Smadar Cohen-Chen

I received my PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Sheffield in 2015, supervised by Professors Richard Crisp and Eran Halperin. My postoc was in the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. Following this, I held a position of lecturer (assistant professor) in the Surrey Business School.

I believe that social and organizational issues cannot be examined without taking into consideration psychological factors and phenomena. On the other hand, I believe psychology loses much of its relevance if it does not address 'real' questions regarding the dynamics between people and groups.

My research focuses on the role of emotions in decision-making, conflict resolution, leadership and management, and negotiations. This includes emotional experiences (when people feel an emotion) and emotional expressions (when people express an emotion). My work spans organizational, social, and political contexts, and examines the way these frameworks are affected by one another.
In addition to researching the effects of emotions on behaviours and attitudes, I examine ways to regulate emotions experimentally using interventions.

In particular, I study the role of hope in social contexts, including conflict and intergroup relations, collective action and civil engagement, negotiations, and decision making. Along these lines, I develop experimental techniques to induce and regulate hope.