Article Version of Record

“Unavailable, insecure, and very poorly paid”: Global difficulties and inequalities in conducting social psychological research

Author(s) / Creator(s)

Bou Zeineddine, Fouad
Saab, Rim
Lášticová, Barbara
Ayanian, Arin H.
Kende, Anna

Abstract / Description

This paper offers an exploration of research production in social psychology as a global endeavor from the point of view of Anglophone social psychologists (N = 232) across 64 countries. We examine social psychologists’ beliefs regarding the difficulties in conducting research in social psychology and the inequalities that they report between the Global North, South and East Europe, and the Global South. Across all regions, we found pervasive critical awareness of obstacles to conducting research – including underinvestment in the field, precarious and counter-productive labor conditions, and excessive and biased disciplinary standards. However, we also found that colleagues outside the Global North reported quantitatively and qualitatively larger obstacles to research. These included well-known historically-rooted inequalities but also contemporary systemic procedural and distributive injustices in material, human, and social-political capital. Non-Northern colleagues in particular critically reflected on how these inequalities and injustices are amplified by Northern hegemonies in social, institutional, disciplinary, economic, and political systems. Discussion focuses on the implications of these results for social psychologists, social psychology as a discipline, and its situation within broader hierarchical systems and their intersectionalities.

Keyword(s)

social psychology research practices precarity inequality coloniality social science academia علم النفس الاجتماعي ممارسات البحث الهشاشة الوظيفية عدم المساواة الاستعمار الفكري العلوم الاجتماعية الأوساط الأكاديمية sociálna psychológia výskumné praktiky neistota nerovnosti kolonialita sociálne vedy akadémia psicología social prácticas de investigación precariedad desigualdad colonialidad ciencia social academia

Persistent Identifier

Date of first publication

2022-12-16

Journal title

Journal of Social and Political Psychology

Volume

10

Issue

2

Page numbers

723–742

Publisher

PsychOpen GOLD

Publication status

publishedVersion

Review status

peerReviewed

Is version of

Citation

Bou Zeineddine, F., Saab, R., Lášticová, B., Ayanian, A. H., & Kende, A. (2022). “Unavailable, insecure, and very poorly paid”: Global difficulties and inequalities in conducting social psychological research. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 10(2), 723-742. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.8311
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Bou Zeineddine, Fouad
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Saab, Rim
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Lášticová, Barbara
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Ayanian, Arin H.
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Kende, Anna
  • PsychArchives acquisition timestamp
    2023-01-23T14:06:46Z
  • Made available on
    2023-01-23T14:06:46Z
  • Date of first publication
    2022-12-16
  • Abstract / Description
    This paper offers an exploration of research production in social psychology as a global endeavor from the point of view of Anglophone social psychologists (N = 232) across 64 countries. We examine social psychologists’ beliefs regarding the difficulties in conducting research in social psychology and the inequalities that they report between the Global North, South and East Europe, and the Global South. Across all regions, we found pervasive critical awareness of obstacles to conducting research – including underinvestment in the field, precarious and counter-productive labor conditions, and excessive and biased disciplinary standards. However, we also found that colleagues outside the Global North reported quantitatively and qualitatively larger obstacles to research. These included well-known historically-rooted inequalities but also contemporary systemic procedural and distributive injustices in material, human, and social-political capital. Non-Northern colleagues in particular critically reflected on how these inequalities and injustices are amplified by Northern hegemonies in social, institutional, disciplinary, economic, and political systems. Discussion focuses on the implications of these results for social psychologists, social psychology as a discipline, and its situation within broader hierarchical systems and their intersectionalities.
    en_US
  • Publication status
    publishedVersion
  • Review status
    peerReviewed
  • Citation
    Bou Zeineddine, F., Saab, R., Lášticová, B., Ayanian, A. H., & Kende, A. (2022). “Unavailable, insecure, and very poorly paid”: Global difficulties and inequalities in conducting social psychological research. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 10(2), 723-742. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.8311
    en_US
  • ISSN
    2195-3325
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/7983
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.12442
  • Language of content
    eng
  • Publisher
    PsychOpen GOLD
  • Is version of
    https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.8311
  • Is version of
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.6893
  • Is related to
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.6887
  • Is related to
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.6893
  • Keyword(s)
    social psychology
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    research practices
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    precarity
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    inequality
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    coloniality
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    social science
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    academia
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    علم النفس الاجتماعي
  • Keyword(s)
    ممارسات البحث
  • Keyword(s)
    الهشاشة الوظيفية
  • Keyword(s)
    عدم المساواة
  • Keyword(s)
    الاستعمار الفكري
  • Keyword(s)
    العلوم الاجتماعية
  • Keyword(s)
    الأوساط الأكاديمية
  • Keyword(s)
    sociálna psychológia
  • Keyword(s)
    výskumné praktiky
  • Keyword(s)
    neistota
  • Keyword(s)
    nerovnosti
  • Keyword(s)
    kolonialita
  • Keyword(s)
    sociálne vedy
  • Keyword(s)
    akadémia
  • Keyword(s)
    psicología social
    es_ES
  • Keyword(s)
    prácticas de investigación
    es_ES
  • Keyword(s)
    precariedad
    es_ES
  • Keyword(s)
    desigualdad
    es_ES
  • Keyword(s)
    colonialidad
    es_ES
  • Keyword(s)
    ciencia social
    es_ES
  • Keyword(s)
    academia
    es_ES
  • Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)
    150
  • Title
    “Unavailable, insecure, and very poorly paid”: Global difficulties and inequalities in conducting social psychological research
    en_US
  • DRO type
    article
  • Issue
    2
  • Journal title
    Journal of Social and Political Psychology
  • Page numbers
    723–742
  • Volume
    10
  • Visible tag(s)
    Version of Record
    en_US