معرفی
Zea Szebeni is a Postdoctoral Researcher in Social Psychology at the University of Helsinki, affiliated with the Helsinki Inequality Initiative (INEQ), Helsinki Hub on Emotions, Populism and Polarisation, and the Social Psychologists Studying Intergroup Relations (ESSO). She holds a BA (2016) and MA (2018) in Psychology and Social Psychology from Eötvös Loránd University. Her research focuses on social psychology topics such as populism, intergroup relations, pseudohistory, collective identity, and extremism trends.
Key projects include the DECA (Democratic Epistemic Capacities in the Age of Algorithms) project (2022–2025), funded by the Finnish Strategic Research Council, and the Bloom Box mental health initiative (2020–2021). She has contributed to 17 research outputs, including articles on topics like pseudohistory’s impact on national identity and the rhetoric of populist visual communication.
Her work explores how emotions and historical narratives shape political polarization, particularly in Eastern Europe. Recent studies include analyses of Slovak identity construction through pseudohistory and the dynamics of trust in disinformation-rich environments. She actively participates in conferences and media discussions on topics like Hungary’s political landscape and diaspora attitudes during conflicts.
Zea’s research also addresses broader societal issues such as pandemic stress responses and the psychological underpinnings of belief in fake news. Her interdisciplinary approach bridges social psychology, political science, and media studies to understand modern societal challenges.
