Dr. Abhishek Kumar is currently working as an Assistant Professor in Psychology at the School of Liberal Arts and Design studies, Vidyashilp University. He has a Ph.D. in Psychology from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and an M.Phil. in Women and Gender studies from Ambedkar University (AUD)- Centre for Women’s Development Studies (CWDS), Delhi. He is a recipient of UGC-JRF in two subjects- Psychology and Women Studies. His doctoral work interrogates the psychological mechanisms of ideological extremism among young adults using mixed-methods. He was a fellow with International society for Political Psychology (ISPP) in 2024.

His M.Phil work examined the construction of masculinities among children in conflict with law at an observation home in Delhi. Through his work, he seeks to answer questions of social inequalities by exploring the interrelationships between psychological processes and socio-political contexts. He previously taught at KC College, Mumbai and Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar College, University of Delhi. He takes a learner-centric approach in his teaching and encourages reflexivity in his classrooms. Committed towards advancing and staying updated to the field, he is a member of International Society for Political Psychology (ISPP), European Association of Social Psychology (EASP), and the National Academy of Psychology (NAOP), India. Beyond academia, he is also actively engaged with community initiatives, consulting grass-roots organizations on community mental health and behavioural change. Outside his professional commitments, Abhishek thrives on old Bollywood melodies, cooking and good memes.

• Ph.D. Psychology, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay - 2025
• European Association of Social Psychology (EASP) Summer School, University of Kent - 2025
• M.Phil Women and Gender Studies, Ambedkar University, Delhi - 2019
• M.A. Psychology, University of Delhi - 2016
• B.A. (H) Applied Psychology, University of Delhi (Second Rank) - 2014

• Introduction to Psychology
• Advanced Research Methods and Statistics
• Community Psychology

• Group processes and Intergroup relations
• Political Psychology
• Community Psychology
• Gender and Psychology
• Psychology of Men and Masculinities

• Kumar, A., & Kulkarni, M. (2024, July).  Political Extremity: A Function of Cognitive Flexibility?. 47 th Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology (ISPP), Santiago, Chile.
• Kumar, A., & Kulkarni, M. (2024, April). Honor Culture and Politics in India: An exploratory study. European Association of Social Psychology (EASP) small group meeting on The Role of Dignity, Face, and Honor cultural logics in Intrapersonal, Interpersonal and Intergroup Processes, Pescara, Italy.
• Kumar, A., & Kulkarni, M. (2023, August). The flexibility of the center: Implications of Cognitive flexibility for political orientation. 27 th Regional Conference of the International Association for Cross-cultural Psychology (IACCP), Limerick, Ireland.
• Kumar, A., & Kulkarni, M. (2023, February). Political Left and Right are more different than we assume: A qualitative inquiry among student groups in India. Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) Annual Convention, Atlanta, Georgia.
• Kumar, A.& Tyagi, A. (2021, September). Revolution will not happen on Facebook but propaganda can: Political practices, strategies and communities in Web 2.0.  International Symposium “Digital Expressions of the self” organized by NIT Silchar and Goldsmiths, University of London.
• Kumar, A. & Tyagi, A. (2021, August). Revolutionary Army of the Dead: Anonymity, Dissent and Political Participation on Facebook.  International Symposium “Crisis of truth? The digital era and future of knowledge” organized by Department of HSS, IIIT Delhi.
• Kumar, A. (2018, December). Being compelled to Act: Conceptualizing anger within adolescent male offenders. 28th National Academy of Psychology (NAOP) Annual Convention, University of Delhi.