Short Bio
I am a social psychologist studying how social and structural contexts shape intergroup perception, judgment, and discrimination. My research asks how the composition of social environments — classrooms, neighborhoods, regions — influences how people perceive and evaluate others, and how this contributes to group-based disparities.
My work combines experimental methods, field studies, multilevel analyses, and large-scale secondary data to connect micro-level psychological processes to macro-level patterns of inequality. Two lines of research define this program.
Context-based discrimination in institutional settings. This research develops and tests a model of how the social composition of environments shapes perception and decision-making in institutional contexts. A central focus is school discipline: how classroom and school composition influences teachers' interpretations of behavior and their disciplinary responses, contributing to disparities that emerge at the level of settings rather than individuals. This program is supported by a DFG Emmy Noether grant and builds on earlier DFG-funded work.
Social perception of places. Neighborhoods and urban spaces carry reputations tied to the groups associated with them. I study how these space-focused stereotypes shape evaluations and institutional decisions, including among professionals such as police officers or social workers.
I am currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Professorship for Social and Organisational Psychology of Social Work at Leuphana Universität Lüneburg. In 2023, I received the Leuphana Gender and Diversity Award (Leuphana Sonderpreis für Geschlechter- und Diversitätsforschung) for my research on stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination. Alongside this research, I co-direct KoDiTa, a project developing and evaluating a higher education program that prepares future teachers for constructive engagement with diversity.
- Context-Based Discrimination
- Stereotypes and Prejudice
- Intergroup Relations and Inequality
- Social Perception of Places and Neighborhoods
- Regional Context and Intergroup Bias
- Research Methods and Open Science
Doctor of Science (Dr. rer. nat.) in Social Psychology, 2020
Universität Hamburg
Diplom Degree (equiv. M.Sc.) in Psychology, 2012
Universität Hamburg
Publications
Published or in Press
* Shared first authorship
Essien, I., & Siem, B. (2025) Space-focused stereotypes and their potential role in group-based disparities in social work services. Social Work & Society.
Becker, J., Essien, I., Halabi, S., Scholaske, L., & Veit, S. (2025). Acknowledging the elephant in the room: A psychology of racism within the European context. Zeitschrift für Psychologie, 233(3), 147–154. https://doi.org/10.1027/2151-2604/a000598
Reimer, N. K., Branković, M., Essien, I., Goh, J. X., Goudeau, S., Lantos, N. A., & Veldman, J. (2025). Double standards in judging collective action. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/xge0001743
Degner, J., Floether, J., & Essien, I., (2025). 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
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
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.
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
Under Review or in Preparation
Essien, I., Siem, B., Clasen, J., Groß, E., Häfele, J., Kammigan, I., Kemme, S., Nickel, A., Taefi, A., Zähringer, U., & Stelter, M. (2025). Police officers’ perceptions of urban spaces are related to regional demographics. Manuscript in preparation.
Stelter, M., Essien, I., Christ, O., Calanchini, J. (2025). The geography of the shooter bias: Regional context is linked to racialized threat perception. Manuscript submitted for publication. (Preprint)
Hahn, A., Moran, T., Adeyemi, F, Akinnola, I., Stelter, M., Essien, I., & Smith, C. (2025). Reframing Africa’s image: Positive information outperforms negation in changing explicit negative evaluations. Manuscript submitted for publication.
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. (Preprint)
Stelter, M., Essien, I., von Bargen, M. & Christ, O. (in press). Police officers' prejudice and distrust towards racialized groups is related to internal motivation to suppress prejudice and negative intergroup contact. British Journal of Social Psychology.
Essien, I., Froehlich, L., Rohmann, A., & Siem, B. (2025). Context-based discrimination in school discipline. Manuscript in submitted for publication. (Preprint)
Essien, I., Stelter, M., Siem, B., Christ, O., & Calanchini, J. (2025). Social dominance culture. Manuscript in preparation.