Iniobong Essien

Iniobong Essien

Postdoctoral fellow

Leuphana Universität Lüneburg

Short Bio

I study intergroup processes and social context. For example, my research investigates how places are perceived differently depending on the groups of people living there; how the social composition of school contexts affects teachers' decision-making in the classroom; or how geographic regions differ in terms of intergroup bias.

I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Professorship for Social and Organisational Psychology of Social Work at Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Germany.

Interests
  • Intergroup Relations
  • Stereotyping and Prejudice
  • Social Context
  • Social Identity
  • Stigmatized Groups
Education
  • Doctor of Science (Dr. rer. nat.) in Social Psychology, 2020

    Universität Hamburg

  • Diplom Degree (equivalent M.A.) in Psychology, 2012

    Universität Hamburg

Publications

Published or in Press

* Co-first authors.

Degner, J., Floether, J., & Essien, I., (in press). Pressured to be proud? Investigating the link between perceived norms and intergroup attitudes in members of disadvantaged minority groups. British Journal of Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12874

Reimer, N. K., Branković, M., Essien, I., Goh, J. X., Goudeau, S., Lantos, N. A., & Veldman, J. (in press). Double standards in judging collective action. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

Essien, I., & Siem, B. (in press) Space-focused stereotypes and their potential role in group-based disparities in social work services. Social Work & Society.

Essien, I., & Rohmann, A. (2024). Space-focused stereotypes of immigrant neighbourhoods. British Journal of Social Psychology, 63(4). https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12756

Hechler, S., & Essien, I. (2024). Rassismus im Kontext rechtsextremer Ideologie. In T. Rothmund & E. Walther (Eds.), Psychologie der Rechtsradikalisierung: Theorien, Perspektiven, Prävention. Kohlhammer. https://doi.org/10.17433/978-3-17-043998-6

Stelter, M.*, Essien, I.*, Rohmann, A., Degner, J., & Kemme, S. (2023). Shooter biases and stereotypes among police and civilians. Acta Psychologica, 232, Article 103820, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103820 Preprint

Siem, B., & Essien, I. (2023). „Weiß und gebildet?“ Auf dem Weg zu einer divers(er)en Klimaschutzbewegung. The Inquisitive Mind, 4. https://de.in-mind.org/article/weiss-und-gebildet-auf-dem-weg-zu-einer-diverseren-klimaschutzbewegung

Froehlich, L., Essien, I., & Martiny, S. E. (2022). Stereotype in Kindergärten und Kindertagesstätten: Theoretische Grundlagen, empirische Evidenz und Interventionsansätze für pädagogisches Fachpersonal. In S. Glock (Ed.), Stereotype in der Schule II: Ursachen und Möglichkeiten der Intervention (pp. 137–170). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-37262-0_4

Essien, I., Stelter, M., Rohmann, A., & Degner, J. (2022). Beyond stereotypes: Prejudice as an important missing force explaining group disparities. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 45, e74. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X21000832 Preprint

Stelter, M.*, Essien, I.*, Sander, C., & Degner, J. (2022). Racial bias in police traffic stops: White residents' county-level prejudice and stereotypes are related to disproportionate stopping of Black drivers. Psychological Science, 33(4), 483–496. https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976211051272 Preprint

Degner, J., Floether, J., Essien, I. (2021). Do members of disadvantaged groups explain group status with group stereotypes? Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.750606

Essien, I., Calanchini, J., & Degner, J. (2021). Moderators of intergroup evaluation in disadvantaged groups: A comprehensive test of predictions from system justification theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 120(5), 1204–1230. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000302

Kemme, S., Essien, I., & Stelter, M. (2020). Antimuslimische Einstellungen in der Polizei? Der Zusammenhang von Kontakthäufigkeit und -qualität mit Vorurteilen und Stereotypen gegenüber Muslimen. Monatsschrift für Kriminologie und Strafrechtsreform, 103(2), 129–149. https://doi.org/10.1515/mks-2020-2048

Brandt, M. J., Kuppens, T., Spears, R., Andrighetto, L., Autin, F., Babincak, P., Badea, C., Bae, J., Batruch, A., Becker, J. C., Bocian, K., Bodroža, B., Bourguignon, D., Bukowski, M., Butera, F., Butler, S. E., Chryssochoou, X., Conway, P., Crawford, J. T., … Essien, I., … & Zimmerman, J. L. (2020). Subjective status and perceived legitimacy across countries. European Journal of Social Psychology, 50(5), 921–942. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2694

Essien, I., Degner, J., & Otten, S. (2020). Group evaluations as self-group distancing: Ingroup typicality moderates evaluative intergroup bias in stigmatized groups. European Journal of Social Psychology, 50(6), 1108–1124. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2708

Essien, I.*, Stelter, M.*, Kalbe, F., Köhler, A., Mangels, J., & Meliß, S. (2017). The shooter bias: Replicating the classic effect and introducing a novel paradigm. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 70, 41–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2016.12.009

Degner, J., Essien, I., & Reichardt, R. (2016): Effects of diversity versus segregation on automatic approach and avoidance behavior towards own and other ethnic groups. European Journal of Social Psychology, 46(6), 783–791. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2234

Preprints

Reimer, N. K., Branković, M., Essien, I., Goh, J. X., Goudeau, S., Lantos, N. A., & Veldman, J. (2022). Double standards in judging collective actions. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/28fyt

Under Review or in Preparation

Essien, I., Siem, B., Zander, L., & Rohmann, A. (2025). The racialized classroom: The influence of classroom composition on teachers' decisions to use disciplinary measures. Manuscript submitted for publication.

Stelter, M., Essien, I., von Bargen, M. & Christ, O. (2025). Police officers’ distrust and prejudice towards racialized groups is related to negative construal of intergroup contact and motivation. Manuscript submitted for publication.

Essien, I., Froehlich, L., Rohmann, A., & Siem, B. (2025). Context-based discrimination in school. Manuscript in preparation.