Academic Staff

Professor Karim BETTACHE

Assistant Professor
  • PhD (Chinese University of Hong Kong)
  • MSc (University of Groningen, the Netherlands)
  • BSc (University of Groningen, the Netherlands)

Taught Courses

  • General Psychology
  • International Relations
  • Political Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Cultural Psychology and Globalization

Research interests

  • Cultural Psychology of Globalization
  • Intergroup Processes
  • Racism and Stereotyping in a global context of Western Imperialism
  • Social Psychology of Neoliberalism

I am interested in how the asymmetrical cultural flow from the West into societies across the world, reinforced by corporate hegemony in a neoliberal global political economy (e.g., dominance in the spheres of social media, the movie industry and fashion), influences the individual psychology of the global population. In particular, the effects of racism/white supremacy, capitalism and colonialism hold my strong attention. My research revolves around questions such as: Why do racism and colorism follow highly similar patterns across the globe; How do (Western) social media platforms perpetuate racial hierarchies in cultures across the globe; What are the psychological ramifications of colonialism; What is the relationship between neoliberal political economies and our understanding of human nature?

Publications

1.

Bettache, K. (In Press). The WEIRD Microcosm of Microaggression Research: Toward a Cultural Psychological Approach. Perspectives on Psychological Science.

Beattie, P., Chen, R., & Bettache, K. (2022). When left is right and right is left: The psychological correlates of political ideology in China. Political Psychology43(3), 457-488.

Bettache, K. (2020). A Call to Action: The Need for a Cultural Psychological Approach to Discrimination on the Basis of Skin Color in Asia. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 1745691620904740.

Bettache, K., Chiu, C. Y., & Beattie, P. (2020). The merciless mind in a dog-eat-dog society: neoliberalism and the indifference to social inequality. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences34, 217-222.

Shi, Y., Bettache, K., Zhang, N., & Xue, L. (2020). Constructing nostalgia in tourism: A comparison analysis of genuine and artificial approaches. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management19, 100488.

Dobrowolska, M., Groyecka-Bernard, A., Sorokowski, P., Randall, A. K., Hilpert, P., Ahmadi, K., Bettache. K., … & Sorokowska, A. (2020). Global perspective on marital satisfaction. Sustainability12(21), 8817.

Bettache, K., & Chiu, C. Y. (2019). The invisible hand is an ideology: Toward a social psychology of neoliberalism. Journal of Social Issues75(1), 8-19.

Beattie, P., Bettache, K., & Chong, K. C. Y. (2019). Who is the neoliberal? Exploring neoliberal beliefs across East and West. Journal of Social Issues75(1), 20-48.

Bettache, K., Hamamura, T., Amrani Idrissi, J., Amenyogbo, R. G. J., & Chiu, C. Y. (2019). Monitoring moral virtue: when the moral transgressions of in-group members are judged more severely. Journal of cross-cultural psychology50(2), 268-284.

Bettache, K., & Chiu, C. Y. (2019). Why American conservatives and individuals from traditionalist cultures may share a preference for group uniformity. Asian Journal of Social Psychology22(3), 325-330.

Bettache, K., & Chiu, C. Y. (2018). The populist effect: Threat and the handover of freedom. Personality and Individual Differences130, 102-106.

Sorokowska, A., Groyecka, A., Karwowski, M., Frackowiak, T., Lansford, J. E., Ahmadi, K., Bettache.K., … & Sorokowski, P. (2018). Global study of social odor awareness. Chemical senses43(7), 503-513.

Hamamura, T., Bettache, K., & Xu, Y. (2018). Individualism and collectivism. The Sage Handbook of Personality and Individual Differences.

Sorokowska, A., Sorokowski, P., Hilpert, P., Cantarero, K., Frackowiak, T., Ahmadi, K., Bettache, K., … & Pierce Jr, J. D. (2017). Preferred interpersonal distances: a global comparison. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology48(4), 577-592.

Hilpert, P., Randall, A. K., Sorokowski, P., Atkins, D. C., Sorokowska, A., Ahmadi, K., Bettache, K., … & Yoo, G. (2016). The associations of dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction vary between and within nations: A 35-nation study. Frontiers in psychology7, 1106.

Sorokowski, P., Randall, A. K., Groyecka, A., Frackowiak, T., Cantarero, K., Hilpert, P., Bettache, K., … & Sorokowska, A. (2017). Marital satisfaction, sex, age, marriage duration, religion, number of children, economic status, education, and collectivistic values: Data from 33 countries. Frontiers in psychology8, 1199.

Bettache, K. (2015). A Case of Shifting Moral Standards: How Biculturalism Shapes Morality (Doctoral dissertation).

Van Zomeren, M., Postmes, T., Spears, R., & Bettache, K. (2011). Can moral convictions motivate the advantaged to challenge social inequality? Extending the social identity model of collective action. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations14(5), 735-753.

*For a more popular, non-academic, discussion of psychology and society, follow Prof. Bettache’s writings on Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/contributors/karim-bettache-phd