Doctoral Researcher Guanghou Zhou

Guanghou Zhou studied Psychology (B.Sc.) at the university of Heidelberg and received his M.Sc. in psychology from university of Frankfurt. Since 2021, he has been participating in postgraduate psychotherapy training at the university hospital of Heidelberg.

In his college studies, he cultivated an interest in social cognition and social interaction. His master’s thesis centered on identifying and evaluating various dimensions of altruistic behaviors and motivations among Chinese individuals, and whether systematic differences exist between them and their German counterparts. His investigation revealed a predilection for reciprocity among Chinese individuals as a means to maintain norms in cooperation/competition, whereas German individuals displayed a preference for moral conviction to achieve the same end.

His PhD project focuses on the stage of enemy contact. His research centers on the susceptibility of immigrants to enmity during acculturation process. Drawing on Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1986) and System Justification Theory (Jost &Banaji, 1994), he aims to elucidate the psychological mechanism of how immigrants, as minority group, internalize group-based enmity, including stereotypes and prejudices, and moreover, how this process is related with self-identity and self-pathology.  Further, experimental approaches would be employed to better understand the dynamics between collaboration and competition among adversaries.