The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences brings together high-quality research and outstanding mono- and multidisciplinary teaching.

This research project is funded by a subsidy from Instituut Gak.

This research aims to investigate how different social forces interact with hydropolitics in the Eastern Nile Basin and what are the constraints of engagement.

-

The current study focuses on Walpole’s social network and the language as contained in the letters of the network members.

What are the manifestations, antecedents and consequences of the cognitive uncertainty experiences of social care professionals?

Researcher Adam Lichtenheld received the ISA Distinguished Book Award for the best book in the study of international politics of ethnicity, nationalism and migration. The prize was awarded by the International Studies Association.

The need for knowledge among practitioners and the lack of an academic knowledge base for specifically collective arrangements of social work in the Netherlands were the reason for Anouk de Koning, Femke Kaulingfreks and Maartje van der Woude to start working on a Dutch Research Agenda (NWA) application…

Researchers from five different discplines work together in this interdisciplinary initiative.

Minister of Justice Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius recently warned against

The making of sacrifices seems part and parcel of any elite sportsperson’s life. Remarkably, the insights that we find in the current literature in social sport studies are not able to make sense of the references to sacrifice in the data that emerged in the context of this study on the social significance…

Book by Soledad Valdivia Rivera

Migration is the talk of the town. On the whole, however, the current situation is seen as resulting from unique political upheavals. Such a-historical interpretations ignore the fact that migration is a fundamental phenomenon in human societies from the beginning and plays a crucial role in the cultural,…

Deepfakes are videos that have been manipulated to replace one person’s likeness with that of another. They can be difficult to distinguish from authentic videos. In our study, we found that people who score high on conspiracy thinking and people who use social media more are better at distinguishing…

D.P. Kok defended his thesis on 10 October 2017

The organising committee of the congress 'Social Benefits of Higher Education' has decided to postpone the congress.

This collection of seventeen essays takes its inspiration from the scholarly achievements of the Dutch historian Jan Lucassen. They reflect a central theme in his research: the history of labor.

Songbirds as vocal learners learn their songs and song preference from social tutors⁠. Tutor choice for both song and preference learning are important to characterize for understanding individual learning performance and cultural transmission of song⁠.

Together with Pepijn Tuinier and Thijs Brocades Zaalberg, Sebastiaan Rietjens researched the role of trust in an international intelligence cooperation.

The aim of this dissertation is to provide insight in interethnic prejudice of children in the Netherlands and attitudes and ideologies that they are exposed to through two socialization agents (parents and children’s books).

Brian Shaev

The aim of this thesis was to study the link between hearing loss, language skills, and social functioning in deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children. Sufficient language skills are an essential prerequisite to develop appropriate communication skills, in order to join in conversations with others.…

This project explores the decline of shifting cultivation in Northeast India. What is the impact on society of people’s deepening engagement with markets and the state?

Book on Dutch mayors governing local order and public safety.

How do people become involved in terrorist organisations? Liesbeth van der Heide sought the answer to this question in a Malian prison, where she interviewed terrorists in a tiny cell. She discovered that the will to survive and social context are often more decisive than individual ideological convictions.…

To argue that people can control the relative contributions of goal-driven and stimulus-driven processes to decision-making and action selection.

Stay tuned for updates on relevant media appearances of Anne-Laura van Harmelen.

This article, by Sara Perlstein, explores how perceived social acceptability shapes whether people talk about risks, showing that risk perceptions and conversations are socially negotiated rather than purely individual.

Across Latin America, stories of violence against women reveal how deeply gender, power en inequality are intertwined. Researcher Martín Hernán Di Marco tells how storytelling, activism and research together challenge the global cycle of violence against women and girls.

International education in the Netherlands is under pressure. There is pressure on the student housing market, and there is a greater desire among right-wing parties to keep our education and students within the borders and to make studies Dutch-language. In these social matters we look at what international…

LiTechAe: Percussive stone tools related to stone masonry techniques seen through experimentation and use-wear analysis.

In this article, Annemiek de Looze and Eefje Cuppen, investigated empericallly if and how social conflict leads to institutional change.

The Young Academy Leiden strives to connect young academics with each other and strengthen their position within the University. It goes without saying that mental health is a topic that cannot be ignored here. That is why that was the theme of an again successful Young Faculty Lunch, this time at the…

“We are proud and happy to receive this grant. It will enable us to do truly innovative fundamental research with a direct link to practical applications.” Michiel Westenberg is looking forward to investigate the effects of age and social anxiety on eye-contact. Together with Esther van den Bos he has…

Students, first-time buyers, parents with stay-at-home children, migrants in need of a house; the problems in the housing market affect many layers within the society. The lack of housing is a growing problem. How does this affect our behaviour and the way we think about 'living' ? What are the consequences…

This thesis focuses on the social dimensions of crane and wetland conservation in rural landscapes in Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

This project explored the role of material culture, in casu painted plaster and its technologies, in expressing dynamic social identities and in forging complex interwoven human relationships in the context of the Middle to Late Bronze Age of the Aegean and East Mediterranean.

From 1 January 2017, Professor of neurocognitive developmental psychology Eveline Crone has been appointed member of the Social Sciences Council of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW).

An archaeological case-study of the Pointe des Châteaux, La Désirade and Les Îles de la Petite Terre micro-region, Guadeloupe, F.W.I.

This open access book brings together an eclectic cast of scholars in related disciplines to examine ageing in the Soviet Union, covering the practice of geriatrics, the science of gerontology, and the experience of growing old. Chapters in the book focus on concepts and themes that analyse Soviet ageing…

This article introduces the concept of Repertoires of Comparison (RoCs) to explain how certain comparisons become deeply embedded in social and political life.

On Friday 7 March 2025 Adam Knight successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.