Theodore Alexopoulos

I completed my PhD at the University of Paris Descartes in 2007, followed by a postdoc at the University of Heidelberg. After ten years as Assistant and Associate Professor at Paris Descartes, I became Full Professor at the University of Poitiers. Since 2021, I have been Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Bordeaux. My research examines how affective states and emotional cues shape social judgment, decision-making, and behavior, with a focus on the regulatory functions of affective stimuli and their role in approach–avoidance tendencies. More recently, my research has addressed societal issues such as social exclusion, educational inequalities, misinformation, and pro-environmental behavior, aiming to connect fundamental research with real-world impact. I have also held several key roles, including co-heading the Social Psych Lab at Paris Descartes (2019) and leading the Social Psych team at LabPsy Bordeaux since 2022. At Bordeaux, I served as Head of the Bachelor’s Program in Psychology (2022–2025) and as a Faculty Board member, and I am an alternate member of the French National Council of Universities (CNU).
Throughout my career, I have felt a strong connection to the EASP, shaped by my multicultural background (Belgian, Greek, French) and collaborations across Europe. Attending the General Meetings has been a constant in my academic life, providing both intellectual and personal enrichment. I have also actively contributed to the community, notably as associate editor of the European Journal of Social Psychology, and for the General Meeting: as a reviewer (Stockholm 2011), and as a member of the Scientific Committees (Krakow 2023, Strasbourg 2026) and the Organizing Committee for Strasbourg 2026. I also helped organize the most recent EASP elections.
Key issues for EASP and its Executive Committee to consider in the future include supporting early career researchers by expanding mentoring, networking, and visibility opportunities across Europe, fostering the next generation of social psychologists. Continuing to promote a diverse and inclusive community is also essential, ensuring fair representation across countries, institutions, and backgrounds, in all EASP activities. Strengthening engagement within the community and building vibrant networks that connect researchers at all career stages is also important. At the same time, we are living in extraordinary times, facing societal challenges that threaten core European values—including conflict, ecological crises, rising polarization, and pressures on democratic institutions. Within this context, social psychology, and the Association, can play a key role by promoting transformative social change.
Three representative publications
- Lankester, L.-A., & Alexopoulos, T. (2023). Black Lives Matter… but to Whom? An Examination of Nationally-Grounded Determinants of Black Lives Matter Support. International Review of Social Psychology, 36(1), doi: https://doi.org/10.5334/irsp.824.
- Rougier, M., Muller, D., Ric, F., Alexopoulos, T., Batailler, C., Smeding, A., & Aubé, B. (2018). A new look at sensorimotor aspects in approach/avoidance tendencies: The role of visual whole-body movement information. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 76, 42-53. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2017.12.004
- Fiedler, K., Jung, J., Wänke, M., & Alexopoulos, T. (2012). On the relations between distinct aspects of psychological distance: An ecological basis of Construal-Level Theory. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48, 1014-1021. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2012.03.013

Adi Amit

Summary of academic positions and current research interests. I received my PhD from the Hebrew university of Jerusalem in 2011. I then joint the Open University of Israel (tenure track, promoted to associate professor in 2025). I had the pleasure and honor of practicing research in two European countries, in my postdoc at the University of Amsterdam and as a visiting scholar on my sabbatical at the University of Kent, UK. In my research I examine psychological processes in an era of social instability and information overload, focusing on perceptions and attitudes related to tolerance and cooperation in workplace settings and geopolitical contexts. I integrate three complementary domains: values and morality; roles and social identities; and intuitive thinking.
Administrative experience. For the past couple of years, I have served as Head of the MA Program in Social Psychology, managing a team of teachers (researchers and practitioners) and liaison with the Ministry of Health on professional and regulatory matters. I have organized numerous symposia at international conferences and am co-convening a pre-conference for the forthcoming EASP meeting. I have served as a committee member of the Israeli Science Foundation and provided reviews to several funding agencies. In addition to these academic-administrative roles, I co-chaired a small labor union (of the Senior Academic Staff) for four years and am a social activist and head of a small public nonprofit association, working with and vis-à-vis municipal authorities, engaging with journalists, and representing the organization in legal proceedings.
Looking ahead, I see three central issues for EASP. First, strengthening the pivotal role of the association in maintaining European contribution to basic social psychological science while reinforcing meaningful links between basic and applied research. Second, consolidating the role of a broad, general association of social psychology alongside more specialized associations. Third, creating space for critical reflection on the field’s underlying conceptual and methodological assumptions. I would be honored to contribute to advancing these priorities within EASP’s Executive Committee.
Three representative publications
Venzhik, E., Ruisch, B., & Amit, A. (2025) Own or Other Integrity in Expected Moral Judgement? Moral Pluralism and Political Partisanship. Social Psychological and Personality Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506251375514
Amit, A., Oppenheim-Weller, S. & Karmel, Y. (2025) The role of perceived self-transcendence values in forming functional relationships with professionals. British Journal of Social Psychology, 63(3), e12897. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12897
Mentser, S. & Amit, A. (2024) The added value of perceived values: Partner’s perceived values predict own behavior in interdependent interactions. European Journal of Social Psychology. http://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.3034

Konrad Bocian

Konrad Bocian is an Associate Professor of Psychology at SWPS University in Sopot, Poland. His research focuses on moral judgment, fairness, and motivated cognition, with particular emphasis on egocentric and self-interest biases in moral evaluations. His work examines how individuals’ personal and group interests shape perceptions of justice, responsibility, and moral character. In recent years, he has extended this research to algorithmic decision-making and artificial intelligence, investigating how people evaluate fairness and moral responsibility in decisions made by algorithms versus those made by humans. He currently serves as Associate Editor for the European Journal of Social Psychology and Social Psychological Bulletin. In addition to his editorial work, he has experience in organizing international scientific meetings, including the EASP Meeting “Current Trends, Neglected Issues, and Future Directions of the Psychology of Morality” (2025). He is also actively involved in mentoring doctoral students and developing international research collaborations. From my perspective, EASP plays a crucial role in sustaining a strong and collaborative European research community in social psychology. Looking ahead, key challenges include strengthening collaboration across countries and institutions, supporting early-career researchers, and increasing the visibility and societal relevance of social psychological research. In particular, I believe that EASP can play an important role in fostering research that connects fundamental social psychological theory with pressing societal issues, including technological change, political polarization, and trust in institutions.
Three representative publications
Bocian, K., & Wojciszke, B. (2014). Self-interest bias in moral judgments of others’ actions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40(7), 898–909. https://doi.org/ 10.1177/0146167214529800
Bocian, K., Baryla, W., & Wojciszke, B. (2020). Egocentrism shapes moral judgments. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 14, e12572. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12572
Dong, M., & Bocian, K. (2024). Responsibility gaps and self-interest bias: People attribute moral responsibility to AI for their own but not others’ transgressions. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 111, 104584. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2023.104584

Ana Figueiredo

I am a psychologist and hold a PhD in Social Psychology from the Universidade de Coimbra (Portugal) in collaboration with the Universiteit van Amsterdam (the Netherlands). Currently, I am Associate Professor at the Universidad de O’Higgins (Chile) and Principal Investigator (PI) at the Millenium Institute for Authority and Social Regulation. My research has mainly focused on analyzing collective memories of historical conflicts and their relation to present day intergroup relations, through a contextually situated perspective, while also focusing on dynamics of state and political violence, collective action, and ideology, mostly from the perspective of minoritized social groups. In 2025, I was awarded a 4-year project to work on police-minority group interactions, focused on the experiences and perceptions of indigenous Mapuche and migrant communities, as well as youths from low socioeconomic backgrounds in Chile (2025-2029). I have also played a leading role in shaping the field internationally through editorial roles. I have recently co-edited a special section at EJSP titled “Social Cohesion in (Post-)Conflict and Divided Societies” (Vol. 55, Issue 6) and I was Consulting Editor of EJSP between 2021-2023. Presently, I am co-Editor-in-Chief at the Journal of Social and Political Psychology and one of the co-founders of the International Journal of Psychology and Public Policy. I currently serve as Member-at-Large of the Executive Committee of the Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict and Violence (Division 48, APA), and I have recently finished a 3-year term as elected member of the Governing Council of the International Society of Political Psychology (2021-2024).
I am a social and political psychologist originally from Portugal and have been an active EASP Member for close to fifteen years. Over the course of my career, I have worked across different contexts in Europe, and, for the past decade, I have been based in Chile. This has given me first-hand insight into how many contexts and communities remain underrepresented in mainstream social psychology, and how much the field stands to gain from engaging more deeply with them. I would like to serve in EASP’s Executive Committee to contribute to a more inclusive, connected, and socially engaged association. First, I am committed to strengthening EASP’s core mission of advancing research excellence within our field by building strong networks, both within Europe and globally, and encouraging meaningful exchange across diverse contexts. Broadening the range of perspectives in our research is essential to better understand the complexities of the social realities we research. Second, I want to support stronger connections between early career and more established academics. Creating spaces for dialogue and collaboration across career stages can enrich our science and help build a more supportive and sustainable academic community. Third, I believe EASP should actively engage with present-day societal challenges, including the rise of populism, nationalism and the far-right, among others: our research has an important role to play in understanding and responding to these developments. Fourth, I aim to enhance the visibility and societal relevance of our academic work, supporting efforts to connect social psychological research with social and public policies that foster social justice. Fifth, I would support strengthening EASP’s efforts to assist Scholars at Risk. Finally, I am committed to fostering a strong democratic culture within EASP, through participatory efforts that actively engage with the membership’s concerns and aspirations regarding the association’s mission and goals.
Three representative publications
- Figueiredo, A., Baysu, G., Uluğ, Ö. M., & Psaltis, C. (2025), Social Cohesion in (Post)Conflict and Divided Societies: Recent Advances and Future Directions. European Journal of Social Psychology, 55, 967-978. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.70024
- Figueiredo, A., Rocha, C., & Montagna, P. (2020). Data collecfon with indigenous people: Fieldwork experiences from Chile. In Y. G. Acar, S. M. Moss, & O. M. Uluğ, Researching peace and conflict: Field experiences and methodological reflectons. New York: Springer Peace Psychology Series.
- Figueiredo, A., Oldenhove, G., & Licata, L. (2018). Collective memories of colonialism and acculturation dynamics among Congolese immigrants living in Belgium. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 62, 80-92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2017.03.004

Theofilos Gkinopoulos

Academic positions, administrative experience, and research interests
I am an Associate Professor in Social Psychology at the University of Nicosia Athens Campus (since November 2025), where I also serve as Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, member of the Quality Assurance Committee, and member of the Academic Council. Previously, I held postdoctoral positions at the University of Greenwich (UK), where I also served as Early Career Researcher representative (2019 – 2020). and the University of Crete (Greece), and next was appointed Assistant Professor at Jagiellonian University in Krakow (Poland). In June 2026, I will co-organise a preconference on individual and collective victimhood at the EASP General Meeting in Strasbourg. Last year I was invited as teacher at the EASP 2025 Summer School at the University of Kent (Conspiracy theories and misinformation workstream). My research focuses on intergroup beliefs and intergroup relations in contexts of crisis and uncertainty, with emphasis on conspiracy beliefs, institutional and political trust, and collective victim beliefs.
Perspective on future priorities for EASP
Having built my career across European countries, I am acutely aware of the uneven landscape in which social psychologists operate across the continent. I believe the Executive Committee should prioritise three interconnected goals. First, strengthening geographic inclusivity by expanding support structures and visibility for researchers in smaller and less centrally positioned European academic communities. Second, enhancing the societal impact of European social psychology, particularly in addressing contemporary challenges such as misinformation, eroding institutional trust, and political polarisation, areas where our discipline can offer unique, evidence-based contributions to public policy. Third, fostering sustainable career pathways for early and mid-career scholars through mentoring networks and collaborative initiatives that span institutional and national boundaries.
Three representative publications
• Gkinopoulos, T., Kossowska, M., & Walther, E. (2026). "A community of unknowledge": A social-psychological model of the self -reinforcing cycle of social identity-driven willful ignorance and conspiracy beliefs. Current Opinion in Psychology, 67, 102193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2025.102193
• Pummerer, L., Gkinopoulos, T., Douglas, K. M., Jolley, D., & Sassenberg, K. (2024). The Appraisal Model of Conspiracy Theories (AMCT): Applying appraisal theories to understand emotional and behavioral reactions to conspiracy theories. Psychological Inquiry, 35(3-4), 159 – 178. https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2024.2442906
• Gkinopoulos, T., Pagliaro, S., Pacilli, M.-G., Bilewicz, M., Teresi, M., & Ballone, C. (2023). Does personal relative deprivation mediate the relationship between passive social media use and beliefs in conspiracy theories? European Journal of Social Psychology, 53(7), 1623 – 1640. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.3002 (funded by the EASP Seedcorn Grant, 2022)

Rita Guerra

I completed my PhD in Social Psychology at ISCTE in 2007. I then held a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Delaware (2008–2010), followed by several research positions (2011–2022), supported through competitively awarded national and international grants that I coordinated. Since 2022, I have been a tenure-track Researcher at the Centre for Psychological Research and Social Intervention (CIS-Iscte, Portugal). My commitment to Social Psychology has guided my programmatic line of research aimed at advancing theory while applying evidence-based findings to address pressing societal challenges, including discrimination, immigrant integration, and hate speech. In 2025, I was elected Fellow of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI), in recognition of the contributions of my work to psychology and to the study of social issues, in particular.
Two core principles underpin my work as a researcher: collaboration and supportive mentoring. I strongly believe that collaboration is central to high-quality, impactful social psychological research. It must be cultivated both within our scholar community, across disciplines, and in engagement with civil society, given the complexity of the societal challenges we currently face. Throughout my career, I have coordinated or participated in 14 funded projects, all resulting from strong collaborative effort with over 40 scholars across social, personality, and political psychology, as well as computational linguistics and data science. Collaboration is equally essential for fostering a rigorous, supportive, and inclusive mentoring environment for junior scholars, who represent the future of our field. I supervised and mentored over 60 researchers at the master’s, doctoral, and postdoctoral levels, securing funding to support their research in all projects that I coordinated. In addition to my research and mentoring activities, I have contributed to institutional service, including roles as Vice-Director of CIS-Iscte (2016–2020), elected member of its Scientific Committee (2021–2025), and Vice-President of the Scientific Council of Iscte Knowledge & Innovation (2023–2025). I have also served as member of SPSSI Early Career Scholars Committee (2015–2018), ISPP Awards Committee (2021) and currently as a member of the Executive Committee of the International Contact Research Network.
I have been a member of EASP since 2011 and have regularly participated in its General Meetings, as well as in several Small Group Meetings, which I must admit are my favourite. I would be honoured to contribute to the future of EASP by serving on its Executive Committee. If elected, I would work with fellow colleagues at the EC to strengthen EASP’s commitment to supporting the training of junior scholars and to fostering equitable cooperation both within and beyond our discipline. I believe it is essential for our community to acknowledge the persistent asymmetries in resources, training, and opportunities, and to actively and collaboratively work toward a more equitable and inclusive field, one that ensures broad representation and amplifies diverse voices at all levels.
Three representative publications
Guerra, R., Golec de Zavala, A., Bierwiaczonek, K., Ciesielski, P., Abakoumkin, G., Wildschut, T., & Sedikides, C. (2026). A case of mistaken identity: Miscategorisation of the ingroup as a historically rivalrous outgroup triggers collective narcissism. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 29(1), 78-96. https://doi.org/10.1177/13684302251345405
Guerra, R., Broekhuizen, M. L., Francot, R. J. R. M., & Kolancali, P. (2025). Intergroup relations, acculturation orientations, and adaptation of Turkish immigrant descent parents across Europe. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 31(2), 209–220. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000627
Carmona, M., Sindic, D., Guerra, R., Hofhuis, J. (2020). Human and Global Identities: different prototypical meanings of all-inclusive identities. Political Psychology, 41(5), 961–978. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12659

Evangelos Ntontis

I am an Assistant Professor of Social and Organisational Psychology at the Department of Psychology at Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Greece (2026–). Previously I held positions as Lecturer and Senior Lecturer at the Open University (2021-2026) and Canterbury Christ Church University (2018–2021). I study collective phenomena, mainly group behaviour and disaster resilience, and crowd psychology and identity leadership in relation to authoritarian movements. Throughout my career, I have taken on several administrative and leadership roles. I am Deputy Chief Editor of the British Journal of Social Psychology (2025-). Between 2017-2020 I was Committee Member of the Social Psychology Section of the British Psychological Society. At Canterbury Christ Church University I served as Erasmus Lead. At the Open University, I co-led the Culture and Social Psychology research group. I serve as External Examiner for postgraduate courses and have participated in PhD supervision committees. Ι have been an active member of EASP since 2016, presenting my work in general meetings and supporting the organisation of general meetings by acting as abstract reviewer.
EASP was founded on the principle that rigorous research is essential for understanding the complexities of social life, which led to the emergence of scientific networks, collaborative research, and a shared intellectual foundation in a rapidly changing social landscape. Today, societies are again facing profound challenges at an unprecedented level: polarisation and misinformation, threats to democracy, mass violence and the ethnic cleansing of peoples, migration pressures, inequalities, and the climate crisis. My vision for EASP is that, while it continues to promote excellent basic and applied research, it will strengthen our discipline’s public profile, render us expert participants in ongoing dialogues on social issues, and enhance how members of the public understand social psychology and use it to make sense of social problems. More specifically, first, my goal is to ensure that research grants that fund basic and applied research continue. It is mandatory to support both pillars in a balanced manner since applied research helps develop theory, but good theory helps enhance our understanding of social issues and develop rigorous empirical work. Meeting grants for both interdisciplinary but also interdisciplinary meetings must be sustained. Second, our scientific work needs to better inform policy makers, practitioners, and the public. I want to enhance EASP’s visibility to be seen as a trusted scientific voice on pressing issues. This can be achieved via task forces, expert groups and new outlets (e.g. a scientific blog) which will help to create and establish a form of “public social psychology”. In other words, our discipline is notably missing from discussions of social issues, which needs to change. Third, EASP must be seen as academically relevant but also as an academic home by its members, listening to and reflecting on social issues important to them and the wider society. Thus, for me, it is mandatory that our organisation maintains a moral architecture which will provide voice and will not alienate its members, reflecting EASP’s core values. Fourth, the organisation must be seen not only as relevant by its members but also as inclusive and accessible.

My goal is to strengthen equitable access and funding for key events, and also to introduce hybrid and digital participation formats for those of us who face access constraints (e.g. visa or passport problems) or whose institutions lack funds.
Three representative publications
1. Ntontis, E., Drury, J., Amlôt, R., Rubin, J.G., & Williams, R. (2019). What lies beyond social capital? The role of social psychology in building community resilience to climate change. Traumatology. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/trm0000221
2. Ntontis, E., Drury, J., Amlôt, R., Rubin, J.G., Williams, R., & Saavedra, P. (2020). Collective resilience in the disaster recovery period: Emergent social identity and observed social support are associated with collective efficacy, wellbeing, and the provision of social support. British Journal of Social Psychology, 60, 1075–1095. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12434
3. Ntontis, E., Jurstakova, K., Neville, F., Haslam, S.A. & Reicher, S.D. (2024). A warrant for violence? An analysis of Donald Trump’s speech before the U.S. Capitol attack. British Journal of Social Psychology, 63(1), 3 – 19. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12679

Félice van Nunspeet

I’m an associate professor at Utrecht University (the Netherlands). I obtained my PhD at Leiden University in 2014, and continued to work there as a postdoctoral researcher till 2016, after which I became an assistant professor at Utrecht University. In the Organisational Behaviour Group at Utrecht University, I am a member of the management team and research coordinator: positions in which I have gained extensive experience with all administrative, budgetary, and logistic aspects of organizing research, academic teaching and related activities, such as interdisciplinary collaborations, science-for-practice projects, stakeholder events, and scientific meetings. I am also a member of several committees, such as the Faculty Appointment Advisory Committee of Utrecht University, and the multi- and transdisciplinary teaching committee of the SOCION research consortium – expanding four universities and different research institutes across the Netherlands. Previously, I have been a research track coordinator in the Kurt Lewin Institute (the Dutch centre for graduate training and research in social psychology), and was a co-editor of the Routledge International Handbook of the Psychology of Morality.
My research focuses on the role of morality in social judgments, how moral motives affect behaviour, and how people respond to and deal with change and moral threats. Moral values can bring people together, but they can also cause divide – along a broad range of topics. The research I conduct therefore addresses different domains and themes, including social bias and intergroup behaviour, sustainability and environmental behaviour, and ranges from external rule compliance to internalized responsibility. I also apply interdisciplinary perspectives and use a multi-method approach, combining explicit and implicit behavioural measures with psychophysiological or neuroscientific techniques. Furthermore, my goal is to provide insights about the more fundamental psychological processes to complement applied scientific research on, for instance, ethical organizational climates or the development of public policies. To this end, I collaborate with stakeholder outside of academia such as organizations and societal research institutes.
I have been a member of the EASP since 2010, and throughout my career, the EASP has allowed me to expand my horizon by helping to fund international research visits within and outside of Europe. In my opinion, it is important that the EASP continues and further strengthens its facilitating role in enhancing open, fair, and collaborative scientific research within and across Europe (and beyond). Moreover, I hope to broaden the scope and strengthen the acknowledgement of the different aspects of what our scientific work entails and has to offer. This includes offering mentorship and guidance in supportive training and coaching of postgraduate members, and showcasing ways in which (transdisciplinary) research can contribute to science and society.
Three representative publications
▪ Van Nunspeet, F., & Ellemers, N. (2024). Regulating other people’s moral behaviors: Turning vicious cycles into virtuous cycles. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 27(1), 196-213.https://doi.org/10.1177/13684302231159577
▪ Van Nunspeet, F., Veenstra, E. M., Monteiro Graca Casquinho, B., … & Organizational Behaviour Group. (2025). Overcoming the threat of anti-bias interventions: Combining self-report and psychophysiological measures to capture the process of change. PloS One, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0314813
▪ Pang, J. Y-C., Pankowska, P., Van Nunspeet, F., & Buskens, V. (in press). Five shades of green: Uncovering consumption profile heterogeneity and the role of socioeconomic status in the Netherlands. Discover Sustainability.