
2016: Wendy Berry Mendes, University of California, San Francisco
2017: Kevin Ochsner, Columbia University
2018: Ann Kring, University of California, Berkeley
2019: Robert Levenson, University of California, Berkeley
2020: Paula Niedenthal, University of Wisconsin-Madison
2021: Barbara Fredrickson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2022: Elaine Fox, University of Oxford
2023: Maya Tamir, The Hebrew University
2024: Maital Neta, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2025: Kristen Lindquist, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Contact Us
We’re ready to take your feedback! Click here to send us your questions or concerns for the SAS leadership team.
Volunteer
We’re looking for volunteers! Contact us and indicate which area you’d like to help out with.