(for complete CV last updated on October 28, 2021, please see: https://www.pbs.umass.edu/sites/default/files/profiles_cvs/leidner_cv_2.pdf)
International justice. What are the antecedents and consequences of different notions of justice (e.g., retribution, restoration)? How do they differ among victims and perpetrators? How do they factor in ongoing conflicts such as the Israeli–Palestinian conflict? What are the effects of international justice mechanisms (e.g. court trials, truth commissions) in concluded conflicts such as in Bosnia and Serbia?
Intergroup violence. Does intergroup violence repeat itself and if so, how? Is intergroup violence inevitable? How can it be avoided or mitigated?
Collective action. What advantages do nonviolent movements have over violent movements? What are the psychological mechanisms underlying people's decision to engage in collective action?
Recurring questions in all topics/projects are:
What situational factors facilitate or mitigate violence? (e.g. identity threat)
Which kind of people support or oppose violence? (e.g. in-group glorifiers)
How do personal or collective experiences shape people's reactions to violence? (e.g. suffering vs. perpetrating past violence)
GRANTS
2022 National Science Foundation (NSF SBE), RAPID: Afghan Public Opinion on Conflict Prevention, Co-principal investigator, US$200,000 (formally invited by NSF’s Security and Preparedness [SAP] program; to be submitted by Nov. 5, 2021)
2022-2023 Ploughshares, Bombs Away? How the Nuclear Ban Treaty Affects the Nuclear Taboo, Co-principal investigator, US$104,969.54 (under review)
2022-2023 American Psychological Association (APA)/Center for Disease Control (CDC), Science and the Infodemic: Combating Mis/Disinformation in a Controlled Online News Ecosystem, Principal investigator, US$250,000 (under review)
2020-2021 National Science Foundation (NSF BCS-2028922), RAPID: The Persuasiveness of Strategic Science Communication on Compliance with Scientific Recommendations across Nations during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Principal investigator, US$193,832 (awarded)
2016-2020 National Science Foundation (NSF), Collaborative NSF-BSF Proposal: How Past Collective Trauma of Suffering and Perpetrating Intergroup Violence Can Facilitate or Prevent Intergroup Violence in the Present, Principal investigator, $654,583 (awarded; $444,583 from NSF, $210,000 from the United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation)
2013-2017 National Science Foundation (NSF BCS-1324097), Approaches to the Aftermath of Intergroup Violence: Effects of Impunity, Trials, and Truth Commissions on Intergroup Peace and Reconciliation Between Victims and Perpetrators, Principal investigator, $374,875 (awarded)
2013-2015 American Psychological Foundation (APF), From the Laboratory to Field-Experimental Interventions: Understanding and Improving the Justice Discourse in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Resolution, Principal investigator, $17,337.50 (awarded)
2013-2014 International Peace Research Association Foundation (IPRAF), Understanding and Alleviating Competitive Victimhood to Promote Intergroup Reconciliation: A Needs-Based Intervention to Counter the Effects of Fear of Loss of Third-Party Support on Competitive Victimhood, Principal investigator, $4,000 (awarded)
2012-2014 Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI), Understanding and Alleviating Competitive Victimhood to Promote Intergroup Reconciliation: A Needs-Based Intervention to Counter the Effects of Fear of Loss of Third-Party Support on Competitive Victimhood, Principal investigator, $2,000 (awarded)
2009-2011 Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, When We Torture – Moral and Pragmatic Arguments For and Against Torture, and Their Effect on Public Support For Redressing Past and Preventing Future Injustice, Co-principal investigator, $31,025 (awarded)
2008-2009 Dissertation Fellowship, The New School for Social Research, $10,000 (awarded)
2006-2009 Prize Fellowship, The New School for Social Research, $100,000 (awarded)
2006-2008 Stipend for young scientists, Gottlieb Daimler- und Carl Benz-Foundation (Germany), $96,000 (awarded)
HONORS AND AWARDS
2021 Together with undergrad honors student, winner of the university-wide 2021-2022 UMass Amherst Rising Researcher achievement award
2018 Together with a PhD advisee, winner of the EJSP Early Career Best Article Award (European Journal of Social Psychology [EJSP])
2018 Honorable mention for the Otto Klineberg Award for “the best paper or article of the year on intercultural or international relations” (Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues [SPSSI])
2017/18 Wiley Top Downloaded Article 2017-2018
2016 Together with a PhD advisee, winner of Early Career Best Paper Award (European Journal of Social Psychology [EJSP])
2014 Exceptional Merit Award (UMass Amherst, university-wide award)
2013 Association for Psychological Science (APS) Rising Star Award
2009 SPSP Diversity Fund Award
2008-2009 NSF Facilitation Award for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities