The next psychology colloquium is scheduled for Wednesday – March 11th at 3:30pm in BOUS A106. Dr. Robin R. Vallacher from 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: Populist movements are said to arise when “ordinary” people feel that the elites in a society derive the majority of economic benefits from the status quo and hold values that are at odds with conventional ways of thinking and acting. 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. Discontent due to these conditions may exist but remain latent and unexpressed for extended periods of time. It is when long-standing norms, values, institutions, and demographics undergo rapid change that latent discontent becomes manifest, resulting in collective efforts to reverse the changes and reinstate the old reality. The populist response to destabilization can occur even the new reality may ultimately be beneficial for those who are most resistant to change. Populism thus is not inherently tethered to rational self-interest nor to specific ideologies, but rather can best be understood in terms of dynamic processes. Based on principles of nonlinear dynamical systems, I will present an agent-based model that illustrates the latent resentment that is unleashed when salient equilibria of a social system are destabilized. This model has implications for understanding, predicting, and perhaps managing the ascendance in recent years of populist movements in the United States, some European nations, and other parts of the world.
The remaining colloquium scheduled is listed below. All talks will take place in BOUS A106 at 3:30pm on Wednesdays unless otherwise noted.
March 25, 2020
Dr. Robert Astur, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut
Tenure Talk
Title: TBA
April 1, 2020
Dr. Inge-Marie Eigsti, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut
Title: TBA
April 22, 2020
Dr. Ian Stevenson, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut
Tenure Talk
Title: TBA
psychology.uconn.edu
For more information, contact: Shu Jiang at shu.2.jiang@uconn.edu