Lab Director

David Amodio, Ph.D.

David Amodio, Ph.D.

Professor of Social Psychology, University of Amsterdam

Dr. Amodio studies the psychological and neural processes involved in prejudice and social cognition, with a focus on roles of learning and memory in how social biases are formed, expressed, regulated, and reduced. His current work examines the sociocognitive mechanisms through which prejudice is transmitted between individuals and society, as well as the role of AI in propagating human social biases.

Amodio is a Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Amsterdam, an appointment he began in 2017 and held part-time between 2018 and 2021. Prior to returning to Amsterdam fulltime in 2022, he worked at New York University from 2005 to 2021, serving as coordinator of the NYU Social Psychology program from 2013 to 2016.

Amodio served as President of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology, was a co-founder of the Social and Affective Neuroscience Society, and served as Associate Editor for the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (2011-2016). He is an elected fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and Society of Experimental Social Psychology.

Amodio’s research is funded by a VICI Award from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research and was previously funded by grants from the US National Science Foundation, including an NSF CAREER Award. Awards for his scientific contributions include the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) from The White House, the Janet T. Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions from the Association for Psychological Science, the Early Career Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Study of Social Cognition from the International Social Cognition Network, the F. J. McGuigan Young Investigator Prize from the American Psychological Association, the SAGE Young Scholars Award, from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and the Gordon Allport Intergroup Relations Prize from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.

Curriculum VitaeFaculty WebpageEmail

Members

Inga Rösler, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Scientist

Inga is broadly interested in social interactions, social learning, and cooperation. She combines computational and neuroscientific methods to study how we form impressions of other people’s morality.

Marius Vollberg, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Scientist

Using behavioral, neuroimaging, and computational approaches, Marius investigates the algorithmic ingredients of intergroup bias by asking how our thoughts and feelings reflect and perpetuate our valuation of others.

Johanna Falben, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral scientist

Johanna applies computational modelling techniques to unpick biases that affect decision making in person perception (e.g., stereotypes). She is also interested in how instrumental learning can influence impressions of other individuals. 

Michael Berkebile, Ph.D.

Starting fall '24, Postdoc at Columbia University

Michael is interested in the sociocognitive and neural bases of prejudice. His current research examines the effects of economic scarcity on racial stereotyping and dehumanization–processes.

Email

David Schultner, Ph.D.

Postdoc, Karolinska Institutet

While still a collaborator in the lab, David is now a postdoc in the lab of Björn Lindström. He investigates the sociocognitive and computational mechanisms of social learning for decision making and intergroup bias.

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Iris Traast

Doctoral Student

Iris is interested in the neural and cognitive mechanisms underlying social behavior. She uses computational, neuroimaging, and behavioral methods to research the formation and reduction of implicit prejudice.

Jan Shujun Yang

Research MA student, UvA

I am interested in studying social learning, decision-making, and memory using behavioral, computational, neuroimaging, and clinical approaches. I am currently investigating how feedback timing might modulate social instrumental learning in the lab.

Bastian Weitz

Research MA student, UvA

Basti is interested in the cognitive basis of trait inference and how this shapes intergroup relations. He is currently examining how feedback delay shapes learning about others. In fall 2024, he will begin his PhD work in Social Psychology at Columbia University.

Lab Alumni

William Brady, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

Webpage

Leor Hackel, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Psychology
University of Southern California

Webpage

Amy Krosch, Ph.D

Assistant Professor
Cornell University

Webpage

Petra Schmid, PhD

Professor of Organizational Behavior, ETH Zurich

Webpage

Lee Jasperse

PhD student in English Literature
University of Chicago

Tali Kleiman, PhD

Assistant Professor of Psychology
Hebrew University

Kyle Ratner, PhD

Associate Professor of Psychology
University of California, Santa Barbara

Webpage

May Ling Halim, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Psychology
Cal State-Long Beach

Webpage

Saaid Mendoza, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Psychology
Providence College

Webpage

Renana Ofan, Ph.D.

Director of Business Development
Shaare Zedek Medical Center

Jojanneke van der Toorn, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Social and Organizational Psychology
Utrecht University

Webpage

Lisa Kaggen, M.A.

Experience Researcher
Adobe

Webpage

Jillian Swencionis, Ph.D.

Postdoc
John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Webpage

Sophie Wharton

Senior Insights Analyst, Learning Solutions
LinkedIn

Federica Meconi, Ph.D.

Postdoc, Marie-Curie Fellow
University of Birmingham

Katharine Block

Assistant Professor of Psychology
University of Amsterdam

Madalina Vlasceanu

Assistant Professor of Psychology, New York University

Jeffrey Berg, Ph.D.

Senior Analyst, Electronic Arts

Email

Alana Bertin

Doctoral Student, NYU

Hope Oloye

PhD student
University College London

Email

Ben Stillerman, Ph.D.

Email

Hyebin Kim (Rachel)

Marketing PhD student, Washington University

Email

Björn Lindström, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Free University, Amsterdam

Email

Celia Guillard

PhD Student in Social Psychology
Cornell University

Email

Olivia Carrubba

Research MA student, UvA

Email

Qianqian (Lee) Cui

PhD Student in Social Psychology
UC Santa Barbara

Annmarie MacNamara, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
Texas A&M University

Webpage

Gaëlle Pierre, Ph.D.

Director of Data, Analytics and Technology
NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Hsien Lilly

PhD Student in Social Psychology
University of Texas, Dallas

Email

Ava Ma de Sousa

PhD Student in Social Psychology
UC Santa Barbara

Marla Dressel

PhD Student in Social Psychology, Georgetown University

Isabel Kerber

MSc student, Humboldt University of Berlin