Selves and Societies
In this public talk, Professor Vivian Vignoles presents three decades of research into the motivational processes that shape our sense of who we are—and how these processes are moderated by the societies we live in.
“Self and identity processes play a crucial role in psychological functioning and social life, affecting outcomes ranging from mental health to prosocial behaviour to genocide. We build our sense of who we are through our interactions with each other in the societies we inhabit. Members of different societies therefore may come to see themselves differently in certain ways, and yet highly similar motives underlie their self-perceptions.”
Professor Vignoles leads the Culture and Identity Research Network (CIRN), a research team spanning over 30 countries on all inhabited continents. His research challenges conventional thinking about identities and cultural differences.