Responsibilities
Professor of psychology
Head of the welfare sciences unit
Fields of expertise
My areas of expertise are cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, social cognition and emotions. My research focuses on the perception of information important for social interaction and on the neural basis of processing this information. I am especially interested in the effect of facial cues (e.g. gaze direction and expressions) on attention, emotional reactions, and the related psychophysiological responses.
You can find more detailed description about my research on the website of the HIP-laboratory (see, projects)
My publications are listed in ResearchGate and Google Scholar data bases (see, my links)
Latest publications
Inferences about women’s traits influence the judgment of their eye contact
Zhai, M. & Hietanen, J., 27 May 2025, In: Psychonomic Bulletin and Review. 32, 3, 117605.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Multicomponent approach reveals differences in affective responses among children and adolescents
Konopkina, K., Hirvaskoski, H., Hietanen, J. K. & Saarimäki, H., 2025, In: Scientific Reports. 15, 10179.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
The impact of eyes on attributions of agency and experience in humanoid robots
Hietanen, J., Linnunsalo, S. & Küster, D., 14 Nov 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: CONSCIOUSNESS AND COGNITION. 137, 103963.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
The perception of eye contact is associated with men's need to belong, self-esteem, and loneliness
Zhai, M., Saarimäki, H. & Hietanen, J. K., Mar 2025, In: PLOS ONE. 20, 3, e0319974.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Autonomic and facial electromyographic responses to watching eyes
Chen, T., Helminen, T., Linnunsalo, S. & Hietanen, J., Jan 2024, In: i-Perception. 15, 1, 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Emotionally positive self-directed speech widens the cone of gaze
Chen, T. & Hietanen, J., 2024, In: EMOTION. 24, 3, p. 759-768Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Infants’ psychophysiological responses to eye contact with a human and with a humanoid robot
Linnunsalo, S., Yrttiaho, S., Turati, C., Quadrelli, E., Peltola, M. J. & Hietanen, J. K., Oct 2024, In: BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY. 192, 108858.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Sosiaalinen neurotiede nyt
Hietanen, J., 2024, In: Annales Academiae Scientiarum Fennicae. 2024, 1, p. 24-43Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Threat priming diminishes the gaze cueing effect
Zhai, M. & Hietanen, J., 2024, In: COGNITION AND EMOTION. 38, 7, p. 1095-1102Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Effects of fear on donations to climate change mitigation
Palosaari, E., Herne, K., Lappalainen, O. & Hietanen, J. K., 2023, In: JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY. 104, 104422.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review