Aino Lilja Petterson

Aino Lilja Petterson is a Research Fellow in Social Psychology at the University of Kent, Canterbury. Her academic journey includes a PhD in Social Psychology (2021), an MSc in Political Psychology (2017), and a BSc in Psychology (2016), all from the University of Kent. She currently leads the Leverhulme-funded project ‘Downplaying difference? How ethnic minorities navigate discrimination in Norway’ and is affiliated with the Culture, Society & Behavior (CSB) Lab.

Her research focuses on political ideology, intergroup relations, and moral judgments, with a particular emphasis on how societal structures influence attitudes toward marginalized groups. She has taught courses in social psychology, personality theory, and research methodology at the University of Kent, including modules on gender relations and ambivalent sexism.

Aino’s work bridges political psychology and cultural psychology, addressing topics such as discrimination, gender inequality, and the psychological impacts of climate fiction. Her recent grants include funding for studies on moral judgments about gene-editing and gender relations post-#MeToo. She has received several awards, including the Else Frenkel-Brunswik Prize for academic excellence and the Best Research Talk Poster Prize.

Her research outputs span social psychology journals and interdisciplinary handbooks, reflecting her expertise in diversity competence, climate action psychology, and feminist stereotypes. She collaborates with international teams, as seen in her 2023 multi-author study on feminist attitudes.