Biographical Sketch

Eftychia Stamkou (b. 1985) is an assistant professor of Social and Cultural Psychology. She completed a BSc in Psychology at Panteion University (summa cum laude) while simultaneously studying music composition at the Conservatorium of Athens (cum laude). She then pursued a Research Master’s in Social and Organizational Psychology at UvA (cum laude), where she earned the Best Master Thesis Award. She subsequently received a Research Talent (Onderzoekstalent) grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) to fund her PhD research on how norm violators gain power in art, business, and politics at UvA and Columbia University. Her doctoral work was a finalist for multiple dissertation awards, including those from the Society for Experimental Social Psychology (SESP), the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP), and the International Academy for Intercultural Research (IAIR). Following her PhD in 2018, she secured NWO Rubicon and Fulbright-Schuman grants to serve as a visiting assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Upon returning to Amsterdam, she was awarded an NWO VENI grant and a Horizon2020 grant (co-PI), which enabled her to independently establish the Amsterdam Arts and Social Sciences (AARTSS) lab at UvA and to co-found the Art and Research on Transformation of Individuals and Societies (ARTIS) consortium across European institutions. Her research is currently funded by an NWO Vidi grant, and her contributions to the study of art, culture, and norm violations have been recognized with the Early Career Award from the European Association of Social Psychology (EASP).

Research Interests

Stamkou’s research situates basic psychological processes within their broader socio-cultural contexts and unfolds along two primary lines. The first line investigates the cultural underpinnings of social hierarchies through the lens of norm violations across domains of social life. Challenging the notion that breaking rules universally signals power, she demonstrates that the conferral of status is culturally contingent: norm violators in business are often penalized in culturally collectivistic or tight societies, and even artists who violate inconsequential aesthetic norms are valued less in tight cultures. Similarly, her meta-analytic work challenges the universal assumption that power leads to disinhibited risk-taking, showing instead that this relationship is moderated by the cultural value of other-orientation. Her second line of research examines artworks as cultural products that reflect and shape prevailing norms. A primary focus within this line is the perpetuation of gender norms; using mixed methods to quantify gender biases in films and paintings across diverse historical and cultural contexts, she examines how artworks normalize gender stereotypes but also how subversive art can disrupt these biases. Additionally, she examines the developmental roots of cultural engagement, demonstrating profound art experiences in early life open young children up socially—making them prosocial toward distant outrgroups—and cognitively, driving them to explore novel ideas. To bridge academic inquiry with real-world impact, Stamkou has servedas a consultant for businesses like Adidas AG, and regularly collaborates with major cultural institutions, including Google Arts & Culture, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Carnegie Hall, Singer Laren, and NEMO. 

Academic Positions

• 2018 – present: Assistant professor, University of Amsterdam, Department of Psychology (tenured)
• 2019 – 2021: Visiting assistant professor, University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business
• 2014 – 2015: Visiting scholar, Columbia University, Columbia Business School

Consultancy & Societal Impact

• 2017: Designing and implementing a cross-cultural leadership performance evaluation system for Adidas AG
• 2024 – present: Intercultural training for Intercultural Business Improvement (IBI-net)
• 2024 - present: Workshop on women’s empowerment through cinema for ING
• 2024: Scientific advisor on gender representation in art collections for Singer Laren Museum (project video)
• 2024: Research partner and scientific advisor on “Artetik” exhibition at Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (emotion mapping methodology, scientific paper, final exhibition)

Education

• 2018: Ph.D in Social Psychology, University of Amsterdam 
• 2011: Research M.Sc. in Social and Organizational Psychology, University of Amsterdam (cum laude)
• 2009: Music composition, Conservatorium of Athens (cum laude)
• 2008: B.Sc. in Psychology, Panteion University of Athens (summa cum laude) 

Research Grants

• 2025: Open Competition XS grant (€50,000) from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) for the project "From Set to Screen to Scores: A Multi-Dimensional Mapping of Gender Bias in Film".
• 2025: Talent Programme Vidi grant (€850,000) from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) for the project "Artful Minds, Inclusive Hearts: Cultivating Children's Prosocial Growth through Performing Arts"
• 2025: Research and Innovation grant (€585,000) from ClickNL for the project "HERAtlas: Mapping and Making Sense of Gender Gaps in Art" with Nanne van Noord, Melvin Wevers, and Studio Bertel.
• 2025: Open Competition XS grant (€50,000) from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) for the project "Rhythms of Kindness: Do Performing Arts Promote Toddlers’ Prosocial Behaviour?", in collaboration with Milica Nikolic
• 2025: Midsize Project grant (€200,000) from the University of Amsterdam (UvA) for the project "Visual Imaginaries of Gender: The potentials and limitations of GenAI", in collaboration with Nanne Van Noord (UvA, PI), Melvin Wevers (UvA), Sabine Niederer (HvA), Maarten Groen (HvA), Flavia Dzodan (Sandberg Instituut), Dirk Bertels (Studio Bertels)
• 2024: Open Competition XS grant (€50,000) from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) for the project "Opening Young Minds: Can Art Foster Exploration in Early Childhood?", in collaboration with Carnegie Hall
• 2024: SoBe grant (€10,000) from the Psychology Research Institute, University of Amsterdam for the project "Portrayals of Women: Gender Inequality in the Visual Arts and Real World"
• 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", in collaboration with MovieLens
• 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", in collaboration with Women Inc and Singer Laren
• 2021: Talent Programme Veni grant (€250,000) from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) for the project "From fiction to reality: Can art that violates gender norms counteract bias against women leaders?"
• 2020: Seedcorn grant (€3,000) from the European Association for Social Psychology (EASP) for a project on the social impact of art
• 2020: 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 project “The cultural mapping of social status” at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
• 2019: Talent Programme Rubicon grant (€102,790) from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research(NWO) for the 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: 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", in collaboration with Gerben van Kleef and Adam Galinsky
• 2009: Postgraduate studies scholarship (€38,400) from Propondis Foundation for a research master's at the University of Amsterdam
• 2004: Undergraduate studies scholarship (€3,000) from the Greek State Scholarships Foundation (IKY)

Awards & Honors

• 2020: Early Career Award by the European Association of Social Psychology (EASP)
• 2019: Finalist for the Dissertation Award by the Society for Experimental Social Psychology (SESP)
• 2019: Finalist for the Outstanding Dissertation Award by the International Academy for Intercultural Research (IAIR)
• 2018: Finalist for the Best Dissertation Award by the Dutch Association for Social Psychology (ASPO)
• 2018: Finalist for the Best PhD Dissertation Award (2018) by the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP)
• 2011: Best Research Master Thesis Award by the University of Amsterdam
• 2008: Top 1% of the Psychology Bachelor by Panteion University of Athens
• 2023: Outstanding Publication Award for the paper "No guts, no glory? How risk-taking shapes dominance, prestige, and leadership endorsement" by the International Academy for Conflict Management (IACM)

Teaching & Mentoring

• 2015 – 2019: Introduction to Cultural Psychology (BA); Coordinator & Lecturer

• 2021 – present: Current Topics: Introduction to Cultural Psychology (BA); Lecturer
• 2025 – 2026: Practical Training Psychological Research (BA); Lecturer
• 2017 – present: Applied Cultural Psychology (MA); Coordinator & Lecturer
• 2017 – 2019: Applying Research Methods (MA); Lecturer
• 2025 – 2026: Advanced Social Influence in a Complex World (MA); Lecturer
• 2021 – present: From Art to Science: The Psychology of Worldviews (Research MA); Coordinator & Lecturer
• PhD Supervision:
  • Rohan Dunham (2020 – 2025), University of Amsterdam (with Gerben van Kleef)
  • Yagmur Ozbay (2021 – 2026), University of Amsterdam (with Suzanne Oosterwijk)
  • Rebecca Corona (2020 – 2025), University of California, Berkeley (with Dacher Keltner)

Academic Service

• 2023 - present: Organizer of event series Where Art Meets Science, Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), the Netherlands, with Prof. Dr. Maartje Raijmakers
• 2024: Jury member for the Art of Neuroscience international competition by 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 Cross-Cultural Psychology, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, PNAS Nexus, PNAS, European Journal of Social Psychology, Social and Psychological Personality Science, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Current Opinion in Psychology

International Peer-Reviewed Articles

• Trupp, M. D., Igdalova, A., Wijnands, M., Spee, B., Stamkou, E.*, Pelowski, M.*, & Greven, C. (under review). Art-based beauty appreciation intervention in young adults: Protocol for a two-arm active control mixed-method randomised controlled trial (ABBA-Vention). Trials (accepted for publication). 
• Van Kleef, G. A., Homan, A. C., Stamkou, E., Karinen, A., & Gelfand, M. (2025). Social Consequences of Counternormative Behavior: The Violation Appraisal Response (VAR) Model. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (accepted for publication). 
• Dunham, R., Van Kleef, G. A., & Stamkou., E. (2025). The threat of synthetic harmony: The effects of AI vs. human origin beliefs on listeners' cognitive, emotional, and physiological responses to music. Computers in Human Behavior: Artificial Humans, 100205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbah.2025.100205
• Dunham, R., Van Kleef, G. A., & Stamkou., E. (2025). The heart behind the art: Motives for making art and their influence on audience appreciation. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts (accepted for publication).
• Ozbay, Y., Oosterwijk, S, & Stamkou, E. (2025). Books or films, ephemeral or habitual? Untangling the path from narrative fiction to social cognition. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, doi: 10.1037/aca0000806.
• 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. (2025). 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 
• 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
• 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
• 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 
• 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
• 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., 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
• 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.
• 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

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).

Dissertation

• Stamkou, E. (2018). The dynamic nature of social hierarchies: The role of norm violations and hierarchical concerns. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Ipskamp.

Manuscripts Under Review

Revised & Resubmitted (2nd Round)

• Stamkou, E., Bartos, F., Choi, A., & Anderson, C. (under review). Is social power always associated with risk-taking? A meta-analytic review on the moderating role of other-orientation. Psychological Bulletin. 
• Stamkou, E., & Keltner, D. (under review). Aesthetic revolution: How art shapes social worlds. Social and Personality Psychology Compass.
• Dunham, R., Van Kleef, G. A., & Stamkou., E. (under review). The art of acceptance: The effect of art engagement on intergroup perception and responses. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations.

Submitted (1st round)

• Heerdink, M. W., Wolf, S. A., Lange, J., Wanders, F., Stamkou, E., Fang, X., & van Kleef, G. A. (under review). Emotional cues to group hierarchy: Inferences about dominance- versus prestige-based hierarchies from members’ emotional expressions. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

Research In Progress

• Stamkou, E., Akin, B, Atilla, G., Brummelmann, E., Keltner. D., & Nikolic, M. Awe Awakenings: The Experience of Awe in Early Childhood.
• Stamkou*, E., Khan, S., Tafuro, M., & Van Noord*, N. VAGen: A Visual Arts Dataset for Gender Analysis
• Stamkou, E., Konczak, T., Hueber, P., Lin, Y., Sun, R., Kluver, D., & Gelfand, M. The Gender Inequality Cascade in Cinema.