BPS Social Psychology Section Annual Conference 2011

Postgraduate Bursary Reports

Rusi Jaspal, Royal Holloway, University of London

The conference featured a broad range of social psychological issues, explored from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives and used a variety of distinct theoretical approaches. I found this both intellectually stimulating and insightful, given that my own research is theoretically and methodologically eclectic. Moreover, this encouraged me to think about the compatibility of the theories which I feel best address the range of issues that I habitually research and to develop ‘points’ of connection between them.

The invited symposium entitled ‘The complexity and tenacity of borders’ was immensely useful, as it explored distinct kinds of borders, social, psychological and physical, providing insight into the important socio-psychological consequences of their establishment and maintenance. I found this particularly useful for my own research into caste-based segregation, which I have been developing since last year.

On Wednesday, the session which included my own paper on anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism in Iran was of much interest to me. The first talk on racism and refugees elucidated the contribution of discourse analysis to promoting positive social change in the area of refugee well-being. Presenting my own paper within this session was a beneficial experience, given the overlapping themes of racism, discrimination and psychological well-being. Moreover, the panel explored discrimination and well-being among various social groups – refugees, Jews and Israelis, and Lesbians. This has helped me to broaden my research.

On Thursday, I attend the session of individual papers on environmental and climate-related issues, because I am developing my research interests in this area. These papers seemed to marry the inter-connected areas of social representation, identity and social action, which are important areas of the social psychology of climate change.

In short, the conference was highly beneficial for me. Moreover, it helped me to create contacts with important researchers in the field.

Cliodhna O’Connor, Division of Psychology & Language Sciences, University College London

I thoroughly enjoyed my three days at the Social Section Conference. It being my first major conference, I had little idea of what to expect. Attending the postgraduate workshop on the first day was a very good way to start, enabling us to meet the other postgrads and academics in a more informal context. The sessions themselves were extremely informative. I found the session on publishing particularly useful, and it was great to have it delivered by one of the editors of the BJSP, an outlet in which I hope to publish myself in the future.

I attended all but one of the keynote speeches and found them all novel and interesting. I was especially intrigued by the material presented by James Liu and will definitely follow his research programme with interest in the future. I also attended several of the symposia that were held, such as the re-visiting of the Milgram experiments and the debate about the future of the discipline. Throughout all of the talks I witnessed, I was struck by the common thread I saw between them – an appeal, either implicit or explicit, for social psychology to look outwards towards pressing societal, cultural and political problems and orient itself towards their understanding and resolution. There seemed to be a real appreciation that this ambitious task requires an open-mindedness towards different methodological and theoretical perspectives. I am often frustrated by the rigid methodological orthodoxy exhibited by some corners of psychology and seeing key figures in the field unanimously endorse the value of a pluralistic social psychology was very encouraging.

I gained a lot from my attendance at the conference and am very grateful to the Section for giving me the opportunity to attend. I will definitely be attending again next year.

Diana Onu, University of Exeter

I am grateful for having had the chance to participate in the Social Section Annual Conference. I took part in the postgraduate workshop on the first day of the conference and the sessions have been very helpful and informative. I found the sessions on Online research and Research impact particularly helpful, as I am at the moment designing an online survey in collaboration with a third-sector organisation, and the sessions gave me the chance to ask specific questions about designing online surveys, but also about how to best manage a research relationship with a non-academic organisation. I found the various sessions of the conference and the key-note speeches very interesting, and I was very pleased with the diversity of theoretical and methodological approaches presented. At the moment I am considering undertaking a research visit to another department to learn more about specific qualitative methods (I have only used quantitative surveys and experiments in my research so far), and I am happy that this conference has helped me gain a better understanding of the variety of methods and also of the academic departments suitable for a research visit. Although I was not expecting a numerous audience for my own presentation as it was scheduled for 3pm on the last day of the conference, I was very pleased to meet several researchers presenting in my session and in the audience who are working on topics similar to mine. Finding common interests and perspectives, I am now hoping that we will collaborate on further research projects as there was interest for collaboration stemming from the discussions during and after the session. Last but not least, I have come back to the office feeling more motivated, more creative, and with a broader perspective, and I am truly grateful for having had the chance to take part in the conference.

Niklas K. Steffens, University of Exeter

I am very happy to have been able to attend the BPS Social Section Conference “Empowering individuals and groups within a changing world” from 6th to 8th September, 2011, in Cambridge. I am very thankful to the BPS for allowing me to participate in this conference through the award of a student bursary.

The BPS SPS Conference was an encounter of junior and senior social psychological researchers from Britain—and across the world—in which I was intrigued to participate in and contribute to. On the first day of the conference I participated in the postgraduate workshop in which I not only got to know a range of fellow postgraduate research students but also learned about key skills (writing, networking, doing research with impact, online research) that are enormously helpful for developing as a researcher.

Furthermore, participating in the BPS SPS Conference allowed me to give a poster presentation of some of my PhD research on leader performance, prototypicality, and identity entrepreneurship. In this presentation, I have been able to discuss my work and interests with other researchers and to learn from their valuable comments and feedback. Moreover, the conference was an exciting and enjoyable experience that has enabled me to get to know and discuss fascinating research (in a variety of fields) of several national and international colleagues—whom I will meet again and might collaborate with in the years to come.