Members
Prof. Andrea Samson
Associate professor
E-mail
Institution : Unidistance Suisse, AV短视频 of Fribourg
Department : Faculty of Psychology (Unidistance), Institute of Special Education (AV短视频 of Fribourg)
Discipline : Psychology, Special Education
Research field : Emotion regulation, positive emotions, humor, social skills, games, neurodevelopmental disorders (autism spectrum disorder, Williams syndrome)
I completed my PhD at the AV短视频 of Fribourg (Switzerland), did a 5-year postdoc at Stanford AV短视频, and was from 2015 to 2018 a senior researcher (awarded with the Ambizione Fellowship by the Swiss National Science Foundation, SNSF) at the Swiss Center for Affective Sciences (CISA, AV短视频). From 2018 to 2022, I was awarded the SNSF Professorship at the Department of Special Education at the AV短视频 of Fribourg. Currently, I am an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Psychology at Unidistance Suisse, Brig, Switzerland.
I am the director of the chEERSLab, which focuses on affective processes such as positive emotions, humor, and emotion regulation, as well as their relation to mental health and well-being. The team has a particular research focus on individuals with and without neurodevelopment conditions such as autism and Williams syndrome. We are interested in understanding complex socio-emotional processes and how they relate to each other, as well as how they serve as protective or risk factors in the development of anxiety symptoms in these groups. In various studies, we use a variety of methods, including virtual reality to induce emotional states or prompt emotion regulation. We are also developing tools to promote emotional competencies in different populations, such as through online interventions or board games (chEERS games).