Myrto is a social psychologist with a background in psycholinguistics. She uses experimental methods to study social cognition. She is particularly interested in how people process and validate information as well as in their (conspiracy) beliefs.
Dr Myrto Pantazi
Postdoctoral Researcher
- +44 (0)1865 287210
Profile
My background is variable and interdisciplinary. I received a BA in Greek Philology from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and an MA in Linguistics from Utrecht University. In 2017 I received a Ph.D in Social Psychology from the Université libre de Bruxelles.
I currently hold a joint postdoctoral researcher position at the Oxford Internet Institute and the Oxford-Emirates Data Science Lab.
My main research interests lie broadly in the area of Social Psychology and Social Cognition, and specifically focus on how available information affects people’s beliefs and behaviour.
My Ph.D thesis was an experimental assessment of the human tendency to believe information we encounter (the truth-bias), combining a social psychological and a
linguistic approach. This video may give you an idea of the work I conducted in the context of my thesis [ http://cescup.ulb.be/JudgeStephen/] and also allows you to test your own gullibility should you wish to try!
My current research focuses on the social, cognitive and evolutionary factors that affect the truth-bias, as well as on its socio-political consequences, especially in the digital era.
I’m also interested in misinformation transmission and Conspiracy Beliefs, both from a cognitive and from a socio-political perspective.
Before coming to Oxford, I was a research associate at the University of Cambridge, where I worked in a project investigating the effects of sustainability information on investor decision-making.
Research Interests:
Social Psychology, Social Cognition, Truth-bias, Misinformation, Fake News, Epistemic Vigilance, Beliefs, Conspiracy Beliefs
Position held at the OII:
- Postdoctoral Researcher, May 2018 –
Past projects
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Political Volatility
Participants: Professor Helen Margetts, Dr Scott Hale, Dr Chico Camargo, Dr Myrto Pantazi, Professor Peter John
This project seeks to quantify trends and changes in the volatility of public opinion before and after widespread use of social media, and to study how social information can drive public opinion.
Chapters
- "Behind the screen conspirators: paranoid social cognition in an online age" In: The psychology of conspiracy Bilewicz, M., Cichocka, A. and Soral, W. (eds.). Routledge. 162-182.
Journal articles
- (2018) "Stigmatized beliefs: Conspiracy theories, anticipated negative evaluation of the self, and fear of social exclusion", European Journal of Social Psychology. 48 (7) 939-954.
- (2018) "“These are just Stories, Mulder”: Conspiracist Fiction Triggers Resistance to Narrative Persuasion", Frontiers in Psychology. 9.
- (2018) "The Power of the Truth Bias: False Information Affects Memory and Judgment Even in the Absence of Distraction", Social Cognition. 36 (2) 167-198.
- (2018) "Registered Replication Report: Dijkserhuis & van Knippenberg (1998)", Perspectives in Psychological Science. 13 (2) 268-294.
Integrity Statement
In the past five years my work has been financially supported by Belgian and European taxpayers, the Université Libre de Bruxelles, the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, and the British Academy.
