Dr. Jennifer Stellar: What are Pro-social Emotions?

Dr. Jennifer Stellar is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto and the director of the Health, Emotions, and Altruism Lab (HEAL). She received her PhD in Social-Personality Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley and her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.

Living harmoniously in large-scale societies requires individuals to suppress their more selfish inclinations and prioritize the welfare of others. Dr. Stellar’s research examines the forces that drive prosociality and morality. Specifically, she investigates how prosocial emotions (e.g., compassion, awe, etc.) promote empathy and altruism toward another person, encourage cooperation and cohesion within groups, and enhance the health and well-being of the individual. She also explores how individuals encourage moral behavior and uphold moral norms though expressing moral outrage toward transgressors, relying on moral character to inform other impressions, and allowing others to regain moral status through redemption. These projects aim to answer a fundamental question about humans—how do we transcend our own self-focus to care about other people, groups, and society as a whole? Learn more at https://jenniferstellar.com/

This video is part of the project, Windvane: Paths to Wellbeing. Aimed primarily at students in higher education, Windvane offers paths for exploring how we can connect with our natural elements and energies, harmonizing and localizing them as strengths. The guide includes engaged exercises for self-assessing and promoting wellbeing and flourishing.

Windvane is created by Dr Frances Garrett of the University of Toronto with funding from eCampusOntario.

This video was filmed at Bickford Park in Toronto, Canada. The city of Toronto is located in the Dish With One Spoon Territory. The Dish With One Spoon is a treaty between the Anishinaabe, Mississaugas and Haudenosaunee that bound them to share the territory and protect the land. Subsequent Indigenous Nations and Peoples, Europeans and all newcomers have been invited into this treaty in the spirit of peace, friendship and respect. We wish to acknowledge our privilege in being able to develop this project here.

Director: Frances Garrett
Producers: Frances Garrett and Bill Pocock
Executive Producer: Frances Garrett
Director of Photography: Bill Pocock
Editor: Frances Garrett
Camera Operator: Sam Keravica
Post-production Sound: Jesse Whitty
Visual Effects: Stephen Curran
Transcripts: Sam Keravica