Punctuated by joy, disappointments, and conflicts, research evaluation constitutes an intense, emotional moment in scientific life. Yet reviewers and research institutions often expect evaluations to be conducted objectively and dispassionately. Inspired by the scholarship describing the role of emotions in scientific practices, we argue instead, that reviewers actively define, display and manage their emotions in response to the structural organization of research evaluation. Our article examines reviewing practices used in the European Research Council’s (ERC) Starting and Consolidator grants and in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action’s (MSCA) Individual Fellowships. These two European funding mechanisms offer different perspectives on the organization of grant evaluation. We conducted interviews with review panel members and analyzed various institutional documents. By drawing on the sociological concepts of feeling rules and emotional work, we demonstrate that reviewers define rules concerning how emotions should be experienced and expressed to ensure the proper functioning of evaluation, and that reviewers experience the need to actively regulate their emotions to comply with these rules. We present four feeling rules concerning the experience and expression of: (1) excitement for novelty during individual evaluation; (2) respect for others’ opinions and the absence of anger in review panels; (3) attentiveness and interest, which are seen as missing in online evaluations. Reviewers also expect ERC candidates to (4) avoid pride and manifest modesty during interviews. These rules demonstrate that proposal peer review is governed by emotional norms, and show the influence of organizational settings and moral requirements on research evaluation.

夹杂着喜悦、失望和冲突，研究评估构成了科学生活中一个紧张而激动人心的时刻。然而，评审者和研究机构通常期望评估能够客观、冷静地进行。受到描述情感在科学实践中的作用的学术的启发，我们认为，审稿人根据研究评估的结构组织积极定义、展示和管理他们的情感。我们的文章探讨了欧洲研究理事会 (ERC) 启动和巩固补助金以及玛丽·斯克沃多夫斯卡-居里行动 (MSCA) 个人奖学金中使用的审查实践。这两种欧洲资助机制为赠款评估的组织提供了不同的视角。我们采访了审查小组成员并分析了各种机构文件。通过利用情感规则和情感工作的社会学概念，我们证明评论者定义了关于如何体验和表达情感的规则，以确保评估的正常运作，并且评论者体验到积极调节自己的情绪以遵守这些规则的需要。规则。我们提出了关于体验和表达的四个感受规则：（1）个人评价时对新奇事物的兴奋； (2) 尊重他人的意见，评审小组中不存在愤怒情绪； （3）注意力和兴趣，在线评价中被认为缺失。评审者还期望 ERC 候选人 (4) 在面试中避免骄傲并表现出谦虚。这些规则表明，提案同行评审受情感规范支配，并显示了组织环境和道德要求对研究评估的影响。