Society, culture and constructed worlds

People shape and are shaped by their social, cultural, historical, economic and material environments. Society, culture and constructed worlds promotes an integrative view of people and groups, their experiences, and their behaviours within these contexts. We see humans as social creatures who are part of, and continually co-create, networks of meanings, practices and institutions with others. Their beliefs, actions and realities are products of the interaction between personal and societal elements. Language and communication form the basis of the social world, as it is through them that we establish and continuously revise our shared understandings, norms and social structures.

Research within this theme positions psychology as a fundamentally social and world-making discipline with responsibilities to the pluralistic societies it strives to understand. Through our commitment to research grounded in context, we aim to produce a more nuanced, ethical and transformative understanding of the full spectrum of human experience.

Research Areas  

Experiences of marginalisation, disadvantage and victimisation  

• Experiences of poverty, homelessness, food insecurity, and standard of living 
• Stigma (esp. in context of mental health, poverty, and homelessness) 
• Sexual and intimate partner victimisation, victim blaming, and barriers to health and criminal justice systems

Social and cultural perspectives on health and wellbeing  

• Understandings of health and illness, particularly mental health 
• Lay and cultural perspectives on health and illness 
• Relationship between physical and mental health, environment and health 
• Sociocultural perspectives on health, sleep, women's health 

Social and interpersonal processes  

• Equality, Diversity & Inclusion in Higher Education 
• Traditional and social media and their role in the social world 
• Play and imagination, and social cognition 
• Close relationships, wellbeing and adult attachment 
• Links between language, communication and stigma 
• Decision-making and behavioral science

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