Publications by year
In Press
Stuart A, Sanderson L, Harkin L, Stevenson C, Park M, Yan RJ, Daly R, Talbot CV, Mitra S, Gooch D, et al (In Press). A Siege on Positive Ageing: Experiences of identity threat and coping among Older Adults during COVID-19 pandemic.
Abstract:
A Siege on Positive Ageing: Experiences of identity threat and coping among Older Adults during COVID-19 pandemic
Older adults face significant challenges in regards to the various stereotypes associated with ageing, which have consequences for their mental health and wellbeing. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened these age-based stereotypes due to older adults’ proportionally higher vulnerability to the virus. The present research explored how the pandemic has exacerbated the challenges of ageing by impacting on the social identities of older adults and how these challenges have been met. Eleven focus groups were conducted with 32 UK older adults from a range of household compositions. Guided by the social identity approach, a thematic analysis found that participants faced a number of recognisable stereotype threats: loss of opportunities to enact meaningful identities, loss of autonomy and loss of usefulness. Despite these threats, we also found participants used identity management strategies and mobilised existing or new social identities to give and receive of support and to retain a meaningful and purposeful life. The implications of this research are that governments and those supporting older adults can attend to the negative psychology impact of protective policies and know that fostering group connections can be a source of pandemic resilience.
Abstract.
Harkin L, Stuart A, Stevenson C, Daly R, Talbot CV, Park M, Katz D, Sanderson L, Gooch D, Levine M, et al (In Press). Being cut off from social identity resources has shaped loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal interview study with medically vulnerable older adults from the United Kingdom.
Abstract:
Being cut off from social identity resources has shaped loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal interview study with medically vulnerable older adults from the United Kingdom
Older adulthood is often a time of identity change arising from physical decline and social isolation which can increase loneliness. These effects are thought to be exacerbated by public health threats such as COVID-19 which disproportionately restrict older adults, though research has yet to fully explore how this occurs. We used a Qualitative Longitudinal Research (QLR) interview approach to follow nine vulnerable older adults (Mage=79.4) for fourteen months through 2019 and 2020 in order to understand their unfolding experiences of pandemic-related isolation. A theoretically guided thematic analysis found that participants initially experienced “Threatened Social Contact” due to age-related vulnerabilities which reduced their ability to manage “Being Categorised as a Vulnerable Older Person”. Consequently, participants experienced a “Restriction in Ability to Gain or Maintain Identities” leading to “Undermining of Reciprocal Support” and “Wellbeing hindered by Loneliness-Related Fears”. Findings highlighted that COVID-19 exacerbates existing negative age-related categorisations, contributing to a loss of reciprocal support in older adulthood. More generally, interventions to ameliorate loneliness among older adults would benefit from explicitly addressing ageism as well as enhancing group-based connectedness.
Abstract.
Stuart A, Yan RJ, Harkin L, Katz D, Stevenson C, Mehta V, Giles E, Talbot C, Gooch D, Bennasar M, et al (In Press). Design of a Digital Intervention to Improve Connectivity and Reduce Loneliness in Older Adults (Preprint).
Abstract:
Design of a Digital Intervention to Improve Connectivity and Reduce Loneliness in Older Adults (Preprint)
. BACKGROUND
. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted older adults' social connections and increased loneliness, but also led to increased technology adoption, providing new opportunities to develop technology interventions to meet their social needs. Existing off the shelf social connection platforms do not contain facilities designed to break the cognitive cycle of loneliness, and loneliness interventions implemented without due process could cause detriments to wellbeing. There is also lack of digital technology designed with older adults.
.
.
. OBJECTIVE
. We set out to iteratively design a user-centred smartphone app that could address older adult needs for social connection. The research questions were: how could our prototype smartphone app be used in mitigating loneliness and increasing a sense of social connectedness? What were emergent concerns resulting from use? in what ways could it be improved to better meet user needs?
.
.
. METHODS
. We used technology probes to elicit older adults' reflection on the concept of using the app in two studies: Concept focus groups (N=33) and Concept interviews (N=10), and then conducted a prototype trial with one week of use and follow up interviews (N=12).
.
.
. RESULTS
. A thematic analysis was conducted to explore the experience and emergent challenges of our app through the design process. This led to the development of four themes occurring in all three qualitative datasets: 1) Reflection on a digital social map is reassuring, 2) App features encourage socialising, 3) Risk of compounding loneliness, and 4) Feeling more control with mutual, socially beneficial activities.
.
.
. CONCLUSIONS
. Smartphone apps have the potential to increase older people’s awareness of the richness of their social connections, which may support loneliness reduction. Our qualitative approach to app design enabled the inclusion of older adults' experiences in the technology design. With that, we conclude that our older adults most desired functionalities that can support mutual activities and maintaining or finding new connections, rather than sharing of emotional state. They were wary of the app being used to replace preferred in-person social interactions, and they raised concerns about making the user aware of a lack of connections or support in their social network, unless they are offered specific means of addressing their needs. Further user-centred design work is needed to enhance the app to support mutual activities and socialising. Our study illustrates the continued importance of user-centred design work to ensure that digital interventions are designed for populations like older adults.
.
Abstract.
Gooch D, Mehta V, Stuart A, Katz D, Bennasar M, Levine M, Bandara A, Nuseibeh B, Bennaceur A, Price B, et al (In Press). Designing Tangibles to Support Emotion Logging for Older Adults: Development and Usability Study (Preprint).
Abstract:
Designing Tangibles to Support Emotion Logging for Older Adults: Development and Usability Study (Preprint)
. BACKGROUND
. The global population is aging, leading to shifts in health care needs. In addition to developing technology to support physical health, there is an increasing recognition of the need to consider how technology can support emotional health. This raises the question of how to design devices that older adults can interact with to log their emotions.
.
.
. OBJECTIVE
. We designed and developed 2 novel tangible devices, inspired by existing paper-based scales of emotions. The findings from a field trial of these devices with older adults are reported.
.
.
. METHODS
. Using interviews, field deployment, and fixed logging tasks, we assessed the developed devices.
.
.
. RESULTS
. Our results demonstrate that the tangible devices provided data comparable with standardized psychological scales of emotion. The participants developed their own patterns of use around the devices, and their experience of using the devices uncovered a variety of design considerations. We discuss the difficulty of customizing devices for specific user needs while logging data comparable to psychological scales of emotion. We also highlight the value of reflecting on sparse emotional data.
.
.
. CONCLUSIONS
. Our work demonstrates the potential for tangible emotional logging devices. It also supports further research on whether such devices can support the emotional health of older adults by encouraging reflection of their emotional state.
.
Abstract.
2022
Stuart A, Stevenson C, Koschate M, Cohen J, Levine M (2022). 'Oh no, not a group!' the factors that lonely or isolated people report as barriers to joining groups for health and well-being.
Br J Health Psychol,
27(1), 179-193.
Abstract:
'Oh no, not a group!' the factors that lonely or isolated people report as barriers to joining groups for health and well-being.
OBJECTIVES: Belonging to groups can significantly affect people's health and well-being for the better ('the social cure') or worse ('the social curse'). Encouraging people to join groups is a central component of the Social Prescribing movement; however, not everyone who might benefit from Social Prescribing aspires to participating in groups. This study aims to identify what barriers are preventing people from experiencing the associated health and well-being benefits of group belonging. METHOD: Semi-structured interviews analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Participants were 11 white British people (aged 48-86), 1 male and 10 female, recruited by a charity partner of a Social Prescribing project. RESULTS: the themes derived from the interviews are as follows: (1) 'The dread, the fear of being in a group': When groups do not meet needs; (2) 'I can remember as quite a young child backing out of things': Accumulative barriers over the lifetime, and (3) 'I'm singing away and feeling terribly miserable': the challenges of fitting in with others in groups. The themes reflect how people can feel deterred from social interaction, which interferes with their ability to derive a sense of belonging or shared identity associated with the 'social cure'. CONCLUSIONS: a key challenge for Social Prescribing is to meet the social needs of people disinclined to join groups; groups can be detrimental to health and well-being if there are barriers to integration. Alternative ways of structuring groups or activities may be more effective and can still avail of the belonging and identity associated with 'the social cure'.
Abstract.
Author URL.
Gooch D, Mehta V, Stuart A, Katz D, Bennasar M, Levine M, Bandara A, Nuseibeh B, Bennaceur A, Price B, et al (2022). Designing Tangibles to Support Emotion Logging for Older Adults: Development and Usability Study.
JMIR Hum Factors,
9(2).
Abstract:
Designing Tangibles to Support Emotion Logging for Older Adults: Development and Usability Study.
BACKGROUND: the global population is aging, leading to shifts in health care needs. In addition to developing technology to support physical health, there is an increasing recognition of the need to consider how technology can support emotional health. This raises the question of how to design devices that older adults can interact with to log their emotions. OBJECTIVE: We designed and developed 2 novel tangible devices, inspired by existing paper-based scales of emotions. The findings from a field trial of these devices with older adults are reported. METHODS: Using interviews, field deployment, and fixed logging tasks, we assessed the developed devices. RESULTS: Our results demonstrate that the tangible devices provided data comparable with standardized psychological scales of emotion. The participants developed their own patterns of use around the devices, and their experience of using the devices uncovered a variety of design considerations. We discuss the difficulty of customizing devices for specific user needs while logging data comparable to psychological scales of emotion. We also highlight the value of reflecting on sparse emotional data. CONCLUSIONS: Our work demonstrates the potential for tangible emotional logging devices. It also supports further research on whether such devices can support the emotional health of older adults by encouraging reflection of their emotional state.
Abstract.
Author URL.
Stuart A, Yan RJ, Harkin L, Katz D, Stevenson C, Mehta V, Giles E, Talbot C, Gooch D, Bennasar M, et al (2022). Digital Intervention in Loneliness in Older Adults: a Qualitative Analysis of User Studies (Preprint). JMIR Formative Research
Stuart A, Katz D, Stevenson C, Gooch D, Harkin L, Bennasar M, Sanderson L, Liddle J, Bennaceur A, Levine M, et al (2022). Loneliness in older people and COVID-19: Applying the social identity approach to digital intervention design.
Comput Hum Behav Rep,
6Abstract:
Loneliness in older people and COVID-19: Applying the social identity approach to digital intervention design.
The COVID-19 pandemic is worsening loneliness for many older people through the challenges it poses in engaging with their social worlds. Digital technology has been offered as a potential aid, however, many popular digital tools have not been designed to address the needs of older adults during times of limited contact. We propose that the Social Identity Model of Identity Change (SIMIC) could be a foundation for digital loneliness interventions. While SIMIC is a well-established approach for maintaining wellbeing during life transitions, it has not been rigorously applied to digital interventions. There are known challenges to integrating psychological theory in the design of digital technology to enable efficacy, technology acceptance, and continued use. The interdisciplinary field of Human Computer Interaction has a history of drawing on models originating from psychology to improve the design of digital technology and to design technologies in an appropriate manner. Drawing on key lessons from this literature, we consolidate research and design guidelines for multidisciplinary research applying psychological theory such as SIMIC to digital social interventions for loneliness.
Abstract.
Author URL.
2021
Liddle J, Stuart A, Worthy P, Levine M, Kastelle T, Wiles J, Pachana NA, Clare L (2021). "Building the Threads of Connection that We Already Have": the Nature of Connections via Technology for Older People.
Clin Gerontol,
44(4), 406-417.
Abstract:
"Building the Threads of Connection that We Already Have": the Nature of Connections via Technology for Older People.
Objectives: the social connectedness of older people is of increasing concern. Technology has been suggested for enhancing social inclusion. This study aimed to explore the nature and quality of connections via technology.Methods: Qualitative exploration of experiences, stories, and needs was undertaken through semi-structured interviews with older (7) and middle-aged (3) adults with rich experience of connections via technology in Australia and England. Core aspects of connections through technology were constructed through interpretive description analysis.Results: Four key aspects were: 1. The caliber of connections: descriptions of a range of subjective quality of connections and characteristics of good connections; 2. Experiences of poor connection (mis- and dis-connection) including descriptions of experiences creating isolation; 3. Reasons to connect described the purposes of technology-based connections including connecting with others, themselves and places important to them; 4. Making connections work described active strategies to enhance connection.Conclusions: Using technology is part of the social engagement of many people. Considering the related feelings of connection and support strategies and needs could enhance future research and practice with older people.Clinical implications: the different characteristics and potential positive and negative experiences of connection via technology need consideration in measuring social isolation and supporting older adults.
Abstract.
Author URL.
Koschate M, Naserian E, Dickens L, Stuart A, Russo A, Levine M (2021). ASIA: Automated Social Identity Assessment using linguistic style.
Behavior Research Methods,
53(4), 1762-1781.
Abstract:
ASIA: Automated Social Identity Assessment using linguistic style
AbstractThe various group and category memberships that we hold are at the heart of who we are. They have been shown to affect our thoughts, emotions, behavior, and social relations in a variety of social contexts, and have more recently been linked to our mental and physical well-being. Questions remain, however, over the dynamics between different group memberships and the ways in which we cognitively and emotionally acquire these. In particular, current assessment methods are missing that can be applied to naturally occurring data, such as online interactions, to better understand the dynamics and impact of group memberships in naturalistic settings. To provide researchers with a method for assessing specific group memberships of interest, we have developed ASIA (Automated Social Identity Assessment), an analytical protocol that uses linguistic style indicators in text to infer which group membership is salient in a given moment, accompanied by an in-depth open-source Jupyter Notebook tutorial (https://github.com/Identity-lab/Tutorial-on-salient-social-Identity-detection-model). Here, we first discuss the challenges in the study of salient group memberships, and how ASIA can address some of these. We then demonstrate how our analytical protocol can be used to create a method for assessing which of two specific group memberships—parents and feminists—is salient using online forum data, and how the quality (validity) of the measurement and its interpretation can be tested using two further corpora as well as an experimental study. We conclude by discussing future developments in the field.
Abstract.
Elphick C, Philpot R, Zhang M, Stuart A, Walkington Z, Frumkin LA, Pike G, Gardner K, Lacey M, Levine M, et al (2021). Building trust in digital policing: a scoping review of community policing apps. Police Practice and Research, 22(5), 1469-1491.
Elphick C, Philpot R, Zhang M, Stuart A, Pike G, Strathie A, Havard C, Walkington Z, Frumkin LA, Levine M, et al (2021). Digital Detectives: Websleuthing Reduces Eyewitness Identification Accuracy in Police Lineups.
Front Psychol,
12Abstract:
Digital Detectives: Websleuthing Reduces Eyewitness Identification Accuracy in Police Lineups.
Eyewitnesses to crimes sometimes search for a culprit on social media before viewing a police lineup, but it is not known whether this affects subsequent lineup identification accuracy. The present online study was conducted to address this. Two hundred and eighty-five participants viewed a mock crime video, and after a 15-20 min delay either (i) viewed a mock social media site including the culprit, (ii) viewed a mock social media site including a lookalike, or (iii) completed a filler task. A week later, participants made an identification from a photo lineup. It was predicted that searching for a culprit on social media containing the lookalike (rather than the culprit) would reduce lineup identification accuracy. There was a significant association between social media exposure and lineup accuracy for the Target Present lineup (30% more of the participants who saw the lookalike on social media failed to positively identify the culprit than participants in the other conditions), but for the Target Absent lineup (which also included the lookalike) there was no significant association with lineup identification accuracy. The results suggest that if an eyewitness sees a lookalike (where they are expecting to see the culprit) when conducting a self-directed search on social media, they are less likely to subsequently identify the culprit in the formal ID procedure.
Abstract.
Author URL.
2020
Elphick C, Stuart A, Philpot R, Walkington Z, Frumkin L, Zhang M, Levine M, Price B, Pike G, Nuseibeh B, et al (2020). Altruism and anxiety: Engagement with online community support. initiatives (OCSIs) during Covid-19 lockdown in the UK and Ireland.
Elphick C, Philpot R, Zhang M, Stuart A, Walkington Z, Frumkin L, Pike G, Gardner K, Lacey M, Levine M, et al (2020). Building trust in digital policing: a scoping review of community. policing apps.
Zhang M, Bandara A, Price B, Pike G, Walkington Z, Elphick C, Frumkin L, Philpot R, Levine M, Stuart A, et al (2020). Designing Technologies for Community Policing. CHI'20. 25th - 30th Apr 2020.
Abstract:
Designing Technologies for Community Policing
Abstract.
Morgenroth T, Stuart A (2020). Gender and psychology. In Naples N (Ed) Companion to Gender Studies, Wiley Press.
Gooch D, Vikram M, Price B, McCormick C, Bandara A, Bennaceur A, Bennasar M, Stuart A, Clare L, Levine M, et al (2020). How are you feeling? Using tangibles to log the emotions of older adults. Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction. 9th - 12th Feb 2020.
Abstract:
How are you feeling? Using tangibles to log the emotions of older adults
Abstract.
Bandara A, Zhang M, Price B, Pike G, Elphick C, Walkington Z, Frumkin L, Philpot R, Levine M, Stuart A, et al (2020). Towards Citizen Forensics: Improving Citizen-Police Collaboration. Workshop on Crime and/or Punishment: Joining the Dots between Crime, Legality and HCI, Extended Abstracts of ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. 25th - 30th Apr 2020.
Abstract:
Towards Citizen Forensics: Improving Citizen-Police Collaboration
Abstract.
2019
Bennasar M, McCormick C, Price B, Gooch D, Stuart A, Mehta V, Clare L, Bennaceur A, Cohen J, Bandara A, et al (2019). A Sensor Platform for Non-invasive Remote Monitoring of Older Adults in Real Time.
Abstract:
A Sensor Platform for Non-invasive Remote Monitoring of Older Adults in Real Time
Abstract.
Bennasar M, Price B, Stuart A, Gooch D, McCormick C, Mehta V (2019). Knowledge-Based Architecture for Recognising Activities of Older People. 23rd International Conference on Knowledge-Based and Intelligent Information & Engineering Systems. 4th - 6th Sep 2019.
Bennasar M, McCormick C, Price B, Gooch D, Stuart A, Mehta V, Clare L, Bennaceur A, Cohen J, Bandara AK, et al (2019). STRETCH: a Sensor Platform for Non-Invasive Remote Monitoring of Older People in Real Time. KES InMed 2019. 17th - 19th Jun 2019.
Stuart A, Bandara AK, Levine M (2019). The psychology of privacy in the digital age.
Social and Personality Psychology Compass,
13(11).
Abstract:
The psychology of privacy in the digital age
Privacy is a psychological topic suffering from historical neglect—a neglect that is increasingly consequential in an era of social media connectedness, mass surveillance, and the permanence of our electronic footprint. Despite fundamental changes in the privacy landscape, social and personality psychology journals remain largely unrepresented in debates on the future of privacy. By contrast, in disciplines like computer science and media and communication studies, engaging directly with sociotechnical developments, interest in privacy has grown considerably. In our review of this interdisciplinary literature, we suggest four domains of interest to psychologists. These are as follows: sensitivity to individual differences in privacy disposition, a claim that privacy is fundamentally based in social interactions, a claim that privacy is inherently contextual, and a suggestion that privacy is as much about psychological groups as it is about individuals. Moreover, we propose a framework to enable progression to more integrative models of the psychology of privacy in the digital age and in particular suggest that a group and social relations–based approach to privacy is needed.
Abstract.
Vergani M, Bliuc A-M, Stuart A, Badea C, Muntele D, McGarty C (2019). United in diversity, divided in adversity? Support for right-wing Eurosceptic parties in the face of threat differs across nations. Frontiers in Psychology
2018
Thomas EF, McGarty C, Stuart A, Smith LGE, Bourgeois L (2018). Reaching consensus promotes the internalization of commitment to social change. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 22, 615-630.
Stuart A, Thomas EF, Donaghue N (2018). “I don't really want to be associated with the self-righteous left extreme”: Disincentives to participation in collective action.
Journal of Social and Political Psychology,
6Abstract:
“I don't really want to be associated with the self-righteous left extreme”: Disincentives to participation in collective action
This paper considers collective action non-participation by people sympathetic but not committed to participating in actions for social change (‘sympathisers’). We conducted a thematic analysis of open-ended written accounts of the barriers to participating in sustained collective action (N = 112), finding that people can be reluctant to engage in some types of collective action. Participants wrote about the potential for detrimental consequences resulting from association with ‘protesters’, concern that they may be undermined by ‘extreme’ fringes of a movement, ambivalence about the visible performance of group normative behaviours (specifically, protesting), and trepidation about ‘loss of self’ within a group. We discuss the findings in relation to theory on social (dis)identification, social (dis)incentives, and identity performances, arguing that inaction does not necessarily stem from apathy. Rather, people may engage in motivated inaction – that is, active avoidance of some types of actions, or from affiliations with particular groups, as a response to negative inferences about the legitimacy or efficacy of some forms of collective action. Practical strategies are suggested for groups and individuals, including the potential for people to take actions for social change independently of a formally organised movement.
Abstract.
2017
Stuart A, Levine M (2017). Beyond ‘nothing to hide’: When identity is key to privacy threat under surveillance.
European Journal of Social Psychology,
47(6), 694-707.
Abstract:
Beyond ‘nothing to hide’: When identity is key to privacy threat under surveillance
Privacy is psychologically important, vital for democracy, and in the era of ubiquitous and mobile surveillance technology, facing increasingly complex threats and challenges. Yet surveillance is often justified under a trope that one has ‘nothing to hide’. We conducted focus groups (N = 42) on topics of surveillance and privacy and using discursive analysis, identify the ideological assumptions and the positions that people adopt to make sense of their participation in a surveillance society. We find a premise that surveillance is increasingly inescapable, but this was only objected to when people reported feeling misrepresented, or where they had an inability to withhold aspects of their identities. The (in)visibility of the surveillance technology also complicated how surveillance is constructed. Those interested in engaging the public in debates about surveillance may be better served by highlighting the identity consequences of surveillance, rather than constructing surveillance as a generalised privacy threat.
Abstract.
Thomas EF, McGarty C, Stuart A, Lala G, Pedersen A (2017). Education and Social Participation. In (Ed) Self and Social Identity in Educational Contexts, 141-156.
Thomas EF, McGarty C, Stuart A, Lala G, Pedersen A (2017). Education and social participation: Civic identity and civic participation in formal and informal education contexts. In Mavor KI, Platow MJ, Bizumic B (Eds.) Self and Social Identity in Educational Contexts, Routledge.
Rafiq Y, Dickens L, Russo A, Bandara AK, Calikli G, Yang M, Stuart A, Levine M, Price BA, Nuseibeh B, et al (2017). Learning to Share: Engineering Adaptive Decision-Support for Online Social Networks. 2017 32nd IEEE/ACM International Conference on Automated Software Engineering (ASE 2017). 30th Oct - 3rd Nov 2017.
Abstract:
Learning to Share: Engineering Adaptive Decision-Support for Online Social Networks
Abstract.
Price BA, Stuart A, Calikli G, Mccormick C, Mehta V, Hutton L, Bandara AK, Levine M, Nuseibeh B (2017). Logging you, Logging me.
Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies,
1(2), 1-18.
Abstract:
Logging you, Logging me
Low cost digital cameras in smartphones and wearable devices make it easy for people to automatically capture and share images as a visual lifelog. Having been inspired by a US campus based study that explored individual privacy behaviours of visual lifeloggers, we conducted a similar study on a UK campus, however we also focussed on the privacy behaviours of groups of lifeloggers. We argue for the importance of replicability and therefore we built a publicly available toolkit, which includes camera design, study guidelines and source code. Our results show some similar sharing behaviour to the US based study: people tried to preserve the privacy of strangers, but we found fewer bystander reactions despite using a more obvious camera. In contrast, we did not find a reluctance to share images of screens but we did find that images of vices were shared less. Regarding privacy behaviours in groups of lifeloggers, we found that people were more willing to share images of people they were interacting with than of strangers, that lifelogging in groups could change what defines a private space, and that lifelogging groups establish different rules to manage privacy for those inside and outside the group.
Abstract.
Price BA, Stuart A, Calikli G, McCormick C, Mehta V, Hutton L, Bandara AK, Nuseibeh B (2017). Logging you, logging me: a replicable study of privacy and sharing
behaviour in groups of visual lifeloggers. Proc. ACM Interact. Mob. Wearable Ubiquitous Technol, 1
Stuart A, Levine M (2017). The co-regulation of privacy in public with wearable cameras. European Association of Social Psychology. 4th - 9th Jul 2017.
2016
Calikli G, Law M, Bandara AK, Russo A, Dickens L, Price BA, Stuart A, Levine M, Nuseibeh B (2016). Privacy Dynamics: Learning Privacy Norms for Social
Software. 11th International Symposium on Software Engineering for Adaptive and Self-Managing Systems. 16th - 17th May 2016.
Abstract:
Privacy Dynamics: Learning Privacy Norms for Social
Software
Abstract.
Stuart A, Levine M (2016). The threat to identities posed by arbitrary surveillance. International Society of Justice Research. 20th - 23rd Jul 2016.
Abstract:
The threat to identities posed by arbitrary surveillance
Abstract.
2015
Anderson JR, Stuart A, Rossen I (2015). Not all negative: Macro justice principles predict positive attitudes towards asylum seekers in Australia.
Australian Journal of Psychology,
67(4), 207-213.
Abstract:
Not all negative: Macro justice principles predict positive attitudes towards asylum seekers in Australia
Public opinion toward asylum seekers within Australia has become increasingly hostile over the past decade. In particular, such negative attitudes are associated with questioning the legitimacy of those who seek asylum, and the fairness of granting their refugee status. In a sample of 100 students (Mage=22.83 years, SDage=8.26 years) we tested the role of macro and micro principles of social justice in predicting attitudes toward asylum seekers, beyond the established role of social dominance orientation (SDO) and right-wing authoritarianism (RWA). Using multiple hierarchical regression analyses, we show that macro justice social principles (i.e. the belief in equal distribution of resources across a society) predict positive attitudes toward asylum seekers beyond the variation accounted for by SDO and RWA in predicting negative attitudes. These results underscore the importance of taking into account individual orientations toward justice; we argue that these findings have important implications for the development of communication designed to reduce prejudice toward asylum seekers.
Abstract.
Thomas EF, McGarty C, Lala G, Stuart A, Hall LJ, Goddard A (2015). Whatever happened to Kony2012? Understanding a global internet phenomenon as an emergent social identity.
European Journal of Social Psychology,
45(3), 356-367.
Abstract:
Whatever happened to Kony2012? Understanding a global internet phenomenon as an emergent social identity
Kony2012 was a viral Internet video that attracted unprecedented online interest in promoting a campaign to arrest the leader of an African militant group. The current research considers the social psychological bases of social media-based collective action. In three cross sectional surveys (N = 304) collected before, on, and after the key action date of April 20, 2012, we consider the nature (opinion-based or global) and function (emergent or transforming) of social identity in modern forms of social action. Multigroup structural equation modeling showed that Kony2012 action was best captured by an emergent opinion-based social identity. Moreover, the same factors that predicted Kony2012 action generally also predicted engagement in new repertoires of protest (involving the use of social media) and an observable traditional socio-political action (signing a letter to a government minister). The results suggest that there is no sharp dividing line between traditional and new forms of collective action and that both may be understood as valid expressions of collective selfhood.
Abstract.
Stuart A, Levine M (2015). When will people resist surveillance: First they need to notice it, then identify the source. International Society for Political Psychology. 21st - 26th Jun 2015.
Abstract:
When will people resist surveillance: First they need to notice it, then identify the source.
Abstract.
2013
Stuart A, Thomas EF, Donaghue N, Russell A (2013). “We may be pirates, but we are not protesters”: Identity in the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Political Psychology,
34(5), 753-777.
Abstract:
“We may be pirates, but we are not protesters”: Identity in the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Radical activist organizations face the complex task of managing their identity so as to draw political attention but also to appear legitimate and thus gain public support. In this article we develop a picture of the identities of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) members, a group mostly known for their direct action against whaling, via a thematic analysis of material from the SSCS website and interviews with SSCS members. In online commentary, founder Captain Paul Watson establishes several deliberately paradoxical notions of who the Sea Shepherds are. We relate these identity statements to interviews with core activists to examine how they manage the identity conflicts resulting from the group identity, such as being seen as “pirates” and “hard lined vegans.” We found that SSCS positions themselves as a diverse and unstructured organization, yet distinctively passionate and willing to take action where others will not. The implications of this research are discussed in relation to the importance of understanding the constraints and conflicts around political activist identities.
Abstract.
2012
Stuart A, Donaghue N (2012). Choosing to conform: the discursive complexities of choice in relation to feminine beauty practices.
Feminism and Psychology,
22(1), 98-121.
Abstract:
Choosing to conform: the discursive complexities of choice in relation to feminine beauty practices
There exists the idea that western societies are now postfeminist, implying that remaining
differences between men and women should be understood as a result of the free
exercise of individual choice. Yet this postfeminist promise of liberation is overwhelmingly
packaged within the crushingly cruel beauty images that western women are
judged against and incited to emulate. Theorizing female agency in light of choice and
liberation discourses has been the topic of much recent feminist literature, to which this
article seeks to contribute. We utilized a feminist post-structuralist framework to
examine how young Australian women position themselves as freely choosing and
able to throw off oppression. We discuss these findings in relation to the conception
of the neoliberal feminine subject; described as someone who playfully expresses herself
by freely choosing her level of participation in socially promoted beauty practices; in
turn resulting in a resistance to being seen as inflexible, or critical of wider social
influences.
Abstract.
Stuart A, Kurz T, Ashby K (2012). Damned if you do and damned if you don't: the (Re)production of larger breasts as ideal in criticisms of breast surgery.
Australian Feminist Studies,
74(27), 405-420.
Abstract:
Damned if you do and damned if you don't: the (Re)production of larger breasts as ideal in criticisms of breast surgery
In contemporary Western societies women are often thought to have overcome inequality, become autonomous and resistant to social pressures, and in so doing gained the freedoms to make their own choices. However, this ‘post-feminist sensibility’ can arguably be seen as a double-bind as some types of ‘choices’ cannot always be recognised as freely chosen if they are taken as an indication of failing to resist social (appearance) pressures. We argue that one such example is the ‘choice’ to have cosmetic breast surgery, a practice that has received both criticism and celebration from different feminist angles. In this paper we analyse how women who have had breast augmentation are constructed by readers of an internet blog in which they are largely vilified and pathologised for not valuing their ‘natural’ (yet ‘deficient’) breasts. We demonstrate how the same discursive constructions that appear to value women’s ‘natural’ bodies simultaneously (re)produce the conditions in which women may feel the need to have breast augmentation.
Abstract.
