From basic science to real-world interventions

The updated MRI scanner at the Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC) will become operational on 29 September. The new version is faster and better than the current model.

How does loneliness work? What sometimes makes friendships complicated for autistic people? And why can the school building be such an unpleasant place for some pupils? Pupils explored this during their pre-university classes. 'I now have a good idea of what studying psychology entails.'

A psychology degree, a career that started in the commercial sector and now a role where she feels she can make a difference. For alumnus Marisse van Os (34) everything has come together in her current job at an innovative mental health services provider.

The scientists at Babylab Leiden ensure that important knowledge is gathered about how babies learn to understand the world around them. Meet our Babylab Team and get to know our researchers!

If someone around you yawns, the chances are that you too will soon yawn. In orangutans it has now been found that scratching is very contagious. This is what cognitive psychologists from Leiden discovered at Apenheul Primate Park. Publication in American Journal of Primatology.

What is the effectiveness of (booklet or online) self-help programmes for people with somatic stressors and depressive symptoms? What works best for whom? How to improve motivation and adherence?

Alfons Chorus was the ‘founding father’ of Psychology in Leiden. His son Rogier Chorus recently obtained his PhD at Leiden University based on his biography of his father. He talked to his Leiden PhD supervisor Willem Heiser about his father’s innovations, his plagiarism and how he was misunderstood…

Subtle changes in eye appearance can influence how people perceive others and affect their generosity. Articles from PsyPost and The Washington Post highlighted two experimental studies in which psychology researchers from Leiden University, including Mariska Kret, explored this phenomenon.

Cognitive psychologists Eliska Prochazkova and Mariska Kret from Leiden University have won an Ig Nobel Prize for their research into the romantic click between people. They discovered that attraction between people can be predicted by synchrony in heart rate and skin conductance.

Ömer Gürlesin defended his thesis on 28 November 2018

A tried and tested medication for treating ADHD works differently than expected in the brains of healthy individuals during rest: rather than stimulating brain activity, it suppresses it.

Part of our social contact is currently online, with no physical proximity. Does digitalisation mean that we are losing an effective way of making contact with one another? This is what Reinoud Kaldewaij will be studying with a Veni subsidy from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). 'An issue that will…

In a new piece for The Conversation UK, Michiel van Elk examines whether mystical experiences are essential to psychedelic therapy. 'If the field is to mature, it may need to move beyond the assumption that transcendence is the secret ingredient.'

To be eligible for this master's specialisation at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

To be eligible for this master's specialisation at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

To be eligible for this master's specialisation at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

Is this the master's specialisation of your choice? Please read here about the admissibility for this programme.

Exploring the minds of our primate cousins in the wild, using under-exploited observations of their travel paths. A large set of observations of the travel paths of wild primates provides new opportunities for in-depth insights in the evolution of the mental abilities that primates, including ourselves,…

Most students of Psychology want to work in mental healthcare (GGZ). This makes the master’s specialisation in Clinical Psychology a logical choice. It was an option for alumna Ruth van Vugt for a long time, but she decided to explore further and has since successfully completed the Health and Medical…

The Editors of PAIR are always interested in suggestions for themed editions. Anyone wishing to propose a theme and/or to assist as a ‘guest editor’ should contact one of the editors of PAIR.

Where you end up depends on the chosen study direction, your own skills and interests.

The more opportunities a child has to learn and develop, the stronger his or her future position in society. Leiden University investigates how the brain picks up information, and how learning processes can be influenced positively.

What are the often invisible cognitive consequences of multiple sclerosis? Maureen van Dam mapped these out during her doctoral research. 'People usually notice the physical symptoms, but the cognitive symptoms deserve at least as much attention.'

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Prof. Bernhard Hommel has been awarded an Advanced Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). With this grant of 2.5 million euros the cognitive psychologist will conduct a five years research on metacontrol; a study on how we determine the impact of our goals on our actual behaviour.

A master's degree in Psychology at Leiden University combines theoretical knowledge with academic and professional skills, making you an attractive candidate for many employers.

The master's specialisation School Psychology consists of three main parts: the mandatory courses, the thesis and the internship/extra electives.

Electronic versions of our publications can be obtained by sending an e-mail to Esther van den Bos: bosejvanden@fsw.leidenuniv.nl

Study information

In a new video series for the Corpus Kids Academy, researchers Marieke Bos and Janna Marie Bas-Hoogendam explain how the adolescent brain develops and how anxiety works. 'We wanted to present the information simply, while still preserving the complexity.'

‘What a relief,’ was psychologist Mariska Kret’s reaction to the news of her Vidi grant from the national science financier NWO. The grant makes it possible for her to carry out new research into emotions and trust in patients with a social anxiety disorder and patients with autism.

Subproject of

Your tuition fee depends on a number of factors, such as your nationality and your previous Dutch higher-education qualifications.

Neural networks have a wide range of applications. In Leiden, psychologists use them to build robot brains, whereas archaeologists use them to hunt for prehistoric graves.

Leiden is the ideal city for students. There is a wide variety of activities you can do next to your studies, to make the most out of your student life.

The specialisation involves general courses, track-specific courses, electives, research internship and your thesis

Knowledge and culture subproject 2:

Carl Li defended his thesis on 30 June 2015

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Making sense of the world around us depends on the fundamental ability to parse the world into distinct objects and keep track of them. This process is defined as object individuation. Research indicates that it is not always easy for infants.

On May 15, Prof. dr. Saskia Jaszoltowski, the Visiting Professor for Central European Studies this semester at Leiden University, led a seminar on the 'Lullabies' for the ERC Starting Grant 'CareCentury' project led by Prof. dr. Sarah Cramsey.

What are the developmental pathways to social anxiety (disorder), the causal processes and maintaining factors? How do these factors interact in the development of social anxiety disorder? How can this knowledge be used to design and implement effective preventive intervention programs for youth?

What are the circadian disturbances underlying depression vulnerability? How are they related to mood, cognition and sleep ?

For the first time, contagious yawning has now also been found in a species that roams its territory mostly in solitude and is less frequently engaged in social interactions: the orangutan. Publication in Nature Scientific Reports by an international group of scientists with lead-author Evy van Berlo,…