LIPS 2026
INHOUD
College 1: living with uncertainty: why the unknown hurts more than we think ................................................................. 4
Ambiguous symptoms........................................................................................................................................... 4
How we define uncertainty? ...................................................................................................................................... 4
Why uncertainty hurts? ............................................................................................................................................. 4
Uncertainty as a psychological stressor ................................................................................................................. 4
What it does to mind + body ...................................................................................................................................... 5
Intolerance of uncertainty ..................................................................................................................................... 5
How people cope? .................................................................................................................................................... 5
Cognitieve mechanisms ........................................................................................................................................ 5
Emotional consequences ...................................................................................................................................... 6
Behavioral consequences ..................................................................................................................................... 6
Physiological correlates ........................................................................................................................................ 7
Definition and types .................................................................................................................................................. 8
The example of GAD .............................................................................................................................................. 8
Uncertainty in personality disorder ........................................................................................................................ 9
Chronic illness as uncertainty ................................................................................................................................ 9
What does workplace uncertainty look like? ......................................................................................................... 11
College 2: When tension calls for attention .................................................................................................................. 13
Leadership, conflict and cohesion ........................................................................................................................... 13
conflict .................................................................................................................................................................. 13
Interventions .......................................................................................................................................................... 13
Conflict as multi-level phenomenon ........................................................................................................................ 14
Promote peacemaking ............................................................................................................................................ 16
College 3: invalid post-selection inference: why should we care? (statistiek ) ................................................................ 16
Data analysis: in practice ........................................................................................................................................ 17
Example: predictors of concentration impairment ................................................................................................ 17
Solutions ............................................................................................................................................................... 22
easy solution: data splitting ................................................................................................................................. 22
Difficult solutions: simultaneous inference .......................................................................................................... 22
Difficult solutions: conditional selective inference ................................................................................................ 23
College 4: psychology and art: “close encounters of a strange kind, or a match made in heaven?” → vond dit een vage les
................................................................................................................................................................................. 23
Research & ideas .................................................................................................................................................... 23
Distinctions ........................................................................................................................................................ 23
Contrast ............................................................................................................................................................. 24
Ideal scenario ..................................................................................................................................................... 24
1
, Two lagre projects/research programs ................................................................................................................. 24
Time for a change: variability, predictability and their role in the aesthetic of modern dance .................................... 34
Epilogue ................................................................................................................................................................. 37
Psycho-esthetics as psychology .............................................................................................................................. 37
College 5: behavioral adaption (with a focus on pain) ................................................................................................... 37
Stentor................................................................................................................................................................... 37
Can we habituate to pain?....................................................................................................................................... 38
What can be the opposite of habituation? ................................................................................................................ 38
Aplysia studie ..................................................................................................................................................... 38
take home message ............................................................................................................................................ 46
College 6: senory (hyper)sensivity: insights from clinical and general populations ......................................................... 47
deel 1: Sensory sensitivity after acquired brain injury: advacing assessment and unravelling underlying mechanisms
(DR. hella thielen) ................................................................................................................................................... 47
Acquired brain injury ........................................................................................................................................... 47
What is sensory hypersensitivity after acquired brain injury? ................................................................................. 47
Why does sensory hypersensitivity after acquired brain injury occur? ..................................................................... 47
DEEL 2: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN SENSORY SENSITIVITY IN THE GENERAL POPULATION – SENSORY PROCESSING
SENSITIVITY ........................................................................................................................................................... 48
sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) ..................................................................................................................... 48
studie 1: sensory sensitivity and interoceptive awareness ..................................................................................... 49
studie 2: Sensory processing sensitivity and overstimulation in daily life: an experience sampling method study ...... 50
deel 3: Sensory and multisensory hypersensitivity: one, no one and one hunderd thousand? Dr. Torta ........................ 51
Chronic pain ....................................................................................................................................................... 52
Is there a causal link between increased nociceptive and non-nociceptive responses? ........................................... 57
Fwo: Understand the mechanisms of multisensory hypersensitivity in states of nociceptive sensitization (2023-2027)
.......................................................................................................................................................................... 58
Interim take home messages of the FWO.............................................................................................................. 59
College 7: from the fearful rat to the anxious patient: animal models of psychopathology in action ................................. 59
Trip down memory lane ........................................................................................................................................... 59
Anxiety-related disorders ........................................................................................................................................ 59
Two take-home messages....................................................................................................................................... 60
Modeling aspects of disorders ................................................................................................................................. 60
MODELING ASPECTS OF DISORDERS: How? ........................................................................................................ 60
Modeling aspects of disorders: how? ................................................................................................................... 62
Modeling aspects of disorders: why? .................................................................................................................... 63
Examples of rodent fear extinction research shaping exposure therapy ................................................................ 65
Improving treatment............................................................................................................................................ 66
Future steps ........................................................................................................................................................... 68
College 8: building foundations: the crucial role of domain-specific skills in early childhood education .......................... 68
The challenges ....................................................................................................................................................... 68
2
, A brief note on the early education in Flanders ......................................................................................................... 68
Domain-specific skills ............................................................................................................................................ 68
Symbolic numerical magnitude processing .......................................................................................................... 69
Early math in Flanders - Wis&Co (longitudinale studie) .......................................................................................... 70
Mathematics in preschool ................................................................................................................................... 72
Other skills @ preschool? ....................................................................................................................................... 73
The impact of schooling .......................................................................................................................................... 73
Domain-specific early interventions @school ...................................................................................................... 74
Domain-general interventions – useful? .............................................................................................................. 75
Take home ............................................................................................................................................................. 76
College 9: minority inclusion in diverse societies ......................................................................................................... 76
Minority inclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 76
Intergroup harmony (and contact) ........................................................................................................................ 76
Take-aways ........................................................................................................................................................ 81
Concluding note: role of the wider intergroup context ........................................................................................... 82
College 10: ................................................................................................................................................................ 82
3
, COLLEGE 1: LIVING WITH UNCERTAINTY: WHY THE UNKNOWN HURTS MORE THAN WE THINK
Uncertainty wordt vaak negatief gezien, maar dit kan ook positief zijn.
Welke dingen gaan door je hoofd wanneer je moet wachten op de resultaten van een test? Iedereen heeft andere dingen
die door hun hoofd gaan.
AMBIGUOUS SYMPTOMS
Vertigo, fatigue, irritability, sensory changes… het zijn niet de symptomen die stressvol zijn. Maar het is juist zorgen maken
over de symptomen wat stress geeft.
Vb. ik ben duizeling is niet stressvol, maar wat betekent die duizeligheid
→ Lichamelijke klachten die meerdere betekenissen (= ambigue) kunnen hebben en dat kan een sterke bron van
onzekerheid en stress zijn. Elk van deze klachten kan iets onschuldigs betekenen (vb. stress, vermoeidheid), maar
ook iets ernstiger (vb. neurologisch probleem, migraine, ziekte).
Het brein weet dus niet welke interpretatie correct is.
→ niet weten of er iets gaat gebeuren (uncertainty) zorgt voor veel meer stress dan wel weten (certainty) wat er gaat
gebruiken.
• In een studie hadden de mensen die niet wisten dat ze een elektrische shock krijgen meer stress dan weten dat ze
de shock gingen krijgen.
o Een onvoorspelbare shock zorgt voor een hoger startle respons en meer stress dan voorspelbare shock.
HOW WE DEFINE UNCERTAINTY?
Uncertainty is a natural part of life that impacts how we make decisions and experience discomfort.
Uncertainty is the inability to determine the meaning of illness-related events, occurring when the decision maker is
unable to assign definite value to objects or events, or is unable to predict outcomes accurately (Mishel, 1988).
→ in psychologie is het niet gewoon te weinig info, maar het is een staat waar de persoon niet kan de uitkomst niet kan
voorspellen.
→ de uncertainty gaat niet enkel over wat gaat er gebeuren maar vooral over wat betekent dit.
WHY UNCERTAINTY HURTS?
UNCERTAINTY AS A PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESSOR
Waarom is uncertainty zo een belangrijke stressor? Er zijn
meerdere uitkomsten mogelijk en dan gaat het brain
verschillende voorspellingen maken, dat kan zorgen voor
conflicten.
• wanneer iets onzeker is dan wordt de situatie
belangrijker en opvallender in je aandacht. (increases
salience)
• de hersenen proberen constant te voorspellen wat er
gaat gebeuren. Maar bij uncertainty ontstaat tegelijk
competing predictions vb. dit is veilig en dit is gevaarlijk.
Het predictiesysteem geraakt niet tot 1 stabiele
interpretatie = prediction conflict, het brein weet niet
welke verwachting correct is en hoe het moet reageren
• het lichaam gaat hierdoor overschakelen naar een staat
van verhoogde paraatheid.
• Wanneer uncertainty langdurig wordt, blijft het stresssysteem actief en dat verhoogt risico op anxiety, stress en
stemmingsstoornissen.
4
INHOUD
College 1: living with uncertainty: why the unknown hurts more than we think ................................................................. 4
Ambiguous symptoms........................................................................................................................................... 4
How we define uncertainty? ...................................................................................................................................... 4
Why uncertainty hurts? ............................................................................................................................................. 4
Uncertainty as a psychological stressor ................................................................................................................. 4
What it does to mind + body ...................................................................................................................................... 5
Intolerance of uncertainty ..................................................................................................................................... 5
How people cope? .................................................................................................................................................... 5
Cognitieve mechanisms ........................................................................................................................................ 5
Emotional consequences ...................................................................................................................................... 6
Behavioral consequences ..................................................................................................................................... 6
Physiological correlates ........................................................................................................................................ 7
Definition and types .................................................................................................................................................. 8
The example of GAD .............................................................................................................................................. 8
Uncertainty in personality disorder ........................................................................................................................ 9
Chronic illness as uncertainty ................................................................................................................................ 9
What does workplace uncertainty look like? ......................................................................................................... 11
College 2: When tension calls for attention .................................................................................................................. 13
Leadership, conflict and cohesion ........................................................................................................................... 13
conflict .................................................................................................................................................................. 13
Interventions .......................................................................................................................................................... 13
Conflict as multi-level phenomenon ........................................................................................................................ 14
Promote peacemaking ............................................................................................................................................ 16
College 3: invalid post-selection inference: why should we care? (statistiek ) ................................................................ 16
Data analysis: in practice ........................................................................................................................................ 17
Example: predictors of concentration impairment ................................................................................................ 17
Solutions ............................................................................................................................................................... 22
easy solution: data splitting ................................................................................................................................. 22
Difficult solutions: simultaneous inference .......................................................................................................... 22
Difficult solutions: conditional selective inference ................................................................................................ 23
College 4: psychology and art: “close encounters of a strange kind, or a match made in heaven?” → vond dit een vage les
................................................................................................................................................................................. 23
Research & ideas .................................................................................................................................................... 23
Distinctions ........................................................................................................................................................ 23
Contrast ............................................................................................................................................................. 24
Ideal scenario ..................................................................................................................................................... 24
1
, Two lagre projects/research programs ................................................................................................................. 24
Time for a change: variability, predictability and their role in the aesthetic of modern dance .................................... 34
Epilogue ................................................................................................................................................................. 37
Psycho-esthetics as psychology .............................................................................................................................. 37
College 5: behavioral adaption (with a focus on pain) ................................................................................................... 37
Stentor................................................................................................................................................................... 37
Can we habituate to pain?....................................................................................................................................... 38
What can be the opposite of habituation? ................................................................................................................ 38
Aplysia studie ..................................................................................................................................................... 38
take home message ............................................................................................................................................ 46
College 6: senory (hyper)sensivity: insights from clinical and general populations ......................................................... 47
deel 1: Sensory sensitivity after acquired brain injury: advacing assessment and unravelling underlying mechanisms
(DR. hella thielen) ................................................................................................................................................... 47
Acquired brain injury ........................................................................................................................................... 47
What is sensory hypersensitivity after acquired brain injury? ................................................................................. 47
Why does sensory hypersensitivity after acquired brain injury occur? ..................................................................... 47
DEEL 2: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN SENSORY SENSITIVITY IN THE GENERAL POPULATION – SENSORY PROCESSING
SENSITIVITY ........................................................................................................................................................... 48
sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) ..................................................................................................................... 48
studie 1: sensory sensitivity and interoceptive awareness ..................................................................................... 49
studie 2: Sensory processing sensitivity and overstimulation in daily life: an experience sampling method study ...... 50
deel 3: Sensory and multisensory hypersensitivity: one, no one and one hunderd thousand? Dr. Torta ........................ 51
Chronic pain ....................................................................................................................................................... 52
Is there a causal link between increased nociceptive and non-nociceptive responses? ........................................... 57
Fwo: Understand the mechanisms of multisensory hypersensitivity in states of nociceptive sensitization (2023-2027)
.......................................................................................................................................................................... 58
Interim take home messages of the FWO.............................................................................................................. 59
College 7: from the fearful rat to the anxious patient: animal models of psychopathology in action ................................. 59
Trip down memory lane ........................................................................................................................................... 59
Anxiety-related disorders ........................................................................................................................................ 59
Two take-home messages....................................................................................................................................... 60
Modeling aspects of disorders ................................................................................................................................. 60
MODELING ASPECTS OF DISORDERS: How? ........................................................................................................ 60
Modeling aspects of disorders: how? ................................................................................................................... 62
Modeling aspects of disorders: why? .................................................................................................................... 63
Examples of rodent fear extinction research shaping exposure therapy ................................................................ 65
Improving treatment............................................................................................................................................ 66
Future steps ........................................................................................................................................................... 68
College 8: building foundations: the crucial role of domain-specific skills in early childhood education .......................... 68
The challenges ....................................................................................................................................................... 68
2
, A brief note on the early education in Flanders ......................................................................................................... 68
Domain-specific skills ............................................................................................................................................ 68
Symbolic numerical magnitude processing .......................................................................................................... 69
Early math in Flanders - Wis&Co (longitudinale studie) .......................................................................................... 70
Mathematics in preschool ................................................................................................................................... 72
Other skills @ preschool? ....................................................................................................................................... 73
The impact of schooling .......................................................................................................................................... 73
Domain-specific early interventions @school ...................................................................................................... 74
Domain-general interventions – useful? .............................................................................................................. 75
Take home ............................................................................................................................................................. 76
College 9: minority inclusion in diverse societies ......................................................................................................... 76
Minority inclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 76
Intergroup harmony (and contact) ........................................................................................................................ 76
Take-aways ........................................................................................................................................................ 81
Concluding note: role of the wider intergroup context ........................................................................................... 82
College 10: ................................................................................................................................................................ 82
3
, COLLEGE 1: LIVING WITH UNCERTAINTY: WHY THE UNKNOWN HURTS MORE THAN WE THINK
Uncertainty wordt vaak negatief gezien, maar dit kan ook positief zijn.
Welke dingen gaan door je hoofd wanneer je moet wachten op de resultaten van een test? Iedereen heeft andere dingen
die door hun hoofd gaan.
AMBIGUOUS SYMPTOMS
Vertigo, fatigue, irritability, sensory changes… het zijn niet de symptomen die stressvol zijn. Maar het is juist zorgen maken
over de symptomen wat stress geeft.
Vb. ik ben duizeling is niet stressvol, maar wat betekent die duizeligheid
→ Lichamelijke klachten die meerdere betekenissen (= ambigue) kunnen hebben en dat kan een sterke bron van
onzekerheid en stress zijn. Elk van deze klachten kan iets onschuldigs betekenen (vb. stress, vermoeidheid), maar
ook iets ernstiger (vb. neurologisch probleem, migraine, ziekte).
Het brein weet dus niet welke interpretatie correct is.
→ niet weten of er iets gaat gebeuren (uncertainty) zorgt voor veel meer stress dan wel weten (certainty) wat er gaat
gebruiken.
• In een studie hadden de mensen die niet wisten dat ze een elektrische shock krijgen meer stress dan weten dat ze
de shock gingen krijgen.
o Een onvoorspelbare shock zorgt voor een hoger startle respons en meer stress dan voorspelbare shock.
HOW WE DEFINE UNCERTAINTY?
Uncertainty is a natural part of life that impacts how we make decisions and experience discomfort.
Uncertainty is the inability to determine the meaning of illness-related events, occurring when the decision maker is
unable to assign definite value to objects or events, or is unable to predict outcomes accurately (Mishel, 1988).
→ in psychologie is het niet gewoon te weinig info, maar het is een staat waar de persoon niet kan de uitkomst niet kan
voorspellen.
→ de uncertainty gaat niet enkel over wat gaat er gebeuren maar vooral over wat betekent dit.
WHY UNCERTAINTY HURTS?
UNCERTAINTY AS A PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESSOR
Waarom is uncertainty zo een belangrijke stressor? Er zijn
meerdere uitkomsten mogelijk en dan gaat het brain
verschillende voorspellingen maken, dat kan zorgen voor
conflicten.
• wanneer iets onzeker is dan wordt de situatie
belangrijker en opvallender in je aandacht. (increases
salience)
• de hersenen proberen constant te voorspellen wat er
gaat gebeuren. Maar bij uncertainty ontstaat tegelijk
competing predictions vb. dit is veilig en dit is gevaarlijk.
Het predictiesysteem geraakt niet tot 1 stabiele
interpretatie = prediction conflict, het brein weet niet
welke verwachting correct is en hoe het moet reageren
• het lichaam gaat hierdoor overschakelen naar een staat
van verhoogde paraatheid.
• Wanneer uncertainty langdurig wordt, blijft het stresssysteem actief en dat verhoogt risico op anxiety, stress en
stemmingsstoornissen.
4
