My journey in Political Psychology

When first writing this article, I thought my own journey in political psychology only began around two years ago. However, in University, my academic interest was educational and developmental psychology, research methods and neuropsychology – specifically, factors that impact engagement, achievement and experiences during early years and primary education. 

Perhaps this choice of study indicated a longer-standing political interest. Barriers to achievement, engagement and experiences across the academic lifespan are influenced by political choices! 

While studying, I volunteered with the Students Union, both on operational and strategic levels. This combined with my own personal lived experiences as a working-class, female, South Asian Muslim student who has chronic health issues, who was learning about the backgrounds and experiences of other students, involved in political activism and interested in the impact of UK politics on Higher Education. 

All of this led me to become interested in student engagement and the student experience in universities, and how this relates to development in the early years, primary school, and general pre-University experiences. I saw relevance in learning about and applying Bronfenbenner's (2006) Ecological Systems Theory, as it informed how student engagement throughout the academic lifespan should be studied holistically. 

This inspired my undergraduate dissertation, which further developed my thinking. Among many influential factors, Bronfenbrenner acknowledged political climate as a factor contributing to child development (e.g. Kirk et al., 2023; Kampalath et al., 2023) and this is paralleled in the student engagement literature (Broc, 2020), which like political psychology, is an interdisciplinary field. 

Although I learnt about politics-related topics through my university courses, I discovered Political Psychology as a defined area when upgrading my British Psychological Society membership to become a Graduate Member in late 2021. 

While browsing through the various networks of the BPS, I saw that there was a Political Psychology Section, and reading more about this area really fascinated me. Not only did it complement my academic interests and personal experiences from University, but also various professional activities. 

For example, my then Democracy Coordinator job in a Students Union involved me in administering, coordinating and delivering student democratic decision-making processes and elections, ensuring that these systems were inclusive, accessible, engaging and sustainable (including for under-represented students), and overseeing suitable wellbeing and welfare support for students involved in democratic activities. 

I was also (and still am!) a School Governor (following a Student Trustee role at University) and was also (and still am!) volunteering for the charity trustee campaign Action For Trustee Racial Diversity UK. Political Psychology had applications and relevance to all of these activities.

Reflecting on all of this, and having developed an interest in activist wellbeing, I decided to become a member of the Political Psychology Section to discover more, attending the Section's 2022 annual general meeting in Liverpool. I found the event incredibly enjoyable and valuable – as everybody was very welcoming and friendly – and I was even encouraged to join the Section's committee! 

Being part of the group, contributing to decisions about projects and events, and now leading and hosting these for early career members of the Section, has enabled me to enhance my knowledge about political psychology, to network with others who are passionate about this area, and get involved with other related work within the BPS (e.g. attending the Afro-Asian Critical Psychology Conference and Human Rights Advisory Group).

Sometime in the future, I hope to study for a PhD, combining the areas of political, developmental and educational psychology, as well as research methods. In the meantime, I am continuing to expand and apply my knowledge of Political Psychology professionally, including most recently to my new job as a Programmes Officer with the governance charity Getting on Board. In this role, I also hope to contribute and enhance my knowledge, skills and experience in bolstering good governance and supporting the experiences of minoritised groups. 

References

Broc, K. G. (2020). Brexit and its impact on the UK Higher Education sector and the rights of scholars and students. UNIO–EU Law Journal, 6 (1), 31-50.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Kampalath, V., Tarakji, A., Hamze, M., Loutfi, R., Cohn, K., & Abbara, A. (2023). The impacts of the Syrian conflict on child and adolescent health: a scoping review. Journal of Public Health, 45 (3), 621-630.
Kirk, N., McClean, A. M., Donaghy, F., & Waterfield, T. (2023). The impact of the cost-of-living crisis on home environment and health of children living in Northern Ireland: an observational study, 359.