Living and working in groups is inherently emotional. We seek to understand how emotions shape groups and how groups shape emotions. Among other things, we investigate which emotions occur in different types of groups and when and why members of a group converge emotionally over time. We also investigate what observers may learn about groups by observing group members’ patterns of emotional expressions. Finally, we study how emotions that are expressed in the course of group interaction influence individual group members as well as group-level outcomes, for instance in terms of creativity, decision making, and conformity versus deviance.
Sample publications:
Van Kleef, G. A., & Fischer, A. H. (2016). Emotional collectives: How groups shape emotions and emotions shape groups. Cognition & Emotion, 30, 3-19.
Heerdink, M. W., Van Kleef, G. A., Homan, A. C., & Fischer, A. H. (2013). On the social influence of emotions in groups: Interpersonal effects of anger and happiness on conformity versus deviance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105, 262-284.
Homan, A. C., Van Kleef, G. A., & Sanchez-Burks, J. (2016). Team members’ emotional displays as indicators of team functioning. Cognition & Emotion, 30, 134-149.
Wolf, S. A., Van Kleef, G. A., Heerdink, M. W., & Beauchamp, M. R. (2016). Conformity as a cause of collective emotions. Manuscript in preparation.
Van Kleef, G. A., Heerdink, M. W., & Homan, A. C. (2017). Emotional influence in groups: The dynamic nexus of affect, cognition, and behavior. Current Opinion in Psychology, 17, 156-161.
Heerdink, M. W., Koning, L. F., Van Doorn, E. J., & Van Kleef, G. A. (2019). Emotions as guardians of group norms: Expressions of anger and disgust drive inferences about autonomy and purity violations. Cognition and Emotion, 33, 563-578.