Biographical Sketch

Eftychia Stamkou (b. 1985) is a social and cultural psychologist. She completed her undergraduate studies in psychology at Panteion University of Athens (summa cum laude) alongside music studies at the Conservatorium of Athens (cum laude). She then pursued a Research Master’s in Social and Organizational Psychology (cum laude) at the University of Amsterdam, where she later earned her PhD in Social Psychology in 2018. Following her doctorate, she was appointed Assistant Professor at the same institution. She has held visiting positions at Columbia University and the University of California, Berkeley. Eftychia’s research, situated at the intersection of art and social science, has been supported by prestigious grants from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO)—including Onderzoekstalent, Rubicon, Veni, and Open Competition programs—as well as the Fulbright Program and the European Commission (Horizon2020). In 2020, she received the triennial Early Career Award from the European Association of Social Psychology (EASP). Collaborating with established cultural institutions such as Google Arts & Culture, Carnegie Hall, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, and Singer Laren, her work bridges academic inquiry with real-world impact. She directs the Amsterdam Arts and Social Sciences (AARTSS) lab, co-founded the Art and Research in Transformation of Individuals and Societies (ARTIS) consortium, and organizes the Where Art Meets Science event series at UvA's Institute for Advanced Study (IAS).  

Research Interests

My research centers on the interplay of art, culture, and norm violations. My earlier work investigated how people perceive norm violators and the conditions under which such individuals gain power. This research uncovered critical limitations to norm violators’ upward mobility, including cultural context (e.g., violators are perceived as powerless in collectivistic societies), observer status (e.g., high-status observers hinder violators’ ascent), and domain specificity (e.g., deviance is rewarded in artistic fields but penalized in business). My current work explores artworks as cultural catalysts capable of challenging societal preconceptions and reshaping collective worldviews. I investigate responses to art that disrupts entrenched norms, such as gender stereotypes and heteronormativity, and analyze socio-cultural mechanisms that suppress deviant artistic content (e.g., cultural tightness). A key focus involves tracing the subtle expression and subversion of gender stereotypes in films and paintings, revealing how gender bias in art both reflects and perpetuates societal inequality. In ongoing projects, I examine how profound aesthetic experiences, such as awe-inspiring art, influence young children’s social development, alongside how early musical exposure fosters children's exploration and openness to novel ideas.

Academic Positions

• 2019 – 2021: Visiting assistant professor, University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business
• 2018 – present: Assistant professor, University of Amsterdam, Department of Psychology (tenured)
• 2014: Visiting scholar, Columbia University, Columbia Business School

Consultancy

• 2017: Designing and implementing a cross-cultural leadership performance evaluation system for Adidas AG
• 2024 – present: Intercultural training for Intercultural Business Improvement (IBI-net)
• 2024: Workshop on women’s empowerment through cinema for ING

Education

• 2018: Ph.D in Social Psychology, University of Amsterdam 
• 2011: Research M.Sc. in Social and Organizational Psychology, University of Amsterdam (cum laude)
• 2009: Music composition (cum laude), Conservatorium of Athens
• 2008: B.Sc. in Psychology, Panteion University of Athens (summa cum laude) 

Research Grants

• 2025: Open Competition XS grant (€50,000) from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) for the project "Opening Young Minds: Can Art Foster Exploration in Early Childhood?", in collaboration with Carnegie Hall
• 2025: Midsize Project grant (€200,000) from the University of Amsterdam (UvA) for the project "Visual Imaginaries of Gender: The potentials and limitations of GenAI", in collaboration with Nanne Van Noord (UvA), Melvin Wevers (UvA), Sabine Niederer (HvA), Maarten Groen (HvA), Flavia Dzodan (Sandberg Instituut), Dirk Bertels (Studio Bertels)
• 2024: SoBe grant (€10,000) from the Psychology Research Institute, University of Amsterdam for the project "Portrayals of Women: Gender Inequality in the Visual Arts and Real World"
• 2024: Impact grant (€25,000) from the Psychology Research Institute, University of Amsterdam for the project "From Script to Screen: Amplifying Female Voices in the Movie Industry", in collaboration with MovieLens
• 2022: Impact grant (€22,000) from the Psychology Research Institute, University of Amsterdam for the project "Portrayals of Women: Gender Inequality in the Visual Arts and Real World", in collaboration with Women Inc and Singer Laren
• 2021: Talent Programme Veni grant (€250,000) from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) for the project "From fiction to reality: Can art that violates gender norms counteract bias against women leaders?"
• 2020: Seedcorn grant (€3,000) from the European Association for Social Psychology (EASP) for a project on the social impact of art
• 2020: Horizon 2020 Consortium grant (€524,054) from the European Commission for the project “Art and research on transformation of individuals and societies (ARTIS)”, in collaboration with the University of Vienna, Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Belgrade, Aarhus University, Weissensee Art School Berlin, Royal Holloway University of London, Interdisciplinary Forum Neurourbanism, University of Oxford, and UNESCO (total budget: €2,994,276)
• 2019: Fulbright-Schuman grant (€23,000) from the Fulbright Program for the project “The cultural mapping of social status” at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
• 2019: Talent Programme Rubicon grant (€102,790) from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research(NWO) for the project “The cultural mapping of social status” at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
• 2017: Conference grant (€5,000) from the Kurt Lewin Institute for the conference "Cultural perspectives on social norms: Insights from research and the field"
• 2012: Research Talent grant (€168,076) from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) for the project "Climbing the ladder or falling from grace: How norm violations shape social hierarchies", in collaboration with Gerben van Kleef and Adam Galinsky
• 2009: Postgraduate studies scholarship (€38,400) from Propondis Foundation for a research master's at the University of Amsterdam
• 2004: Undergraduate studies scholarship (€3,000) from the Greek State Scholarships Foundation (IKY)

Awards & Honors

• 2023: Outstanding Publication Award for the paper "No guts, no glory? How risk-taking shapes dominance, prestige, and leadership endorsement" by the International Academy for Conflict Management (IACM)
• 2020: Early Career Award by the European Association of Social Psychology (EASP)
• 2019: Finalist for the Dissertation Award by the Society for Experimental Social Psychology (SESP)
• 2019: Finalist for the Outstanding Dissertation Award by the International Academy for Intercultural Research (IAIR)
• 2018: Finalist for the Best Dissertation Award by the Dutch Association for Social Psychology (ASPO)
• 2018: Finalist for the Best PhD Dissertation Award (2018) by the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP)
• 2011: Best Research Master Thesis Award by the University of Amsterdam
• 2008: Top 1% of the Psychology Bachelor by Panteion University of Athens

Teaching & PhD Supervision

• From Art to Science: The Psychology of Worldviews (research master's)
• Introduction to Cultural Psychology (bachelor's)
• Applied Cultural Psychology (master's)
• Applying Research Methods (master's)
• PhD supervision
  • Rohan Dunham (2020 - present), University of Amsterdam
  • Yagmur Ozbay (2021 - present), University of Amsterdam
  • Rebecca Corona (2021 - present), University of California, Berkeley

Service

• 2023 - present: Organizer of event series Where Art Meets Science, Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), the Netherlands, with Maartje Raijmakers
• 2024: Jury member for the Art of Neuroscience international competition by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW)
• 2024 - present: Member of the Research Master's Selection Committee, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam
• 2023 - present: Member of the Diversity Task Force, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam
• 2016 - 2019: Coordinator of the Cultural Psychology Master's Program, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam
• 2013 - present: Ad-hoc reviewer for Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Journal of Applied Psychology, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Personality, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, PNAS Nexus, PNAS, European Journal of Social Psychology, Social and Psychological Personality Science, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, and Current Opinion in Psychology

International Peer-Reviewed Articles

• Ozbay, Y., Stamkou, E., & Oosterwijk, S. (2025). Art promotes exploration of negative content. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 122, 5. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2412406122 
• Keltner*, D. & Stamkou*, E. (2024). Possible worlds theory: How the imagination transcends and recreates reality. Annual Review of Psychology, 76. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-080123-102254  * shared first authorship
• Stamkou, E., Keltner, D., Corona, R., Aksoy, E., & Cowen, A. S. (2024). Emotional palette: a computational mapping of aesthetic experiences evoked by visual art. Scientific Reports, 14, Article 19932. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-69686-9
• Stamkou, E. & Keltner. D. (2024). Wonder-full hearts: Awe turns children into caring superheroes. Frontiers for Young Minds. https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2024.1229029
• Ozbay, Y., Oosterwijk, S., & Stamkou, E. (2024). Beyond beauty: Does visual art facilitate social cognitive skills? PLOS One. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0308392
• Stamkou, E., Dunham, R., Pelowski, M., Lin, Y., & Gelfand, M. J. (2024). When rule breaking in art falls flat: Cultural tightness deflates deviant artists’ impact. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 18(1), 14–30. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000650.
• Andrighetto, G., Szekely, A., Guido, A., Eriksson, K., Gelfand, M.,  ... Stamkou, E., ... Eriksson, K. (2024). Changes in social norms during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic across 43 countries. Nature Communications, 15, 1436. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-44999-5 
• Van Kleef, G. A., Larsen, M., & Stamkou, E. (2024). How music teachers’ emotional expressions shape students’ performance: “C’est le ton qui fait la musique". Motivation and Emottion, 48, 100–110. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-023-10051-0 
• Stamkou, E., Brummelmann, E., Dunham, R., Nikolic, M., & Keltner. D. (2023). Awe sparks prosociality in children. Psychological Science, 34, 455–467. https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976221150616
• Stamkou, E. (2022). On the social functions of emotions in visual art. Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture, 6(1), 57-60. https://doi.org/10.26613/esic.6.1.272
• Stamkou, E., Homan, A. C., van Kleef, G. A. & Gelfand, M. J. (2022). The spatial representation of leadership depends on ecological threat: A replication and extension of Menon et al. (2010). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000304 
• Gelfand. M. J., Li, R., Stamkou, E., Denison, E., Fernandez, J., Chatman, J., Jackson, J., Pieper, D., & Dimant, E. (2022). Persuading republicans and democrats to comply with mask wearing: An intervention tournament. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 101, 104299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104299 
• van Kleef, G. A., Heerdink, M. W., Cheshin, A., Stamkou, E., Wanders, F., Koning, L. F., Fang, X., & Georgeac, O. A. M. (2021). No guts, no glory? How risk-taking shapes dominance, prestige, and leadership endorsement. Journal of Applied Psychology, 106, 1673–1694. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000868
• Stamkou, E. & Keltner. D. (2021). Aesthetic revolution: Art as culture and catalyst for social change. SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3578575
• Dobrowolska, M., Groyecka-Bernard, A., Sorokowski, P., Randall, A. K., Hilpert, P., Ahmadi, K., Alghraibeh, A. M., Aryeetey, R., Bertoni, A., Bettache, K., Błażejewska, M., Bodenmann, G., Bortolini, T. S., Bosc, C., Butovskaya, M., Castro, F. N., Cetinkaya, H., Cunha, D., ... Stamkou, E., ... Sorokowska, A. (2020). Global perspective on marital satisfaction. Sustainability, 12(21), [8817]. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12218817
• Specker, E., Stamkou, E., Pelowski, M., & Leder, H.  (2020). Radically revolutionary or pretty flowers? The impact of curatorial narrative of artistic deviance on perceived artist influence. Psychology of Aesthetics Creativity and the Arts. doi:10.1037/aca0000320
• Stamkou, E., Homan, A. C., & Van Kleef, G. A. (2020). Climbing the ladder or falling from grace? A threat-opportunity framework of the effects of norm violations on social rank. Current Opinion in Psychology, 33, 74-79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.07.012
• Dobrowolska, M., Sorokowski, P., Randall, A., Groyecka, A., Hilpert, P., … Stamkou., E., … Sorokowska, A. (2020). Global perspective on marital satisfaction. Sustainability,12 (21), 8817. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12218817
• Stamkou, E., Van Kleef, G. A., & Homan, A. C. (2019). Feeling entitled to rules: Entitled individuals prevent norm violators from rising up the ranks. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 84, 103790. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2019.03.001
• Stamkou, E., Van Kleef, G. A., Homan, A. C., Gelfand, M. J., Van de Vijver, F., van Egmond, M. C., Boer, D., … Lee, I. C. (2019). Cultural collectivism and tightness moderate responses to norm violators: Effects on power perception, moral emotions, and leader support. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45, 947-964. doi.org/10.1177/0146167218802832 
• Sorokowska, A., Groyecka, A., Karwowski, M., Frackowiak, T., Ahmadi, K., … Stamkou., E., … Pierce, J. D (2018). Global study of social odor awareness. Chemical Senses, 43, 503-513. https://doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bjy038
• Cantarero, K., Szarota, P., Stamkou, E., Navas, M. & Espinosa, A. C. D. (2018). The effects of culture and moral foundations on moral judgments: The ethics of authority mediates the relationship between power distance and attitude towards lying to one's supervisor. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-018-9945-0 
• Stamkou, E., Van Kleef, G. A., & Homan, A. C. (2018). The art of influence: When and why deviant artists gain impact. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 115, 276-303. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000131
• Cantarero, K., Szarota, P., Stamkou, E., Navas, M. & Espinosa, A. C. D. (2018). When is a lie acceptable? Work and private life lying acceptance depends on its beneficiary. The Journal of Social Psychology, 158, 220-235. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2017.1327404
• Sorokowska, A., Sorokowski, P., Hilpert, P., Cantarero, K., Frackowiak, T., … Stamkou., E., … Pierce, J. D. (2017). Preferred interpersonal distances: A global comparison. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 48, 577-592. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022117698039
• Sorokowski P., Randall, A. K., Groyecka, A., Frackowiak, T., Cantarero, K., … Stamkou, E., … Sorokowska, A. (2017). Marital satisfaction, sex, age, marriage duration, religion, number of children, economic status, education, and collectivistic values: Data from 33 countries. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01199
• Stamkou, E., Van Kleef, G. A., Homan, A. C., & Galinsky, A. D. (2016). How norm violations shape social hierarchies: Those who stand on top block norm violators from rising up. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 19, 608–629. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430216641305
• Stamkou, E., van Kleef, G. A., Fischer, A. H., & Kret, M. E. (2016). Are the powerful really blind to the feelings of others? How hierarchical concerns shape attention to emotions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 42, 755–768. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167216636632
• Hilpert, P., Randall, A. K., Sorokowski, P., Atkins, D. C., Sorokowska, A., … Stamkou., E., … Bettache, K. (2016). The associations of dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction vary between and within nations: A 35-nation study. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01106
• Van Elk, M., Karinen, A., Specker, E., Stamkou, E., & Baas, M. (2016). “Standing in Awe”: The effects of awe on body perception and the relation with absorption. Collabra, 2. http://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.36
• Van Kleef, G. A., Wanders, F., Stamkou, E., & Homan, A. C. (2015). The social dynamics of breaking the rules: antecedents and consequences of norm-violating behavior. Current Opinion in Psychology, 6, 25–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.03.013
• Van Kleef, G. A., Homan, A. C., Finkenauer, C., Gündemir, S., & Stamkou, E. (2011). Breaking the rules to rise to power: How norm violators gain power in the eyes of others. Social Psychology and Personality Science, 2, 500–507. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550611398416

Code

• Schram, R., Garcia-Bernardo, J., van Kesteren, E.-J., de Bruin, J., & Stamkou, E. (2022). ArtScraper: A Python library to scrape online artworks (0.1.1). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7129975

Popular Science Articles

• Small Self, Big Heart. Character & Context, Society for Personality and Social Psychology (June 2023).
• Take your group dynamics from awful to awe-full. The Informed SLP (April 2023).
• Want More Generous Children? Show Them Awe-inspiring Art. Association for Psychological Science (March 2023).
• Look who's talking! Entitled individuals break the rules but also enforce them. Character & Context, Society for Personality and Social Psychology (October 2019).
• Are norm violators approved or condemned? (Oogsten normschenders afkeuring of juist waardering?). By External Communications, University of Amsterdam (February 2019). 
• Can art reduce prejudice against female leaders? By External Communications, University of Amsterdam (December 2020).

Book Chapters

• Stamkou, E. & Van Kleef, G. A. (2014). Do we give power to the right people? When and how norm violators rise to the top. In J.-W. van Prooijen and P. A. M. van Lange (Eds.), Power, politics, and paranoia: Why people are suspicious of their leaders. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Dissertation

• Stamkou, E. (2018). The dynamic nature of social hierarchies: The role of norm violations and hierarchical concerns. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Ipskamp.

Research Under Review

• Ozbay, Y., Oosterwijk, S., & Stamkou, E. Books or films, ephemeral or habitual? Untangling the path from narrative fiction to social cognition. Submitted to Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts
• Dunham, R., Van Kleef, G. A., & Stamkou., E. The art of acceptance: The effect of art engagement on attitudes towards immigrants. Submitted to Group Processes & Intergroup Relations
• Dunham, R., Van Kleef, G. A., & Stamkou., E. The threat of synthetic harmony: AI vs. human origin beliefs affect listeners' cognitive, emotional, and physiological responses to music. Submitted to Computers in Human Behavior: Artificial Agents
• Dunham, R., Van Kleef, G. A., & Stamkou., E. The heart behind the art: Motives for making art and how they influence audience appreciation. Submitted to Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts

Research In Progress

• Stamkou, E., Bartos, F., Choi, A., & Anderson, C. Daring or caring? A meta-analysis of the effect of power on risk-taking.
• Stamkou, E., Brummelmann, E., Keltner. D., & Nikolic, M. Awe in early life: The onset and impact of awe in young minds.
• Stamkou*, E., Khan, S., Tafuro, M., & Van Noord*, N. Portrayals of women: Gender stereotypes in the visual arts and their real-world impact
• Stamkou, E., Hueber, P., Lin, Y., Konczak, T., Sun, R., Kluver, D., & Gelfand, M. The gender lens: Tracing a century of gender bias in cinema