Roland Imhoff

@rolandimhoff.bsky.social

3.5K followers 330 following 830 posts

Social Psychologist: Categorization, Stereotypes, Conspiracy Mentality; EASP Executive Committee; https://scholar.google.de/citations?user=PJwzk1EAAAAJ

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Sociology 18%

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Roland Imhoff @rolandimhoff.bsky.social · Jan 14

Im #MindsOfMainz Podcast durfte ich meine beiden großen Forschungsinteressen Kategorisierung/Stereotype und Verschwörungstheorien gleich beide verwursten.. auch auf Spotify, Deezer oder Apple... 🥳

Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz @unimainz.bsky.social · Jan 14

🎧 NEUE STAFFEL: #Forschungspodcast #MindsOfMainz – #DerGutenbergTalk | Folge 20: Alles nur Lug & Trug? Wie entstehen Verschwörungsmythen und warum machen uns Stereotype das Leben leichter? | mit Prof. Roland Imhof 👉 www.magazin.uni-mainz.de/minds-of-mai... #Sozialpsychologie #Verschwörungsmentalität

Minds of Mainz – Der Gutenberg-Talk. Forschungspodcast der Uni Mainz

Roland Imhoff @rolandimhoff.bsky.social · 3d

Ciao, Roma!

Roland Imhoff @rolandimhoff.bsky.social · 5d

All roads lead to Rome... Surely hope all train tracks as well. Starting my ~20h journey to attend the #EASP EC meeting...

Roland Imhoff @rolandimhoff.bsky.social · 5d

So, the visually accessible MC ratio on gender cues is typically enhanced. For categories like race, an implication would be that an increased frequency of people visually read as "biracial", the salience of the category dimension might attenuate...

Roland Imhoff @rolandimhoff.bsky.social · 5d

Yes! It may also be part of the puzzle why age is less reliably used. In the information ecology, it has no clear category boundaries and a flat meta contrast ratio -- unless it is institutionally created (e.g., in schools). On the contrary, gender is actively done and emphasized: costumes, make-up

Roland Imhoff @rolandimhoff.bsky.social · 5d

Forgot to tag @chrispetsko.bsky.social - apologies!

Roland Imhoff @rolandimhoff.bsky.social · 5d

Heidrich, V., Flade, F., & Imhoff, R. (in press). Face the difference: Meta-contrast as an affordance to spontaneous social categorization. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
osf.io/preprints/ps...

OSF

osf.io

Roland Imhoff @rolandimhoff.bsky.social · 5d

This idea started in my 2019 ESCON keynote (with Felicitas Flade) and came to life thanks to the incredible talent of Verena Heidrich who turned this vague idea into a paper I am really proud of.

Roland Imhoff @rolandimhoff.bsky.social · 5d

Across 5 pre-registered experiments, we found:
People don’t just categorize more when meta-contrast is high —
They prefer to use the dimension with the stronger relative meta-contrast when several are available.

Roland Imhoff @rolandimhoff.bsky.social · 5d

We call the clarity of those clusters the meta-contrast ratio (kind of like an ANOVA F value or Cohen's d).
It’s like how the same mean difference feels “bigger” when the groups themselves are less variable.
Low within-group variance = stronger affordance to categorize along that line.

Roland Imhoff @rolandimhoff.bsky.social · 5d

Imagine the features that define a category (like skin color for race or skin texture for age). If these cues fall into two tight, non-overlapping clusters, categorizing is easy.
If they’re messy and (almost) overlapping, not so much.

Roland Imhoff @rolandimhoff.bsky.social · 5d

Borrowing from Christopher Petsko’s idea: What lens do people put on to make sense of their social world?
We suggest it depends on the information ecology — the distribution of cues we use to infer who belongs where.

a close up of a person 's face wearing glasses with a large lens

ALT: a close up of a person 's face wearing glasses with a large lens

media.tenor.com

Roland Imhoff @rolandimhoff.bsky.social · 5d

Humans spontaneously sort others into categories — “women,” “BIPOC,” “elderly,” etc.
That’s well known.
But what’s less clear: why one category dimension dominates in a given situation. Why gender here but race there?

a person is stacking blocks of gum on top of each other .

ALT: a person is stacking blocks of gum on top of each other .

media.tenor.com

Reposted by Linda J. Skitka, Serge Guimond

Roland Imhoff @rolandimhoff.bsky.social · 5d

🎉 New paper accepted at JPSP: ASC!
Verena Heidrich, Felicitas Flade & I ask:
When people meet others, which social lens do they use — age, gender, race?
Our paper: “Face the Difference: Meta-contrast as an Affordance to Spontaneous Social Categorization.”
osf.io/preprints/ps...

OSF

osf.io

Reposted by Roland Imhoff

Wilhelm Hofmann @wilhelmhofmann.bsky.social · Oct 11

provide a behavioral perspective which may support policymakers in co-designing effective and fair structural solutions to sustainability problems. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Rethinking behaviour change interventions in policymaking

Nature Human Behaviour - Behaviour change interventions that are unsuccessful may often be limited by structural constraints. Accumulating evidence across contexts helps to diagnose these barriers....

www.nature.com

Reposted by Roland Imhoff

Fiona Kazarovytska @zakfio.bsky.social · Sep 30

✨ Wir suchen Verstärkung für ein Projekt zu 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗺𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗺 𝗔𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗶𝘁𝘀𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝘇 - Bitte weitersagen! ✨

Zum 01.03.26 starten wir ein Projekt zu Antisemitismuserfahrungen im Arbeitskontext und vergeben eine Promotionsstelle (d/w/m, 75%, TV-L E13)!

www.psychjob.eu/de/job/wisse...

Wissenschaftliche*r Mitarbeiter*in (d/w/m; 75% TV-L E13)

Am Psychologischen Institut der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Abteilung Sozial- und Rechtspsychologie, ist zum 01.03.2026 (oder 01.04.2026) folgende Stelle befristet für 4 Jahre zu besetzen: W...

www.psychjob.eu

Reposted by Frank Asbrock, Claudia Landwehr

Roland Imhoff @rolandimhoff.bsky.social · Sep 30

🚨Promotionsstelle "Antisemitismus am Arbeitsplatz" - TVL-13 75%, 4 Jahre 🚨

Bitte gerne eifrig weiterleiten: ab März 2026 (vorbehaltlich finaler BMFTR-Zusage) ist in unserem Team eine Stelle im Projekt von @zakfio.bsky.social zu vergeben. Näheres in der Ausschreibung:
www.psychjob.eu/de/job/wisse...

Wissenschaftliche*r Mitarbeiter*in (d/w/m; 75% TV-L E13)

www.psychjob.eu

Roland Imhoff @rolandimhoff.bsky.social · Sep 22

Whoever organizes #FGSP3027 will be more than delighted to realize that @olivergenschow.bsky.social has been promoting it and its hashtag in advance for more than a thousand years.

Roland Imhoff @rolandimhoff.bsky.social · Sep 17

A fantastic #fgsp2025 German SocPsy meeting is crowned with a band performance feat. organizers @hansalves.bsky.social @wilhelmhofmann.bsky.social and @moritzingendahl.bsky.social! A really great organization and inspiring event. See you at #fgsp2027 in Lüneburg (w/ @olivergenschow.bsky.social).

Reposted by Marc Mölders, Claudia Landwehr

Roland Imhoff @rolandimhoff.bsky.social · Sep 5

Ph.D. position/ Promotionsstelle (75%; f/m/d) "Parsimony in Bias Research". Please share with potential candidates - gerne streuen:

www.psychjob.eu/de/job/promo...

www.psychjob.eu

Reposted by Roland Imhoff

Katharina Nocun @kattascha.bsky.social · Aug 27

„Wenn Menschen an Verschwörungserzählungen glauben, dann haben sie ganz automatisch das Gefühl, über eine Art Geheimwissen zu verfügen“, sagt @rolandimhoff.bsky.social , Professor für Sozial- & Rechtspsychologie an der Gutenberg-Universität in Mainz, am Telefon. „Sie fühlen sich erleuchtet…“

Reposted by Roland Imhoff

entschwört. Berlin - Beratung zu Verschwörungsmythen @entschwoert-berlin.bsky.social · Aug 21

Christina Lopinski #SZ im Gespräch mit @rolandimhoff.bsky.social & entschwört über den wertschärtzenden Umgang in Beziehungen mit verschwörungsgläubigen Angehörigen & Familienmitgliedern:

www.sueddeutsche.de/projekte/art...

#demokratie #berlin #beratung #noafd #antisemitismus #rassismus #familie

Ihr Mann glaubt an Verschwörungserzählungen, sie will die Beziehung retten

Früher schauten sie gemeinsam Arte-Dokus, heute glaubt er an Chemtrails. Über eine Frau, die versucht, ihren Mann aus den Fängen der Verschwörungsideologie zu retten.

www.sueddeutsche.de

Reposted by Roland Imhoff

Hans Alves @hansalves.bsky.social · Jul 25

New paper in PsychScience: Partial election results fuel fraud beliefs via cumulative redundancy bias. Early leaders are favored; late flips spark suspicion. 7 studies, including 2020 GA data, show this persists despite explanations. @moritzingendahl.bsky.social journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

journals.sagepub.com

Roland Imhoff @rolandimhoff.bsky.social · Jul 25

No one applies the most basic cognitive principles so beautifully to explain meaningful real-world phenomena like @hansalves.bsky.social. I'm a fan!

Hans Alves @hansalves.bsky.social · Jul 25

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

journals.sagepub.com

Reposted by Mario Gollwitzer, Roland Imhoff

Kai Epstude @kaiepstude.bsky.social · Nov 7

The European Journal of Social Psychology is looking for junior consulting editors

www.easp.eu/news/itm/ejs...

EJSP seeks Junior Consulting Editors

Social Psychology News Articles

www.easp.eu

Reposted by Roland Imhoff, Flávio Azevedo, Eric Groenendyk

mark brandt @mjbsp.bsky.social · Nov 18

In January @lizsuhay.bsky.social & I will be co-EiC at Political Psychology. We will be the first EiC team that represents both of the key disciplines of this interdisciplinary journal.

Reposted by Roland Imhoff

Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz @unimainz.bsky.social · Jan 14

Reposted by Roland Imhoff

Mistress Matisse @mistressmatisse.bsky.social · Jan 23

Lessor men send pictures of their dicks to individual women, but billionaires issue press releases about them.

Reposted by Tobias Rothmund

Roland Imhoff @rolandimhoff.bsky.social · Jul 22

Am 14. September gibt es in Bochum eine Abendrevue zu Verschwörungserzählungen, die ich mit @pialamberty.bsky.social und @lpummerer.bsky.social gestalte unter Mitwirkung von @tobiasrothmund.bsky.social und sekten-info-nrw.de. Tickets sind begrenzt und unter dem Link bestellbar.

Reposted by Claudia Landwehr

Roland Imhoff @rolandimhoff.bsky.social · Jul 15

Das NDR-Magazin ZAPP hat sich mit dem Fall Muhammad al Muhammad beschäftigt, einem syrischen Geflüchteten, der in einem Akt von Zivilcourage einen Messerangriff unterband -- und sich anschließend Diffamierungen und Verschwörungstheorien ausgesetzt sah.
www.ndr.de/fernsehen/se...

Messerangriff in Hamburg: Ein Held, der nicht sein darf

Muhammad greift beim Messerangriff in Hamburg beherzt ein – und wird zur Zielscheibe rechter Hetze. Warum gerät ein Helfer ins Visier?

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