LIRA Lab is a psychological research laboratory that, as a scientific unit of the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, conducts quantitative (correlational, experimental) and qualitative research on individual differences, social psychology, mental health and metascience.

The lab’s members are researchers at various career stages, mostly employed at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, but also including members from other faculties, institutes, and organizations. Through the Program for Junior Researchers, master’s and undergraduate students (3rd and 4th year) from the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade are also involved in the lab’s activities.

The lab’s core principles are democracy and individual autonomy. Decisions are made collectively by a majority vote, with each member having an equal vote, regardless of academic title or status. Activities and decision-making in the lab are conducted transparently, with shared responsibility for tasks related to the lab’s operations. Finally, each member has complete autonomy in their research work.

Learn More About the History of LIRA Lab

LIRA Lab was established in 2016 by a decision of the Academic Council of the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, under the name Laboratory for Research of Individual Differences (LIRA). It was founded with the aim to conduct experimental and correlational research on individual differences in psychology using state-of-the-art data collection methodologies, and to serve as a space for demonstration and practical teaching for several psychology courses. The first Scientific Council of LIRA consisted of the lab’s founders, Goran Knežević, Goran Opačić, Ljiljana B. Lazarević i Danka Purić, along with Lazar Tenjović and Aleksandar Zorić. Other members included collaborators from Serbia and abroad, as well as master’s and PhD students interested in research on individual differences in psychology.

Although primarily focused on the study of individual differences, LIRA Lab quickly became a hub for researchers with related but broader interests, such as social and clinical psychology, united by an empirical research orientation and shared scientific values. The growing number of members and collaborators, as well as the expansion of research topics beyond individual differences, necessitated a restructuring to better reflect the lab’s evolving focus.

In 2024, the Laboratory for the Laboratory for Research of Individual Differences was renamed LIRA Lab, adopting a new structure comprising four closely related research branches: individual differences, social psychology, mental health, and metascience, while remaining open to adding new research branches in the future.

Research Values

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Members

research assistant

Aleksandra Lazić

teaching associate

Ana Ivanov

associate professor

Biljana Jokić

associate professor

Danka Purić

phd candidate

Draga Šapić

full professor

Goran Knežević

associate professor

Goran Opačić

research trainee

Irena Stojadinović

full professor

Iris Žeželj

research trainee

Jana Dimoski

research associate

Jovan Ivanović

senior research associate

Ljiljana B. Lazarević

associate professor

Marija Branković

research associate

Marija Kušić

research associate

Marija Petrović

senior research associate

Marko Živanović

research associate

Maša Vukčević Marković

research trainee

Matija Gvozden

research trainee

Milica Manojlović

research associate

Milica Ninković

research trainee

Neda Janićijević

research associate