Sara Vestergren
@swedishprotests.bsky.social
PhD, social psychologist at University of Reading, UK, specialising in the Psychology of crowds, collective action, and climate action. Views my own. Born at 338.7ppm
Reposted by Sara Vestergren
1/2 'In social psychology, the current ease of online surveys, vignette experiments and so on only reinforces a point made 20 years ago that studies of "behaviour" are rare compared to studies of self-report....'
Our study of three of the 2024 anti-asylum-seeker riots now accepted for publication at J of Community & Applied Social Psych.
Link to pre-print below.
www.qeios.com/read/17ASAP
Link to pre-print below.
www.qeios.com/read/17ASAP
Understanding the 2024 Summer Riots in the UK: Three Case Studies
The wave of riots in England in summer 2024 were followed by swift policy responses before any detailed empirical investigation had been carried out. This paper presents case studies of the disorders ...
www.qeios.com
February 3, 2026 at 12:55 PM
1/2 'In social psychology, the current ease of online surveys, vignette experiments and so on only reinforces a point made 20 years ago that studies of "behaviour" are rare compared to studies of self-report....'
Reposted by Sara Vestergren
Our study of three of the 2024 anti-asylum-seeker riots now accepted for publication at J of Community & Applied Social Psych.
Link to pre-print below.
www.qeios.com/read/17ASAP
Link to pre-print below.
www.qeios.com/read/17ASAP
Understanding the 2024 Summer Riots in the UK: Three Case Studies
The wave of riots in England in summer 2024 were followed by swift policy responses before any detailed empirical investigation had been carried out. This paper presents case studies of the disorders ...
www.qeios.com
February 3, 2026 at 12:54 PM
Our study of three of the 2024 anti-asylum-seeker riots now accepted for publication at J of Community & Applied Social Psych.
Link to pre-print below.
www.qeios.com/read/17ASAP
Link to pre-print below.
www.qeios.com/read/17ASAP
Reposted by Sara Vestergren
Out now! Handbook of Social Identity Research 🌟 📚
✍ Edited by Nyla Branscombe and Katherine J. Reynolds
'Indispensable for those interested in the research methods and empirical results' – Naomi Ellemers
Read first chapter 🆓: tinyurl.com/mpfkzvjz
ℹ️ More information: tinyurl.com/38ctp2f8
✍ Edited by Nyla Branscombe and Katherine J. Reynolds
'Indispensable for those interested in the research methods and empirical results' – Naomi Ellemers
Read first chapter 🆓: tinyurl.com/mpfkzvjz
ℹ️ More information: tinyurl.com/38ctp2f8
January 29, 2026 at 11:12 AM
Out now! Handbook of Social Identity Research 🌟 📚
✍ Edited by Nyla Branscombe and Katherine J. Reynolds
'Indispensable for those interested in the research methods and empirical results' – Naomi Ellemers
Read first chapter 🆓: tinyurl.com/mpfkzvjz
ℹ️ More information: tinyurl.com/38ctp2f8
✍ Edited by Nyla Branscombe and Katherine J. Reynolds
'Indispensable for those interested in the research methods and empirical results' – Naomi Ellemers
Read first chapter 🆓: tinyurl.com/mpfkzvjz
ℹ️ More information: tinyurl.com/38ctp2f8
Reposted by Sara Vestergren
'Beyond the politics of demand: Prefigurative politics and the future of collective action research'
New pre-print from @swedishprotests.bsky.social @metesefauysal.bsky.social and others with important argument about how social psych approaches collective action
osf.io/preprints/ps...
New pre-print from @swedishprotests.bsky.social @metesefauysal.bsky.social and others with important argument about how social psych approaches collective action
osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF
osf.io
January 16, 2026 at 8:24 AM
'Beyond the politics of demand: Prefigurative politics and the future of collective action research'
New pre-print from @swedishprotests.bsky.social @metesefauysal.bsky.social and others with important argument about how social psych approaches collective action
osf.io/preprints/ps...
New pre-print from @swedishprotests.bsky.social @metesefauysal.bsky.social and others with important argument about how social psych approaches collective action
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Reposted by Sara Vestergren
Finland has emerged as a global leader in countering “fake news”. Here's how they've done it
Teaching when to trust
As fake news accelerates, we need to teach our children how to think critically. Finnish schools are leading the charge
newhumanist.org.uk
December 7, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Finland has emerged as a global leader in countering “fake news”. Here's how they've done it
Reposted by Sara Vestergren
The Crowds & Identities seminar, expertly convened by @freyamills.bsky.social
@pjsaaved.bsky.social presents his team's important work on public perceptions of police use of force against protests.
@pjsaaved.bsky.social presents his team's important work on public perceptions of police use of force against protests.
December 5, 2025 at 12:44 PM
The Crowds & Identities seminar, expertly convened by @freyamills.bsky.social
@pjsaaved.bsky.social presents his team's important work on public perceptions of police use of force against protests.
@pjsaaved.bsky.social presents his team's important work on public perceptions of police use of force against protests.
Reposted by Sara Vestergren
The last session in the collective action series hosted by @bps-social-psych.bsky.social and organised by @drselintekin.bsky.social and @merveozturkey.bsky.social is this Thursday 4th Dec 1-3pm GMT.
The webinar is free to attend but registration needed www.bps.org.uk/event/precar...
The webinar is free to attend but registration needed www.bps.org.uk/event/precar...
Precarious Solidarities: Collective Action during and after disasters Under Authoritarianism or repression | BPS
The final instalment of this series, gathering emergency practitioners and researchers in the social psychology field. Time may be subject to change.
www.bps.org.uk
December 1, 2025 at 9:56 AM
The last session in the collective action series hosted by @bps-social-psych.bsky.social and organised by @drselintekin.bsky.social and @merveozturkey.bsky.social is this Thursday 4th Dec 1-3pm GMT.
The webinar is free to attend but registration needed www.bps.org.uk/event/precar...
The webinar is free to attend but registration needed www.bps.org.uk/event/precar...
The last session in the collective action series hosted by @bps-social-psych.bsky.social and organised by @drselintekin.bsky.social and @merveozturkey.bsky.social is this Thursday 4th Dec 1-3pm GMT.
The webinar is free to attend but registration needed www.bps.org.uk/event/precar...
The webinar is free to attend but registration needed www.bps.org.uk/event/precar...
Precarious Solidarities: Collective Action during and after disasters Under Authoritarianism or repression | BPS
The final instalment of this series, gathering emergency practitioners and researchers in the social psychology field. Time may be subject to change.
www.bps.org.uk
December 1, 2025 at 9:56 AM
The last session in the collective action series hosted by @bps-social-psych.bsky.social and organised by @drselintekin.bsky.social and @merveozturkey.bsky.social is this Thursday 4th Dec 1-3pm GMT.
The webinar is free to attend but registration needed www.bps.org.uk/event/precar...
The webinar is free to attend but registration needed www.bps.org.uk/event/precar...
Reposted by Sara Vestergren
It's Black Friday. Eight years ago today, a huge false alarm on Oxford Street was pathologized as a 'stampede' caused by 'mass panic'. We analysed why people mistook a harmless sound for a terrorist attack and why others joined their flight.
@ukri.org funded
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
@ukri.org funded
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Explaining a collective false alarm: Context and cognition in the Oxford Street crowd flight incident
Collective false alarms can cause significant disruption, costly emergency response, and distress. Yet an adequate psychological explanation for these incidents is lacking. We interviewed 39 particip....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 28, 2025 at 8:03 AM
It's Black Friday. Eight years ago today, a huge false alarm on Oxford Street was pathologized as a 'stampede' caused by 'mass panic'. We analysed why people mistook a harmless sound for a terrorist attack and why others joined their flight.
@ukri.org funded
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
@ukri.org funded
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Sara Vestergren
'Not calling out these politics for what they are can only legitimise them. This is done through euphemism (calling them “populist” for example), by absorbing and mimicking them or accepting them as “legitimate grievances” from “the people”.'
Focusing on extreme events such as the reports of Farage’s teenage past can exceptionalise the nature of far-right politics and make it harder to call out
Some thoughts @theconversation.com on the mainstreaming of far-right politics
theconversation.com/nigel-farage...
Some thoughts @theconversation.com on the mainstreaming of far-right politics
theconversation.com/nigel-farage...
Nigel Farage’s alleged teenage comments are a distraction from the damage of his politics
Reports of such appalling behaviour – and Farage’s reaction – give us an insight into the leader of the UK’s rising far-right party.
theconversation.com
November 28, 2025 at 6:05 PM
'Not calling out these politics for what they are can only legitimise them. This is done through euphemism (calling them “populist” for example), by absorbing and mimicking them or accepting them as “legitimate grievances” from “the people”.'
Reposted by Sara Vestergren
>1600 fossil fuel lobbyists
>300 big agriculture lobbyists
551 carbon capture and storage lobbyists
Are COPs where governments gather to discuss addressing climate change, or where capitalists gather to stop them?
>300 big agriculture lobbyists
551 carbon capture and storage lobbyists
Are COPs where governments gather to discuss addressing climate change, or where capitalists gather to stop them?
November 19, 2025 at 10:44 AM
>1600 fossil fuel lobbyists
>300 big agriculture lobbyists
551 carbon capture and storage lobbyists
Are COPs where governments gather to discuss addressing climate change, or where capitalists gather to stop them?
>300 big agriculture lobbyists
551 carbon capture and storage lobbyists
Are COPs where governments gather to discuss addressing climate change, or where capitalists gather to stop them?
Reposted by Sara Vestergren
Important new paper shows that mass casualties from extreme heat are likely at the current level of global warming and will only get worse the more the world warms: “mass mortality events remain plausible at near-future temperatures despite current adaptations to heat”
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 19, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Important new paper shows that mass casualties from extreme heat are likely at the current level of global warming and will only get worse the more the world warms: “mass mortality events remain plausible at near-future temperatures despite current adaptations to heat”
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Sara Vestergren
We replicated one of the oldest experiments in Psychology (Triplett, 1898) as a registered report. Children completed a task faster in pairs than when they were alone.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 19, 2025 at 10:41 AM
We replicated one of the oldest experiments in Psychology (Triplett, 1898) as a registered report. Children completed a task faster in pairs than when they were alone.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Sara Vestergren
The co-action effect is a thing. But what's the mechanism for this fascinating form of social influence?
We replicated one of the oldest experiments in Psychology (Triplett, 1898) as a registered report. Children completed a task faster in pairs than when they were alone.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 19, 2025 at 11:05 AM
The co-action effect is a thing. But what's the mechanism for this fascinating form of social influence?
Reposted by Sara Vestergren
I feel 'obliged' to share this again...
'it is Trump’s willing participation in a mutual process of identity enactment, rather than any instructions contained in his speech, that should be the basis for assessing his ... responsibility for, the assault on the Capitol building'
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Examining the role of Donald Trump and his supporters in the 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol: A dual-agency model of identity leadership and engaged followership
This article develops a dual-agency model of leadership which treats collective phenomena as a co-production involving both leaders and followers who …
www.sciencedirect.com
November 12, 2025 at 11:17 AM
I feel 'obliged' to share this again...
Join us for the second free session (of 3) in our Collective Action series today 2-4pm GMT, hosted by @bps-social-psych.bsky.social and brilliantly organised by @drselintekin.bsky.social & @merveozturkey.bsky.social
See the speakers and register to get the link here: www.bps.org.uk/event/relief...
See the speakers and register to get the link here: www.bps.org.uk/event/relief...
From Relief to Resistance: Sustaining Collective Action for Structural Change | BPS
The second in a three part event series from the Social Psychology Section, gathering emergency practitioners and researchers in the social psychology field.
www.bps.org.uk
November 6, 2025 at 10:24 AM
Join us for the second free session (of 3) in our Collective Action series today 2-4pm GMT, hosted by @bps-social-psych.bsky.social and brilliantly organised by @drselintekin.bsky.social & @merveozturkey.bsky.social
See the speakers and register to get the link here: www.bps.org.uk/event/relief...
See the speakers and register to get the link here: www.bps.org.uk/event/relief...
Reposted by Sara Vestergren
-- Call for Papers --
Special issue on "Intersectionality in Social Psychology: Perspectives, Methods, and Applications" in the British Journal of Social Psychology.
Abstract submission deadline: 15 December 2025
Special issue on "Intersectionality in Social Psychology: Perspectives, Methods, and Applications" in the British Journal of Social Psychology.
Abstract submission deadline: 15 December 2025
<em>British Journal of Social Psychology</em> | Wiley Online Library
<em>British Journal of Social Psychology</em> is an international journal publishing impactful basic and applied social psychological research from all parts of the world.
bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 6, 2025 at 9:03 AM
-- Call for Papers --
Special issue on "Intersectionality in Social Psychology: Perspectives, Methods, and Applications" in the British Journal of Social Psychology.
Abstract submission deadline: 15 December 2025
Special issue on "Intersectionality in Social Psychology: Perspectives, Methods, and Applications" in the British Journal of Social Psychology.
Abstract submission deadline: 15 December 2025
Reposted by Sara Vestergren
FREE online webinar from @bps-social-psych.bsky.social that may be of interest:
'From Relief to Resistance – Sustaining Collective Action for Structural Change'
6 November, 2-4pm
More details below:
www.bps.org.uk/event/relief...
'From Relief to Resistance – Sustaining Collective Action for Structural Change'
6 November, 2-4pm
More details below:
www.bps.org.uk/event/relief...
From Relief to Resistance: Sustaining Collective Action for Structural Change | BPS
The second in a three part event series from the Social Psychology Section, gathering emergency practitioners and researchers in the social psychology field.
www.bps.org.uk
October 31, 2025 at 9:21 AM
FREE online webinar from @bps-social-psych.bsky.social that may be of interest:
'From Relief to Resistance – Sustaining Collective Action for Structural Change'
6 November, 2-4pm
More details below:
www.bps.org.uk/event/relief...
'From Relief to Resistance – Sustaining Collective Action for Structural Change'
6 November, 2-4pm
More details below:
www.bps.org.uk/event/relief...
Reposted by Sara Vestergren
Thanks to @bps-social-psych.bsky.social for bringing my notes together from the event that @merveozturkey.bsky.social & I organized.
Reflections came from the responses of: @profjohndrury.bsky.social @lucygobag.bsky.social Dr Rim Saab and Dr Nihan Albayrak-Aydemir
www.bps.org.uk/news/rising-...
Reflections came from the responses of: @profjohndrury.bsky.social @lucygobag.bsky.social Dr Rim Saab and Dr Nihan Albayrak-Aydemir
www.bps.org.uk/news/rising-...
Rising together: How collective action emerges in the face of an emergency | BPS
Dr Selin Tekin reflects on the first event in the Rising Together series, hosted by the BPS Social Psychology Section.
www.bps.org.uk
November 4, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Thanks to @bps-social-psych.bsky.social for bringing my notes together from the event that @merveozturkey.bsky.social & I organized.
Reflections came from the responses of: @profjohndrury.bsky.social @lucygobag.bsky.social Dr Rim Saab and Dr Nihan Albayrak-Aydemir
www.bps.org.uk/news/rising-...
Reflections came from the responses of: @profjohndrury.bsky.social @lucygobag.bsky.social Dr Rim Saab and Dr Nihan Albayrak-Aydemir
www.bps.org.uk/news/rising-...
Reposted by Sara Vestergren
The next session of Psychology of Resistance Virtual Meetings is next Monday, November 10:
We do a peer review as conversation with @metesefauysal.bsky.social on confrontational-disruptive protests,
@yasemingacar.bsky.social and Carmen Marazzi as discusants
To register: tinyurl.com/disruptive-p...
We do a peer review as conversation with @metesefauysal.bsky.social on confrontational-disruptive protests,
@yasemingacar.bsky.social and Carmen Marazzi as discusants
To register: tinyurl.com/disruptive-p...
November 3, 2025 at 4:05 PM
The next session of Psychology of Resistance Virtual Meetings is next Monday, November 10:
We do a peer review as conversation with @metesefauysal.bsky.social on confrontational-disruptive protests,
@yasemingacar.bsky.social and Carmen Marazzi as discusants
To register: tinyurl.com/disruptive-p...
We do a peer review as conversation with @metesefauysal.bsky.social on confrontational-disruptive protests,
@yasemingacar.bsky.social and Carmen Marazzi as discusants
To register: tinyurl.com/disruptive-p...
Reposted by Sara Vestergren
'Panic'?
It's important to look at what passengers actually did. Not just flight, but also information and assistance:
'Amid a group of six, they were also attempting to stem the flow of blood from the head of the older man who was said to have saved the girl.'
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
It's important to look at what passengers actually did. Not just flight, but also information and assistance:
'Amid a group of six, they were also attempting to stem the flow of blood from the head of the older man who was said to have saved the girl.'
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
‘It felt like forever’: passengers recount mass stabbing on Cambridgeshire train
Some initially assumed the commotion was a Halloween prank, but soon realised something awful was unfolding
www.theguardian.com
November 2, 2025 at 6:44 PM
'Panic'?
It's important to look at what passengers actually did. Not just flight, but also information and assistance:
'Amid a group of six, they were also attempting to stem the flow of blood from the head of the older man who was said to have saved the girl.'
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
It's important to look at what passengers actually did. Not just flight, but also information and assistance:
'Amid a group of six, they were also attempting to stem the flow of blood from the head of the older man who was said to have saved the girl.'
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Reposted by Sara Vestergren
'How Participation in Collective Action Changes Relationships, Behaviours, and Beliefs: An Interview Study of the Role of Inter- and Intragroup Processes' @swedishprotests.bsky.social
Re-reading this one from 2019 as part of my teaching preparation
jspp.psychopen.eu/index.php/js...
Re-reading this one from 2019 as part of my teaching preparation
jspp.psychopen.eu/index.php/js...
How Participation in Collective Action Changes Relationships, Behaviours, and Beliefs: An Interview Study of the Role of Inter- and Intragroup Processes| Journal of Social and Political Psychology
jspp.psychopen.eu
October 29, 2025 at 11:04 AM
'How Participation in Collective Action Changes Relationships, Behaviours, and Beliefs: An Interview Study of the Role of Inter- and Intragroup Processes' @swedishprotests.bsky.social
Re-reading this one from 2019 as part of my teaching preparation
jspp.psychopen.eu/index.php/js...
Re-reading this one from 2019 as part of my teaching preparation
jspp.psychopen.eu/index.php/js...
Reposted by Sara Vestergren
A well-attended Crowds & identities, expertly convened by @freyamills.bsky.social, with presentation on his important work on collective action for Uyghur Muslims in China among Muslims in Turkey and the United Kingdom, by @metesefauysal.bsky.social
October 27, 2025 at 1:16 PM
A well-attended Crowds & identities, expertly convened by @freyamills.bsky.social, with presentation on his important work on collective action for Uyghur Muslims in China among Muslims in Turkey and the United Kingdom, by @metesefauysal.bsky.social
Reposted by Sara Vestergren
@merveozturkey.bsky.social & I are organizing an event with the @bps-social-psych.bsky.social
Rising Together: How Collective Action Emerges in the Face of an Emergency
Our wonderful speakers:
Dr. Nihan Albayrak-Aydemir
Dr. Rim Saab
Prof. @lucygobag.bsky.social
Prof. @profjohndrury.bsky.social
Rising Together: How Collective Action Emerges in the Face of an Emergency
Our wonderful speakers:
Dr. Nihan Albayrak-Aydemir
Dr. Rim Saab
Prof. @lucygobag.bsky.social
Prof. @profjohndrury.bsky.social
October 1, 2025 at 7:44 PM
@merveozturkey.bsky.social & I are organizing an event with the @bps-social-psych.bsky.social
Rising Together: How Collective Action Emerges in the Face of an Emergency
Our wonderful speakers:
Dr. Nihan Albayrak-Aydemir
Dr. Rim Saab
Prof. @lucygobag.bsky.social
Prof. @profjohndrury.bsky.social
Rising Together: How Collective Action Emerges in the Face of an Emergency
Our wonderful speakers:
Dr. Nihan Albayrak-Aydemir
Dr. Rim Saab
Prof. @lucygobag.bsky.social
Prof. @profjohndrury.bsky.social