Psychology of societal change: PsyChange
MISSION STATEMENT AND GENERAL GOALS
In Psychange we study the psychosocial processes involved in social and cultural change and the constitution and transformation of societal structures and institutions. In order to accomplish these goals our research examines the cognitive, motivational, behavioral and cultural aspects of these processes and phenomena. We approach them from different angles, ranging from fundamental principles of social categorization and self–representation, through relational dynamics within and between groups and organizations, up to social representations and the construction of cultural knowledge.
THEMATIC LINES OF RESEARCH (LINKS FOR EACH LINE)
Psychange research covers topics including:
- the embodied representation of social relations and social identities
- social relations of gender
- the development of prejudice and ethnocentrism
- the power of social norms
- institutional and relational processes involved in changing norms
- implicit and explicit processes of stereotyping
- social motivation in general and social justice concerns in particular
INTERVENTIONS
At Psychange we provide practitioners and policy makers with applied and conceptual tools to promote inclusive, just and sustainable societies, for example:
- Training in health care provision, gender equality policies, homophobic bullying, non-discriminatory actions in the fields of human rights of women and of the LGBT community;
- organization of collaborative events with practitioners (e.g. ACIDI) and NGO´s (e.g., Santa Casa da Misericórdia, APAV) and fostering strategic connections with policy makers;
- promotion of individual and cultural diversity competences among health professionals (e.g. by training clinicians through graduate and professional training of individual and cultural diversity competences);
- developing guidelines to help the creation and implementation of anti-discrimination laws and regulations from an EU and country-level perspective;
- promoting environmentally sustainable awareness and behaviors;
- promoting individuals, institutions and communities to participate in decision-making.
TRAINING AND KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION
In Psychange we are committed to educating and training students and young researchers and expanding our publishing by:
- providing a vibrant context for debating work in progress and important developments in the state of the art;
- collaborating within and across disciplines;
- attracting Master and PhD students, Post Doc collaborators and guest researchers (e.g., Marie Curie fellows);
- actively contributing to both junior and senior researchers' internationalization and involvement in research networks;
- publishing in both national and international prestigious publications;
- presenting our research at national and international scientific meetings;
- organizing conferences, workshops and summer schools.
Contact
Current Group Coordinator: Paula Castro paula.castro@iscte.pt