Prof. Gerben A. Van Kleef

Fotograaf: Oerlemans

Prof. Gerben A. Van Kleef is currently Chair of the Social Psychology Group of the Psychology Department at the UvA. Between 2012 and 2016 he held an extraordinary professorship of prosocial behavior on behalf of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 2014 he was a visiting professor at Columbia University. Prof. Van Kleef is one of the leading scientists in social psychology, with a wide range of expertise on social power, social hierarchies, leadership, and emotions. He published 112 articles in top-tier journals, including Science (IF=37.2) and Behavioural and Brain Sciences (IF=15.07).

Prof. Van Kleef has also authored a textbook and a popular science book, and his research has been publicized through various mass media outlets (radio, TV, newspapers). His work has been cited more than 11,000 times (h-index: 55) and has attracted much funding (total of ~€2 million) including the prestigious VENI and VIDI research grants. He won numerous awards for his extensive scientific contributions, such as the bi-annual Best Dissertation Award of the International Association for Conflict Management (IACM), the Best Dissertation Award of the Dutch Association for Social Psychology (ASPO), the early career award of the European Association of Social Psychology (EASP), the Most Influential Paper Award of the Academy of Management (AOM), and the Outstanding Book Award of the IACM. Prof. Van Kleef has supervised 4 post- docs and 15 PhD-students. He is the founding director of the Amsterdam Behavioural Insights Lab, a platform that liaises with government and companies seeking science-based solutions for societal challenges, many of which relate to behavioral change. This platform enables a continuous exchange between research and practice.

Relevant (selected) publications

1.) Stamkou, E., Van Kleef, G. A., et al (2018). The art of influence: When and why deviant artists gain impact. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 115, 276-303.

2.) Van Kleef, G. A., et al (2015). The persuasive power of emotions: Effects of emotional expressions on attitude formation and change. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100, 1124-1142.

3.) Van Kleef, G. A., et al (2012). Who's afraid of red, yellow and blue? Need for cognitive closure predicts aesthetic preferences. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 6, 168-174.

4.) Van Kleef, G. A., et al (2011). The Jekyll and Hyde of emotional intelligence: Emotion regulation knowledge facilitates prosocial and interpersonally deviant behavior. Psychological Science, 22, 1073-1080.

5.) Van Kleef, G. A., et al (2008). Power, distress, and compassion: Turning a blind eye to the suffering of others. Psychological Science, 19, 1315-1322.

Relevant (selected) projects and activities

1.) “Emotion is for influence: Development and test of a new theory" (2010 – 2015). VIDI grant by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NOW; €800.000) to examine the social nature of emotions and their potential to instigate influence in interpersonal relations.

2.) “Emotion regulation and conflict resolution" (2009 – 2012). Research grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada ($57.680) to investigate how emotion regulation can help solve conflicts among mainstream and marginalized groups.

3.) "Understanding the role of anger in conflict: Toward a dual-process contingency model" (2006 – 2009). Veni grant from the Innovative Research Incentives Scheme (€208.000) of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) to investigate the role of anger in intergroup relations (ingroup – outgroup distinction).

4.) "Representative negotiation: Cross-level influences in inter-group conflict" (2009 – 2013): Research grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) on the Conflict & Security Theme (€600.000).

5.) "When and how deviant targets gain impact" (2017-2021). PhD Research Grant (€57.600) from the Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC) for a project investigating how individuals who deviate from the norm rise to power.