Teaching
Eduardo has been teaching at the Departament of Business and Social Sciences of Saint Louis University (Madrid Campus) since 2005, delivering courses on positive psychology, social psychology, political psychology and sociology.
He has also taught in numerous postgraduate degrees, summer courses, and academic seminars and conferences, in Spain, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and the US.
Research
His research activity has focused on the topic of laughter and humour, publishing his results in academic articles and papers, as well as in popular science books and newspaper/magazine articles.
Eduardo’s interest in positive emotions dates back to 1993, when he carried out a research project at the London School of Economics during the last year of his undergraduate degree. At the LSE he developed an initial version of the causal theory of humour which he later expanded in his doctoral thesis, defended in 1998. This “dramaturgical theory”, based on Erving Goffman’s ideas on the “interaction order”, proposes that the emotion underlying laughter is elicited by the perception that a social actor has failed to perform the role that is expected of him or her on the stage of everyday life.
In recent years, Eduardo has become interested in the effects (and, specifically, the benefits) of humour, particularly as they relate to applied fields such as work, education or health. More generally, he is interested in the place of humour within the emerging field of positive psychology. He has also participated in a research project led by Professor Carmelo Moreno del Río of the Universidad del País Vasco, on the topic of “Political humour as a cohesive force in Spain”.
In addition, he has promoted the publication and supervised the translation into Spanish of Rod Martin’s The Psychology of Humor the most complete textbook currently available on the topic, to facilitate research in this area in the Spanish-speaking world. He has also translated into Spanish several other books on the topic, such as Humor and Wellness in Clinical Intervention by W. Fry and W. Salameh.
Other academic activities
Eduardo is a founding member and member of the board of the Spanish Positive Psychology Society, and was a member of the organizing committee for the 1st Spanish Positive Psychology Conference.
He has been an active member of the Spanish humor research network Humor Aula and participates in the activities of the Instituto Quevedo del Humor promoted by the Fundación General de la Universidad de Alcalá de Henares.
He was a member of the scientific, organizing and executive committees of the 20th Conference of the International Society for Humor Studies held from 1-7 July 2008 at the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares.
He has been a member for several years of the International Society for Humor Studies, participating in the conferences held at Forlí, Dijón, Rhode Island, Copenhaguen and Alcalá de Henares.