I am a PhD candidate at Utrecht University, where I study “polarization panic”: the belief that society is deeply divided. Focusing on attitudes towards migration, I examine how misperceptions of other people’s views can undermine social cohesion. Under the supervision of Reine van der Wal, Mathijs Kros and Belle Derks, I investigate how perceived polarization operates at the local level. Combining psychological and sociological perspectives, this project aims to better understand this phenomenon and develop an intervention to address it.
Community-building and bringing people together form the common thread throughout my personal, professional, and academic life. Through this research, I hope to identify ways to strengthen social cohesion in neighbourhoods and make social issues feel less black and white.
