The psychology of pandemics

Stephen Reicher, Bishop Wardlaw Professor from the School of Psychology and Neuroscience, writes about two psychologies of relevance to the coronavirus pandemic for the British Psychological Society.

His research focusses on the issues of group behaviour and the individual-social relationship. More specifically, Professor Reicher’s recent research can be grouped into three areas. The first is an attempt to develop a model of crowd action that accounts for both social determination and social change. The second concerns the construction of social categories through language and action. The third concerns political rhetoric and mass mobilisation – especially around the issue of national identity.

More about the article can be found in the University's news article "The psychology of pandemics".