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Dr Emma Bridger

@emkbridger.bsky.social

85 followers 87 following 8 posts

Lecturer in Psychology at Uni of Leicester (based in Brum); Researcher in social determinants of mental health and socioeconomic health inequalities - how they arise, how we think about them and how to address them. LGBT+ Equalities Branch Officer

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Dr Emma Bridger @emkbridger.bsky.social · 1d

"Strikes are acts of defiance – but also acts of repair. In interdependent relationships, withholding cooperation is an effective strategy when power is uneven and negotiation has failed." A genuinely fantastic piece by @kristensyme.bsky.social

The Psychologist @psychmag.bsky.social · 1d

Why we strike: Bargaining as an expression of human cooperation.
Dr @kristensyme.bsky.social considers labour action, and draws parallels with family conflict…
www.bps.org.uk/psychologist...

Why we strike: Bargaining as an expression of human cooperation | BPS

Dr Kristen Syme considers labour action, and draws parallels with family conflict…

www.bps.org.uk

Reposted by Dr Emma Bridger

Claire Willett @clairewillett.bsky.social · 27d

reposting with alt text because this feels incredibly significant. the right-wing disinfo machine means a lot of the people grieving Charlie Kirk never heard any of the things he said that would have tarnished his brand as Guy Who Just Wants to Have Dialogue Across the Aisle

One thing that has become really clear since yesterday is that we live in at least two different realities. Talking to a friend who only knew Charlie as a Christian motivational speaker because that's all that ever came across her feed. Showed me videos I've never seen before of him saying perfectly reasonable and empowering things.

I showed her videos she'd never seen before of his racism, misogyny, homophobia, advocating for violence against specific groups of people. She was horrified by his remarks about Pelosi's husband's attacker being bailed out and celebrated for his violent act. She was horrified by a number of things that he said, but she had never seen or heard them before, the same as I had never seen or heard the generalized clips of him sounding like a perfectly nice loving man and father.

Neither of us had a whole picture of this man. I mentioned he was a known white supremacist and she thought I was joking.

She talked about him giving a speech about finding your purpose and doing good in the world and I thought she was joking.

I saw why this friend was mourning the loss of a person she thought was a good person.
My friend, bless her, saw why I feel the way I do about him. We understood each other better. In spite of a multi-billion dollar internet machine specifically focused on keeping us apart. Because we talked to each other with the desire to listen and to learn rather than the desire to change someone else's mind or to be "right".

None of those motivational things he said change my opinion about him because they don't erase the negativity, the subtle calls for violence, the belittling and denigrating of other races religions genders etc. His negative and blaming comments about homeless people, the poor, and victims of domestic violence. His comments about rounding up people who didn't think like him and putting them in camps where their behavior could be corrected. That time he said empathy was a made-up word he didnt believe in. That other time he said the Civil Rights Act was a mistake. The time he said most people are afraid when they get on a plane and see that there's a black pilot. His anti-vaccination rhetoric and his active campaigning against people being allowed to wear masks for their own health. His open support of fascism and white supremacy. To me, all of those are fully unchristian sentiments. Those are undeniable and just one of them would be a deal-breaker for me. All of them together are a picture of a man who was polarizing,

enraged a lot of people and rightly so, but even with all of that I would never wish upon him or especially his children the end that he got.
Oh, and my friend had never heard, and God help me I don't know how she escaped the news, but she had never heard of the Minnesota legislators who were shot in June. The husband and wife and dog who were killed, one after throwing themselves over their child to protect the child. The other couple who somehow survived.

Politically motivated attacks specifically because they were democrats. She learned about those shootings that happened months ago because I showed her Charlie Kirk's comments about them. The kidnapping plot against a female Midwestern Democratic governor. The assassination attempt against Pennsylvania's democratic governor. All things Charlie had plenty to say about while supporting the Second Amendment and bashing the Democratic party. She didn't know about any of it because we're all living in two different worlds and none of us have the whole story.

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Dr Emma Bridger @emkbridger.bsky.social · Jul 25

"Psychology cannot claim to protect children if it is only willing to do so selectively. [...] Palestinian children are not collateral. They are not too complex or too controversial to grieve. They are children, entitled to safety, dignity, and care."

The Psychologist @psychmag.bsky.social · Jul 25

What if they were ours?
@aneezapervez.bsky.social on moral failure and the lives of Palestinian children.
www.bps.org.uk/psychologist...

What if they were ours? | BPS

Aneeza Pervez on moral failure and the lives of Palestinian children.

www.bps.org.uk

Dr Emma Bridger @emkbridger.bsky.social · Jul 17

Our recent work on causal beliefs about social determinants of health (SDOH) now out in Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy! we look at perceptions of the widest range of SDOH to date. TLDR: people appreciate the role of SDOH but politics matters spssi.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Eiko Fried @eikofried.bsky.social · Feb 27

1/ What do people perceive as causes for depression, poverty, & mortality—and are social or non-social causes more important?

New preregistered study led by Emma Bridger in a n=1000 UK sample, including a wide variety of perceived causes.

#episky #psychscisky #PublicHealth 🧪

Reposted by Dr Emma Bridger

28 Wokes Later @pinballwitch.bsky.social · Jun 11

"Tell me now, how was the world lost?"

the full quote from the book 'They Thought They Were Free' read by @iwriteok.bsky.social in the linked episode of Behind the Bastards has been haunting me every day of this wretched year...

(time: 52:11 - 58:00)

youtu.be/CnBu3lgdh0I?...

Part Two: How Nice, Normal People Made The Holocaust Possible | BEHIND THE BASTARDS

YouTube video by Behind the Bastards

youtu.be

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Reposted by Dr Emma Bridger

Joseph Choonara @jchoonara.bsky.social · Jun 3

www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicest...

University staff to consider strikes over possible job losses

'Strategic, sometimes difficult, decisions will be required', university leaders have said

www.leicestermercury.co.uk

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Dr Emma Bridger @emkbridger.bsky.social · Jun 3

V proud of the local Leicester Psych for Social Change for consistently and unequivocally speaking out about the outrage of the Gaza genocide and standing in solidarity with student protestors. Kudos to @psychmag.bsky.social and Aspa Paltoglou for breaking the silence www.bps.org.uk/psychologist...

Struggling with the silence | BPS

The Leicester Chapter of the Psychologists for Social Change meet unfolding horrors with 'anger brewing'…

www.bps.org.uk

Dr Emma Bridger @emkbridger.bsky.social · May 23

It's a good reminder to post PSC Leicester's statement of solidarity with students arrested for protesting these atrocities. No other UK institution is prosecuting student protestors. Link to the crowdfunder for legal costs towards the end of the statement: www.psychchange.org/leicester.html

Dr Emma Bridger @emkbridger.bsky.social · May 23

"By not including what is happening to Palestinians in our studies, in our teaching, in our writing, in our magazines, we become complicit in a genocide and we lose faith in ourselves and others." Incredibly powerful piece by Dr Aspa Paltoglou that is a must-read for psychologists

The Psychologist @psychmag.bsky.social · May 6

When there are no words, we’d better find some…

Chartered Psychologist Dr Aspa Paltoglou on the responsibility of Psychologists to care about and speak up for the Palestinian people, through a book review.
@khawlabadwan.bsky.social @alisonphipps.bsky.social

www.bps.org.uk/psychologist...

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Dr Emma Bridger @emkbridger.bsky.social · May 13

i had a lot of fun making this video on our stressful politics work led by @lbernardi.bsky.social and UCL colleagues last month. (this partially explains why i'm grinning inappropriately throughout what is actually a serious and very important topic)

Humanities & Social Sciences, UoL @livunihss.bsky.social · May 13

How does politics affect our mental health? That's the question raised by Dr Luca Bernardi from @livunipol.bsky.social and colleagues from UCL. Watch to find out what they discovered: youtu.be/Dh3tq7yYeVE

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Dr Emma Bridger @emkbridger.bsky.social · May 9

@eikofried.bsky.social being as kind and supportive as ever about our collab work on perceptions of social determinants months before i got my act together on bluesky. preprint accessible here: osf.io/preprints/ps...

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Reposted by Dr Emma Bridger

Jolyon Maugham KC @goodlawproject.org · May 7

We're collecting data and stories on what the appalling Supreme Court decision means for trans and gender non conforming people. Lawyers will review all responses - please share your story because if we don't know we can't act.

(And please share with friends.) goodlawproject.org/about/trans-...

The Supreme Court ripped up the Equality Act – what has it done to you? | Good Law Project

Use the form to securely share your experience with us.

goodlawproject.org

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