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In this team we have been using the lab to conduct behavioral research mostly on emotions and well-being, intergroup attitudes, personal social networks, the impact of multicultural experiences on different socio-cognitive processes such as creativity, and cultural influences on behavior and identity. We have also conducted research on topics such as the political behavior of citizens and political leaders, inequalities in voter turnout, the political consequences of corruption, the effects of personality on political behavior, or the origins of dual ethnic identities in context with ethnopolitical conflict such as Catalonia.
 

The BESS research group is directed by Prof. Veronica Benet-Martínez and is formed by a collective of individuals who, while working from diverse disciplines such as  social/personality/cognitive/political psychology, judgement and decision making, management science, marketing and political science, share three important features: (1) conduct BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH on issues such as judgment & decision making, emotions, personality, attitudes and opinions, and cultural influences on behavior and identity (among others); (2) utilize laboratory and field EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS  (in conjunction with other approaches such as field studies, longitudinal, narrative, correlational); and (3) strive to develop new theories to explain patterns of behaviors observed in naturally occurring social environments. 

One of the most recent projects conducted at the lab is "Interculturalism: Effects on Divergent Thinking and Intergroup Outcomes", funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitivity of Spain and by the UE funds "FEDER" (Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional). This project, directed by Prof. Benet-Martinez and coordinated by Elia Soler Pastor, aims at understanding the effects that experiencing cultural diversity has on individuals creative skills and on intergroup attitudes, by sytematically examining (1) the interplay of relational, identity, cognitive and personality factors in the intercultural experience, and (2) whether and how different types of intercultural experiences (stereotypical vs. counter-stereotypical) facilitate vs. hinder these two key ingredients of social capital (i.e. creative insight and positive intergroup attitudes).