When something goes wrong, who do you text first? We rarely manage our feelings alone. A friend who listens, a hand on the shoulder, a shared laugh — much of emotion regulation happens between people, not inside one head.

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This research area asks what actually makes that help work. When you're stressed, does reaching out steady you, or stir things up further? We study how people seek and give support in the moment, how effective it really is, and how empathy and taking someone else's perspective draw on the same brain machinery we use to regulate our own emotions.

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The open questions are ones everyone recognises: why does the same comfort soothe one person and irritate another, and when is it better to sit with a feeling alone than to share it?