I am a Ph.D. student at the Department of Communication and Journalism at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, supervised by Meital Balmas and Eran Halperin, and a member of the Psychology of Intergroup Relations and Reconciliation Lab. I received my B.A. from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Communication and Journalism and Political Science, and my M.A. in political communication, with a minor in Gender Studies at the Lafer Center for Women and Gender Studies.
My research recognizes that theoretically, atypical individuals have the potential to change observers’ outlook and stereotypical beliefs about outgroups and outgroup members. However, stereotype adjustment in the face of such disconfirmation remains a rare occurrence. Instead, after meeting a deviant, observers often consider atypical individuals an exception to the group. This process where generalization is avoided is called subtyping and stands at the core my research. My primary aim is to test under which circumstances may stereotype-disconfirming individuals invoke the adaptation of stereotypes. Building on the Big Five framework, I assign interventions to individuals based on their personality traits and the subsequent underlying motivations, following the realization that individuals are predisposed differently and thus react differently to stimulation. After recognizing key dimensions of stereotypic expectations from outgroups, a total of four dimensions of disconfirming information are used as interventions: behavior, traits, attitudes, and values.
I am also a TA at the Communication department, teaching theories of social psychology, communication theory, and research methods for BA and MA students.
Research Interests:
- Stereotype reduction
- Personalized politics
- Gender
- Social media
- Political psychology
Selected Publications:
Balmas, M., & Atia, R. Buy Me: The effect of leaders’ perceived personality abroad on consumption of their national products (under review).
Balmas, M., Atia, R., & Halperin, E. The mediating role of depression in the relationship between news consumption and cross-party hostility during Covid-19 (under review).
Atia., R., and Balmas, M. Between "Me, myself, I" and the "Royal We": Gender differences in personalized political discourse on Facebook and their effect on users (under review).
Awards and Prizes 2020-2023 The President's Program Fellowship for Outstanding Doctoral Students at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
2020: Levi Eshkol Institute, for Studying the Society, Economy and Policy in Israel.
2020-2021: The Hans Guth Dreyfus Fund Doctoral Fellowship for Conflict Resolution and the Law.
2019: The Nina Wain Graduate Scholarship Fund in Public and International Communication.
2019: Outstanding Student Article Award, given in memory of Dr. Yuval Shachal, at the 24th Annual Conference of the Israel Communication Association. Given for the article 'Between "Me, myself, I" and the "Royal We": Gender differences in personalized political discourse on Facebook and users’ engagement'.