Danfei Hu
Lecturer (Assistant Professor)
Profile
Biography
- 2022, PhD in Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University
- 2017 MS in Applied Statistics, Teachers College, Columbia University
- 2015 MA in Cognitive Science, Teachers College, Columbia University
Career
- 2026 - Present, Lecturer of Psychology (Assistant Professor), University of York
- 2022 - 2026, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Research
Overview
My research focuses on emotion and self-regulation, with a central interest in understanding how people can adaptively regulate their emotions to live a healthy and productive life. Specifically, I examine questions such as: What motivates people to influence their emotions? How can people regulate their emotions more successfully? And what are the implications of different emotion regulation behaviors for mental health and wellbeing?
My research integrates perspectives from social, affective, clinical, and cultural psychology, and combines a variety of methodologies, including ecological momentary assessments, laboratory experiments, longitudinal studies, and qualitative methods.
Some key findings from my research:
- Knowing when to feel negative is crucial for mental health.
- Emotion regulation in depression is characterized by less sensitivity to motivational cues.
- Trying harder to feel better sometimes helps, but it can also backfire.
- Rumination is not equally bad for everyone.
If you are interested in my research and/or would like to pursue a PhD with me, please reach out!
Publications
Selected publications
- Hu, D., Nahari, Y., Hutcherson, C. A., Mauss, I., & Tamir, M. (in press). Intensity, desirability, and attainability: Predictors of effort in emotion regulation among healthy and depressed individuals. Emotion.
- Hu, D., Miyamoto, Y., Chentsova-Dutton, Y., Kaspi, L., Thompson, R. J., Okuyama, T., & Tamir, M. (in press). Rumination in daily life is linked to poorer psychological health in the U.S. than in Japan. Social Psychological and Personality Science.
- Hu, D., Gutentag, T., Mauss, I., & Tamir, M. (2025). The critical (and neglected) role of effort in emotion regulation. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 34(4), 240-246.
- Hu, D. & Tamir, M. (2025). Variability in emotion regulation strategy use in major depression disorder: Flexibility or volatility? Journal of Affective Disorders, 372(2), 306–313.
- Hu, D., Mizrahi Lakan, S., Kalokerinos, E., & Tamir, M. (2024). Stuck with the foot on the pedal: Depression and motivated emotion regulation in daily life. Emotion, 24(5), 1299–1311.
- Hu, D., Kalokerinos, E. K., & Tamir, M. (2024). Flexibility or instability? Emotion goal dynamics and mental health. Emotion, 24(4), 1078–1091.
External activities
Editorial duties
- 2026 – Present, Editorial Board, Emotion
Invited talks and conferences
Conferences organised
2026 – 2029, Emotion Regulation Preconference to the annual meeting of the Society of Affective Science, Co-organizer
Conference leadership roles
2026 – 2029, Society for Affective Science, Abstract Committee Member
