Elly A. Konijn

Elly Konijn is a Full Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities and Network Institute of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, holding the Fenna Diemer-Lindeboom Endowed Chair. As chair of the Media Psychology Amsterdam program, her work bridges media psychology, social robots, affective processing, and adolescent media use.

Research Pillars:

• Relating to media figures, virtual humans, and social robots
• Media-based reality perceptions and moral standards
• Adolescent media effects (cyberbullying, video games, body image)

Recent Publications explore emotional bonding with robots, narrative complexity in film, and media's impact on adolescent cognition. Her 2025 Communication Theory article introduces a framework for human-artificial others relationships.

Scientific Recognition:

• KNAW/NWO Eurekaprijs (2015)
• Computable Award (2021)
• Network Institute Competitive Research Funding (2025)

She supervises 16 PhD students and leads projects like ROBOT-BOND (ERC Advanced Grant 2025-2029) and Communicating with Social Robots (2020-2025). Her documentaries (e.g., Alice Cares) translate research into public discourse.