For nearly 60 years, Indiana University and Universität Hamburg (UHH) have collaborated on research, exchanged students and faculty, and strengthened both universities’ contributions to their regions. The top tier research universities’ partnership continues this year through Universität Hamburg’s Next Generation Partnership (NGP) Thematic Networks, a multilateral research funding program administered by the Department of International Affairs that seeks to expand long-term investment in research with strategic partners.

2023 marks the second round of the three-year grant cycles, with Indiana University participating in four research collaborations since the NGP’s inception—half of all funded projects. Led by Prof. Dr. Juliane Degner of Universität Hamburg Social Psychology and Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Brigitte Röder of Universität Hamburg Biological Psychology and Neuropsychology, Indiana University Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences Kurt Hugenberg and Prof. Dr. Gijs Bijlstra of Radboud University Nijmegen, aim to answer the question How does social categorization and stereotyping affect emotion perception in faces? The NGP funding will support this research through 2026 as the faculty work towards designing and implementing research to answer this universally applicable question.

Indiana University professor Hugenberg explains the basics of the research that has already been completed and how the funding provided by the NGP grant will broaden the scope of the project. “We’ve found that when facial expressions are ambiguous, we use our stereotypes to read others’ emotions. This can distort how we read both simple and complex expressions… Our research as part of the Next Generation Partnership will help us better understand the nature and extent of these misunderstandings across multiple countries.”

Leading the collaboration, Prof. Dr. Degner shares a similar sentiment on how the partnership allows for a more comprehensive approach to the universally applicable topic. “The NGP presented an excellent opportunity to initiate a research collaboration with Kurt Hugenberg from Indiana University, a prominent social psychologist specializing in the interplay between social categorization effects and emotion processing. By securing funding for a network including Gijs Bijlstra, social psychologist from Nijmegen and Brigitte Röder, neuroscientist from Hamburg, rather than pursuing single bilateral collaborations, we can bring together a broader spectrum of theoretical and practical expertise. This, in turn, holds the promise of advancing research in both social psychology and socio-neuroscience.