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Professor Eric Vanman

Professor

School of Psychology
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences
e.vanman@psy.uq.edu.au
+61 7 336 56213

Overview

Eric Vanman is a Professor in the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland, Australia. He obtained his Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Southern California in 1994. After that, he worked as a post-doctoral fellow in cognitive and behavioral neuroscience at USC and then a year as a research scientist at Texas A&M in the Environmental Psychophysiology Laboratory. He had short-term appointments at Emory University after that. In 2000, he was appointed as an Assistant Professor at Georgia State University, where he worked as a lecturer until 2007. He then left Georgia State as an Associate Professor to take up his current position. His research interests lie in the social neuroscience of emotion and intergroup prejudice, and his studies have incorporated several kinds of psychophysiological and neuroimaging methods. His latest projects focus on social robots and social media.

Research Interests

  • How Do We Really Feel About Robots?
    Can we have empathy for robots? Why do we fear them? Is it a good idea to design robots that look like humans? This is the newest line of research in our laboratory.
  • How Stressful is it to Use Social Media?
    We have studied how constantly keeping up with friends via social media such as Facebook can have both positive and negative benefits. We found in once recent study, for example, that giving up Facebook for five days was associated with negative feelings about being socially disconnected, but stress (as measured via salivary cortisol) decreased during the same time period.
  • Why Do We Cry? How Do People Respond to Others Who are Crying?
    We are currently investigating the functions of crying by asking people to cry in the laboratory and taking various behavioural and physiological measurements while they do. In other studies, participants view pictures or videos of people who are crying to examine how we respond to those showing tears.
  • Why Do We Have Less Empathy for People in Other Groups?
    It is well known now that we naturally have less empathy for people who belong to different social groups to our own. This line of research investigates some of the reasons why such empathic biases occur.

Research Impacts

Professor Vanman is primarily known for his studies on racial prejudice. His research has indicated that the activation of facial muscles, specifically those that create frowning and smiling expressions, is linked to prejudiced and discriminatory behaviour, even in the absence of detectable facial displays of emotion. His early work on unconscious bias and its connection to psychophysiological measures laid the foundation for research on implicit measures that have been prominent in this research area for the last three decades. Recently, his research has focused on studying the mechanisms of empathy using a social neuroscience approach. He has investigated factors that may contribute to a lack of empathy for individuals who are different from us but has also extended this to human-robot interaction.

Engagement with the media is an effective way to communicate the knowledge we have acquired in our research to the general public. Prof Vanman has appeared on several radio and television programs for Australian and international media, often as an expert commenting on recent news events. For example, ABC’s Catalyst program featured his lab's research on crying, in which a documentary crew came to the laboratory. In 2022, he appeared on SBS’s Insight program to talk about what we know about “catfish”—people who use false identities to develop close relationships with others while online.

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of Southern California
  • Masters (Coursework), University of Southern California

Publications

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Grants

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Supervision

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Available Projects

  • Social Robots: The ROSIE Project

    In collaboration with international partners in Switzerland and Germany, Prof Vanman has received funding to study human-robot interaction from the perspective of intergroup relations. As robots become increasingly integrated into our daily lives, from assisting in homes to collaborating in workplaces, understanding the social dimensions of human-robot interactions becomes crucial. This project, funded by the Australian Research Council, aims to bridge the gap by examining robots through the lens of social psychology, focusing on their acceptance as part of our social fabric.

    The project will explore innovative strategies to enhance empathy towards robots, aiming to improve coexistence and collaboration. Through a series of cutting-edge experiments, the research team will provide invaluable insights for robot designers and pave the way for a more inclusive future where humans and robots work side by side, enriching each other's lives.

  • Catfshing: Antecedents and Consequences

    Prof. Vanman's research team has conducted some initial pilot work involving online interviews with people who catfish. He would welcome a new PhD project focused on conducting an investigation into the motivations of people who catfish, identifying their likely victims, and understanding the consequences for people who have been catfished.

View all Available Projects

Publications

Book

Book Chapter

  • The intragroup level: moral emotions, empathy, and acceptance of others as ingroup members—a social neuroscience perspective

    Vanman, Eric J. (2024). The intragroup level: moral emotions, empathy, and acceptance of others as ingroup members—a social neuroscience perspective. The Routledge international handbook of the psychology of morality. (pp. 168-178) edited by Naomi Ellemers, Stefano Pagliaro and Félice van Nunspeet. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003125969-26

  • Gene by environment interactions in intergroup relations

    McGovern, Hugh T. and Vanman, Eric J. (2022). Gene by environment interactions in intergroup relations. The neuroscience of intergroup relations: global perspectives on the neural underpinnings of intergroup behaviour, ingroup bias and prejudice. (pp. 76-94) edited by Pascal Molenberghs. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003042426-6

  • Communicating with robots: what we do wrong and what we do right in artificial social intelligence, and what we need to do better

    Kappas, Arvid, Stower, Rebecca and Vanman, Eric J. (2020). Communicating with robots: what we do wrong and what we do right in artificial social intelligence, and what we need to do better. Social intelligence and nonverbal communication. (pp. 233-254) edited by Robert J. Sternberg and Aleksandra Kostić. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-34964-6_8

  • Physiological Measures

    Vanman, Eric J. and Philipp, Michael C. (2019). Physiological Measures. Advanced Research Methods for the Social and Behavioral Sciences. (pp. 147-167) edited by John E Edlund and Austin Lee Nichols. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.

  • The somatic system

    Tassinary, Louis G., Cacioppo, John T. and Vanman, Eric J. (2017). The somatic system. Handbook of Psychophysiology. (pp. 151-182) edited by John T. Cacioppo, Louis G. Tassinary and Gary G. Berntson. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/9781107415782.008

  • Understanding spontaneous human laughter: the role of voicing in inducing positive emotion

    Owren, Michael J., Philipp, Michael, Vanman, Eric, Trivedi, Niyati, Schulman, Allison and Bachorowski, Jo-Anne (2013). Understanding spontaneous human laughter: the role of voicing in inducing positive emotion. Evolution of emotional communication: from sounds in nonhuman mammals to speech and music in man. (pp. 175-190) edited by Eckart Altenmuller, Sabine Schmidt and Elke Zimmermann. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.

  • The skeletomotor system: Surface electromyography

    Tassinary, L. G., Cacioppo, J. T. and Vanman, E. J. (2007). The skeletomotor system: Surface electromyography. Handbook of Psychophysiology. (pp. 267-299) edited by J. T. Cacioppo, L. G. Tassinary and G. G. Berntson. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Journal Article

Conference Publication

  • On giving more light than heat: The life and contributions of John T. Cacioppo (1951-2018)

    Bartholow, Bruce D., Berntson, Gary G., Bosch, Jos, Burleson, Mary, Hawkley, Louise C., Ito, Tiffany A., Larsen, Jeff T., Norman, Greg J., Norris, Catherine J., Quigley, Karen S., Tassinary, Louis G. and Vanman, Eric (2018). On giving more light than heat: The life and contributions of John T. Cacioppo (1951-2018). 58th Annual Meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research, Quebec City Canada, 3-7 October 2018. Hoboken, NJ United States: Wiley-Blackwell.

  • Intranasal Oxytocin and Social Perceptual Processing in Late Adulthood

    Grainger, S., Henry, J., Vanman, E., Scott, J. and Labuschagne, I. (2016). Intranasal Oxytocin and Social Perceptual Processing in Late Adulthood. -, -, -. Cary, NC United States: Oxford University Press.

  • Compassion (Or the Lack of It) When It Comes to Weight: a Facial Emg Study

    Vanman, Eric J., Johnstone, Kyah and Vartanian, Lenny R. (2014). Compassion (Or the Lack of It) When It Comes to Weight: a Facial Emg Study. 54h Annual Meeting of the Society-for-Psychophysiological-Research, Atlanta Ga, Sep 10-14, 2014. HOBOKEN: WILEY-BLACKWELL.

  • The social function of tears in crying: a facial electromyographic investigation

    Vanman, Eric J., Horiguchi, Mari and Sharman, Leah (2013). The social function of tears in crying: a facial electromyographic investigation. 53rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research, Florence Italy, 02 - 06 October 2013. Hoboken, NJ United States: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc.. doi: 10.1111/psyp.12120

  • Adaptive facial mimicry to social exclusion

    Philipp, Michael C., Bernstein, Michael, Vanman, Eric J. and Johnston, Lucy (2012). Adaptive facial mimicry to social exclusion. 52nd Annual Meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research, New Orleans La, 19-23 September 2012. Hoboken, NJ United States: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2012.01440.x

  • What is the role of mimicry in detecting posed and genuine smiles?

    Vanman, Eric J., Horiguchi, Mari, Philipp, Michael and Johnston, Lucy (2012). What is the role of mimicry in detecting posed and genuine smiles?. 52nd Annual Meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research, New Orleans La, 19-23 September 2012. Hoboken, NJ United States: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2012.01437.x

  • Feeling bad about what "we" have done: the p300 as a marker of collective guilt in an intergroup transgression

    Henrion, M. and Vanman, E.J. (2010). Feeling bad about what "we" have done: the p300 as a marker of collective guilt in an intergroup transgression. 50th Annual Meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research, Portland, OR, U.S.A., 29 September-3 October, 2010. Malden, MA, U.S.A.: Blackwell Publishing. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2010.01111.x

  • Images of terrorism: The emotional impact of viewing scenes of the aftermath

    Vanman, EJ, Iyer, A, Henrion, M, Witowski, P, Berndt, SL, Greenaway, KH and Hornsey, MJ (2010). Images of terrorism: The emotional impact of viewing scenes of the aftermath. 50th Annual Meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research, Portland, OR, U.S.A., 29 September-3 October, 2010. Malden, MA, U.S.A.: Blackwell Publishing. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2010.01111.x

Other Outputs

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

Completed Supervision

Possible Research Projects

Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.

  • Social Robots: The ROSIE Project

    In collaboration with international partners in Switzerland and Germany, Prof Vanman has received funding to study human-robot interaction from the perspective of intergroup relations. As robots become increasingly integrated into our daily lives, from assisting in homes to collaborating in workplaces, understanding the social dimensions of human-robot interactions becomes crucial. This project, funded by the Australian Research Council, aims to bridge the gap by examining robots through the lens of social psychology, focusing on their acceptance as part of our social fabric.

    The project will explore innovative strategies to enhance empathy towards robots, aiming to improve coexistence and collaboration. Through a series of cutting-edge experiments, the research team will provide invaluable insights for robot designers and pave the way for a more inclusive future where humans and robots work side by side, enriching each other's lives.

  • Catfshing: Antecedents and Consequences

    Prof. Vanman's research team has conducted some initial pilot work involving online interviews with people who catfish. He would welcome a new PhD project focused on conducting an investigation into the motivations of people who catfish, identifying their likely victims, and understanding the consequences for people who have been catfished.

For Media assistance please contact The Office of Marketing and Communications, (07) 3365 1120

Links

ResearcherID: F-3520-2018

ORCID: 0000-0001-7014-6951

Scopus ID: 6603230370

Personal Profile: Link

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