We invite you to attend Dr. Robin R. Vallacher’s talk as part of the psychology colloquium Wednesday, November 11st at 3:30pm via Zoom. Dr. Robin R. Vallacher, professor from the Psychology Department of Florida Atlantic University will be presenting his talk titled “Societal phase transitions: The promise and perils of rapid social change”. We hope that you will join us!
Abstract: Populism seems easy enough to understand. It arises when “ordinary” people feel that the elites in a society derive the majority of economic benefits from the status quo and hold values at odds with conventional ways of thinking and behaving. Populism, however, is not an inevitable response to income inequality, demographic divides, divergent lifestyles, or even the perception of corruption on the part of the elites. From the perspective of nonlinear dynamical systems, populist sentiments emerge when there are rapid changes in a society that disrupt long-standing norms, values, and lifestyles, setting in motion attempts to reestablish these equilibrium states. I will present an agent-based model that illustrates the latent resentment that is unleashed when entrenched features of a social system are destabilized. This model is validated against empirical data concerning the rapid social changes that were experienced in Eastern Europe upon the collapse of the Soviet Union late last century. This model has clear implications for understanding, predicting, and perhaps managing the ascendance in recent years of populist movements in the United States, European nations, and other parts of the world.
Event address for attendees:
https://zoom.us/j/6884899144?pwd=THFzczdDZmx1TlczNEZxeWo1dlJHdz09
Meeting ID: 688 489 9144
Passcode: 2020
The remaining colloquium scheduled is listed below. All talks will take place via Zoom at 3:30pm on Wednesdays unless otherwise noted.
March 24th, 2021
Dr. Victor Ferreira, Department of Psychology, UCSD
April 14th, 2021
Dr. Sapna Cheryan, Department of Psychology, University of Washington
For more information, contact: Shu Jiang at shu.2.jiang@uconn.edu