For this month’s office hours, we visited Marc Heerdink and asked him about three personal items in his office. Marc is an assistant-professor in the Social Psychology department and a member of the Emotions As Social Information lab (EASI lab). His research focuses on the interplay between emotional behaviour and group dynamics. He teaches in the Interpersoonlijke, intra- en intergroepsprocessen (Interpersonal, intra- and intergroup processes) course, as well as in the Current issues in intergroup relations course.
For this month’s office hours, we visited Marc Heerdink and asked him about three personal items in his office. Marc is an assistant-professor in the Social Psychology department and a member of the Emotions As Social Information lab (EASI lab). His research focuses on the interplay between emotional behaviour and group dynamics. He teaches in the Interpersoonlijke, intra- en intergroepsprocessen (Interpersonal, intra- and intergroup processes) course, as well as in the Current issues in intergroup relations course.
The missing printed mug..?
‘We have these yearly social outings as a department. On one of these outings we went on a sort of treasure hunt through the city and we had to take original photos of our team. The team with the most original photos would win the competition. Our team ended up winning, owing to our re-enactment of the iconic trunk shot which director Quentin Tarantino likes to use in his films. As a reward, we received a mug with a picture of our choice, for which I obviously chose the trunk shot. I religiously used the mug in my office to drink coffee for a few years. I even took it with me when I worked in Oxford for a year. But then one day, after I put it in the dishwasher, it mysteriously disappeared (got stolen!?). I have no idea who would want the mug, since my face is so prominent on it. After two months though, it suddenly reappeared! Thereafter I took extra care of it, guarding it with my life. After a while I thought it was safe to put it in the dishwasher again, but I was mistaken. The mug disappeared again and still is, to this day, missing.’
If you know about its whereabouts (or have stolen it) please contact me, there may be rewards!
The immortal cactus plant
‘I have been trying to kill this plant for a few years now, without success. It survived three or four different buildings already and even a year of my absence. I asked my colleague to take care of it, assuming he would kill it. He kills all of his own plants all the time and has to buy new ones frequently. But, even he didn’t manage to kill it. On second thought, maybe I don’t actually want it to die, since I like having something on my desk. There’s a gap between intention and actual behaviour. If you assume that my behaviour is more reflective of my true intentions, then I’m trying to kill it. But, my state of intention is to keep it alive. I just forget to take care of it every now and then.’
Worn-out table tennis bat
‘Back in the day, I participated in the first interdepartmental table tennis tournament. I actually managed to reach the finals, in which I had to face Han van der Maas. Sadly, he completely obliterated me and I had to settle for second place. The year after, someone from the Developmental Psychology department joined, who used to play table tennis at national level. I knew there was no way I could ever win and stopped participating. You have to have a slight chance of winning to enjoy the competition. However, I still play with my colleague sometimes; the one that kills his plants. We are quite well-matched.’
The missing printed mug..?
‘We have these yearly social outings as a department. On one of these outings we went on a sort of treasure hunt through the city and we had to take original photos of our team. The team with the most original photos would win the competition. Our team ended up winning, owing to our re-enactment of the iconic trunk shot which director Quentin Tarantino likes to use in his films. As a reward, we received a mug with a picture of our choice, for which I obviously chose the trunk shot. I religiously used the mug in my office to drink coffee for a few years. I even took it with me when I worked in Oxford for a year. But then one day, after I put it in the dishwasher, it mysteriously disappeared (got stolen!?). I have no idea who would want the mug, since my face is so prominent on it. After two months though, it suddenly reappeared! Thereafter I took extra care of it, guarding it with my life. After a while I thought it was safe to put it in the dishwasher again, but I was mistaken. The mug disappeared again and still is, to this day, missing.’
If you know about its whereabouts (or have stolen it) please contact me, there may be rewards!
The immortal cactus plant
‘I have been trying to kill this plant for a few years now, without success. It survived three or four different buildings already and even a year of my absence. I asked my colleague to take care of it, assuming he would kill it. He kills all of his own plants all the time and has to buy new ones frequently. But, even he didn’t manage to kill it. On second thought, maybe I don’t actually want it to die, since I like having something on my desk. There’s a gap between intention and actual behaviour. If you assume that my behaviour is more reflective of my true intentions, then I’m trying to kill it. But, my state of intention is to keep it alive. I just forget to take care of it every now and then.’
Worn-out table tennis bat
‘Back in the day, I participated in the first interdepartmental table tennis tournament. I actually managed to reach the finals, in which I had to face Han van der Maas. Sadly, he completely obliterated me and I had to settle for second place. The year after, someone from the Developmental Psychology department joined, who used to play table tennis at national level. I knew there was no way I could ever win and stopped participating. You have to have a slight chance of winning to enjoy the competition. However, I still play with my colleague sometimes; the one that kills his plants. We are quite well-matched.’
