Research

My main current research interest is the study of social class, and educational background in particular. Combining sociological and social psychological approaches, we are using a social identity framework to understand the effect of education on social and political attitudes. I found that the higher educated are much less tolerant than previously thought and that the less educated have severe problems in creating a positive social identity around their level of education and their position in society. I am also studying the attitudes of higher educated people towards less educated people.

My PhD research (supervised by Vincent Yzerbyt) was about social identity and group-based emotions. I emphasised the crucial role that group concerns and group-based appraisals play in group-based emotions.