J. (Jannis) Kreienkamp, MSc

Project Title: Cultural Adaptation in Real Life: A Dynamic Approach to Psychological Needs in Intercultural Contact

Description: This project’s main objective is to understand and predict the individual cultural adaptation process (acculturation) of refugees in the Netherlands. We propose that satisfaction of active psychological needs during (daily) intergroup contacts is an essential explanatory and predictive variable of key acculturation outcomes (including outgroup attitudes, behavioral strategies, and well-being). We combine qualitative, experimental, and longitudinal research designs to develop this novel perspective. The needs perspective offers a bridging element, integrating the fields of intergroup contact and acculturation research. We translate our insights into practice through a collaboration with resettlement agencies and refugees.

Project Title: Center for Psychological Gun Research

Description: The use of objects as weapons is both prehistoric and highly modern. In many countries, people carry guns on a daily basis, yet there is relatively little psychological research on what drives gun ownership and use. Most gun-related research stems from epidemiology, criminology, and sociology, but the topic also offers opportunities for psychologists to conduct research that is both theoretically interesting and societally relevant. This center is a loose affiliation of psychological scientists who conduct rigorous, peer-reviewed research on the psychology of guns. Part of our scientific mission is practical – to understand why people own and use guns and other weapons, and prevent their deployment against innocent others. Another part of our mission is theoretical – to understand human psychology generally. At our core, we are scientists interested in a broad range of human behaviors, and gun-related research is a way to test general social psychological theories in real-world settings.

Link: www.gunpsychology.org

Project Title: PsyCorona

Description: The PsyCorona project aims to identify psychological and cultural factors that affect the spread of SARS-CoV-2. The fast-spreading coronavirus prompted many countries to go into lockdowns and to take various other mitigation measures, some of which may be required for years. Due to its Data Science component, the PsyCorona project is able to examine how indivdual-level psychological factors interact with different containment measures to predict differences in virus spread between countries and regions.

Link: www.psycorona.org