Collection Overview
Humanities & Social Sciences Communications has launched a Guest-Edited Collection on Cultural perspectives in emotions research.
Traditional paradigms in psychological science have often operated under the assumption of the universality of emotions, suggesting that core emotional experiences are biologically ‘hardwired’ and expressed similarly across cultures. However, growing critiques from cultural psychology, anthropology, and affect studies challenge this notion, emphasising that emotional experiences and their meanings are shaped by history, politics, religion, language, and local epistemologies, among other factors.
This will be a Collection of research papers that explores the role of cultural perspectives in emotions research, with the aim of advancing interdisciplinary dialogue on how emotions are experienced, interpreted, and expressed across diverse cultural contexts and will be open for submissions from all authors – on the condition that the manuscripts fall within the scope of the Collection and of Humanities & Social Sciences Communications more generally. We are welcoming submissions until 22nd May 2026.
Why is this Collection important?
"Human life is shaped by sensitivity — to the spaces we inhabit and to the relationships we build with ourselves and others. In recent years, parts of scientific research have prioritised highly quantitative methods, leaving less room to capture the subtler emotional dimensions of experience. This Collection aims to restore that balance by encouraging studies from social psychology, ethnography and media research that examine everyday life through emotional lenses. Emotions are not external to human existence; they are integral to it, allowing us to perceive aspects of social life that might otherwise remain unseen. Understanding these dynamics offers valuable insights for both scholarship and public debate." - Dr. Abílio Almeida
Why submit to a Collection?
Collections like this one help promote high-quality science. They are led by Guest Editors, who are experts in their fields, and In-House Editors and are supported by a dedicated team of Commissioning Editors and Managing Editors at Springer Nature. Collection manuscripts typically see higher citations, downloads, and Altmetric scores, and provide a one-stop-shop on a cutting-edge topic of interest.
Who is involved?
Guest Editor:
- Abilio Renato Gomes Almeida, Communication and Society Research Centre, University of Minho, Portugal
- Shengjie Lin, Centre for Emotional Intelligence, Yale University, USA
- Gavin Brent Sullivan, International Psychoanalytic University Berlin, Germany
Internal Team:
- In-House Editor: Gino D'Oca, Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, UK
- Commissioning Editor: Joe Cockman, Fully OA Brands, Springer Nature, UK
- Managing Editor: Chantale Davies, Fully OA Brands, Springer Nature, UK
How can I submit my paper?
Visit the Collection Page to find out more about this Collection and how to submit your article.