Associate Professor

I am an Associate Professor at the Amsterdam School of Communication Research (University of Amsterdam). My research focuses on contemporary challenges such as social polarization and populism. In particular, I study the psychological roots of citizens’ political beliefs, paying special attention to the role of emotions and personality. I am strongly committed to working as transparently as possible and encouraging others to adopt open and reproducible research practices. My work has been published in leading journals, including Nature Human Behaviour, Journal of Communication, American Political Science Review, and Journal of Politics. I am co-founder and co-director of the Hot Politics Lab, where we investigate the role of emotions and personality in politics.  I serve as Senior Associate Editor at the Journal of Experimental Political Science. In addition, I am the founder and co-organizer of the Dutch Political Psychology Meetings, a biannual event at the University of Amsterdam that brings together scholars interested in the intersection of psychology and politics.

Keywords: Polarization; Populism; Belief systems; Emotions; Political Psychology;