The Department, established within the Faculty of Social Sciences in 1963, currently has 7 permanent staff members. Some of the staff memebers introduce their research interests on their personal pages.
The major research topics include:
1) Values, Morals, Emotions
Ongoing research projects related to this subject
Morality has been defined as a social support system for self-control, but it also involves helping and care for others as well as conflict resolution (justice). Personal and cultural definitions of morality relate to values, moral emotions, and moral conduct, as well as to their interrelationships. There are individual and cultural differences in the extent to which each of these factors is emphasized in the representations of morality.
The social psychological study of values focuses on the personal importance of different values. Moral judgments could be analysed in terms of their developmental level or cognitive complexity. Current research examines the role of moral emotions, such as embarrassment, shame, guilt, or pride, in guiding individuals’ actions or their assessments of other people’s behaviour.
2) Ethnic Relations
Ongoing research projects related to this subject
Intergroup relations are a central topic of research within Social
Psychology. Research on ethnic relations at the Department (of Social
Psychology at Helsinki University) is both basic and applied. The
research focuses on minority groups (immigrants, language and
cultural groups) as well as on the dominant population and the
cultural diversity of society.
The research includes studies on, for example, ethnic identity, the integration and well-being of immigrants and the prejudice and stereotypes of the dominant population. These research topics are included in the studies of Social Psychology at the Bachelor's and Master's levels.
The Department also hosts Graduate Fellowships for students at the University of Helsinki in the area of Ethnic Relations and Cultural Diversity.
3) Everyday Thinking
Ongoing research projects related to this subject
Among others, one line of research at our department is everyday thinking. In the research programme of everyday thinking two points of interest are primarily examined: firstly, the way in which knowledge and expertise are perceived and understood, and secondly the process of forming social representations of novel, current or important issues.
As an example, a person may think of food preservatives as something dangerous. What exactly is behind this extrapolation? Does one postulate an absolute truth about the matter – or does one understand that it merely renders the cognisance and assumptions one has at the time? Other examples to illustrate everyday thinking are for instance the way we mesh different accounts of the origins of humans, or the conceptions behind our views on genetically engineered produce.
During recent years attention has also been drawn to conceptions of human rights, and to the societal agency of women in collectivist cultures.
Research on everyday thinking is generally basic research conducted in realistic contexts, but also customized research projects with distinct practical implications can be designed. Theoretically the research is anchored within a cognitive-developmental paradigm and the theory of social representations.
4) Entrepreneurship
Ongoing research projects related to this subject
Entrepreneurship in Agriculture; an EsoF project
The social psychology of entrepreneurship studies psychological factors, social relationships, and interaction connected with entrepreneurship and small business, as well as the psychological and social construction of entrepreneurship. At the department, the social psychological construction of entrepreneurship is studied by focusing on the psychological elements (e.g. skills, self-cognitions, values) of entrepreneurial agency, and how they relate to self-reflexive, self-presentational and transactional processes through which this agency is embedded in social, cultural and political frames, discourses and developments.
5) Organisational Social Psychology
Ongoing research projects related to this subject
Social psychology is concerned with a number of phenomena that we come across on a daily bases. For example at work: leadership styles, within-group communication, decision-making and influencing.
Recent research has largely focused on occupational welfare and perceived justice in the working environment. Studies have shown that perceived justice has numerous effects on employees, such as their identification with the organization, degree of commitment to the organization, turn- over intentions, and intergroup relations within the organization.
Also the connection between personal values and perceived justice give rise to some interesting questions.
6) Health
Social psychological health research studies the effects of psychosocial factors on morbidity and health related behaviour.
As an example of the former, we examine how depression or hostility are related to coronary heart disease and its risk factors.
Issues of interest pertaining to health related behaviour are, smoking initiation among adolescents, prevention studies of initiation, and the psychosocial factors of tobacco addiction.
7) Rural studies
The subjects of rural studies include social and structural changes in rural areas, the activities, interaction and well-being of the individuals and communities in rural areas. The rural areas have been a subject of research for the various branches of Finnish social science since its early days.
Since the 1990’s, multidisciplinary rural studies have become their own field of research and teaching. The Department of Social Psychology is part of the national Rural Studies network that offers students a minor subject study unit in rural studies. The studies deal with changes in various types of rural areas, the relation between research and development, politics, culture, environmental issues and entrepreneurship in the rural context. Students of the Department of Social Psychology may also participate in individual courses in Rural Studies that are within the department’s responsibility, and they can write their theses paper in their own field of research on the themes of rural studies.
At the moment, the department is doing research in the areas of social innovation in rural areas, social exclusion, the importance of social capital and changes in rural regions caused by the global system. Research of rural regions in Russia and Eastern Europe is one of the focus areas of rural studies. The department is in close collaboration with the Ruralia Institute of the University of Helsinki, located in Mikkeli. Students have the opportunity to participate in the Institute’s projects, for example when writing their thesis paper.