I am a Professor of the Jagiellonian University, working at the Institute of Psychology, the Centre for Social Cognitive Studies in Kraków, Poland. I received my PhD in Psychology in 2006 and since then worked at the Jagiellonian University as a Lecturer in Social Psychology. In 2010–2011, I was a visiting researcher at the University of Granada (Spain).
My main research interests focus on social cognition, especially motivational and emotional factors that guide cognition in social contexts. I study individual and situational factors (control and epistemic motivation) that influence flexibility of social categorization, but also processes of intergroup perceptions, emotions and behaviors. My research explores the effects of control
deprivation on a personal and social level on intergroup cognition. More recently, I have been doing research on the impact of social threats to basic motives on norm following, intergroup closeness and solidarity (for example, in the context of the recent economic and societal crisis in Europe). I apply research findings from social and experimental psychology to socially relevant issues, such as stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. My research is mainly experimental and correlational, including also online representative surveys. During my research career, I have developed a network of cooperation with researchers from Germany, Spain, U.K. and Greece, which allows me to study more in depth important social challenges in Europe from a social psychological perspective.
*Bukowski, M., de Lemus, S., Rodríguez‐Bailón, R., Willis, G. B., & Alburquerque, A. (2019). When lack of control enhances closeness to others: The case of unemployment and economic threat. European Journal of Social Psychology, 49(6), 1144-1160. 10.1002/ejsp.2563
*Bukowski, M., & Kofta, M. (2016). From coping to helplessness: Effects of control deprivation on cognitive and affective processes. In Coping with lack of control in a social world (pp. 25-44). Routledge.
*Bukowski, M., Fritsche, I., Guinote, A., & Kofta, M. (Eds.). (2016). Coping with lack of control in a social world. Psychology Press.
*Bukowski, M., de Lemus, S., Rodriguez-Bailón, R., & Willis, G. B. (2017). Who’s to blame? Causal attributions of the economic crisis and personal control. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 20(6), 909-923. 10.1177/1368430216638529
*Fritsche, I., Moya, M., Bukowski, M., Jugert, P., de Lemus, S., Decker, O., … & Navarro‐Carrillo, G. (2017). The great recession and group‐based control: Converting personal helplessness into social class in‐group trust and collective action. Journal of Social Issues, 73(1), 117-137.
*Bukowski, M., Kossowska, M., Sędek, G., & Trejtowicz, M. (2012). The impact of background category information on the creation of social cliques: The role of need for cognitive closure and decisiveness. Polish Psychological Bulletin, 43, 12–19. 10.2478/v10059–012–0002–9