the lab
We actively seek to recruit smart, dedicated, and enthusiastic new lab members. If you would like to volunteer in the lab as a research assistant, or if you are interested in pursuing a Ph.D. at ESADE under my supervision, just send me an email!
Prof. Jordi Quoidbach - Director
Dr. Jordi Quoidbach is an Associate Professor in the Department of People Management and Organizations at ESADE Business School in Barcelona. His research explores the bi-directional relationship between choice and happiness. In particular, Dr. Quoidbach is interested in understanding how people's current happiness-and other emotional states-shape their decisions and (2) how people's everyday decisions profoundly shape their happiness. His work highlights novel perspectives to help individuals make better personal and professional decisions that will improve their happiness in the long run. This research has been published in top-tier journals such as Science, Psychological Bulletin, Psychological Science, Nature Communications, JAMA Psychiatry, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Popular accounts of Dr. Quoidbach's research have been featured on CNN, BBC, and NPR and have appeared in publications such as Scientific American, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times. He was identified among the Best 40 Business Professors Under 40 in Poets & Quants. In addition to his research activities, Dr. Quoidbach has published popular science books on emotions and well-being and hosted a TV series about the Science of Happiness on the French television channel M6.
Matteo Di Stasi - Ph.D. Student
What makes some people better negotiators than others? Matteo uses facial expression recognition, natural language processing, and other modern machine learning tools to explore how people can improve their verbal (e.g., asking more impactful questions) and non-verbal behavior (emotional expression, pitch, and conversation style) to build stronger relationships and get better deals at the negotiation table and beyond.
Check out Matteo's website.
Sandra Kaya - Ph.D. Student
Ever wonder why we use taste descriptors like "sweet," "bitter," or "spicy" to depict our emotional states? Merging culinary artistry with scientific precision, Sandra is on a quest to unravel how emotions season our tastes and how we can design more pleasurable and memorable dining experiences using the science of emotion. Sandra conducts field experiments alongside some of the world's best chefs, pioneering insights into how our emotional palettes shape our gastronomic experiences.
Check out Sandra's food adventures.
Eirini Kapogli - Ph.D. Student
Since the advent of positive psychology, many organizations have made employees' happiness a (sometimes mandatory!) objective. However, Eirini's research suggests that while most people -- from managers to athletes -- believe that positive emotions increase performance, mixed emotional states are, in fact, often better suited to perform in a broad range of physical and intellectual tasks.
In another stream of research, Eirini shows that people vastly underestimate how much their preferences and personalities fluctuate over the day. This illusion of stability has practical consequences, leading people to avoid novel situations, challenges, and opportunities to grow because they mistakenly believe they are not a good fit.