Category Archives: Events

Learn what events are happening in BABLab!

Patty Van Cappellen Chairs APS Symposium on Positive Emotions and Social Connection

Events, Lab Members

This past May, Dr. Patty Van Cappellen chaired the symposium “Beyond Feeling Good: Positive Emotions as Engines of Social Connection” at the 2026 Association for Psychological Science Annual Convention in Barcelona, Spain.

The symposium examined how positive emotions extend beyond individual well-being to
strengthen relationships and promote social connection. Presentations were given by former BABLab postdoctoral researchers Dr. Megan Edwards and Dr. Kunalan Manokara, as well as Dr. Sara B. Algoe of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Dr. Van Cappellen herself.

Dr. Edwards presented research on the relationship between empathy, affect, and meaning in life. Dr. Manokara discussed the prosocial potential of socially connective positive emotions, while Dr. Algoe examined how responses to another person’s positive experiences can communicate love and foster affiliation, even between strangers. Dr. Van Cappellen concluded the symposium by presenting a relational perspective on hope.

Together, the presentations demonstrated the important role that empathy, pride, love, and hope can play in connecting people and encouraging prosocial behavior.

Congrats to our lab members, both current and former!

Dr. Van Cappellen Receives the 2026 Virginia Sexton Mentoring Award

Awards, Events, Lab Members

We are excited to announce that BABLab PI Dr. Patty Van Cappellen received the 2026 APA Division 36 Virginia Sexton Mentoring Award while attending the APA Annual Convention earlier this August! This award is offered to individuals who have contributed to the psychology of religion by mentoring individuals who themselves have become active in the field. Congratulations to Patty! We could not think of someone more deserving of this award.

APA Division 36 is the Society for the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, which promotes psychological theory, research, and clinical practice to understand the significance of religion and spirituality in people’s lives and in the discipline of psychology. The Society is nonsectarian and welcomes psychologists and others from around the world interested in the psychology of religion and spirituality.

Dr. Van Cappellen and Former Lab Post-Doc Kunalan Manokara Co-Chair APS Preconference on Empathy

Events, Lab Members

BABLab PI Patty Van Cappellen and former lab post-doc Dr. Kunalan Manokara co-chaired the full-day preconference, “Empathy: Approaches and Implications for a Divided World,” at the 2026 Association for Psychological Science Annual Convention in Barcelona, Spain.

Empathy: Approaches and Implications for a Divided World

Held on May 28, the preconference brought together more than 20 experts from different
disciplines and geographic regions. Through research presentations and posters, participants explored empathy’s role in early development, interpersonal relationships, and group dynamics, as well as the potential challenges and costs associated with empathic behavior across different contexts.

Patty also presented the keynote address, titled “For Better or Worse: The Role of Religion for Empathy and Intergroup Relations.”

The event was organized in partnership with The Love Consortium.

From Coursework to the Lab: BABLab Post-Doc Kunalan Manokara Brings Students into Research

Events, Lab Members, Student Opportunities

This past semester, students enrolled in Dr. Kunalan Manokara’s course, offered through Duke University’s Pluralism, Free Inquiry, and Belonging initiative, stepped outside the traditional classroom and into the BABLab.

Students engaged in ongoing research exploring the utility of positive emotions as a tool for promoting positive intergroup relations, making the BABLab a site of hands-on learning.

 

The experience ended with a final project presentation, where students shared their research findings directly with Dr. Manokara and BABLab PI Dr. Patty Van Cappellen.

Students also received an informational tour of the lab space, gaining an inside look at the infrastructure, research questions, and collaborative environment that define a successful social science research lab.

Congrats to Kunalan’s students for completing their certification in pluralism, free inquiry, and belonging at Duke!

BABLab Post-Doc Kunalan Manokara Chairs Positive Emotion Pre-Conference at the Society for Affective Science Annual Convention

Events, Lab Members
We are proud to share that our BABLab Postdoctoral Researcher, Kunalan Manokara, PhD, was invited to Chair the 2026 edition of the Positive Emotion Pre-Conference! This year’s event took place in Pittsburgh on the 12th of March!
Kunalan and his team put together an exciting schedule of invited talks and poster presentations, all aimed at showcasing cutting-edge research in the field of positive emotions. It was a day of insightful exchanges between scholars of all career stages, capped off with awards for emerging affective scientists working in this area.
Congratulations to Kunalan for successfully organizing his first pre-conference!

Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) 2026 Recap!

Events, Lab Members, Student Opportunities

Earlier this year, BABLab staff attended the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) Annual Convention 2026! We were so grateful to attend and present our research at the conference.

Here are some highlights from our team: 

BABLab PI Dr. Patty Van Cappellen and Post-Doctoral Associate in the
Dr. Megan Edwards of BABLab both presented at the “New Directions in Existential Psychology for the Religious and Nonreligious” symposium.

Dr. Van Capellen’s talk was titled ” Beyond Rainbows: Religious and Existential Dimensions of Hope.”
And Dr. Edwards’ talk was titled “Hope in the Dark: Hope More Strongly Predicts Meaning in Life Among Those Who Need It”

 

BABLab Lab Manager Jenna Faith McClear, M.T.S. & BABLab Lab Manager Camryn Yeager, B.A., both presented posters at the SPSP Main conference!

Camryn’s poster was titled “Campus Economic Inequality May Shape Feelings of ‘Falling Behind’ and Reduced Student Well-Being.”

Jenna’s Poster was titled “Immediate Emotional Benefits of Religious Service Attendance: Evidence From a Natural Experiment at Easter.”

Additionally, BABLab research assistant Jennifer Hu also presented her poster “What Makes Us Human?: Sociality as a Key Dimension of Mind Perception” at the first poster session of the main conference.

Finally, we were glad to catch up with all of the past BABLab alumni at the BABLab reunion dinner!

We had such an amazing time at SPSP ’26!

BABLab at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) Annual Convention 2026

Events, Lab Members

We’ve landed in Chicago, IL!

This weekend, the BABLab team will be attending the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) Annual Convention 2026

BABLab PI Dr. Patty Van Cappellen and Post-Doctoral Associate in the BABLab Dr. Megan Edwards are both presenting at the “New Directions in Existential Psychology for the Religious and Nonreligious” symposium on Friday, February 27th! 

Patty’s talk is titled “Beyond Rainbows: Religious and Existential Dimensions of Hope”, and Megan’s talk is titled “Hope in the Dark: Hope More Strongly Predicts Meaning in Life Among Those Who Need It.”

Additionally, more of our team joins us to present!

BABLab Lab Manager Jenna Faith McClear, M.T.S., will be presenting her poster “Immediate Emotional Benefits of Religious Service Attendance: Evidence from a Natural Experiment at Easter” at the Religion and Spirituality Preconference on Thursday, February 26th, and at the main conference on Friday, February 27th.

BABLab Lab Manager Camryn Yeager, B.A., will be presenting their poster “Campus Economic Inequality May Shape Feelings of ‘Falling Behind’ and Reduced Student Well-Being” at the main conference on Saturday, February 28th.

Finally, BABLab research assistant Jennifer Hu will be presenting her poster “What Makes Us Human?: Sociality as a Key Dimension of Mind Perception” at the first poster session of the main conference on Thursday, February 26th.

We are so proud of this amazing team! Best of luck this weekend.

Are you attending SPSP? Come say hi at our sessions or posters! We’d love to connect with fellow researchers.

“What is Hope” Event Recap!

Events, Grants, Lab Members

From November 9-11, the BABLab hosted “What Is Hope?”, a two-day event bringing together over 15 visiting scholars from around the world to explore interdisciplinary perspectives on hope.

Participants contributed insights from psychology, philosophy, theology, and related fields, using the talks and collaborative sessions to begin shaping a shared framework and working model of hope for future psychological research. The gathering sparked rich conversations, new collaborations, and exciting directions for advancing the science of hope. We are excited to keep building upon this work for a stronger understanding of hope in our future research!

Patty Van Cappellen Teaches “Science of Happiness” Course This Fall Semester

Events, Student Opportunities

This fall, Patty taught again her new course titled The Science of Happiness, offering students an opportunity to examine the psychological foundations of well-being and positive emotion. The course explores research on happiness, meaning, and human flourishing, encouraging students to consider how these insights can inform both personal and community life. This course is part of the Transformative Ideas initiative at Duke.

Students in Patty’s “Science of Happiness” course take advantage of the nice weather for an outdoor class session.

In keeping with the theme of well-being, Patty recently held class outdoors, where students engaged in discussion surrounded by sunshine and fresh air. The outdoor session reflected the course’s emphasis on integrating academic learning with personal application in day-to-day life.

Through The Science of Happiness, Patty aims to help students connect empirical research with lived experience—fostering reflection, engagement, and a deeper understanding of what happiness means in their own lives.

A Summer of Growth and Global Connections at BABLab

Events, Grants, Lab Members

We had an eventful and international summer here at the BABLab!

To kick things off, we welcomed our new co-lab manager, Camryn Yeager, who will be working on the Hope and Spiritual Yearning projects. We are glad to have Camryn on the team!

Our postdoc, Megan Edwards, PhD, along with two of our students (Fr. Mannes Matou, OP and Chris-Ann Bennett), traveled to Tanzania to meet with religious leaders and collect data for the Hope Project. We are excited to continue partnering with them and expanding our cross-cultural understanding of hope.

 

This year, Patty participated in the University of Birmingham’s Psychology Cross-Training Program, where she mentored two theologians (Aizaiah Young and Man Hei Yip). In August, Patty supported these scholars as they presented the data they collected under her mentorship.

 

 

Also in August, Patty and lab manager Jenna joined Co-PI Ward Davis, PhD in the UK to present on Virtual Worship at the International Association for the Psychology of Religion. Patty, Ward, and Jenna gave a symposium with discussants Sam Ashton, PhD and Victor Counted, PhD.

Catching up with friends and colleagues Jordan LaBouff, Daryl Van Tongeren, and Kathy Johnson at IAPR!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After such a full and exciting summer, we are excited to be back in the lab this fall and look forward to continuing our projects!