Biographical Details
After my MSc degree in the research master on Migration, Ethnic Relations and Multiculturalism, I obtained my doctoral degree at Utrecht University, The Netherlands. My doctoral research took place at the Interuniversity Center for Social Science Theory and Methodology (ICS) and at European Research Center on Migration and Ethnic Relations.

In 2007, I was a visiting scholar at the University of California at Berkeley, at the Survey Research Center, and in 2008 I went to the University of Sussex, Department of Psychology for an internship. At the Graduate School of the Faculty of Social Sciences in Utrecht, I coordinated several workshops, international events and student exchanges, within the Trans-Atlantic Student Mobility Project in "Race, Ethnicity and Migration Studies" (EU-FIPSE).

I joined the In the Department of Psychology, at UL on the 1st of January 2010.

 

Research

I work in the broad field of ethnic relations, looking at people’s attitudes and interaction with members from different ethnic or political groups. My research is focused on how group membership affects behavior in specific ethno-national intergroup contexts; how people generate social and political change. I use social psychological theories and quantitative empirical methods to analyze the interaction between social context and individuals, in order to address social issues like exclusion, marginalization, multiculturalism.

My main lines of research are:

1.  Cultural diversity and group-based prejudice. This covers a range of attitudes: from group stereotypes, to support for minority rights, and intercultural sensitivity and competence. Using a multiple group and multilevel approach, I investigate the effects of group power and relative status on individuals’ intergroup attitudes and political goals.

2.  Group identity: what is it, how people construct their group identities and how the groups they belong to shape their worldviews. In particular, I research the content of ethnic, national and other political identities (e.g., European, Asylum Seeker), the processes of identification and identity building with these groups. Group identities reflect complex interactions between social structure, national/political ideologies and the individuals involved.

3.  Political action and the sense of group position:  Social and political changes in our societies are based on group mobilization and collective action. I am fascinated by the social-psychological processes that underlie engagement in political action, on behalf of groups and communities. The types and meanings of group identities and their effects on people's engagement with their ingroups and exclusion of outgroups are key processes in how we position ourselves in our societies and how we may participate in changing it.

Since 2014, I have been a member of the Management Committee (MC) for the Cost Action IS 1205: Social psychological dynamics of historical representations in the enlarged European Union http://costis1205.wix.com/home#

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Organizing International Events

The 2nd Conference on Social Psychology in Ireland, A Two-Way Street: Social Issues and Social Psychological Research, University of Limerick, April 28-29, 2011. 

The 2012 European Association of Social Psychology Summer School, 6-19 August 2012, University of Limerick. Read the reviews of the Summer School in the European Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 24, Issue 2, pp. 17-20. ISSN 1563-1001 

The 3rd Conference on Social Psychology in Ireland, “Them” and “Us”? Constructing Minority Identities. Community and Research Perspectives on Travellers, Roma and Immigrant Groups, University of Limerick, October 3, 2013 

The Expert Meeting on Marginalization of ethnic minorities in European countries, focusing on Travellers and Roma groups, funded by the International Society of Political Psychology , and a UL SEED grant, University of Limerick, October 4-5, 2013

2nd Expert meeting with Romanian experts and Roma groups, Romania Centre for Education and Social Development, Bucharest, Romania, April 10-12, 2014

Final COST Action IS1205 Conference: Agents through Time: How Do People “Make History”? Social Psychological & Historical Research into Collective Memories, Social Identities & Intergroup Relations, University of Limerick, July 7-8, 2016 (http://cost2016.wixsite.com/makinghistory)

Irish Research Council Workshop: Engaging with Refugees: Disseminating Social Scientific Research to Increase Impact on Practice, Policy and Community, University of Limerick, July 6, 2016 (http://cost2016.wixsite.com/makinghistory/pre-conference-workshop )

Irish Research Council Workshop: Disseminating Research on Social Exclusion: Focus on Roma and Traveller Groups, University of Limerick, September 30, 2016

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Teaching at the University of Limerick

PS6041 Advanced Research Designs in Psychology, for the MSc program in Psychological Science (fall semester)

PS4012 Human Development and the Lifespan, for the BSc in Psychology and BA in Psychology and Sociology programs (spring semester)

PS4087 Political Psychology, for the the BSc in Psychology and BA in Psychology and Sociology programs (fall semester)

Forthcoming: Broadening your Learning by Exploring Cultural Diversity  (Broadening Curriculum Module)

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Selected Grants

2016 – Irish Research Council, New Foundations Grant: ”The Impact of Social, Psychological and Historical Research on European Societies: Dealing with the Refugee Crisis and Roma Exclusion”

2015-2014 – National Forum for Teaching and Learning Seminar Series funding for 2 workshops on intercultural education and cultural diversity (collaboration with Dr. Matthew Cannon, UL and Brighid Golden, MIC)

2013- ISPP Small Grant, International Society of Political Psychology

2011 - SEED Funding, University of Limerick. Research Grant for the project "Marginalization and Exclusion of Travellers in Ireland and Roma in Europe: Intergroup attitudes from a multiple-group social-psychological perspective"

2007 - California Scholarship, University of California- Utrecht University Agreement

2004- Utrecht Excellence Scholarship, The Netherlands

2003 - Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund (SYLFF) Utrecht University, The Netherlands

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Selected Research Outputs

Chayinska, M., Minescu, A., & McGarty, C. (2017). ‘The More We Stand For – The More We Fight For’: Compatibility and Legitimacy in the Effects of Multiple Social Identities. Frontiers in Psychology. 8:642. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00642

Chayinska, M., Minescu, A., & McGarty, C. (In Press). Political solidarity through action (and inaction): How international relations changed intracultural perceptions in Ukraine. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations. doi:10.1177/1368430216682354

Minescu, A. (2012). Relative Group Position and Intergroup Attitudes in Russia. Amsterdam: Ponsen & Looijen. ISBN: 978-90-6464-553-2.

Minescu, A. (2012). Social Psychology in Action. Report of the organizer of European Association of Social Psychology Summer School. European Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 24, Issue 2, pp. 17-20. ISSN 1563-1001. PDF

Minescu, A., & Poppe, E. (2011). Intergroup conflict in Russia. Testing the group position model. Social Psychology Quarterly, 74(2), 166-191. DOI: 10.1177/0190272511408057 PDF

Leach, C.W., Minescu, A., Poppe, E. & Hagendoorn, L. (2008) was selected by guest editor Stefano Pagliaro for highlighting its contributions to stereotype content research, for the special electronic issue on The Relevance of Morality in Social Psychology, in the European Journal of Social Psychology, 42(4), June 2012. PDF

Leach, C.W., Minescu, A., Poppe, E. & Hagendoorn, L. (2008). Generality and Specificity in Stereotypes of Out-group Power and Benevolence: Views of Chechens and Jews in the Russian Federation. European Journal of Social Psychology, 38, 1165-1174.

Minescu, A., Hagendoorn, L. and Poppe, E. (2008). Types of Identification and Intergroup Differentiation in the Russian Federation. Journal of Social Issues, 64(2), 321:342.

Minescu, A. (2008). Supporting Minority Rights: Inter-Group Determinants and Consequences. In: K. De Feyter & G. Pavlakos (eds.)The Tension between Group Rights and Human Rights. A Multidisciplinary Approach, pp. 221-242, Oxford, Hart Publishing. 

Hagendoorn, L., Poppe, E. & Minescu, A. (2008). Support for Separatism in Ethnic Republics of the Russian Federation. East-Asia Studies, 60(3).  

Minescu, A. (2007). Are Minority Rights Beneficial for Inter-Ethnic Relations? The Impact of Political Ideologies and Group Position in Russia. In: E. Poppe & M. Verkuyten (Eds.) Culture and Conflict. Liber Amicorum for Louk Hagendoorn, pp. 263-289, Amsterdam: Aksant Academic Publishers.

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Relevant Conference Presentations 

Minescu, A. (2016) Identities in action across "national" borders: From Russia to Ireland, the International Society for Political Psychology: 39th Annual Scientific meeting, Warsaw, Poland, July 14

Minescu, A. & Sambaraju, R. (2016) “Obviously the lecturer is”: Accounts of Exemptions from Discrimination, talking Racism in Ireland.  International Network for Hate Studies conference, University of Limerick, May 25

Chayinska, M. & Minescu, A. (2015) “I act because I believe”. How the perceived legitimacy of protest affects collective action intentions in Ukraine” Oppurg, Jena, Germany: European Association of Social Psychology (EASP) Medium Size Meeting on Social Justice: Inequality and Recognition

Minescu, A. & Lee, A. (2014) Political Activism in Ireland: A study case on the Anti-Austerity Alliance. Presented at the International Society for Political Psychology: 37th Annual Scientific meeting, Rome, Italy, July 4-7.

Minescu, A. (2013) History in the Making: National Identity within and between National Groups (co-authored with Aisling T. O’Donnell & Orla T. Muldoon). Presented at The 15th Annual Jena Workshop on Intergroup Relations, Oppurg, Jena, Germany, July 4-6.

Minescu, A. (2011). Defining ethnic groups in the Russian federation: The strength of identity markers and social identifications. Paper presented at the British Psychological Society: Social Psychology Section Annual Conference. Cambridge, UK, September 6-8.

Minescu, A. (2011). Superordinate identifications' profile and impact on assimilation and multiculturalism in the Russian Federation. Paper presented at the General Meeting of the European Association of Social Psychology, Stockholm, Sweden, July 12-16.

Minescu, A. (2010) Fueling perceived conflict: when entitlement claims and group size interact with threat. Paper presented at the Centre for Research in Political Psychology at Queen's University Belfast, Conference on Rethinking the Political in Political Psychology, Belfast, Northern Ireland, April 14-16.

Minescu, A. & Funke, F. (2010). Group size and support for political goals in the Russian Federation. The mediating role of social identifications and perceived threat. Paper presented at the International Society for Political Psychology, Annual meeting in San Francisco, July 7-10.

Minescu, A. (2010) What unites and divides ethnic groups: cross-republic and ethnic group variations in the Russian Federation. Paper presented at the International Society for Political Psychology, Annual meeting in San Francisco, July 7-10.       

 

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