Professor Andero Uusberg speaks at inaugural lecture on managing emotions and thoughts

On Wednesday, 4 September at 16:15, Andero Uusberg, Professor of Affective Psychology at the University of Tartu, will give his inaugural lecture “Feeling the Sense of Thought” (“Tundes mõtet tundes”) in the assembly hall of the University of Tartu. 

The emotional is often seen as the opposite of the rational and thoughtful. It is as if there is no need to think to feel emotion – sometimes a feeling comes over us in spite of thinking and pushes us to do something mindless. Emotions must therefore be regulated to ensure rationality. To explain this experiential pattern, a system separate from thinking has often been sought behind emotions.

Andero Uusberg will, however, present an alternative view. According to him, many of us manage our thoughts in some way to better cope with emotional situations. “I have been wondering for a long time how and in what direction we guide our thoughts. In the lecture, I will explain possible answers to these questions,” the professor added.

Specifically, the inaugural lecture will be about a perspective, which sees rapid forms of thinking behind emotions, representing the meaning of a situation in the light of different motives. Among other things, such a perspective can help us better understand how people manage their emotions when they manage their thoughts, and why, when and for whom this strategy is useful in regulating emotions.

Andero Uusberg is Professor of Affective Psychology at the University of Tartu, where he leads the Tartu Affect and Regulation Unit, which focuses on human emotions, desires, decisions and the possibilities of regulating them. To this end, conceptual, experimental and computational models are constructed in the unit, and data will be collected through playful online tests, psychophysiological laboratory experiments and fieldwork. Andero is also head of research at the Estonian Center of Excellence of Well-Being Sciences, which was established this year. 

In addition to fundamental research, Uusberg promotes the application of psychology and other behavioural sciences to solving societal problems. He is the Programme Director of the master's curriculum “Applied Behavioural Science” and one of the leaders in this field in Estonia. In 2021, he was a member of the COVID-19 Scientific Advisory Board.

In his doctoral thesis, Uusberg and Jüri Allik, Professor of Experimental Psychology, used electroencephalography to study the brain mechanisms of affective attention. He then worked for three years at Stanford University, where he studied emotion regulation with Professor James Gross. 

The aim of the inaugural lecture is to give the new professor an opportunity to introduce himself, his specialisation and field of research. At the end of the public lecture, the audience will be able to ask the professor questions. Everyone interested is welcome.

A live webcast of the inaugural lecture will be available on UTTV.