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Lotte Van Dillen

Lotte Van Dillen

I am interested in the mutual relationship between cognition and emotion, both how these processes influence each other and how people can control them. I examine the role of emotion and cognition in fundamental information processing mechanisms such as attention and (working) memory, as well as in more social psychological phenomena such as self-regulation, social categorization, consumer behavior, social exclusion, and morality. In addition, I am interested in how emotion-cognition interactions translate into conscious feeling states, and why this process may vary among individuals.

I approach these topics from two different but complementary empirical angles. First, I approach the emotion-cognition interaction as an inherently social process. Emotional responses inevitably unfold in the context of interacting with others, and people's emotional responses are shaped through repeated social interaction experiences. Second, I am committed to a rigorous experimental approach, with a particular focus on physiological and neurological processes. In my research I therefore use both behavioral measures and neuroimaging-techniques such as fMRI and EEG.

Primary Interests:

  • Emotion, Mood, Affect
  • Ethics and Morality
  • Health Psychology
  • Interpersonal Processes
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Motivation, Goal Setting
  • Nonverbal Behavior
  • Person Perception
  • Social Cognition

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Journal Articles:

  • Hofmann, W., & Van Dillen, L. F. (2012). Desire: The new hot spot in self-control research. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21, 317-322.
  • Karremans, J. C., Heslenfeld, D. J., Van Dillen, L., & Van Lange, P. A. M. (2012). Secure attachment partners attenuate neural responses to social exclusion: An fMRI investigation. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 81, 44-50.
  • Van Dijk, W. W., Van Dillen, L. F., Seip, E. C., & Rotteveel, M. (2012). Emotional time travel: Emotion regulation and the overestimation of future anger and sadness. European Journal of Social Psychology, 42, 308-313.
  • Van Dillen, L. F. (2009). Do the math: Cognitive load attenuates negative feelings. The Inquisitive Mind, 10.
  • Van Dillen, L. F., & Derks, B. (2012). Working memory load reduces facilitated processing of threatening faces: An ERP study. Emotion, 12(6), 1340-1349.
  • Van Dillen, L. F., Heslenfeld, D. J., & Koole, S. L. (2009). Tuning down the emotional brain: An fMRI study of the effects of cognitive load on the processing of affective images. NeuroImage, 45, 1212-1219.
  • Van Dillen, L. F., & Koole, S. L. (2009). How automatic is "automatic vigilance"? The role of working memory in interference of negative information. Cognition and Emotion, 23, 1106-1117.
  • Van Dillen, L. F., & Koole, S. L. (2007). Clearing the mind: A working memory model of distraction from negative mood. Emotion, 7(4), 715-723.
  • Van Dillen, L. F., Lakens, D., & Van den Bos, K. (2011). At face value: Categorization goals modulate vigilance for angry faces. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47, 235-240.
  • Van Dillen, L. F., Papies, E. K., & Hofmann, W. (2013). Turning a blind eye to temptation. How cognitive load can facilitate self-regulation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104, 427-443.
  • Van Dillen, L .F., Van der Wal, R., & Van den Bos, K. (2012). On the role of attention and emotion in morality: Attentional control modulates unrelated disgust in moral judgments. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 38, 1221-1230.
  • Van der Wal, R., & Van Dillen, L. F. (2013). Leaving a flat taste in your mouth: Task load reduces taste perception. Psychological Science, 24(7), 1277-1284.

Other Publications:

  • Koole, S. L., Van Dillen, L. F., & Sheppes, G. (2010). The self-regulation of emotion. In K. D. Vohs & R. F. Baumeister (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory, and applications (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford.
  • Van Dillen, L. F. (2008). Emotion regulation through action. Emotion Researcher.

Courses Taught:

Lotte Van Dillen
Social and Organizational Psychology
Pieter de la Court Gebouw
Wassenaarseweg 52
2300 RB Leiden
The Netherlands

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