Question 1

What is social psychology?

Accepted Answer

• Social Psychology is a scientific discipline that emerges from fundamental questions about human nature.
 • How can one group discriminate against another based on arbitrary criteria such as skin colour?
 • How can an individual mobilize an entire country to commit genocide as Hitler did?
 • It examines the psychological processes that individuals have in common that make them susceptible to social influence (Aronson, Wilson, Akert and Fehr, 2001).
 • It is also interested in the various types of relationships that characterize interactions at the heart of society, at the interpersonal, intra-group, and intergroup levels.
 • It is characterized by the meeting of two disciplines: sociology, which focuses on societies, and psychology, which focuses on individuals.

Question 2

What is social change?

Accepted Answer

A situation or event that causes a profound societal transformation.
 
Characteristics of social change :
 • Rapid event [def: An event that impacts rapidly a collectivity]
 • Rupture of social structures [def.: A break with the past so that fundamental aspects of society such as social institutions need to be rebuilt] and normative structures [def.: A break with the past so that fundamental aspects of group members' behaviours need to be significantly modified in order to achieve collective goals at a given time].
 • Threat to collective identity [def.: Serious threat to the identification and clarity of shared beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviours associated with a group at a given time].
Social change affects millions of people around the world, but it is a concept that is little studied from an individual perspective.

Question 3

Why focus on the COVID-19 crisis?

Accepted Answer

We have always been interested in social change, which is the daily life of millions of people around the world. Today, it is the international perspective that has changed: probably the fact that the whole planet is affected by this social and health crisis has shed new light on our work.
 
The complexity of the current crisis and especially the fact that it affects the functioning of all levels of society from one day to the next makes it a popular subject of study.
 
We believe that a better understanding of the crisis centred on societies and, above all, on the individuals that make them up, will make it possible to minimise the negative consequences of this social change and to prevent future crises.

Question 4

How does the formulation of public policy influence the public?

Accepted Answer

Recently, we provided, for the first time, a model describing the process by which the way the message is conveyed by national policies develops and shapes biases through perceived social norms and personal attitudes (de la Sablonnière et al., 2020).
 
Using two correlational studies, we were able to provide empirical support for the following proposition. When a society's national policies are perceived as clearly defined and coherent, they have a direct impact on the social norms perceived by citizens. In turn, perceived norms affect personal attitudes, which in turn influence the level of prejudice and the psychological well-being of citizens.
 
Thus, the results of this research confirmed the hypothesis that policy clarity and coherence, together, have a strong positive effect on the perception of social norms.
In concrete terms, this implies that by clearly defining and explaining a decision, governments could contribute to the well-being of the population and minimize prejudice within it.
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Question 5

Who will benefit from this project?

Accepted Answer

It is the entire population that can benefit from the in-depth understanding of the current crisis.
 
Overall, an accurate picture of the Canadian situation in this crisis will help guide government decision-making in order to minimize the most painful social consequences, both for the current crisis and for those to come.
 
In a more targeted manner, an analysis of the impact of public policy formulation will make it possible to make recommendations on public policy to ensure that it is as beneficial as possible for the Canadian population.
 
Our research team emphasizes the fundamental importance of students in the process of advancing research. Not only are their ideas valuable to us, but their training is important to us. This study represents an unparalleled opportunity to train the next generation of researchers who are aware of social change and its impact on society as a whole, and who will continue to conduct research with a view to contributing to the collective well-being.
 
Eventually, this study will open the door to future research aimed at helping societies get through these difficult times with an enlightened understanding of the phenomenon and its consequences.

Question 6

How did your team come together?

Accepted Answer

Roxane de la Sablonnière and Donald M. Taylor have a history of collaboration that dates back to 2004, when they were interested in the significant social changes in Aboriginal communities. Jean-Marc Lina and de la Sablonnière then teamed up in 2017 to create the Social Change Algorithm (SCA), a probabilistic model designed to predict the societal state resulting from an event in the context of social change. Dietlind Stolle joined the team in 2019 to bring her expertise in political science to the SCA. For his part, Mathieu Pelletier-Dumas, who completed his PhD alongside de la Sablonnière in 2017, recently returned to the Social Change and Identity Laboratory as a post-doctoral fellow. Thus, for each of the collaborators, the present project is a continuation of their respective research interests, but also a harmonious and complementary collaboration.

Question 7

What is the role of students in the research team?

Accepted Answer

We have always given a central place to students in our research work. We encourage their creativity and offer them ongoing support to foster their mobilization and genuine commitment to the projects in which they are involved. In this project, this means that students will be actively involved in the analysis and writing of the research reports that will be produced. The scope of the project, which includes several parallel studies, allows them to choose to become involved in the themes that most interest them. They will be able to explore their interests and develop as researchers by taking advantage of significant lessons from the world of research, for example by challenging their critical thinking, project management skills and ability to debate the latest ideas in the scientific world. Indeed, although this also requires an investment of time, the training of our students is at the heart of our work. We believe in taking the time to involve students in our work and to transmit knowledge to them while developing their passion for research.

Question 8

How can I access the results of the research project?

Accepted Answer

Quick access to our research reports will be guaranteed through our website. By visiting it frequently, you will have the opportunity to closely follow the progress of the research.

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