It's a great honour to receive this year's ASPO Dissertation Award. My sincere thanks to the award committee, my PhD supervisors Ruthie Pliskin @pruthie.bsky.social and Daan Scheepers, and all my collaborators.

Congratulations to the wonderful @feitenglong.bsky.social for winning the 2025 ASPO dissertation award!

Public opinion shifts affect cardiovascular responses during political speech Speaking about migration can be stressful, but a study in Psychophysiology suggests that the direction of public opinion shapes how that stress is experienced. Political ideology influences whether people interpret shifting views as a challenge or a threat.

Public opinion shifts affect cardiovascular responses during political speech

Feiteng Long started the session with their research exploring how those the left and right wing of the political spectrum differ in their cardiovascular responses to changing public opinion on migration 🧵2/5

<em>Psychophysiology</em> | SPR Journal | Wiley Online Library The present study reveals how changes in public opinion on migration influence the cardiovascular stress responses of ideological leftists and rightists. Compared to stability, progressive changes in....

Progressive social change threatens ideological rightists and challenges leftists, as our physiological data show.
Check out our new paper for the full story – a key part of my PhD work with @pruthie.bsky.social and Daan Scheepers.
#socialpsychology #politicalpsychology #socialchange

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

New in PSPB: In six studies, we found that economic inequality undermines our trust in politicians' concern about our interests, thus diminishing how much we care about political leaders' competence. #socialpsychology #politicalpsychology
doi.org/10.1177/0146...

When allies join the fight: How joint collective action shapes social change and intergroup relations Over the past decade, a global rise in protests and social movements has held promise for advancing social change, while also introducing new societal…

Four studies show protest alliances boost advantaged groups' support for change. When advantaged allies support (not lead), disadvantaged groups feel respected—indirectly raising support for change and lowering polarisation. #socialpsychology #politicalpsychology #politics #socialchange
Read more:

<em>British Journal of Social Psychology</em> | Wiley Online Library Decades of research have recognized political candidates' competence and warmth as predictors of voter preferences, but to whom these distinct personalities are most appealing remains unclear. In the...

Who favours competent/warm politicians?
✅ High-RWA voters particularly prefer competence (vs neutral)
⚠️ Low-RWA voters particularly prefer warmth (vs neutral) – though evidence isn't robust
Check out our new research: doi.org/10.1111/bjso...
#socialpsychology #politicalpsychology #politics

How simple interventions can encourage better intergroup relations Een kort filmpje over inclusie van migranten vermindert vooroordelen minstens drie maanden. Maar mensen ervaren fysieke stress als zij conservatiever tegenover migranten staan dan de groepsopinie dict...

Proud to have successfully defended my PhD this week! A news article highlights the key societal implications of my PhD research. Check it out below! @unileiden.bsky.social @leidensocial.bsky.social @leidenpsychology.bsky.social
www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...

The network dynamics of antiprejudice norms: A field experiment testing antiprejudice interventions in real groups Individuals' attitudes toward members of ethnic and national outgroups can be shaped by peer norms within social networks. However, little is known about the interplay between such spontaneous normat...

Check out our registered report @ispp-pops.bsky.social doi.org/10.1111/pops..., in which we present a four-wave field experiment combined with network analysis. We cannot make it without our social network expert @tzingora.bsky.social and my PhD supervisors @pruthie.bsky.social and Daan Scheepers!

Our registered report with @valentinmang.bsky.social and @feitenglong.bsky.social has now been published in BJSP! We examined the radicalizing effects of different Great Replacement conspiracy narratives (Muslim vs. left-wing conspirators). See the link for the paper: doi.org/10.1111/bjso...

Check out our new preprint! Together with @pruthie.bsky.social and Daan Scheepers, we found people are challenged when their opinion-based group grows, but threatened when it shrinks. We measured challenge and threat motivational states using ECG, ICG, and blood pressure.
doi.org/10.31234/osf...

🚨Excited that our meta-analysis is out in JPSP @APA_Journals. We synthesized 6 decades (1958-2017) of empirical evidence on social dilemmas and tested which structural features (most strongly) promote cooperation:
doi.org/10.1037/pspi...
1/10

Norms of equality reduce prejudice towards migrants, but only among conservatives The Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology publishes papers that cover the full spectrum of community and social psychology.

Check out our new paper, the fruit of a complex, nuanced project led by @feitenglong.bsky.social , with Daan Scheepers and yours truly:

t.ly/QK_nI

My first side project with @feitenglong.bsky.social is also out in BJSP!

In brief: We implemented recent theorising on the potential influences of ingroup norms on outgroup solidarity in the Dutch context. The consistent finding is that only leftists were susceptible to these norms.

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

In six studies, we found that economic inequality undermines our trust in politicians' concern about our interests, thus diminishing how much we care about political leaders' competence.

Check out our recent paper published in PSPB! #socialpsyc #polipsy #polisky
journals.sagepub.com/share/HQP7C6...

Congratulations Valentin!