BRNO LAB OF INTERGROUP PROCESSES

Meet our team!

Sylvie Graf

Sylvie works as leading senior researcher at the Institute of Psychology, Czech Academy of Sciences, and at the University of Bern, Switzerland. Her main research interest relates to improving relations between social groups – through intergroup contact, mass media exposure, and careful use of language describing people in intergroup context.

Martina Hřebíčková

Martina works as leading senior researcher at the Institute of Psychology, Czech Academy of Sciences, and at the Presidium of the Czech Science Foundation. Her research interest is personality and social psychology, particularly the trait approach and the structure of personality traits within the so-called Five-factor model of personality (Big Five). She has also researched national stereotypes and acculturation.

Mirjana Rupar

Mirjana's research focuses on understanding the psychological underpinnings and consequences of social phenomena such as prejudice, stereotypes, and nationalism. She is particularly interested in conflict and post-conflict narratives (e.g., group victimization, acknowledgement of crimes), the factors that drive them, and strategies to address those narratives (e.g., intergroup contact, mass media).

Shpend Voca

Shpend's research interest relates to intergroup relations in post-conflict societies. Specifically, he investigates the role of factors (e.g., intergroup contact, victim beliefs, group apology, social identities, right-wing authoritarianism) that contribute to or deteriorate reconciliation with former adversaries.

Tibor Žingora

Tibor is a postdoctoral fellow at the Sociology Department of the University of Groningen. He is passionate about understanding how to achieve attitudinal and behavioral change to promote positive social change. Two major lines of his research have been the investigation of a) the effect of intergroup contact on prejudice and b) social influence.

David Lacko

David is a member of the Brno Lab of Intergroup Processes and the Interdisciplinary Research Team on Internet and Society (IRTIS). His long-term research interests include cross-cultural research, methodology of science, psychometrics, statistics, intergroup contact and videogame research.

Simona Oľhová

Simona is a social psychologist. Her central area of interest is intergroup relations with a focus on school-age children. With her research, she focuses on the potential of indirect contact (e.g. literary stories) to reduce prejudice against stigmatized minorities.

Roman Koky

Roman is a psychologist. He studies PhD program at Masaryk University in Psychology under the supervision of Sylvie Graf. Together they focus on the psychology of intergroup relations between the Roma minority and majority in the Czech Republic in the context of social norms.

Tomáš Prošek

Tomáš is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Research in Social Communication SAS. His primary areas of interest are psychometrics, reaction time modeling, and cognitive liberalization of intergroup contact. .

Serena Haines

Serena is a Ph.D. candidate at the Czech Academy of Sciences and Masaryk University, working as part of the HORIZON 2020 ITN project G-Versity. With a focus on gender stereotypes and social roles, her research addresses the underrepresentation of men in childcare work and ways to potentially reduce barriers men face when entering women-dominated careers.

Monika Mihaličková

Monika, a psychologist and Ph.D. student in Psychology at Masaryk University, is dedicated to understanding the impact of racism on mental health, particularly within the Roma community. Working within the Brno Intergroup Processes Laboratory, her project aims to develop a diagnostic tool for psychologists to assess the effects of racism and discrimination, alongside intervention strategies. She seeks to empower professionals to address and mitigate the long-term trauma of discrimination within the Roma minority, fostering a more equitable society.

Anna Kubelková

Anna is a master's student at Masaryk University, with a central focus on social psychology, particularly exploring interpersonal relationships and the impact of childhood factors on future connections. Her master's thesis delves into the correlation between perceived parenting styles and implicit theories about interpersonal relationships. She aspires to extend this research theme in her subsequent doctoral studies. Additionally, Anna has a keen interest in psychometrics and aims to concentrate on this area in her future research endeavors.

Krystýna Anna Černíková

Kristyna's research focuses on exploring the psychological and social determinants of health, with a particular emphasis on the lived experience of health and illness. Specifically, she focuses on impact of prejudice on health.