Political
Psychology Lab

Sintaio Almeya is a dedicated M.A. student at the Political Psychology Lab. He is currently working on his thesis, which investigates the impact of exposure to terror on trust in government, specifically focusing on the Ethiopian minority in Israel. He earned his B.A. in Political Science and Israel History from the University of Haifa. Aside from his thesis, Sintaio is an active member of a dedicated research group within the lab that focuses on public opinion among 7/10 evacuees from Northern and Southern Israel. His fluency in Amharic broadens the study's inclusive scope and enriches the team's ability to engage effectively with a diverse participant base.

Sintaio also serves as a teaching assistant for courses such as Introduction to the Political System in Israel and International Relations. Committed to advancing his academic skills, he has participated in Quantitative Research, a Systematic Literature Review, and Meta-Analysis Workshops, acquiring advanced methodologies and techniques to enhance his research capabilities.
 

Amit Cohen is a Ph.D candidate at the school of Political Sciences and a fellow researcher at the Political Psychology Lab at the University of Haifa, under the supervision of Prof. Daphna Canetti and Dr. Keren LG Snider. Amit studies the coping strategies of modern democracies with terrorism, mainly through the implementation of counter-terrorism policies and diplomatic means. In her research, Amit focuses on the psychological mechanisms that shape individuals' attitudes towards the government. Her work utilizes qualitative methods, integrated with advanced research technologies and comparative research. Amit is an award-winning young researcher, with several acknowledgments, including Rector's Award for Advanced Studies at the University of Haifa, the Outstanding Thesis Award for 2023 from the Israeli Political Science Association as well as the Bloom Scholarship for outstanding Ph.D. students.

Giulia Dal Bello is a doctoral candidate at the University of Haifa, research fellow of the IDIT PhD Fellowship, and research fellow at the Center for Cyber, Law and Policy (CCLP) at the University of Haifa. Giulia specializes in public opinion in the context of terrorism and state surveillance. More specifically, supervised by Prof. Daphna Canetti and  Prof. Sivan Hirsch-Hoefler, Giulia’s research explores the cognitive and emotional mechanisms that mediate the relationship between exposure to state surveillance and citizens’ willingness to engage in collective action. In her research Giulia employs multidisciplinary methodologies from Political Science and Neuroscience including a comparative study between Italy and Israel, and functional Neuroimaging (fMRI) studies conducted at the Rambam Healthcare Campus and at the Ruth and Meir Rosental MRI Center at Reichman University. 

Gal Dor is a PhD candidate at the University of Haifa in Israel. Her research is centered on understanding the cognitive processes involved in decision-making and the formation of public opinion, primarily focusing on the context of cyber conflict. Building upon the cognitive approach to decision-making, Gal's work aims to elucidate the psychological mechanisms underlying the form0061tion of public opinion and the escalatory nature of cyber capabilities in conflicts. She employs a combination of experimental and computational methodologies within the field of political psychology. 

• Political Psychology Lab – X

• Op-Ed in Political Violence @ a glance 

• Cyberattacks on critical infrastructure and the threat on democracies

Dvir Greenberg is an MA student and a member of the Political Psychology Lab at the University of Haifa's School of Political Sciences. His research focuses on the political effects of exposure to political violence. He is currently investigating the role of psychological distress in the relationship between religious orientation and exposure to terror. More specifically, he is exploring why traditionally religious people exhibit higher levels of anxiety compared to secular and deeply religious groups when faced with terrorism.
Dvir holds a B.Sc. in Physics and Mathematics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and an MBA from Tel Aviv University. Before returning to academia, Dvir had a diverse career in management and entrepreneurship, spanning technology, finance, and civil society.

Sharon Matzkin is an advanced PhD candidate at the University of Haifa's School for Political Sciences. Her research primarily explores the political implications of cyberattacks, with a special focus on how unattributed cyberattacks on critical infrastructures influence public trust in government institutions. At the nexus of political science, political psychology, cybersecurity, and terror, Sharon investigates the dynamics between the public's political orientations, their support for surveillance, and their trust in government, particularly in the context of cybersecurity threats. Her empirical work involves extensive data collection across the United States, United Kingdom, and Israel, aiming to understand diverse political reactions in different government systems. Sharon's work contributes to a deeper understanding of the intersection between exposure to terror, cybersecurity, political psychology, and political science.
 

Snehashree Mukherjee is an international PhD student at the School of Political Science, University of Haifa (UOH). She is also affiliated with the Political Psychology Lab, UOH. Academically, she comes from an interdisciplinary background in Bioinformatics Engineering, an Executive Master’s in Security and Diplomacy as a full scholar and an M.A with a thesis in Political Science (cum laude). Her research topic is ‘A Mind Simulated by AI, in the Context of Terrorism’. Her research observes how an individual may be affected by various forms of exposure to terrorism and political violence. She is particularly interested in exposure on cyber platforms. Her approach includes merging experimental psychology with the theories of human-computer interactions. Professionally, she has worked extensively as a political and conflict-investigative journalist in India until 2018 and is currently the founder of a startup, CyCoLogic.

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Tal is an advanced research student at the Political Psychology Lab at the University of Haifa. He obtained his B.A. in International Relations from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem and an M.A. in political science from Reichman University, with specialty in counterterrorism and homeland security studies. Today, he focuses on utilizing advanced quantitative research methods to investigate the complex interplay between group identity, exposure to terrorism and support for political violence. Tal has profound experience as a teaching and research assistant in various academic institutions, covering a wide range of topics. He currently serves as a research assistant at the Institute for Liberty and Responsibility in Reichman U, examining different angles of the Israeli public opinion and political trends. Alongside his academic endeavors, Tal is focused on attaining advanced technological proficiency to improve his knowledge and capabilities in quantitative research, including data analysis software and the utilization of artificial intelligence in this field.