Creativity and advocacy in major society awards

Ella Rhodes spoke to this year's winners – Emeritus Professor Michael Billig (Loughborough University) and Professor of Developmental Psychopathology Essi Viding (UCL).

The winner of the 2023 BPS Lifetime Achievement Award is Emeritus Professor of Social Sciences Michael Billig (Loughborough University). Billig began his career as a postgraduate researcher at the University of Bristol under the supervision of Henri Tajfel on experiments which created the foundation of social identity theory. He authored books exploring intergroup relations, fascism and antisemitism, and racism.

After moving to Loughborough University in 1985 as Professor of Social Sciences, Billig wrote books on myriad topics including rhetoric and ideology, the royal family, writing in the social sciences, and humour. He said he was astonished to win the award, having worked on the edges of the discipline.

'I had told my nominator not to waste his time by nominating me. I am so pleased that he ignored me. My feeling of astonishment soon turned to pleasure. Probably the pleasure was intensified because the award was so unexpected.'

When asked about some of his proudest moments Billig said he was not sure he had taken pride in anything he had done. 'Pride is a feeling that is particularly destructive for an academic. I have always read widely, especially writers of the very highest rank, like William James and Hannah Arendt. Knowing that I could not write a single paragraph, let alone a page, to compare with their writings stops any feelings of pride.'

However, Billig said one of his moments of greatest pleasure came after his book Rock'n'Roll Jews, on the overlooked contribution of Jews to rock'n'roll, was published. 'One of the heroes was Doc Pomus, who wrote many of Elvis Presley's greatest songs as well as many other songs that I have loved over the years. He was a songwriter with a strong sense of social justice. Out of the blue, I received an email from his son, who said I had caught the essence of his late father. He had bought copies of the book for members of his family. I was moved beyond belief. And at that moment, I may have given way to pride.'

Billig said that, over the course of his career, he had seen academic psychology become increasingly tolerant – and his award would have been unthinkable when he was a postgraduate student of Henri Tajfel. 'I was very fortunate to work at Loughborough University with a group of unconventional and highly creative social psychologists. The growing tolerance within psychology may reflect a loss in confidence that there is a single way of doing psychological research.

'Journals are now publishing negative findings and trying to counter the self-defeating search to obtain statistically significant results at all costs. So, the loss of confidence is leading, in fact, to a more diverse and ultimately more scientific outlook, including approaches that were once dismissed as unscientific, even anti-scientific.'

Professor of Developmental Psychopathology Essi Viding (UCL) has won the BPS Presidents' Award, to recognise a researcher who is making outstanding contributions to psychology. Her work explores children and young people's mental health with a specific focus on the developmental risk for psychopathy.

She uses multiple methodologies to understand the individual and environmental conditions that increase the risk of developing antisocial behaviour.

'Although we have robust evidence supporting the association between antisocial behaviour that starts early in life and poor health, mental health, and educational outcomes, research into conduct disorder receives only 0.4 per cent of the global mental health budget,' she said. 'Furthermore, clinical provision for these children and young people is often patchy. I strongly believe that this needs to change.'

Viding said this lack of funding could be due to a tendency to view antisocial behaviour as a sociological phenomenon – a response to particular family and community circumstances which does not belong in the mental health sphere. 'It is clear to me from our and colleagues' research that family and community circumstances alone cannot explain why some children and young people are vulnerable to developing antisocial behaviour. Another possible explanation for lack of funding is that there is very little advocacy for these vulnerable children and young people.' 

Viding said this is likely due to 'several interlinked factors, including challenging family circumstances and perceived parenting blame attached to antisocial behaviour. Furthermore, children and young people with antisocial behaviour do not always elicit sympathy due to the very nature of their behaviour, and there has also been a tendency to view antisocial behaviour as a matter for the criminal justice system.' Viding added that there may also be an understandable reluctance to label children which could have the consequence of preventing effective advocacy, but without focused research and clinical provision these children and young people behave in ways that ends up stigmatising them among their peers and adults.

'The developmental risk for antisocial behaviour is multi-faceted, complex, and transactional. We need to work together with adults and children with lived experience of antisocial behaviour, as well as colleagues from different backgrounds, to progress research in ways that translates to better prevention and interventions. I also hope that this work will help us to more effectively advocate for this forgotten and vulnerable group of children and young people.'

Viding said she had been delighted to win the President's Award. 'The work that the award recognises has most definitely been teamwork, so this is also an award to students and colleagues, past and present.' She added that an early-career award from the BPS had been hugely influential in supporting her as a young researcher. 'I have also engaged with the BPS on issues such as psychologists in the media, and over the years have found The Psychologist's coverage of multiple debates and discussions in our field hugely helpful.' 

Search more from both Professor Billig and Professor Viding.