Eftychia is an assistant professor at the University of Amsterdam, where she also earned her PhD. She is currently studying how people respond to art that violates and challenges widely-shared norms (e.g., heteronormativity) and how socio-cultural factors may account for the suppression of deviant artistic content (i.e., censorship).

Rohan Dunham is a PhD candidate in Social Psychology at the University of Amsterdam under the supervision of Dr. Eftychia Stamkou and Prof. Dr. Gerben van Kleef. Before turning to Psychology, he studied classical ballet at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague and was a professional ballet dancer at the Zürich Ballet in Switzerland and then the Dutch National Ballet in The Netherlands.

After his career as a dancer, he read Psychology at the University of Amsterdam where he obtained a BSc. (Hons.) and then a Research MSc. in Social and Work & Organizational Psychology (both awarded cum laude). His interests include the social impact of art, cross-cultural psychology, the psychological impact of social power, and (destructive) leadership.

Yağmur Özbay is a PhD candidate in Social Psychology at the University of Amsterdam under the supervision of Dr. Eftychia Stamkou and Dr. Suzanne Oosterwijk. She completed her BA degrees in Psychology and Sociology, with a minor in Media and Visual Arts, at Koc University, Istanbul. After completing her MA studies in Cognitive Psychology, she started her PhD at the UvA.

She is interested in the social ramifications of art, from micro-level effects of art engagement on social-cognitive abilities and its impact on interpersonal attitudes and behavior, to its macro-level implications on sociocultural systems. Currently, she explores if, and how, art engagement can facilitate social-cognitive abilities, and transform interpersonal processes and interactions.

Emir recently obtained his Research MSc. degree in Social Psychology and Brain & Cognition from the University of Amsterdam. Before joining the UvA, he completed his BSc. (Hons) degrees in Business Administration and Psychology at Koc University, Istanbul.

Nowadays, Emir is trying to determine his direction. He was initially curious about topics related to social cognition. Towards the end of his education at the UvA, he felt a strong interest in the psychology of sustainability. Before pursuing a PhD degree, he is considering having some experience in industry in this respect. Besides, he wonders how art and politics interact in different cultural settings and under what circumstances art could be an effective medium to spark desirable societal changes.

Luna is a Research MSc. student at the University of Amsterdam, majoring in Social and Developmental Psychology. She has always had a broad interest in (social) psychology and humanities. During her Psychology Bsc. at the UvA, she also completed a minor in Humanities at the University of Queensland in Australia, where she first came into contact with gender studies.

Equality and social (in)justice are two topics close to Luna’s heart, intrinsically motivating her to investigate societally relevant topics, such as how heteronormativity is constructed in society and the ways in which polarization manifests itself. Ultimately, she aims to investigate how these issues can be dealt with collectively. Besides her interest in these topics, she has always appreciated art and culture, which has driven her to the AARTSS-lab. After having completed a research internship with Eftychia, in which she studied the effects of conceptually deviant art on heteronormative values, she continues to work on this project alongside Eftychia.

Bowine Vlak is an energetic, curiosity-driven person who recently obtained a BSc. in Social Psychology at the University of Amsterdam. She followed the minor program "Connected Creativity" at the TU Delft, during which she observed how well science and creativity go together. Which, in turn, gave rise to a fascination for complex problems which position themselves on the intersection of art, science, technology, and society. Now that she is graduated this plays a central role in her search for the next challenge, where she can both use her factual and imaginative side.

Art plays an important role in her life. Besides her regular art practice which includes painting, writing, and photography; she enjoys being involved in artistic projects, where she can share her passion and knowledge while learning and gaining new perspectives from others. Whether it is the local art club, where she is active in the editorial committee of the club magazine, or the AARTSS-lab group where they collaborate to advance and stimulate further scientific research on the topic of art within the social sciences.

Tarik is a bachelor student majoring in Psychology in the University of Amsterdam. His specialization and bachelor thesis were in the field of Brain and cognition. He has taken part in the Aesthetics Minor of the UvA, focusing on art history and Kantian aesthetic judgment.

His main interests are in finding objective ways of measuring art quality, art cognitive appraisal, and the general impacts of art on the human environment. He created the Villadose Art collection, which is an online gallery for young contemporary artists.