Whether through news, art, social media, professional settings or walking on the street, people can be confronted with the suffering of others. Although other people’s suffering can evoke strong emotions (e.g., outrage, sadness), people do not seem to consistently avoid such content. On the contrary, some situations of suffering catch our fascination and we actively seek to learn more from them. 

Engaging with the suffering of other people involves different psychological and affective processes. Through this preconference, we aim to bring together scientists from different disciplines to discuss how research can help understand when people do, and do not, engage with a suffering other. How do people derive meaning from other people’s stories of suffering? Why do people seek out information that can evoke intense emotional reactions? When do people choose to experience empathy and when (and how) do they choose to regulate empathy? How do people respond to violent street incidents? Research on eudaimonia, empathy, curiosity and prosociality, will shed light on the affective processes, motives and outcomes of engaging with the suffering of others.

The program includes 5 invited speakers (from different disciplines and regions) who will present their work in 45-minute talks, leaving plenty of time for questions and discussion. Moreover, we invite submissions from researchers at every level for short flash talks related to the theme of the preconference (e.g., interpersonal relations, empathy, intergroup processes, collective action and solidarity, epistemic emotions, eudaimonia, media and arts). Our goal is to organize an interdisciplinary and inclusive preconference and therefore we encourage submissions from researchers with different backgrounds.