Dr. Ruri Takizawa

Work at ZHAW

Focus

I study how people lead and work together, how diversity shapes collaboration, and what helps individuals and teams navigate uncertainty at work. At the IAP, I apply research in social and organisational psychology to leadership and team development.

Experience

• Postdoctoral Researcher & Lecturer
  ETH Zurich
  2024 - 2026
• Postdoctoral Researcher
  University of Geneva
  2024 - 2024
• Doctoral Candidate, Research & Teaching Assistant
  University of Geneva
  2020 - 2024

Education and Continuing education

Education

• Ph.D. / Social psychology
  University of Geneva
  2020 - 2024
• M.Sc. / Social Cognition: Research and Application
  University College London (UCL)
  2018 - 2019
• B.Sc. / Psychology
  Bielefeld University
  2015 - 2018

Network

Membership of networks

• Academy of Management (AOM)
• European Association of Social Psychology (EASP)
• European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP)
• European Network for Social Psychologists Researching Gender (SPRinG)
• International Society of Political Psychology (ISPP)

ORCID digital identifier

ORCID ID: 0000-0003-4764-6274

Social media

LinkedIn

Media presence

• The gender of leaders is immaterial
• People who rate uncertainty positively are less likely to vote for right-wing populists

Publications

Articles in scientific journal, peer-reviewed

Peters, K., Jeftić, A., Ballard, T., Zhou, S., Steffens, N. K., Inceoglu, I., Ryan, M. K., Bongiorno, R., Eagly, A., Arriaga, P., Espinosa, A., Aczel, B., Adetula, A., Aglioti, S. M., Akca, E., Direkçi, E. A., Alizadeh, Z., Alonso-Arbiol, I., Amru, M. F., et al. (2026). Think political leader — think he or she? : a multi-country test of a gender-fair language intervention to reduce gendered leadership stereotypes. The Leadership Quarterly, 37(6), 101991. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2026.101991

Publications before appointment at the ZHAW

• Neubaum, G., Takizawa, R., Schmitt, J. B. & Grote, G. (2026). Überschätzte Polarisierung in Zeiten wachsender Unsicherheit: Meinungsvielfalt konstruktiv nutzen, ohne zu spalten. [Overestimated Polarization in Times of Growing Uncertainty: Using Diversity of Opinion Constructively Without Creating Divisions]. In A. Beelmann, E.-L. Brakemeier, U. Wagner & W. G. Weber (Hrsg.), Policy UltraBriefs aus der Psychologie und angrenzenden Verhaltenswissenschaften, Reihe 2 – Psychologie und Demokratieförderung. doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.22414
• Takizawa, R., Marx-Fleck, S., Gerlach, A., & Grote, G. (2025). The Role of Uncertainty Mindsets in Shaping Diversity Attitudes and Their Downstream Effects on Societal Change Commitment and Right-Wing Populist Voting in Germany’s 2025 Federal Election. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 52(11), 3673-3687. doi.org/10.1177/01461672251386487
• Kulich, C., Takizawa, R., & Iacoviello, V. (Eds., 2025). Briser les barrières : perspectives psychosociales sur le leadership et la diversité. [Breaking down barriers: social-psychological perspectives on leadership and diversity]. La collection « Psychologies et Société », Éditions de l’université de Bruxelles. doi.org/10.65283/jbuv2347
• Takizawa, R., Iacoviello, V., & Kulich, C. (2025). Raising awareness of the glass cliff: Reducing sexism through an information-based approach. Social Psychology, 56(4), 165–176. doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000583
• Takizawa, R., Iacoviello, V., & Kulich, C. (2024). Organizational Crisis in Spotlight Increases Preference for Female but not Ethnic Minority Leaders: The Role of Signaling Theory for Glass Cliff Appointments. Social Psychology Quarterly, 88(2), 227-248. doi.org/10.1177/01902725241289366
• Takizawa, R., Aelenei, C., Iacoviello, V., Assilaméhou-Kunz, Y., & Kulich, C. (2024). When a precarious position of power is perceived as a glass cliff: Reactions to Elisabeth Borne's appointment as Prime minister. Psychologie Française, 69(4), 391-403. doi.org/10.1016/j.psfr.2024.09.001
• Takizawa, R., Iacoviello, V., Ryan, K. M., & Kulich, C. (2024). Gender Stereotypes may not Influence the Choice of Female Leaders: Experimental Evidence from a Crisis Framed as Social or Economic During the COVID-19 Pandemic. European Journal of Social Psychology, 54(2), 558-576. doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.3023
• Takizawa, R., Robinson, S., Aelenei, C., Iacoviello, V., & Kulich, C. (2022). A Five-Nation Study of the Impact of Political Leaning and Perception of Crisis Severity on the Preference for Female and Minority Leaders During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology, 100055. doi.org/10.1016/j.cresp.2022.100055
• Takizawa, R. & Kulich, C. (2021). Warum Geschlechtergleichstellung nicht nur eine Frage des Frauenanteils ist. Die gläserne Klippe und das Führungsumfeld. [Why gender equality is not just a question of female quota. The glass cliff and the leadership environment]. In: Juristinnen Schweiz (Eds.) Recht und Geschlecht. Herausforderungen der Gleichstellung – Quelques refléxions 50 ans après le suffrage des femmes, Dike. www.dike.ch/juristinnen-schweiz-recht-und-geschlecht

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