Focus on feelings: The Long Night of Emotions

During our Long Night of Emotions, we bring psychological research to life: we show how emotions arise, how they shape our everyday lives and how we can manage them more effectively.
Visitors are invited to get actively involved – through experiments, hands-on activities and discussions. In doing so, we bridge the gap between the latest research and very specific questions:
How do I cope with stress? What supports my mental health? And what can I do if I or others are not feeling well?
Our aim is to make knowledge understandable, tangible and personally relevant – for children, young people and adults.

Lectures/workshops on campus (Carl-Zeiss-Str. 3):
- ‘Climate, crisis, emotional chaos? – Young People and Climate Change” (8.00–9.00 pm, Room SR 208) – a short, interactive talk on the feelings children and young people experience in relation to climate change and how to cope with these feelings effectively. Target audience: anyone interested
- “Are we all mentally ill?! What is mental health and how are young people in Germany coping?” (6.30–7.30 pm, Room 121) Target audience: parents, teachers and other interested parties

Hands-on activities (Semmelweisstr. 12):
- “Experiencing fear research in a video game experiment – How does acute danger influence our predictions of events?” Visitors are invited to take part in a video game-style experiment and will be asked to keep a panther at a distance; whilst doing so, we’ll explain how this game is used to explore human expectations; children can aim to achieve a high score; Target audience: children & young people
- “Can your heart deceive you? Heartbeat & the Moment – Physiological Parameters in Science”: at two hands-on stations, we’ll show interested visitors how we measure and use physiological parameters in psychological studies; we demonstrate heart rate measurement and eye-tracking techniques in short experiments (Does my heart really beat as fast as I think it does? Where do I look first when meeting someone for the first time?); Target audience: children & young people
- “What to do when there are no therapy places available?” – I-WAIT: Development and evaluation of a transdiagnostic mobile intervention for children and young people; we’ll be presenting our newly developed app designed to bridge the waiting period for a therapy place; we’ll be offering those interested an initial insight into the modules and exercises we’ve developed – feedback on the design, usability, etc. is very much welcome; Target group: young people
- “Building on strengths” – At a hands-on station, we’ll be collecting examples of strengths from children, young people and families that help them cope with stress at school, in everyday life and elsewhere

Information stand on our University Psychotherapy Outpatient Clinic for Children, Young People and Families (PHAK):

We’ll explain: How does therapy work here? How and when can you register with the PHAK? etc. Target audience: children, young people, parents, interested members of the public
‘Myths vs. Facts’ – Myths surrounding mental health conditions: We address popular myths – such as those spread by influencers on social media – and, through discussion with the audience, clarify their truthfulness; participants are welcome to ask their own questions; target audience: young people