Using psychology and the power of collective identities to combat adversity

University of Limerick

Psychology has traditionally focused on biological, genetic or personality factors to explain why some people cope better or worse than others in adverse situations. However such a focus can lead to a therapeutic dead end as it is very difficult to change a person’s temperament or genetic predispositions. In the first of a series of guest host podcasts, Psychology Masters student Ilyana Keohane introduces Prof Orla Muldoon as she discusses the research carried out at the Centre for Social Issues Research at UL where they address this problem by conducting highly regarded research on the benefits and burdens of so-called ‘collective identities’, such as nationality, socio-economic groups, and ethnicity.