£10,000 BA/Leverhulme grant to explore how people form views about immigration and climate change

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BA Leverhulme Grant

Robin McKenna has been awarded £10,000 from the British Academy / Leverhulme for his project ‘The Psychology and Epistemology of Political Cognition’.

Explaining his research, Robin writes:

"How do people form views about contentious political issues such as the costs and benefits of immigration? What about scientific issues that are relevant to public policy such as climate change? Due to increasing public polarisation, many have suggested there is something wrong with the way in which we form views about these and other issues. But what is wrong with the way we form views about these issues? Are we irrational? How can we go about improving things? These questions are discussed in several disciplines including psychology,political science and philosophy. This project brings together researchers from these disciplines in order to facilitate cross-disciplinary work on some of the most pressing social issues of the day. Collaboration will be facilitated via two workshops. Papers presented at these will be collected in an edited volume. A network website and bibliography of work in this area will be produced, facilitating further collaboration."

For more information about this exciting project, contact Robin or keep an eye on our Department News.