Jens H Hellmann
Biographic Data
| ID | 143984 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jens H Hellmann |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jens H |
| FAMILY NAME | Hellmann |
| SIGNATURE | HELLMANN J H |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Münster |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8646-9963 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 21 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 18 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Social aides’ perceptions of discrepancies in attitudes and behaviour towards different refugee groups in Germany
Transfer between Science and Practice
The purpose of this article is to present approaches that can help reducing the gaps between research and practice in the field of refugee integration. We provide examples of research-practice transfer activities that we hope will be taken up by researchers in different fields and implemented for refugee integration in various countries. We describe examples of bi-directional transfer between social psychological researchers and practitioners wor…
Majority residents’ perceptions of ‘economic’ and ‘political’ refugees
Migrants who flee their home country for economic (vs. political) reasons often elicit more negative responses in receiving countries. We examined psychological processes underlying this flight‐reason bias, focusing on majority residents’ perceptions of migration circumstances and their emotional responses. In three preregistered studies (total N = 1394), participants read texts about an individual refugee (Studies 1 and 2) or groups of refugees …
Improving Attitudes Toward Psychotherapy in Residents and Syrian Refugees in Germany
Syrian refugees underutilize mental health services in Western receiving countries, which is partly attributable to negative attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help (APPH) and denial of the need for psychological help (DNPH). Interventions tailored to culture-specific characteristics of Syrian refugees are needed. We tested an intervention that disseminated information about the benefits of psychotherapy via ostensible interview …
Vicarious comparative victimhood
Hellmann J, Schlechter P, Übergünne-Otte L, Rees J, Sandal-Önal E, Zick A. Vicarious comparative victimhood: Introducing a framework to illustrate vicariously experienced inequalities in behaviors toward members of victimized groups. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology . 2023
Refugees' and non‐refugee migrants' regret about migration and confidence in integration
Refugees typically experience stronger migration forcedness and higher migration-related perils (harm, adversities and hardship) than do non-refugee migrants. We explored how refugees' and non-refugee migrants' perceptions of their own forcedness of migration and related perils before and during migration are associated with regret about leaving their country of origin and their confidence in integration. In two studies conducted with refugee and…
Psychotherapy motivation in refugees
We discuss implications for practice and future research with respect to reducing treatment barriers and providing culturally-sensitive treatments for refugees suffering from psychological distress. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
Ugandan and British individuals' views of refugees in their countries
Using an exploratory mixed‐methods approach, we examined thoughts concerning refugees reported by participants from a non‐Western country, Uganda, and the United Kingdom (total N = 113). We explored whether, due to various sociocultural, political and geographic differences, critical features of refugee migration (e.g., migration forcedness and migration‐related perils) would be viewed differently by Ugandan and UK participants. An inductive qual…
Psychological Antecedents of Refugee Integration (Pari)
The successful management of refugee immigration, including refugee integration in host societies, requires a sound understanding of underlying psychological processes. We propose the psychological antecedents of refugee integration (PARI) model, highlighting perceived forcedness (i.e., coercion and loss of control from “push” factors) and ensuing perils (risks and potential suffering during migration) as distinctive factors of refugee (vs. volun…
Help-Seeking Attitudes and Distress Disclosure Among Syrian Refugees in Germany
Many refugees experience a wide range of mental health problems, but typically use mental health services less often than settled residents. Practical constraints like limited access to mental health care and language barriers largely account for this discrepancy. However, little is known about the psychological aspects explaining this difference in mental health service usage, like attitudes toward psychological help-seeking and the disclosure o…
Support for Refugee Integration in West and East Germany
Prior research has reported less favorable attitudes toward and more violent crimes against ethnic out-group members in East (vs. West) Germany. We conducted two pre-registered lost letter studies in West versus East German cities (Study 1, N = 400) and in West versus East German rural areas (Study 2, N = 400). To investigate supportive behavior regarding refugee integration, we manipulated the addressee (refugee-integration vs. immigration-stop …
Special Issue on “The Social Psychology of Forced Migration and Refugee Integration” in the European Journal of Social Psychology
Heading Right and Judging Harsher
The term right may imply different meanings, for example, right can be the direction opposite to left, but right can also mean the opposite of wrong. In three experiments, we investigated whether orientation toward the right versus left direction can influence how individuals judge situational moral transgressions. Mental spatial orientation was manipulated by placing the text of moral transgressions on the left versus right side of the screen (E…
No Space for Others? On the Increase of Students’ Self-Focus When Prodded to Think About Many Others
In the present experiment, participants read about the presence of many versus few others in typical student-life situations. They subsequently wrote an essay about their perspectives on learning in groups. Using the program Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count to analyze these essays signified that participants who read prompts that involved many (vs. few) other students used more first-person singular pronouns and fewer words related to others. We…
When virtual contact is all you need
In the Internet age, people who feel alone can use online social media to restore a sense of social connectedness. In the present experiment, participants were either excluded or included in Cyberball, a virtual ball‐tossing game. Afterwards, a Facebook icon or a control icon (Flash Player) was shown on the margin of a computer screen during a filler task. In the control condition, excluded (vs. included) participants subsequently expressed great…
The generalization of shared reality
Communicators often tune their message about a target to the audience's attitude toward that target. This tuning can shape a communicator's own evaluation of the target, which reflects the creation of a shared reality with the audience. So far, evidence for shared‐reality creation has been confined to one specific target. In two experiments, we examined whether and when a shared reality would generalize to other targets. In Experiment 1, shared‐r…
Talking about visually perceived events
Communicators' tuning of a message about a social target to their audience's evaluation can shape their representation of the target. This audience‐tuning effect has been demonstrated with ambiguous text passages as input material. We examined whether the effect also occurs when communicators learn about the target's behaviours from visual (nonverbal) input material. In Experiment 1, participants watched a soundless video depicting ambiguous beha…
Audience-Congruent Biases in Eyewitness Memory and Judgment
In studies on biased eyewitness memory, the biasing information about the witnessed event is typically detailed and specific. We investigated the influence of global biasing information, such as a co-witness' impression of a suspect. Student participants watched a video depicting a bar-brawl involving a male target person. After retelling the incident to a generic fellow student who presumably disliked (vs. liked) the target person, participants …
Talking about visually perceived events
Communicators' tuning of a message about a social target to their audience's evaluation can shape their representation of the target. This audience‐tuning effect has been demonstrated with ambiguous text passages as input material. We examined whether the effect also occurs when communicators learn about the target's behaviours from visual (nonverbal) input material. In Experiment 1, participants watched a soundless video depicting ambiguous beha…
Help-Seeking Attitudes and Distress Disclosure Among Syrian Refugees in Germany
Many refugees experience a wide range of mental health problems, but typically use mental health services less often than settled residents. Practical constraints like limited access to mental health care and language barriers largely account for this discrepancy. However, little is known about the psychological aspects explaining this difference in mental health service usage, like attitudes toward psychological help-seeking and the disclosure o…
Refugees' and non‐refugee migrants' regret about migration and confidence in integration
Refugees typically experience stronger migration forcedness and higher migration-related perils (harm, adversities and hardship) than do non-refugee migrants. We explored how refugees' and non-refugee migrants' perceptions of their own forcedness of migration and related perils before and during migration are associated with regret about leaving their country of origin and their confidence in integration. In two studies conducted with refugee and…
When virtual contact is all you need
In the Internet age, people who feel alone can use online social media to restore a sense of social connectedness. In the present experiment, participants were either excluded or included in Cyberball, a virtual ball‐tossing game. Afterwards, a Facebook icon or a control icon (Flash Player) was shown on the margin of a computer screen during a filler task. In the control condition, excluded (vs. included) participants subsequently expressed great…
Special Issue on “The Social Psychology of Forced Migration and Refugee Integration” in the European Journal of Social Psychology
The generalization of shared reality
Communicators often tune their message about a target to the audience's attitude toward that target. This tuning can shape a communicator's own evaluation of the target, which reflects the creation of a shared reality with the audience. So far, evidence for shared‐reality creation has been confined to one specific target. In two experiments, we examined whether and when a shared reality would generalize to other targets. In Experiment 1, shared‐r…
Vicarious comparative victimhood
Hellmann J, Schlechter P, Übergünne-Otte L, Rees J, Sandal-Önal E, Zick A. Vicarious comparative victimhood: Introducing a framework to illustrate vicariously experienced inequalities in behaviors toward members of victimized groups. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology . 2023
Audience-Congruent Biases in Eyewitness Memory and Judgment
In studies on biased eyewitness memory, the biasing information about the witnessed event is typically detailed and specific. We investigated the influence of global biasing information, such as a co-witness' impression of a suspect. Student participants watched a video depicting a bar-brawl involving a male target person. After retelling the incident to a generic fellow student who presumably disliked (vs. liked) the target person, participants …
Audience-Congruent Biases in Eyewitness Memory and Judgment
In studies on biased eyewitness memory, the biasing information about the witnessed event is typically detailed and specific. We investigated the influence of global biasing information, such as a co-witness' impression of a suspect. Student participants watched a video depicting a bar-brawl involving a male target person. After retelling the incident to a generic fellow student who presumably disliked (vs. liked) the target person, participants …
Talking about visually perceived events
Communicators' tuning of a message about a social target to their audience's evaluation can shape their representation of the target. This audience‐tuning effect has been demonstrated with ambiguous text passages as input material. We examined whether the effect also occurs when communicators learn about the target's behaviours from visual (nonverbal) input material. In Experiment 1, participants watched a soundless video depicting ambiguous beha…
When virtual contact is all you need
In the Internet age, people who feel alone can use online social media to restore a sense of social connectedness. In the present experiment, participants were either excluded or included in Cyberball, a virtual ball‐tossing game. Afterwards, a Facebook icon or a control icon (Flash Player) was shown on the margin of a computer screen during a filler task. In the control condition, excluded (vs. included) participants subsequently expressed great…
The generalization of shared reality
Communicators often tune their message about a target to the audience's attitude toward that target. This tuning can shape a communicator's own evaluation of the target, which reflects the creation of a shared reality with the audience. So far, evidence for shared‐reality creation has been confined to one specific target. In two experiments, we examined whether and when a shared reality would generalize to other targets. In Experiment 1, shared‐r…
No Space for Others? On the Increase of Students’ Self-Focus When Prodded to Think About Many Others
In the present experiment, participants read about the presence of many versus few others in typical student-life situations. They subsequently wrote an essay about their perspectives on learning in groups. Using the program Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count to analyze these essays signified that participants who read prompts that involved many (vs. few) other students used more first-person singular pronouns and fewer words related to others. We…
Heading Right and Judging Harsher
The term right may imply different meanings, for example, right can be the direction opposite to left, but right can also mean the opposite of wrong. In three experiments, we investigated whether orientation toward the right versus left direction can influence how individuals judge situational moral transgressions. Mental spatial orientation was manipulated by placing the text of moral transgressions on the left versus right side of the screen (E…
Special Issue on “The Social Psychology of Forced Migration and Refugee Integration” in the European Journal of Social Psychology
Psychological Antecedents of Refugee Integration (Pari)
The successful management of refugee immigration, including refugee integration in host societies, requires a sound understanding of underlying psychological processes. We propose the psychological antecedents of refugee integration (PARI) model, highlighting perceived forcedness (i.e., coercion and loss of control from “push” factors) and ensuing perils (risks and potential suffering during migration) as distinctive factors of refugee (vs. volun…
Help-Seeking Attitudes and Distress Disclosure Among Syrian Refugees in Germany
Many refugees experience a wide range of mental health problems, but typically use mental health services less often than settled residents. Practical constraints like limited access to mental health care and language barriers largely account for this discrepancy. However, little is known about the psychological aspects explaining this difference in mental health service usage, like attitudes toward psychological help-seeking and the disclosure o…
Support for Refugee Integration in West and East Germany
Prior research has reported less favorable attitudes toward and more violent crimes against ethnic out-group members in East (vs. West) Germany. We conducted two pre-registered lost letter studies in West versus East German cities (Study 1, N = 400) and in West versus East German rural areas (Study 2, N = 400). To investigate supportive behavior regarding refugee integration, we manipulated the addressee (refugee-integration vs. immigration-stop …
Psychotherapy motivation in refugees
We discuss implications for practice and future research with respect to reducing treatment barriers and providing culturally-sensitive treatments for refugees suffering from psychological distress. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
Ugandan and British individuals' views of refugees in their countries
Using an exploratory mixed‐methods approach, we examined thoughts concerning refugees reported by participants from a non‐Western country, Uganda, and the United Kingdom (total N = 113). We explored whether, due to various sociocultural, political and geographic differences, critical features of refugee migration (e.g., migration forcedness and migration‐related perils) would be viewed differently by Ugandan and UK participants. An inductive qual…
Refugees' and non‐refugee migrants' regret about migration and confidence in integration
Refugees typically experience stronger migration forcedness and higher migration-related perils (harm, adversities and hardship) than do non-refugee migrants. We explored how refugees' and non-refugee migrants' perceptions of their own forcedness of migration and related perils before and during migration are associated with regret about leaving their country of origin and their confidence in integration. In two studies conducted with refugee and…
Improving Attitudes Toward Psychotherapy in Residents and Syrian Refugees in Germany
Syrian refugees underutilize mental health services in Western receiving countries, which is partly attributable to negative attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help (APPH) and denial of the need for psychological help (DNPH). Interventions tailored to culture-specific characteristics of Syrian refugees are needed. We tested an intervention that disseminated information about the benefits of psychotherapy via ostensible interview …
Vicarious comparative victimhood
Hellmann J, Schlechter P, Übergünne-Otte L, Rees J, Sandal-Önal E, Zick A. Vicarious comparative victimhood: Introducing a framework to illustrate vicariously experienced inequalities in behaviors toward members of victimized groups. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology . 2023
Transfer between Science and Practice
The purpose of this article is to present approaches that can help reducing the gaps between research and practice in the field of refugee integration. We provide examples of research-practice transfer activities that we hope will be taken up by researchers in different fields and implemented for refugee integration in various countries. We describe examples of bi-directional transfer between social psychological researchers and practitioners wor…
Majority residents’ perceptions of ‘economic’ and ‘political’ refugees
Migrants who flee their home country for economic (vs. political) reasons often elicit more negative responses in receiving countries. We examined psychological processes underlying this flight‐reason bias, focusing on majority residents’ perceptions of migration circumstances and their emotional responses. In three preregistered studies (total N = 1394), participants read texts about an individual refugee (Studies 1 and 2) or groups of refugees …
Social aides’ perceptions of discrepancies in attitudes and behaviour towards different refugee groups in Germany
Psychology (15 works) · Social Psychology (12 works) · Refugee (10 works) · Migration, Health and Trauma (9 works) · Political science (7 works) · Cognitive psychology (6 works) · Social and Intergroup Psychology (6 works) · Social Psychology (5 works) · Perception (4 works) · Racial and Ethnic Identity Research (4 works)