معرفی
Dr. Esther van den Bos is a University Lecturer in the Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology at Leiden University's Institute of Psychology. Her research focuses on social anxiety in adolescents, particularly fear of public speaking and failure, using methods like eye-tracking and virtual reality. She investigates gaze behavior, physiological stress responses, and intervention strategies for anxiety disorders. She co-supervises PhD candidates and has received grants for projects on child/adolescent eye contact patterns and virtual reality exposure therapy.
Education: PhD in Cognitive Psychology (2007, Leiden University), Postdoctoral research at Cornell University (2007-2008 via Niels Stensen Fellowship), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam faculty experience.
Key Research Areas: Social anxiety development, physiological stress responses, virtual reality interventions, early detection of anxiety disorders. She leads projects like 'Look at that!' (LUF grant) exploring virtual training for social anxiety.
Grants & Awards: NWO grant (€245k) for eye-contact research in youth (2022), Leiden University Fund subsidy (€12.5k, 2019), collaboration with Mariska Kret on VR projects (€43.6k, 2018).
Teaching Roles: Coordinates School Psychology master's program, teaches 'School-based Prevention and Intervention', mentors bachelor/master theses and internships.
