Jesper Eklund is a project assistant at Åbo Akademi University. He is involved in opinion research and projects researching political polarization. Other research interests include the study of social trust amongst Swedish-speaking Finns.
What is your role in this project?
I act as a project assistant, which means I help with research, communication, and administrative tasks within the project. I participate in designing the studies and assisting in laboratory experiments.
What do you find interesting about the research of emotions?
I think the study of emotion or affect is an interesting area of research because it challenges the idea of the completely rational citizen. Emotions are and have always been a central part of politics. I also think we have seen a rise in the use of emotive language in politics in the last decades.
What do you do in your spare time?
I like to stay active, which usually means working out in the gym or playing football. When I’m relaxing I like playing video games, watching movies or sports, especially Formula 1.
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.