My research focuses on emotion processes at several levels of analysis. At a basic cognitive level I am interested in how emotions influence the perception and interpretation of facial expression and of other symbols with emotional value, such as words. I have also examined the role of emotion in categorization. Most recently my work on this problem has focused on how emotions serve to ground categories in a fundamental way, such that, especially during emotional states, individuals tend to group together objects and events into categories because those items elicit the same emotion. In working on the role of emotion in categorization, I have developed a strong interest in theories of embodied cognition and the manner in which such theories can bring together many findings in the area of emotion and processing of emotional information.

At the level of social interaction, I also work with a group of collaborators, including a number of my graduate students, on the ways in which power relations influence the expression and inhibition of emotion. We are particularly interested in this question from a cross-cultural perspective. And, finally, and most recently, I have been working with graduate students on the study of the role of moral emotions in the construction and maintenance of social norms.

I am a Fellow of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and my work as been recognized with an NIMH FIRST Award, an NSF Career Advancement Award for Women, and the SPSP Theoretical Innovation Award. My editorial experience includes service as Associate Editor for Cognition and Emotion as well as Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

2003: Directeur de Recherche (CNRS) Université Blaise Pascal, France
1999: Chargé de Recherche (CNRS) Université Blaise Pascal, France
1998: Full Professor, Department of Psycholoy, Indiana University
1993: Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Indiana University
1987: Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Johns Hopkins University

Primary Interests:

Culture and Ethnicity
Emotion, Mood, Affect
Intergroup Relations
Person Perception
Self and Identity

Culture and Ethnicity
Emotion, Mood, Affect
Intergroup Relations

Person Perception
Self and Identity

Research Group or Laboratory:

Niedenthal Emotions Laboratory
Interactive Map

Books:

Eich, E., Kihlstrom, J. F., Bower, G. H., Forgas, J. P., & Niedenthal, P. M. (2000). Cognition and emotion. New York: Oxford University Press.
Feldman-Barrett, L., Niedenthal, P. M., & Winkielman, P. (Eds.). (2007). Emotion and consciousness. New York: Guilford Press.
Niedenthal, P. M., & Kitayama, S. (Eds.). (1994). The heart's eye: Emotional influences in perception and attention. New York: Academic Press.
Niedenthal, P. M., Kruth-Gruber, S., & Ric, F. (2006). The psychology of emotion: Interpersonal experiential, and cognitive approaches. New York: Psychology Press.

Journal Articles:

Halberstadt, J., & Niedenthal, P. M. (2001). Effects of emotion concepts on perceptual memory for emotional expressions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 587-598.
Innes-Ker, A., & Niedenthal, P. M. (2002). Emotion concepts and emotional states in social judgment and categorization. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 83, 804-816.
Niedenthal, P. M., Auxiette, K., Nugier, A., Dalle, N., & Bonin, P. (2004). A prototype analysis of the French category "émotion." Cognition and Emotion.
Niedenthal, P. M., Barsalou, L. W., Winkielman, P., Krauth-Gruber, S., & Ric, F. (2005). Embodiment in attitudes, social perception, and emotion. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 9(3), 184-211.
Niedenthal, P. M., Brauer, M., Halberstadt, J. B., & Innes-Ker, A. H. (2001). When did her smile drop? Contrast effects in the influence of emotional state on the detection of change in emotional expression. Cognition and Emotion, 15, 853-864.
Niedenthal, P. M., Brauer, M., Robin, L., & Innes-Ker, A. H. (2002). Adult attachment and the perception of facial expression of emotion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 419-433.
Niedenthal, P. M., & Dalle, N. (2001). Le mariage de mon meilleur ami: Emotional response categorization during naturally-induced emotional states. European Journal of Social Psychology, 31, 737-742.
Niedenthal, P. M., Halberstadt, J. B., & Innes-Ker, A. H. (1999). Emotional response categorization. Psychological Review, 106, 337-361.
Niedenthal, P. M., Halberstadt, J. B., Margolin, J., & Innes-Ker, A. H. (2000). Emotional state and the detection of change in facial expression of emotion. European Journal of Social Psychology 30, 211-222.

Other Publications:

Barsalou, L. W., Niedenthal, P. M., Barbey, A., & Ruppert, J. (2003). Social Ebodiment. In B. H. Ross (Ed.), The Psychology of Learning and Motivation (Vol. 43, pp. 43-92). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Niedenthal, P. M., Dalle, N., & Rohmann, A. (2002). Emotional response categorization as emotionally intelligent behavior. In L. Feldman-Barrett and P. Salovey (Eds.), The wisdom of feelings : Psychological processes in emotional intelligence. New York: Guilford Press.
Niedenthal, P. M., & Halberstadt, J. B. (2003). Top-down influences in social perception. In W. Stroebe and M. Hewstone (Eds.), The European Review of Social Psychology (Vol. 14). London: John Wiley & Sons.
Niedenthal, P. M., & Halberstadt, J. B. (2000). Grounding categories in emotional response. In J. Forgas (Ed.), Feeling and thinking: The role of affect in social cognition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Courses Taught:

Affect and Cognition
Emotion
Models of Categorization and Category Learning
Representational Models of Self Concept
Social Cognition
Social Psychology

Affect and Cognition
Emotion
Models of Categorization and Category Learning

Representational Models of Self Concept
Social Cognition
Social Psychology

Paula M. Niedenthal
Laboratoire de Psychologie Sociale et Cognitive
Université Blaise Pascal
34, avenue Carnot
63037 Clermont-Ferrand
France

Phone: +33 (0)4-73-40-63-41
Fax: +33 (0)4-73-40-64-82