Brennan Symposium

Ethan Kross is a psychologist, neuroscientist, award-winning author, and professor at the University of Michigan’s psychology department, where he is the director of the Emotion and Self-Control lab. At BC, he shared his expertise on emotion regulation and controlling what he called “chatter.”

Kross began by explaining why we talk to ourselves and what chatter is. He shared tools on how to better speak to ourselves and assist others in doing the same. Kross explained that although these voices in our heads (chatter) benefit us most of the time, they can also be the source of our overthinking and anxiety.

Kross shared that learning to control our inner voice is more beneficial than silencing it. He provided students with strategies to do this, categorized as a personal, social, or environmental tool set. Ultimately, students walked away with tools to harness their inner voices and thoughts and help others do the same. 

Ellie Dyroff '26, Winston Ambassador

Read more about the strategies in The Heights article by Ella Champagne '27.