Danfei
Hu

Dr. Danfei Hu is an Azrieli International Postdoctoral Fellow in the Psychology Department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem under the supervision of Prof. Maya Tamir.

Danfei’s research aims to understand human motivation and emotion and how to pursue goals in ways that are effective, satisfying, and healthy.

Her postdoctoral research project examines whether psychologically healthy and unhealthy people differ in what they want to feel in daily life, how desired emotions influence the way they manage their emotions, and what their implications are for psychological functioning and mental health. By comparing the role of motivation in emotion regulation and its implications for emotional and psychological outcomes in healthy and clinically depressed individuals, Danfei hopes to uncover factors underlying unhealthy emotion regulation and psychological dysfunction.

Danfei was born and raised in Wuhan, China. She obtained her BA at Wuhan University. After graduating, she moved to New York to pursue both a master’s degree in cognitive science and a master’s degree in applied statistics at Columbia University. She then completed her PhD in psychology at Pennsylvania State University, investigating the individual and situational differences in what people want to feel in daily life. Danfei has a French bulldog. She is a foodie and loves to travel.