Biographical Sketch

Eftychia Stamkou (1985) is a social and cultural psychologist. She completed her undergraduate studies in psychology at Panteion University of Athens (summa cum laude) alongside her music composition studies at Conservatorium of Athens (cum laude). She then moved to the University of Amsterdam where she completed a Research Master’s in social and organizational psychology (cum laude) and conducted her dissertation research in social psychology (PhD in 2018). After her PhD, she was appointed assistant professor at the University of Amsterdam. She has held temporary positions at Columbia Business School, Columbia University, and Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley. Eftychia’s research is supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO: Onderzoekstalent, Rubicon, Veni), the Fulbright Schuman Program, and the European Commission (Horizon-2020 Societal Challenges). In 2020, she received the triennial Early Career Award of the European Association of Social Psychology (EASP). Eftychia is leading the Amsterdam Arts and Social Sciences (AARTSS) lab and has co-founded the Art and Research in Transformation of Individuals and Societies (ARTIS) consortium.  

Research Interests

My research interests lie at the intersection of art, culture, and norm violations. My past research examined how people react to norm violators and under which circumstances people confer power to them. This line of research revealed important constraints to norm violators’ upward mobility, such as the cultural context (e.g., norm violators are seen as powerless in collectivistic cultures), the observer’s status (e.g., high-status observers block violator’s way up), and the domain of the violation (e.g., deviance is rewarded in art but not in business settings). My current research examines artworks as cultural products that can challenge our preconceptions and transform our cultural worldviews. I examine how people respond to art that violates and challenges widely-shared norms (e.g., gender stereotypes, androcentrism, heteronormativity) and how socio-cultural factors may account for the suppression of deviant artistic content (e.g., cultural tightness). I study the subtle expression of gender stereotypes—and their violation thereof—in movies and paintings to understand how gender bias in art shapes and reflects gender inequality in society. In addition, I examine how profound aesthetic experiences like awe-inspiring art influence young children’s moral development.

Academic Positions

• 2019 - 2021: Visiting Assistant Professor, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
• 2018 - to date: Assistant Professor of Social Psychology, University of Amsterdam
• 2014: Visiting Scholar, Columbia Business School, Columbia University

Education

• 2018: Ph.D in Psychology, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 
• 2011: M.Sc. in Social and Organizational Psychology (research master), University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands (cum laude)
• 2008: B.Sc. in Psychology, Panteion University of Athens, Greece (summa cum laude) 

Research Grants

• 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".
• 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".
• 2021 - 2025: Talent Programme Veni grant (€250,000) from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) for the research project "From fiction to reality: Can art that violates gender norms counteract bias against women leaders?"
• 2020 - 2024: 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 research project “The cultural mapping of social status” at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley.
• 2019 - 2021: Rubicon grant (€102,790) from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) for the research 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 - 2015: 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".
• 2009 - 2011: Postgraduate studies scholarship (€38,400) from Propondis Foundation for the Research Master's program at the University of Amsterdam.
• 2004 - 2006: Undergraduate studies scholarship (€3,000) from the Greek State Scholarships Foundation (IKY).

Awards & Honors

• 2023 - IACM Outstanding Publication Award for the paper "No guts, no glory? How risk-taking shapes dominance, prestige, and leadership endorsement" 
• 2020 - Early Career Award of the European Association of Social Psychology (EASP)
• 2019 - Finalist for the Dissertation Award of the Society for Experimental Social Psychology (SESP) 
• 2018 - Finalist for the Best Dissertation Award of the Dutch Association for Social Psychology (ASPO)
• 2018 - Finalist for the Best Dissertation Award of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP), The Harry and Pola Triandis award for best dissertation in Cross-Cultural psychology.
• 2011 - Best Research Master Thesis Award of the University of Amsterdam, Department of Psychology.
• 2008 - Top 1% of the Psychology Bachelor program of the Panteion University of Athens, Department of Psychology.

Membership in Professional Organizations

• Association for Psychological Science (APS)
• Academy of Management (AOM)
• Dutch Association for Social Psychology (ASPO)
• European Association of Social Psychology  (EASP)
• International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP)
• International Association for Empirical Aesthetics (IAEA)

Teaching

• 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)
• Supervision of B.Sc., M.Sc., and Research M.Sc. thesis projects

PhD supervision

• Rohan Dunham (2020 - present)
• Yagmur Ozbay (2021 - present)

Service

• 2023 - present: Organizer of event series "Where Art Meets Science", Institute for Advanced Study, the Netherlands 
• 2024: Jury member for the “Art of Neuroscience” international competition, 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 Journal 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 
• 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., 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
• 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

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

Research In Progress

• 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
• 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., Bartos, F., Choi, A., & Anderson, C. Daring or caring? A meta-analysis of the effect of power on risk-taking.

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.

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).