Hans Alves

Professor Hans Alves is the Chair of Social Cognition at Ruhr University Bochum since April 2021, awarded an ERC Starting Grant for his research on social judgment mechanisms.

• University of Heidelberg (Psychology) 2006-2012
• Arizona State University (Psychology) 2006-2012
• New York University (Research Residency) 2010
• University of Cologne (Social Cognition Center) 2012-2016
• University of Lisbon (Visiting Scholar) [dates unspecified]
• Pompeu Fabra University of Barcelona (Visiting Scholar) [dates unspecified]

His research explores social cognition with focus on evaluative conditioning, negativity bias, and intergroup dynamics, analyzing how humans process and integrate positive/negative information about strangers and social groups. Recent work examines attitude formation in complex environments, trustworthiness perception, and political psychology related to election fraud beliefs.

Key publication trends include social judgment mechanisms (2024-2025) across 15 articles addressing

• information integration in truth perception
• ideological cues in decision-making
• cognitive-ecological explanations of gender bias
• contextual influences on attitude formation
• illusory correlation dynamics

Notable scientific award:

• ERC Starting Grant recipient (2021)

His academic journey combines affiliations with the Social Cognition Center Cologne and international collaborations at institutions like NYU and Pompeu Fabra University.