Clinical psychologist James Gross is fascinated by what emotions are, and he champions emotional literacy – a deeper understanding of what makes each of us tick. In his research, Gross explores his “favorite topic,” emotion regulation, through the cognitive strategy of reappraisal to shift how we perceive and deal with unhelpful emotions. He talks about the Synergistic Mindsets intervention he co-developed, which is helping Gen Zers reframe their stress and regulate emotions. Emotions aren’t inherently bad, but we must separate the helpful from the harmful, Gross tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.
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Chapters:
(00:00:00) Introduction
Russ Altman introduces guest James Gross, a professor of psychology and philosophy at Stanford University, and the science of understanding and regulating emotions.
(00:03:50) Why Study Emotions?
How Gross became interested in emotions and their role in shaping human behavior.
(00:04:22) What Is an Emotion?
How scientists define emotions as coordinated responses to situations that matter to us.
(00:06:00) Affect and Emotion
How affect differs from emotion, and why emotions may require more complex cognitive processing.
(00:07:59) Emotional Clarity
How recognizing what we feel and where those feelings come from can help us understand our emotions.
(00:09:53) Emotion Regulation
Why regulating emotions is less about suppressing them and more about deciding when they are helpful.
(00:12:25) Strategies for Regulation
How different approaches to emotion regulation work—and why some are more effective than others.
(00:13:30) How Emotions Are Generated
How situations, attention, expectations, and goals combine to produce emotional responses.
(00:15:25) Reappraisal
How changing the way we interpret a situation can change the emotions it produces.
(00:17:25) AI and Emotional Support
How large language models could potentially support people in reframing difficult experiences.
(00:18:09) Emotions in Everyday Life
How emotion regulation research can support parents, teachers, patients, and healthcare providers.
(00:20:53) Young People and Mental Health
How emotional clarity and regulation may help explain and address challenges facing younger generations.
(00:24:40) Understanding the Sources of Stress
Why social media, isolation, economic pressures, and other factors can shape young people’s emotional lives.
(00:26:15) Synergistic Mindsets
How changing beliefs about challenges and stress can produce healthier emotional and physiological responses.
(00:29:30) What Makes You Tick?
How a Stanford course helps students examine the forces shaping their behavior, emotions, and decisions.
(00:31:34) Emotional Intelligence
Why Gross sees value in emotion regulation while questioning whether “EQ” is scientifically established as a single intelligence.
(00:32:57) Future In a Minute
Rapid-fire Q&A: emotions, passion, & affective science.
(00:35:10) Conclusion
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