Pekka Santtila
Visiting Professor of Psychology
Psychology
Shanghai University
China
Biography
Professor Santtila is a Visiting Professor of Psychology at NYU Shanghai. Previously, he was Professor of Applied Psychology and Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Psychology and Theology at the Åbo Akademi University in Finland. His research is focused on legal and forensic psychology with a particular interest in investigative issues and forensic sexology. His current research projects focus on improving the quality of forensic interviews with children and establishing the maximum distance and minimum lighting conditions during a crime event that allow a later correct identification by a witness. He is also interested in the effects of abuse experiences and how decisions are made in abuse investigations. Finally, he has done work on behavior genetics and is involved in a research project where the behavioral effects of intragenomic conflict are investigated. Professor Santtila has provided investigative advice to the police, acted as an expert witness in numerous legal cases and consulted child sexual abuse investigations. He is a licensed psychologist and specialist in legal psychology (Finland).
Research Interest
Legal and investigative psychology, human sexuality, child sexual abuse investigations, eyewitness identifications
Publications
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Holmqvist, S., Johansson, A., Westberg, L., Santtila, P., von der Pahlen, B., & Simberg, S. (in press). Associations between vocal symptoms and genetic variants in the oxytocin receptor and vasopressin 1A receptor gene. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research.
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Antfolk, J., Ålgars, M., Holmgård, L., & Santtila, P. (2017). Body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in androphilic and gynephilic men and women. Personality and Individual Differences, 117, 6-10.
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Alanko, K., Schmidt, A., Neutze, J., Bergen, E., Santtila, P., & Osterheider, M. (2017). Male sexual interest in and offending against children: The abused-abuser hypothesis. Journal of Forensic Psychology: Research and Practice, 17, 128-144.
