The Behaviour in Crisis Lab

Great discussion at the BiC – Behaviour in Crisis Lab! Tomasz Besta presented cross-cultural research (58 countries, N=16,829) on personality traits like sadism and psychopathy and their links to violent political collective action. Thanks to everyone who joined!

Tomorrow, Katarzyna Jaśko (PhD) will present their work on Motivational Analysis of the Role of Expectancy in Collective Action. She uses insights from motivational psychology to understand extreme vs. moderate political behaviors and social change.

Last week, Gabriela Czarnek (Assistant Professor at the Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University) presented us her interesting work on understanding and countering climate misinformation.

It has been a beautiful summary of an incredible 2.5 years
Thank you to all our collogues who came to celebrate with us. We truly felt your support, warmth, and friendship all around.
This gives us the strength and motivation to keep inspiring and conducting research for you.

Come join us and see how everyday online interactions shape who we are and how we belong.
🔗 Read more ➤ becrilab.id.uj.edu.pl/aktualnosci/...

Through games, tasks, and experiments, you can explore psychology, sociology, and learning sciences while contributing to ongoing studies on identity, social media, group dynamics, and the social consequences of digital life. 🧠🌐

Check out the interactive exhibition DigiPatch LivingLAB at the Copernicus Science Centre — prepared by our team as part of the project DigiPatch. At LivingLAB, visitors don’t just observe — they become participants in real social-science research. Read more below.

Gabriela Czarnek, a researcher at our lab, has co-authored an article in Nature. “Persuading Voters Using Human-AI Dialogues” shows that even brief conversations with an AI chatbot can shift voters’ preferences—more effectively than traditional political advertising.

Great news from our lab! 🎉👏
Dr. Erica Molinario has received the OPUS 29 Grant to advance her research on what drives pro-environmental action.
Details here 👉 becrilab.id.uj.edu.pl/aktualnosci/...

Thrilled to share our new publication in the International Journal of Intercultural Relations! We found that fear of war can strengthen support for refugee policies when empathy is present. What truly undermines support are symbolic threats, which erode empathy and fuel hostility.

Also, this Thursday, our lab member Weronika Kałwak will deliver a rehearsal lecture for her upcoming presentation at Charles University in Prague. Come support her and share your feedback!

Today we’re delighted to host Özden Melis Uluğ from the University of Sussex. She will be giving a talk titled “From Conflict Narratives to Collective Action: Psychological Perspectives on Peace and Allyship.”
Join us here at 15:00 (Warsaw, PL time): teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-joi...

We’re excited to announce the return of Open Meetings!
Last week, we welcomed Prof. Jan Brzozowski from the Faculty of International and Political Studies at JU.
He gave us a very informative talk on "The determinants of economic integration among Ukrainian refugees and economic migrants in Poland".

📢 Postdoc Opportunity!
Join Jagiellonian Univ. (Kraków) as a Post-doctoral Researcher in Social Psychology (4-year NCN-funded project on global crises & collective action).

🗓 Deadline: 27 Aug 2025
🔗 easp.eu/job-offers/itm/post_doctoral_researcher_positio-2107.html

The 48th ISPP Meeting in Prague—one of the top conferences in political psych—featured strong representation from Jagiellonian University, with several presenters from our lab!
🔹 27 paper presentations
🔹 1 blitz talk
🔹 6 poster sessions
Proud of everyone who contributed and represented us so well!

📢 New publication in PSPB!
We tracked Poles over 3 waves to examine how closeness to Ukrainian refugees and threat perceptions shape each other. Feeling closer reduced both threat types—but only realistic threat (e.g. jobs, services) predicted less closeness over time.
🔗 doi.org/10.1177/0146...

This year, we held 27 meetings with 28 speakers from global universities across various disciplines.

Researchers from all seven Lab groups shared their work, alongside many external guests who offered valuable insights.

See you next year!

Join via here teams.microsoft.com/dl/launcher/...

This Wed, join BiC Lab’s open talk with Halime Ünver Aba: After the Earthquake: How Disaster & Media Shaped Turkey’s Refugee Debate?
The study reveals how face-to-face contact and media narratives compete to shape empathy, fear, and social cohesion. MS Teams link below ->

Online: Join via Microsoft Teams
teams.microsoft.com/l/message/19...

Tomorrow, Erica Molinario will give a talk on how our fundamental need to feel significant, whether fulfilled or frustrated, plays a crucial role in shaping migration decisions.
Join us to explore how these insights could change the way we think about migration today!
link below

On May 30, we held the Annual Meeting of Behaviour in Crisis Lab: "Facing Crisis: Preparedness and Social Response." With three panels, expert talks, and engaging discussions, we explored how to empower vulnerable groups and strengthen societal responses to crises. Thank you to all involved!

Such a joy to chair the migration crisis panel at @UJ_BCrisisLab’s annual meeting! Grateful to amazing panelists Ewa Szumoswska, Jan Brozowski, Marek Palace & Yuliia Lesyshak (we missed Ewa Morlinaro!) for sharing their research, policy takeaways and insights 🌍✨

We will be hosting Anna Kende (Eötvös Loránd University) for our next meeting!

This talk will build on critique of research focusing primarily on prejudice reduction among advantaged group members, and on the distinction between social change oriented vs. benevolent allyship.

What shapes how groups remember their shared past?
Find out at our open lab meeting with guest speaker, Professor Nurit Shnabel this Wednesday!
Online: Join via Microsoft Teams
teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-joi...

Today, our lab member Dr. Anna Potoczek presented her research “Why and When Extremists Win: The Appeal of Radical Political Candidates”—a timely and thought-provoking talk featuring a series of well-designed experiments. Great work, Anna! 👏

We are pleased to inform you that the the fifth edition of the Behaviour in Crisis Lab Newsletter is now ready and available for you to read:

Newsletter in English:

becrilab.id.uj.edu.pl/documents/15...

Newsletter in Polish:
becrilab.id.uj.edu.pl/documents/15...

BiC Conference Panels Preview below

It’s open to all—just register by May 10th! umdsurvey.umd.edu/jfe/form/SV_...
Faculty of International and Political Studies, Kraków
May 30, 2025
9:00–17:30
#FacingCrisis #Migration #Politics #InvisibleChildren #Science #SocialChange

Krys Kaniasty and Stefano Pagliaro will join us in Kraków for the Behaviour in Crisis Lab Annual Meeting: Facing Crisis – Preparedness and Social Response.
📅 May 30, 2025 | 9:00–17:30
Join us!
📝 Free participation, registration required by May 10:
umdsurvey.umd.edu/jfe/form/SV_...

Join our upcoming open meeting on how young people build financial resilience in uncertain times.
🎙️ Guest: Dr. Žan Lep (Univ. of Ljubljana)
🗓️ Topic: Financial socialisation, literacy & well-being
📍 Room 5.01, Inst. of Psychology, JU
All welcome!