Dr. James Gross stands as a preeminent figure in psychological science with his pioneering contributions to understanding human emotion. He currently holds the distinguished position of Ernest R. Hilgard Professor of Psychology at Stanford University where he also serves as Director of both the Stanford Center for Affective Science and the Stanford Psychophysiology Laboratory. Educated at Yale University where he earned his B.A. in Philosophy and Psychology summa cum laude in 1987, he completed his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of California Berkeley in 1993 under the mentorship of Professor Robert W. Levenson. His academic journey has been marked by a steadfast commitment to advancing scientific understanding of emotional processes and their regulation.
Dr. Gross is universally recognized as the architect of the process model of emotion regulation, a theoretical framework that has fundamentally reshaped how scientists understand and investigate emotional experiences. His groundbreaking research has yielded over 650 publications that collectively have been cited more than 250,000 times, demonstrating extraordinary impact across multiple disciplines including psychology, neuroscience, and clinical practice. By establishing affective science as a rigorous field of empirical inquiry, he has provided the conceptual foundation for countless studies examining how individuals manage their emotional responses in various contexts. His work has catalyzed transformative advances in understanding the cognitive, physiological, and neural mechanisms underlying emotional self-regulation.
Beyond his research contributions, Dr. Gross has profoundly shaped the field through his leadership as co-founding President of the Society for Affective Science and Founding Co-Editor-in-Chief of the journal Affective Science. He has received numerous prestigious honors including the Grawemeyer Award in Psychology, the Walter J. Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching Stanford's highest teaching honor, and the APS Mentor Award for his exceptional dedication to nurturing the next generation of scholars. As a Fellow in multiple distinguished academies including the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, his influence extends across institutional and disciplinary boundaries. Dr. Gross continues to advance the science of emotion regulation while mentoring scores of students and colleagues who carry forward his rigorous scientific approach to understanding the human emotional experience.
