ISA RC42 Social Psychology https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/ Research Committee 42 of the International Sociological Association - Advancing international sociological social psychology since 1988. quarto-1.10.18 Sun, 04 Jul 2027 00:00:00 GMT Bounded Solidarities: The Interconnections of Home, Migrations and Digitization Sepetla Molapo https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-bounded-solidarities/ The session explores the interconnections of home, migrations, and digitization to examine contemporary forms of solidarity. It examines how migration and digitization have transformed the meaning of home as a space for questioning solidarity, conceptualizing home broadly — both within and beyond state frameworks — and inviting reflections on solidarity in relation to contemporary migration and digitization experiences.

Organizer(s)/Chair(s):

  • Sepetla Molapo, University of Pretoria & University of South Africa, South Africa

Host committee(s): RC42 Social Psychology

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Comparative Critical Studies on Universal Basic Income and Basic Income →

]]> Migration Digitization Solidarity https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-bounded-solidarities/ Sun, 04 Jul 2027 00:00:00 GMT Comparative Critical Studies on Universal Basic Income and Basic Income Tania Garcia-Ramos https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-universal-basic-income/ This session explores the benefits and challenges of Universal Basic Income (UBI) and Basic Income (BI) programs implemented in different countries and regions. Research approaches may include quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methodologies examining completed initiatives, pilot studies, comparative work, policy assessments, and theoretical investigations.

Key focus areas encompass poverty alleviation, financial security, psychological wellness, autonomy, employment effects, community strengthening, and broader psychosocial impacts. The session also addresses implementation obstacles such as financial viability, program conditions, administration, political viability, and public acceptance.

The organizers particularly encourage submissions offering comparative, cross-disciplinary, and worldwide viewpoints. Studies investigating how technological advancement, employment shifts, wealth disparity, and social safety nets influence these programs receive special attention. The session welcomes empirical research, literature reviews, individual studies, policy examinations, and theoretical contributions.

Organizer(s)/Chair(s):

  • Tania Garcia-Ramos, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras campus, Puerto Rico

Host committee(s): RC19 Poverty, Social Welfare and Social Policy; RC42 Social Psychology

Language(s): English and Spanish

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← Bounded Solidarities: The Interconnections of Home, Migrations and Digitization Comparative Study of Social Cohesion and Economic Inequality →

]]> Basic Income Social Policy Comparative Research https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-universal-basic-income/ Sun, 04 Jul 2027 00:00:00 GMT Comparative Study of Social Cohesion and Economic Inequality Julio Iturra Gonzalo Franetovic https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-social-cohesion-economic-inequality/ This session examines how economic inequality and beliefs about inequality connect to social cohesion in contemporary societies. The organizers invite submissions exploring two interrelated perspectives: macro-micro dynamics (how country-level economic conditions shape attitudes supporting social cohesion) and micro-micro interactions (how individual beliefs about distributive arrangements influence trust and solidarity).

Papers may address the relationship between inequality beliefs and cohesion across groups and institutions; social and institutional mechanisms linking distributive conditions to cohesion; and how social networks mediate inequality’s effects on attitudes and behavior.

The session welcomes comparative research (cross-national or case-based), single-country studies with broader implications, and quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-method approaches. Submissions from political sociology, social stratification, welfare research, network sociology, and related disciplines are encouraged, with particular interest in understudied regions.

Organizer(s)/Chair(s):

  • Julio Iturra, University of Bremen, Germany
  • Gonzalo Franetovic, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain

Host committee(s): RC42 Social Psychology

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← Comparative Critical Studies on Universal Basic Income and Basic Income Crisis, Subjectivity, and Civic Agency In the Global South: Social Emotions, Meaning-Making, and Democratic Imaginaries →

]]> Inequality Social Cohesion Comparative Research https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-social-cohesion-economic-inequality/ Sun, 04 Jul 2027 00:00:00 GMT Crisis, Subjectivity, and Civic Agency In the Global South: Social Emotions, Meaning-Making, and Democratic Imaginaries Fateme Alamdar Seyed Nima Orazani https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-crisis-subjectivity-civic-agency/ This panel examines how people in the Global South experience political rupture emotionally and cognitively. The session integrates social psychology and sociology to investigate emotional responses — including hope, anger, fear, and solidarity — during periods of political instability. It explores how individuals interpret these experiences through meaning-making processes and how such interpretations influence civic participation, political cynicism, or collective action. The panel welcomes theoretical and empirical contributions from diverse regions, addressing how communities navigate uncertain futures amid prolonged crises.

Organizer(s)/Chair(s):

  • Fateme Alamdar, Independent researcher, Iran; Coordinator, Social Psychology Group, Iranian Sociological Association
  • Seyed Nima Orazani, Carleton University, Canada

Host committee(s): RC42 Social Psychology

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← Comparative Study of Social Cohesion and Economic Inequality Culture, Cognition and Inequality →

]]> Global South Emotions Civic Agency https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-crisis-subjectivity-civic-agency/ Sun, 04 Jul 2027 00:00:00 GMT Culture, Cognition and Inequality Francisco Olivos Peng Wang https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-culture-cognition-inequality/ The session examines connections between cultural frameworks, cognitive processes, and social inequality. It seeks research on how cultural knowledge — broadly understood as beliefs, values, attitudes, identities, schemas, and repertoires — influences the ways individuals understand and respond to social hierarchies and social change.

Topic areas include cultural schemas and inequality perception, navigation of hierarchies through cultural knowledge, reproduction of inequalities, social class and status beliefs, family and education’s role in cultural acquisition, status attainment, cross-national perspectives, subjective well-being, and methodological innovations including computational approaches.

Organizer(s)/Chair(s):

  • Francisco Olivos, Lingnan University, Hong Kong
  • Peng Wang, Peking University, China

Host committee(s): RC42 Social Psychology

Language(s): English

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← Crisis, Subjectivity, and Civic Agency In the Global South: Social Emotions, Meaning-Making, and Democratic Imaginaries Digital Health Technologies As Sites of Subjectivation: Algorithmic Care, Self-Governance, and the Making of New Health Subjects →

]]> Culture Cognition Inequality https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-culture-cognition-inequality/ Sun, 04 Jul 2027 00:00:00 GMT Digital Health Technologies As Sites of Subjectivation: Algorithmic Care, Self-Governance, and the Making of New Health Subjects Robert Aust https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-digital-health-technologies/ The session explores how digitalized healthcare transforms illness, care, and patient identity. It examines eHealth technologies — including AI-driven tools, gamified platforms, wearables, and algorithmic assistants — as mechanisms that shape how health subjects are constructed and negotiated. The session addresses tensions between heightened self-monitoring and increased objectification, considering how patients, clinicians, and algorithmic systems interact within these technological frameworks. Contributions may explore subject positioning, the role of non-human actors in care relationships, professional identity shifts, and user responses ranging from adoption to resistance across diverse health contexts.

Organizer(s)/Chair(s):

  • Robert Aust, Macromedia University of Applied Sciences, Campus Leipzig, Germany

Host committee(s): RC15 Sociology of Health; RC23 Sociology of Science and Technology; RC26 Sociotechnics and Sociological Practice; RC42 Social Psychology; RC46 Clinical Sociology; RC49 Mental Health and Illness

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← Culture, Cognition and Inequality Emotions Beyond Borders: Identity, Social Media and Affective Experiences In Digital Society →

]]> Health Technology Digitization https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-digital-health-technologies/ Sun, 04 Jul 2027 00:00:00 GMT Emotions Beyond Borders: Identity, Social Media and Affective Experiences In Digital Society Jingting Zhang https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-emotions-beyond-borders/ The session examines how social media platforms and AI-driven digital infrastructures shape emotional experiences and identity construction. It investigates the tension between algorithmic emotional convergence and cultural differentiation, considering how algorithms deliver personalized content that may influence emotional expression and identity formation. The panel addresses how global digital systems are redefining emotional expressions like solidarity and moral outrage, often intensifying political polarization. Organizers welcome empirical research, theoretical frameworks, and methodological innovations exploring how users interpret and reconfigure digital spaces.

Organizer(s)/Chair(s):

  • Jingting Zhang, Shanghai International Studies University, China

Host committee(s): RC42 Social Psychology; RC58 Society and Emotions

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← Digital Health Technologies As Sites of Subjectivation: Algorithmic Care, Self-Governance, and the Making of New Health Subjects Engaging Polarising Societal Issues In the Classroom →

]]> Emotions Social Media Identity https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-emotions-beyond-borders/ Sun, 04 Jul 2027 00:00:00 GMT Engaging Polarising Societal Issues In the Classroom Charles Puttergill Cawo Abdi https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-polarising-issues-classroom/ The session focuses on pedagogical approaches for addressing contentious topics in diverse classroom settings. It examines safe spaces amongst an often increasingly diverse cohort of students in which contentious issues can be debated. Key themes include social contestation, exclusionary practices, nationalism, immigration discourse, and xenophobia. The session seeks papers exploring how educators can interrogate structural power dynamics and inequality while advancing inclusiveness and social justice.

Organizer(s)/Chair(s):

  • Charles Puttergill, University of Pretoria, South Africa
  • Cawo Abdi, University of Minnesota, USA

Host committee(s): RC42 Social Psychology; RC46 Clinical Sociology

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← Emotions Beyond Borders: Identity, Social Media and Affective Experiences In Digital Society From Inequality to Action: How Justice and Deservingness Beliefs Shape Political Behavior →

]]> Education Polarization https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-polarising-issues-classroom/ Sun, 04 Jul 2027 00:00:00 GMT From Inequality to Action: How Justice and Deservingness Beliefs Shape Political Behavior René Canales Sellés Andreas Laffert Tamayo https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-inequality-to-action/ This session explores how individuals’ perceptions of fairness influence their political engagement. It bridges political sociology and social psychology by examining the relationship between inequality beliefs and political behavior, including justice perceptions, merit evaluations, and legitimacy judgments. Topics of interest span voting patterns, protest participation, redistribution support, and political trust across diverse methodologies — surveys, experiments, comparative designs, and qualitative approaches. The organizers particularly encourage submissions from comparative and Global South contexts.

Organizer(s)/Chair(s):

  • René Canales Sellés, Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS), University of Bremen, Germany
  • Andreas Laffert Tamayo, Cluster of Excellence “The Politics of Inequality”, University of Konstanz, Germany

Host committee(s): RC42 Social Psychology

Language(s): English and Spanish

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← Engaging Polarising Societal Issues In the Classroom Group Processes →

]]> Inequality Political Behavior Justice https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-inequality-to-action/ Sun, 04 Jul 2027 00:00:00 GMT Group Processes Lisa Walker https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-group-processes/ This session examines the underlying mechanisms that govern human behavior, influence, and organization within small groups. The research bridges individual psychology and macro-social structures, exploring how status hierarchies, power dynamics, and solidarity develop through interaction. Topics include group consensus-formation, conflict navigation, resource distribution, and collective identity development — spanning both face-to-face teams and decentralized digital networks.

Organizer(s)/Chair(s):

  • Lisa Walker, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA

Host committee(s): RC42 Social Psychology

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← From Inequality to Action: How Justice and Deservingness Beliefs Shape Political Behavior Meritocracy, Deservingness, and Inequality →

]]> Group Processes Social Interaction https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-group-processes/ Sun, 04 Jul 2027 00:00:00 GMT Meritocracy, Deservingness, and Inequality Juan Carlos Castillo Tomás Urzúa Moreno https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-meritocracy-deservingness-inequality/ The session examines how meritocracy has become one of the most powerful ways of making sense of social inequalities. It investigates how concepts of merit and deservingness develop across various social contexts, focusing on how individuals determine who warrants resources, recognition, or opportunities. The session particularly emphasizes connections between personal beliefs and institutional structures in areas including education, labor markets, welfare systems, migration policy, and digital platforms. Research exploring the effects of meritocratic beliefs, the creation of deservingness boundaries, and efforts to challenge or sustain these moral frameworks is welcomed. The session accepts empirical, theoretical, comparative, historical, qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods submissions.

Organizer(s)/Chair(s):

  • Juan Carlos Castillo, Department of Sociology, Universidad de Chile, Chile
  • Tomás Urzúa Moreno, Department of Sociology, Universidad de Chile, Chile

Host committee(s): RC42 Social Psychology

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← Group Processes Political Socialization of Younger Generations: Participation, Beliefs, Attitudes and Knowledge →

]]> Meritocracy Inequality Deservingness https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-meritocracy-deservingness-inequality/ Sun, 04 Jul 2027 00:00:00 GMT Political Socialization of Younger Generations: Participation, Beliefs, Attitudes and Knowledge Daniel Miranda Janina Suppers https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-political-socialization-younger-generations/ The session examines how recent global transformations — including crises related to globalization, misinformation, and political polarization — shape younger generations’ civic development. It invites scholarly contributions addressing: (1) the different agents of socialization and their role in acquiring knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors relevant to the exercise of citizenship throughout life; (2) the social transformations and their impact on political socialization processes; and (3) the challenges that social shifts and generational differences put on current knowledge about political socialization processes.

Organizer(s)/Chair(s):

  • Daniel Miranda, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Universidad de Chile, Chile
  • Janina Suppers, University of Waikato, New Zealand

Host committee(s): RC42 Social Psychology; RC34 Sociology of Youth

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← Meritocracy, Deservingness, and Inequality Sensitive Research: Positionality and Reflexivity In Fragile and Violence-Affected Contexts →

]]> Political Socialization Youth https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-political-socialization-younger-generations/ Sun, 04 Jul 2027 00:00:00 GMT Sensitive Research: Positionality and Reflexivity In Fragile and Violence-Affected Contexts Sandra Rios Oyola https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-sensitive-research-positionality/ This panel explores how researchers’ positionality and reflexivity function within fieldwork conducted in violence-affected environments. The session examines qualitative re-approaches that address human rights violations and examines how researcher positioning influences research design, methodology, and interpretation. The discussion integrates intersectional frameworks with emotion-based analysis to advance understanding of situated knowledge and epistemological reflexivity as methodological concerns.

Organizer(s)/Chair(s):

  • Sandra Rios Oyola, University of Louvain, Belgium

Host committee(s): RC42 Social Psychology; TG02 Conflict Transformations and Peacebuilding

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← Political Socialization of Younger Generations: Participation, Beliefs, Attitudes and Knowledge Social Networks and Political Life: Attitudes, Behavior, and Cleavages →

]]> Research Methods Reflexivity https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-sensitive-research-positionality/ Sun, 04 Jul 2027 00:00:00 GMT Social Networks and Political Life: Attitudes, Behavior, and Cleavages Alejandro Plaza Reveco https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-social-networks-political-life/ The session examines how interpersonal networks shape political attitudes and behavior, moving beyond individual preference explanations. It focuses on network structure seriously as an explanatory object, investigating mechanisms like homophily, transitivity, and closure. Topics include far-right voting, polarization, social trust, and political cleavages. The session welcomes empirical, theoretical, and methodological work using various designs, particularly those measuring social ties directly or offering comparative perspectives beyond Western contexts. It bridges network analysis with sociological traditions including Simmel’s cross-cutting ties, Coleman’s social capital, and Allport’s intergroup contact theory.

Organizer(s)/Chair(s):

  • Alejandro Plaza Reveco

Host committee(s): RC42 Social Psychology; RC45 Micro-Macro Modelling

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← Sensitive Research: Positionality and Reflexivity In Fragile and Violence-Affected Contexts The Social Psychology of Inequality: Perceptions, Emotions, and Justifications In Turbulent Times →

]]> Social Networks Political Behavior https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-social-networks-political-life/ Sun, 04 Jul 2027 00:00:00 GMT The Social Psychology of Inequality: Perceptions, Emotions, and Justifications In Turbulent Times Hye Won Kwon https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-social-psychology-of-inequality/ This session examines how psychological mechanisms shape individuals’ interpretations of inequality across various nations during times of rapid social change. The organizers note a paradox: despite rising income inequality and declining intergenerational mobility — both of which suggest a diminishing role of individual merit — recent studies have documented a paradoxical rise in meritocratic beliefs around the world.

The session welcomes research addressing topics such as how perceptions and emotions reinforce or reduce inequalities; inequality reproduction through daily interactions; psychological justifications for disparities; development of unequal psychological resources; and how emerging technologies like AI influence responses to social disparities.

Organizer(s)/Chair(s):

  • Hye Won Kwon, Ewha Womans University, South Korea

Host committee(s): RC42 Social Psychology

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← Social Networks and Political Life: Attitudes, Behavior, and Cleavages

]]> Inequality Emotions Meritocracy https://isa-rc42.github.io/ISA42/congress/posts/session-social-psychology-of-inequality/ Sun, 04 Jul 2027 00:00:00 GMT