UH West Oʻahu’s Aumer presents research at psychological science convention in Chicago

By Zenaida Serrano Arvman

The University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu’s Dr. Katherine Aumer, an assistant professor of Psychology, presented cross cultural research on emotions conducted by her and her students at the Association for Psychological Science (APS) Annual Convention, which took place May 26 to 29 in Chicago.

Aumer presented “Cultural Influences on the Perception of Love and Hate” on May 28 at the in-person APS convention, which welcomed psychological scientists from around the world. The convention is noted as the premier global event in psychological science and featured invited and submitted content from all areas of the field, according to the APS convention webpage.

“The study of emotions has historically been perceived through a rather westernized lens,” Aumer said.

To better understand the experience and expression of emotions, it is important to understand and study a variety of cultures and places, she said.

“Our research demonstrates the power culture has on the experience and attitudes about love and hate and how these differences in perception and experience can influence our ability to regulate our emotions and relate to one another,” Aumer said. “Future studies hope to look at Hawaiian views of love and hate as well as other indigenous populations around the world.”

In addition, Aumer was selected to take part in a virtual news briefing (see “Press Briefing 2”) prior to her presentation to help promote the convention. The media briefings featured only a small number of particularly compelling talks selected from among the approximately 1,600 accepted presentations at the convention.

Aumer said the overall experience at the convention was amazing.

“Being able to learn from and conduct research with so many incredible people from around the world is such an important part of doing science,” she said. “It can be very easy to isolate oneself in academia or any field and think, ‘This is how everyone sees the world.’ ”

“But these conferences help shake that foundation and enlighten and share our diverse worlds,” Aumer continued. “These conference opportunities help us not just share and inspire, but explore and innovate, creating solutions driven by the precision of globally informed data.”

Source: https://westoahu.hawaii.edu/kaloinews/?p=17243