Sabina Cehajic-ClancyAssociate Professor
About me
I work as an Associate Professor of Social Psychology at Stockholm University. I am also affiliated with Sarajevo School of Science and Technology in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Emotion lab at Karolinska Institute. Together, we examine psychological processes of intergroup behaviour in complex social situations such as conflict. My research is funded by different governmental research councils and agencies such as the Swedish Research Council, Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, ESRC and the British Academy. I also act as an Associate Editor for the Peace and Conflict Journal and as a consulting editor for the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, European Journal of Social Psychology and Political Psychology. In addition, I also provide review services for a number of international peer-reviewed journals and research funding agencies.
Teaching
For 15+ years, I have been teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses in social and political psychology, research methods, conflict and peace studies. Currently, I teach a master level couse on Human Development-Positive Psychological Functioning and Adaptation in Youth (PSMT60) and specific lectures in Social Psychology II. I also provide supervision and consultations to both undergraduate and graduate students interested in social psychology.
Research
My research aims to understand psychological processes of intergroup relations. More specifically and using experimental and observational methods, I focus on intergroup reconciliation processes in societies affected or threatened by conflict. Questions that drive my research are:
- How do people deal with information perceived as threatening to social identities (such as atrocities committed by their own group)?
- Which psychological processes facilitate positive forms of group behavior (such as intergroup forgiveness and contact intentions)?
- Which psychological processes facilitate regulation of emotions in groups (such as hatred, empathy and trust)?
- How do peoples' perceptions and emotions about the 'other' and contextual conditions where people live shape the outcomes of intergroup contact and dialoque?
To address these questions, I employ a combination of laboratory, field and intervention studies. It is my strong belief that no social process can be completely understood without utilizing a combination of different methodological approaches as well an interdisciplinary communication. In addition to conducting basic and process oriented research, I am very much motivated in knowledge application. Together with governmental and non-governmental agencies, I use my research to design social-psychological interventions and inform education and integration policies. Both my research and community work have received national and international recognition.
