People

Principal investigator

Atte Oksanen

Professor
Social Psychology
Faculty of Social Sciences
Tampere University
+358503187279
atte.oksanen@tuni.fi

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4143-5580

About me

Atte Oksanen is Professor of Social Psychology and Vice Dean for Research at the Faculty of Social Sciences of Tampere University, Finland. Oksanen's research focuses on digital technologies, social interaction, crime and addiction. He is the director of Emerging Technologies Lab which conducts social scientific and social psychological research on human behavior in technological environments. Oksanen has successfully led several major research projects funded by the Academy of Finland, Kone Foundation, Finnish Cultural Foundation, Aaltonen Foundation, Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies, Finnish Work Environment Fund, Wihuri Foundation, and Helsingin Sanomat Foundation. His international research projects have been funded by the Scandinavian Research Council for Criminology, the Research council of Norway and the National Science Foundation (U.S.). He has published extensively on social media, online communities and cyberhate during the last years and has over 350 publications to his name, with over 180 peer-reviewed international journal articles, including flagship journals (e.g. Criminology, Addiction, Pediatrics, International Journal of Information Management, Social Science & Medicine, Computers in Human Behavior, New Media & Society, and Higher Education). Publications include a seminal monograph on cyberhate and cybervictimization (Online Hate and Harmful Content: Cross-National Perspectives, Routledge, 2017).

Responsibilities

Vice Dean for Research (>400 people at the faculty of social sciences; responsibilities at the university administration)

Director of Emerging Technologies Lab (>20 people at the lab; leadership and supervision in research)

Full professor (research and research management, MA and PhD level teaching in social psychology at the degree program for social sciences)

Board member of Research Council for Culture and Society, Academy of Finland (2022–2024, annual budget ca. 60M€)

Board member of Finnish Research Infrastructures Committee, Academy of Finland (2022–2025, annual budget ca. 30M€)

Research topics

artificial intelligence, human-robot interaction, human-technology interaction, social media, internet, online aggression, online hate, online harassment, self and identity, severe targeted violence, addiction, gambling, wellbeing

Research unit

Faculty of social sciences

Research fields

Social psychology, psychology, criminology, sociology, social sciences, health sciences, cultural studies

Research career

Current position

2024– Vice Dean for Research at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, Finland

2018– Professor of Social Psychology (full), Tampere University, Finland

2014–2018 Professor of Social Psychology (tenure-track), University of Tampere Finland

2013–2016 PI, Hate Communities: A Cross-National Comparison Project (Kone Foundation), University of Turku, Finland

2013–2014 Senior researcher, National Research Institute of Legal Policy, Ministry of Justice, Finland

2012–2013 Senior researcher, Finnish Youth Research Network, Helsinki

2009–2012 PI, Everyday Life and Insecurity (Aaltonen Foundation), University of Turku, Finland

2009–2011 PI, post-doctoral researcher’s project Images of Addiction in Rock Culture, University of Tampere, Finland

2007–2008 Post-doctoral research fellow, University of Tampere, Finland

2002–2006 Research fellow, University of Tampere, Finland

Education and degrees awarded

2011 Title of docent, sociology, University of Helsinki, Finland

2011 Title of docent, sociology, University of Turku, Finland

2008 Title of docent, social psychology, University of Tampere, Finland

2006 Doctor of Social Sciences, social psychology, University of Tampere, Finland

2004 Licentiate of Social Sciences, social psychology, University of Tampere, Finland

2004 Master of Arts, Finnish literature, University of Tampere, Finland

2001 Master of Social Sciences, social psychology, University of Tampere, Finland

Project links

Funding

Main positions of trust

2022–2025 Board member, Finnish Research Infrastructures Committee, Academy of Finland

2022–2024 Board member, Research Council for Culture and Society, Academy of Finland

2021–2022 Member assessment group for gambling harms and risks, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health

2020– A-Clinic Foundation, member of board

2019–2020 Member assessment group for gambling harms and risks, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health

Currently editorial board member of Scientific Reports (Nature) and Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies.

Selected publications

1. Oksanen, A., Celuch, M., Latikka, R., Oksa, R., & Savela, N. (2022). Hate and harassment in academia: The rising concern of the online environment. Higher Education, 84, 541–567.

2. Oksanen, A., Oksa, R., Savela, N. Mantere, E., Savolainen, I., & Kaakinen, M. (2021). COVID-19 Crisis and Digital Stressors at Work: A Nationwide Longitudinal Study. Computers in Human Behavior https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106853.

3. Savela, N., Oksanen, A., Pellert, M, & Garcia, D. (2021). Emotional reactions to robot colleagues in a role-playing experiment. International Journal of Information Management, 60, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2021.102361.

4. Oksanen, A., Kaakinen, M., Minkkinen, J., Räsänen, P., Enjolras, B., & Steen-Johnsen, K. (2020). Perceived societal fear and cyberhate after the November 2015 Paris Terrorist Attacks. Terrorism & Political Violence, 32(5), 1047–1066. https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2018.1442329.

5. Keipi, T., Näsi, M., Oksanen, A., & Räsänen, P. (2017). Online Hate and Harmful Content: Cross-National Perspectives. Abingdon & New York: Routledge.

6. Aaltonen, M., Oksanen, A., & Kivivuori, J. (2016). Debt Problems and Crime. Criminology, 54(2), 307–33. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12103.

7. Oksanen, A., Aaltonen, M., & Kivivuori, J. (2015). Driving under the Influence as a Turning Point? A Register-based Study on Financial and Social Consequences among First-time Male Offenders. Addiction, 110(3), 471–478. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.12777.

8. Oksanen, A., Garcia, D., Sirola, A., Näsi, M., Kaakinen, M., Keipi, T., & Räsänen, P. (2015). Pro-Anorexia and anti-pro-anorexia videos on YouTube: Sentiment analysis of user responses. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 17(11):e256. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.5007.

9. Oksanen, A. Hawdon, J., & Räsänen, P. (2014). Glamorizing Rampage Online: School Shooting Fan Communities on YouTube. Technology in Society, 39, 55–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2014.08.001.

10. Oksanen, A. (2013). Deleuze and the Theory of Addiction. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 45(1), 57–67. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2013.763563.

Own links

Latest publications

Robots are coming to town: A visual experiment on urban belonging and anxiety

Savela, N., Latikka, R., Lahtinen, J. & Oksanen, A., tammik. 2024, julkaisussa: Cities. 144, 104640.