The DUALNETS team organized the 4th installment of the mini conference of the research network on “Intergroup Relations and Social Networks”. Ten experts presented their work on social networks and another 15 people attended the mini conference to exchange insights on intergroup relations. The two-day mini conference took place at the University Museum Utrecht.

The Sunbelt social networks conference is one of the major events of the year for our group. Angelos Dimosiaris, Lexin Chen, Anniek Schlette, and Tom Nijs all presented their work to expert audiences. Tobias Stark organized three panels on intergroup relations and social networks, and he gave the plenary introduction of the lifetime achievement award…

Anniek Schlette, Lexin Chen, and Angelos Dimosiaris each presented their DUALNETS research at the Migration and Societal Change Conference in Utrecht, Netherlands. Tobias Stark organized two panels on multicultural identities and social networks at the conference.

Tobias Stark was invited to present our new software to measure and model network perceptions at the SoDa Lab Seminar of the University of Bremen, Germany.

Tobias Stark was invited to present DUALNETS research at the “Interdisciplinary Workshop on Experimental Social Science on the Causes and Consequences of Appearance-based Discrimination” at the Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, Germany.

Tobias Stark was invited by the Oxford Internet Institute to present our new software to collect data on cognitive social structures at the expert workshop on “Advances in Self-Reported and Egocentric Network Analysis”.

Tobias Stark presented DUALNETS research at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. The talk was titled “Effects of identity signals on co-national ascriptions and the perception of 2nd generation immigrants’ integration in social networks”.  

A paper, written by Tom Nijs, entitled “Breaking False Polarization: How Information on Descriptive Norms Mitigates Worry Rooted in Polarization (Mis)perceptions”, was published in Social Inclusion. It will be part of a Special Issue on “The Impact of Social Norms on Cohesion and (De)Polarization”. The paper is open access available here. Abstract Worry about polarization…

Tom Nijs, Tobias Stark, together with Meta van der Linden, Verena Seibel, and Ekaterina Rashkova received a seed money grant for the project “Perceived Majority Disadvantage: Exploring Whitelash Sentiments in Western Europe”. In the DUALNETS project, we often encounter a backlash by the dominant group against racial progress, diversity, or policies aimed at addressing ethnic…

Anniek Schlette’s 2nd article of her PhD appeared as a registered report: Schlette, A.; Stark, T. H. & Smeekes, A. (2025). Social signals of belonging: How the perceived ethnic-national background of friends affects ascriptions of belonging given to descendants of migrants. British Journal of Social Psychology, 64(3), e12898.   Abstract Many descendants of migrants feel belonging to…