Valeria Pfeifer, PhD: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Naturalistic Observation of Social Interaction (NOSI) Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Arizona
Monday, November 18, 2024,
2:30pm – 3:30pm,
ASA Koffler Great Room and Zoom
Dr. Valeria Pfeifer, a UA postdoctoral researcher in the Naturalistic Observation of Social Interaction Lab, is studying what language can reveal about cognition and emotion. Her work involves “language in context” research, monitoring speech recordings of daily interactions to discover how language behavior relates to psychological phenomena, such as examining the stereotype that women speak more than men. She found they actually do.
Contending that figurative expression, such as verbal irony or metaphor, is ubiquitous in language interactions, she will give crucial insights into how we recognize, experience, and manage emotions in ourselves and others. For example, instead of saying that we are angry, we might swear, state that we are “fuming,” or send a frowning emoji to let others know how we feel. In this talk, Dr. Pfeifer says,
She will discuss different kinds of figurative language and what they reveal about emotion. I will first discuss recent experimental work on using verbal irony to manage felt negativity. Next, I will focus on swear and taboo language. Finally, I will cover analyses targeting metaphors and depressive symptoms. Drawing from these three areas, I argue more broadly for the importance of figurative language in research on emotion and cognition.
After finishing her PhD in Psychology at UA in 2022, Dr Pfeifer secured a Postdoctoral Research Development Grant to support her current research on the emotional effects of producing irony. One of her 2024 publications, in partnership with Dr. Penny Pexman of Western University, highlights how encountering ironic language can catalyze “crucial psychological insights,” such as creativity and problem-solving. She received her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Linguistics at Bielefeld University in Germany.
Preview compiled and edited by Suzanne Ferguson, Academy Village Volunteer
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