People

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