Meet Jenny Lindholm, an esteemed university lecturer in Political Science with Media and Communication at Åbo Akademi University. With a keen interest in visual political communication and civic technology, my latest research endeavors have been focused on the intricate subject of emotions.
What is your role in this project?
As the leader of the project’s first work package, The Lab Experiments, I play a critical role in designing studies, collecting data, and analyzing results to produce insightful articles. My extensive experience in combining lab research with political science makes me a valuable asset to the project.
What do you find interesting about the research of emotions?
My passion for understanding emotions was sparked during my doctoral studies. As I delved into the impact of various crises on society, I realized the significant role emotions play in political communication. My first laboratory study on citizens’ reactions to crisis news propelled me into a fascination with emotions and their measurement.
What do you do in your spare time?
I live in a really big, old house that used to be a school. Fixing up the house, and the garden, and trying to creatively design the inside to work for a family of four is the fun part of my everyday life (and a good contrast to academic life).
The research project “EmoAffect” takes on the task of studying how emotional reactions drive affective polarization and focuses on which emotions that are crucial drivers. The project is funded by the Research Council of Finland and carried out at Åbo Akademi University.