Self-Transcendent Emotions

Zaki J. & Stellar, J.E. (2025). Moral Emotions. In D. Gilbert, S. Fiske, E. Finkel, W. Berry Mendes (Eds.), The Handbook of Social Psychology 6th edition. Situational Press

Stellar, J. E. & Gordon, A.M. (2025). Awe, compassion, and gratitude. In A. Scarantino (Ed.), Handbook of Emotion Theory: Volume II (pages 77-97). Routledge.

Stellar, J. E., Gordon, A., Piff, P. K., Anderson, C.L., Cordaro, D., Bai, Y. & Maruskin, L. & Keltner, D. (2017). Self-transcendent emotions and their social functions: Compassion, gratitude, and awe bind us to others through prosociality. Emotion Review. 9(3), 200-207.

Awe

Stellar, J.E., Bai, Y., Anderson, C.A, Gordon, A, McNeil, G.D., & Keltner, D. (2024) Culture and the Experience of Awe: Towards Understanding Awe as a Mixed Emotion. Affective Science, 5(2), 160-170.

Li, Y. & Stellar, J. E. (2024). Exploring the impact of awe on the multifaceted construct of empathy. Emotion, 24(4), 1016.

Stellar, J. E. (2021). Awe helps us remember why it is important to forget the self. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1501(1), 81-84.

Paulson, S., Sideris, L., Stellar, J. E., & Valdesolo, P. (2020). Beyond oneself: the ethics and psychology of awe. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1501(1), 30-47.

Stellar, J. E., Gordon, A. M., Anderson, C. L., Piff, P. K., McNeil, G. D. & Keltner, D. (2018). Awe and humility, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 14(2), 258-269.

Bai, Y., Maruskin, L. A., Chen, S., Gordon, A. M., Stellar, J. E., McNeil, G. D., Peng, K., & Keltner, D. (2017). Experience of awe and the small self: Universal and variations in a collective emotion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 113, 185-209.

Gordon*, A. M., Stellar*, J.E., Anderson, C. L., McNeil, G. D., Loew, D., Keltner, D. (2016). The dark side of the sublime: Distinguishing a threat-based variant of awe. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 113, 310-328. [*Equals co-first authorship].

Compassion & Empathy

Li, Y. & Stellar, J. E. (2024). Exploring the impact of awe on the multifaceted construct of empathy. Emotion, 24(4), 1016.

Qaiser, J., Leonhardt, N. D., Le, B. M., Gordon, A. M., Impett, E. A., & Stellar, J. E. (2023). Shared Hearts and Minds: Physiological Synchrony During Empathy. Affective Science. 4(4), 711-721.

Stellar, J. E. & Duong, F. (2023). The Little Black Box: Contextualizing Empathy. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 32(2), 111–117.

Laceulle, O.M., Ozoruç, I., Zonneveld, R., Rahim, H., Mooren, T., Stellar, J. E., Alisic, A., Taşfiliz, D., Alajak, K., Moopen, N., Chung, J.M. (in press). A longitudinal study of dispositional compassion in Syrian origin young adults resettling in the Netherlands. European Journal of Personality, 36(4), 543-558.

Le, B., Côté, S., Stellar, J. E., & Impett, E. A. (2020). Empathic Accuracy for Negative Emotions: Contrasting the Detection of a Romantic Partner’s Appeasement and Dominant Emotions. Psychological Science. 31(6), 607–622.

Stellar, J. E, Anderson, C.A., Gatchpazian, A. (2020). Profiles in empathy: Different empathic responses to emotional and physical suffering. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. 149(7), 1398–1416. 

Stellar, J. E. & Keltner, D. (2017). Compassion in the Autonomic Nervous System: The Role of the Vagus Nerve. In P. Gilbert (Ed.), Compassion: Concepts, Research and Applications. New York: Routledge.

Stellar, J. E., Cohen, A., Oveis, C. & Keltner, D. (2015). Affective and physiological responses to the suffering of others: Compassion and vagal activity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 108(4), 572-585.

Stellar, J. E. & Keltner, D. (2014). Compassion. In M. Tugade, L. Shiota, & L. Kirby (Eds). Handbook of Positive Emotion, New York: Guilford Press.

Stellar, J. E., Feinberg, M., & Keltner, D. (2014) When the selfish suffer: Evidence for selective prosocial emotional and physiological responses to suffering egoists. Evolution and Human Behavior, 35(2), 140-147.

Stellar, J. E., Manzo, V. M., Kraus, M. W., & Keltner, D. (2012). Compassion and class: Socioeconomic factors predict compassionate responding. Emotion, 12, 449-459.

Gratitude

Shimshock, C. J., Sisson, N. M., Chee, P. M., Stellar, J. E., Impett, E. A., Le, B. M. (2025). The Hidden costs of gratitude: Gratitude amplification is costly for personal and relationship well-being. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Online First

Özoruç, I., Chung, J. M. Stellar, J. E., & Laceulle, O.M (2025). Dispositional Gratitude Trajectories of Syrian Origin Young Adults in the Netherlands. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 1–16.

Leonhardt, N. D., Stellar, J. E., Ford, B. Q., Van Cappellen, P., & Impett, E. A. (2025). “It’s Hard to Shake God’s Hand”: Gratitude to God Motivates Paying Gratitude Forward. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 01461672251333161, 1-19.

Sisson, N., Park, Y, Overall, N., Park, H. G., Johnson, M, Stellar, J. E., Le, B., & Impett, E. (2024). Thank You for Changing: Gratitude Promotes Autonomous Motivation and Successful Partner Regulation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 01461672241246211, 1-22

Schrage, K., Le, B. M., Stellar, J. E., Impett, E. A. (2023). Feeling Appreciated Predicts Prosocial Motivation in Avoidantly Attached Individuals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 50(1), 103-118.

Park, Y., Visserman, M. L., Sisson, N., Le, B. M., Stellar, J.E., & Impett, E. A. (2021). How can I thank you? Highlighting the benefits or costs when expressing gratitude. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. 38(2), 504-523.

General Emotions

Sisson, N. M.*, Wang, G. A.*, Le, B. M., Stellar, J. E., & Impett, E. A. (2022). When we’re asked to change: The role of suppression and reappraisal in partner change outcomes. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. 39(8), 2388-2407.

Xu, Stellar, & Xu .(2021). The Evolution of Emotion Semantics. Cognition. 217, 104875.

Painter, J. M., Stellar, J. E., Moran, E. K. & Kring, A. M. (2019). A Multicomponent Approach Towards Understanding Emotion Regulation in Schizophrenia. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 75(1), 178-189.

Morality

Forbes, R., Willer, R., & Stellar, J. E. (2025). Power as a Moral Magnifier: Moral Outrage is Amplified when the Powerful Transgress. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 121, 104813.

Zaki J. & Stellar, J.E. (2025). Moral Emotions. In D. Gilbert, S. Fiske, E. Finkel, W. Berry Mendes (Eds.), The Handbook of Social Psychology 6th edition. Situational Press

Ramezani, A., Stellar, J. E., Feinberg, M. & Xu, Y. (2024). Evolution of the Moral Lexicon. Open Mind. 8, 1153-1169.

Forbes, R. & Stellar J. E. (2021). When the Ones We Love Misbehave: Exploring Moral Processes within Intimate Bonds. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 122(1), 16.

Stellar, J. E. & Willer, R. (2018). Unethical and Inept? The influence of moral information on perceived competence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 114(2), 195-210.

Stellar, J. E. & Willer, R. (2014). The Corruption of value: Negative moral associations diminish the value of money. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 5, 60-66.

Feinberg, M., Willer, R., Stellar, J. E., & Keltner, D. (2012). The virtues of gossip: Reputational information sharing as prosocial behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102, 1015-1030.

Health & Well-being

Debrot, A., Stellar, J. E., Glauser, E. D., & Klumb, P. L. (2024). Touch as a Stress Buffer? Gender Differences in Subjective and Physiological Responses to Partner and Stranger Touch. Journal of Non-Verbal Behavior. 48(3), 345-364.

Leonhardt, N. D., Fahmi, S., Stellar, J. E., & Impett, E. A. (2023). Turning toward or away from God: COVID-19 and changes in religious devotion. Plos one, 18(3), e0280775.

Chung, J., Meijer, L., Zonneveld R., Al Sawaf, Z., Alajak K., Rahim H., Çiftçi L., Tešanovic T., Papadantonaki M., Papakosta N., Moopen N., Taşfiliz D., Alisic E., Mooren, T., Sleijpen M., Stellar, J. E., & Laceulle O. (in press). Lessons learned from conducting a study of emotions and positive personality change in Syrian origin young adults who have recently resettled in the Netherlands, European Journal of Psychology, 36(4), 665-682.

Debrot, A., Stellar, J.E., MacDonald, G., Keltner, D., Impett, E.A. (2020). Is Touch in Romantic Relationships Universally Beneficial for Well-Being? Exploring the Role of Avoidant Attachment Style. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 47(10), 1495-1509.

Stellar, J. E., John-Henderson, N., Anderson, C. L., Gordon, A. McNeil, G. D. & Keltner, D. (2015). Positive affect and markers of inflammation: Discrete positive emotions predict lower levels of inflammatory cytokines. Emotion. 15(2), 129-133.

John-Henderson, N., Stellar, J. E., Mendoza-Denton, R., & Francis, D. D. (2015). The role of the ‘other’ in shaping inflammatory responses to social-evaluative threat. Biological Psychology. 110, 134-137.

Rozin, P. & Stellar, J. E. (2009). Posthumous events affect rated quality and happiness of lives. Journal of Decision Making, 4, 273-279.

Social Class

Côté, S., Stellar, J. E., Willer, R., Forbes, R. C., Martin, S., & Bianchi, E. C. (2020). High SES Individuals from Privileged Backgrounds Report Uniquely High Feelings of Entitlement.Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 47(1), 70-88.

John-Henderson, N., Stellar, J. E., Mendoza-Denton, R., & Francis, D. D. (2015). Socioeconomic status and social support: Social support reduces inflammatory reactivity for individuals whose early-life socioeconomic status was low. Psychological Science. 26(10), 1620-1629.

Stellar, J. E., Manzo, V. M., Kraus, M. W., & Keltner, D. (2012). Compassion and class: Socioeconomic factors predict compassionate responding. Emotion, 12, 449-459.

Other

Stellar, J. E. & White D. J. (2010). Social influences on territory choice in female green anole lizards (anolis carolinensis). Behavioural Processes,83, 282–286.

McCauley, C. & Stellar, J. E. (2009). U.S. Muslims after 9/11: Poll Trends 2001-2007. Perspectives on Terrorism, 3, 35-47.