Tereza Capelos has been an assistant professor of political science at Leiden University since 2004 and holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Stony Brook University. Her research focuses on public perceptions of political reputations, blame attribution, emotions in politics, and political sophistication. She has been a guest lecturer at Athens University on related topics as well as a reviewer for international political science journals and publishers. A political psychologist by training, She has taught graduate-level classes in political psychology, emotions and cognition in politics, media and politics, and political science research theory and methods. She supervises several graduate students in preparing and presenting research papers in international conferences, and is an active member and conference participant of ISPP, APSA, MPSA, and ECPR.

In her first two years as member of the Leiden Political Science faculty, she has been active in bringing together colleagues in Europe who share the passion and interest in addressing the psychological aspects of politics. In September 2005, she co-organized and co-directed the first ECPR Political Psychology section with 12 panels (Budapest), and since June, 2006 she has coordinated and co-chaired the first ECPR Political Psychology Standing Group. She is also the co-organizer of the ISPP section of Political Communication for the 2007 conference (Portland), and a member of the organizing committee for the 2008 ISPP conference (Paris).

Her interest in the position of a member of the ISPP Governing Council originates in her great appreciation of the efforts of ISPP as an interdisciplinary organization to establish a strong tradition of research in political psychology not only in North America, but also in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Being a regular member of the Society, she values greatly the interdisciplinary and international focus of this organization.

"The Society brings together more than 800 scholars every year in its annual conference, it encourages research in the field, and it is active in supporting particularly junior faculty and graduate students in furthering their careers. I share the vision of ISPP in promoting scholarly excellence in our field, and I feel strongly that building a network of colleagues, supporting research, and engaging new scholars to join the organization is the key to a promising future for our field of study. My own initiatives (in ISPP, ECPR, and elsewhere) are very much in line with this vision, and I feel that I can contribute more effectively in the activities that further the purposes of the Society as a member of the Governing Council."