Leiden psychologist Wilco van Dijk and communication scientist Jaap Ouwerkerk of VU University Amsterdam published a book about the emotion Schadenfreude. Van Dijk tells about Schadenfreude on BBC radio 4 All in the Mind.

PhD defence

The use of the pill, in combination with genetic factors, can influence experimental psychological research in women. More research is needed into the influence of the pill on mood disorders, concludes psychologist Daniëlle Hamstra. PhD defence on 30 September.

On the 16th of May, Qing Yang successfully defended a doctoral thesis. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Qing on this achievement!

The ‘empathic mind’ in children with Specific Language Impairments (SLI); what can children with SLI understand of other people’s minds and emotions?

Why do some children confront social challenges with confidence, whereas others experience difficulties? What is the role of child temperament and child emotional dispositions? What is the role of parenting? This project aims to shed light on the mechanisms explaining shyness and confidence in response…

PhD defence

The Developmental Psychology specialisation of the Research Master’s in Psychology offers a strong theoretical background to provide the varied knowledge-base needed for a thorough understanding of emotional and cognitive development across childhood and adolescence.

How do young people react when an unknown person gets under their skin in an online game? A sense of control over their social environment can prevent young people from quickly resorting to anger in such a situation, development psychologists Sheida Novin, Carolien Rieffe and colleagues discovered.…

Have you ever seen your friend smiling, and suddenly you started grinning too? PhD student Chris Riddell is researching how and why we copy body language. As a new Face of Science, he will take us along on his research journey for the coming year.

This longitudinal study is focused on neurodevelopmental problems in young children with XXY, XXX and XYY, aged 1 to 6 years.

Misinformation spreads easily and fast. It gets presented as news, whereas actual news gets dismissed as fake. Conflicting streams of information allows all sides to cherry-pick whatever is most comfortable, boosting degrees of confidence and confusing the deliberation of both politicians and voters.…

Nature, nurture and neural mechanisms of social emotion regulation in childhood

The following people are part of the Steering Group for Academia in Motion.

The seeds of the Academia in Motion (AiM) programme were planted by two interdisciplinary working groups: one on Open Science and another on Recognition and Rewards.

Synchronised heart rates and skin conductance tell us that people are attracted to each other. This explains why we feel a romantic ‘click’ with some people and not with others. This is the result of research by psychologist Eliska Prochazkova from the Leiden Institute for Brain and Recognition, which…

How does stress influence cognitive performance? What is the role of selective attention to threatening information in this effect? Could we prevent stress-induced decline of cognitive performance with pharmacological interventions? Could we use resting state theta/beta ratio as a biomarker for cognitive…

PhD defence

Seksueel misbruik tussen broers en zussen kan ook na jaren nog grote impact op de familierelaties. Dat blijkt uit onderzoek van Sheila van Berkel, Iva Bicanic en Anja van der Voort, die slachtoffers met elkaar in gesprek brachten over hun ervaringen. ‘Ouders ontkenden of minimaliseerden het misbruik…

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How is structural and functional brain development related to behavioral change in cognitive-control, impulse regulation, and socio-emotional functioning?

The aim of this thesis was to study the link between hearing loss, language skills, and social functioning in deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children. Sufficient language skills are an essential prerequisite to develop appropriate communication skills, in order to join in conversations with others.…

The LUCDH foster the development of new digital research by awarding a number of Small Grants each year. As in previous years the LUCDH received a large number of excellent grant applications for Research and Personal Development funds. Congratulations to the recipients of this year's research award…

Using brain imaging to discover the area in the brain that recognizes emotion.

This project studies social distance—the degree of sympathetic understanding that exists between people—in relation to state foreign policy making. Does, and if so how does, social distance shape political biases, aid narratives, and, ultimately, state foreign policy priorities and decisions?

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Issue 1

Bernet Elzinga (Clinical Psychology) is one of the seven scientists from the Leiden University who has received a Vici grant of 1.5 million euros from NWO. Vici is one of the largest grants for individual scientists in the Netherlands. The funding will enable her to do research for the next five years…

How can you use robots and automatic recognition of microscopic images to test the effect of drugs exceptionally quickly?

Many people in the Netherlands have difficulty managing on their income. Professor by special appointment Wilco van Dijk, affiliated to Leiden University and Nibud, is researching what we can do to gain a healthier approach to managing our finances. His inaugural lecture is on 1 April.

A master in Psychology at Leiden University combines theoretical knowledge with academic and professional skills, making you an attractive candidate for many employers.

The main focus of our research programme is on adolescence, a key transitional period in human development. The programme puts emphasis on combined experimental behavioural and neural analysis of normative transitions and deviations in adolescent development.

To what extent does using 360 immersion to a speaking task change the elicited speech, compared to conditions with 2D presentations?

A warm welcome to the Graduate School of Social and Behavioural Sciences at Leiden University.

Empathic or anxious mistakes? A neurocognitive investigation of the development of social performance monitoring in youth growing up in stressful versus non-stressful environments

Are you interested in the neurocognitive and biological roots of learning, behaviour and emotions in children? If so, the programme in Applied Neuroscience in Human Development might be the specialisation you are looking for.

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Throughout the twentieth century, scholars, artists and politicians have accused each other of “historicism.” But what exactly did this mean? Judging by existing scholarship, the answers varied enormously. Like many other “isms,” historicism could mean nearly everything, to the point of becoming mea…

Developmental and Educational psychology is concerned with the developmental course and dynamics of cognition, self-regulation, and emotional competence, and the implications for educational and clinical practice.

Natural history collections provide invaluable sources for researchers with different disciplinary backgrounds, aspiring to study the geographical distribution of flora and fauna across the globe as well as other evolutionary processes.

Our team consists of the following members.

Dutch knowledge institutions are taking steps to recognise and reward open science. On 13 December, the Open Science NL Steering Board approved a total of 1.2 million euros in grants to 23 institutions. The Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) will lead the national coordination of the local…

On 1 December 2020, Bernadette Muscat defended her thesis 'Insolvency Close-out Netting: A comparative study of English, French and US laws in a global perspective'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. M. Haentjens and Prof. B. Wessels.

On 9 January 2019, Willem van der Muur defended his thesis 'Land rights and the forces of adat in democratizing Indonesia'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. dr. A.W. Bedner and Prof. dr. J.M. Otto.

On Thursday 15 December, Elisavet Alexiadou has defended her doctoral thesis ‘The Right to Health. A Human Rights Perspective with a Case Study on Greece.’ at the Academy Building of Leiden University. Supervisor was Prof.dr. A.C. Hendriks.

From basic science to real-world interventions

Human vocal communication and music perception represent advanced cognitive skills, seemingly innate and universal. These faculties encompass a range of perceptual and cognitive abilities. Cross-species research sheds light on the origins of musicality by investigating whether these traits are shared…